best outdoor AP?

[Adrian4]

Hello,

I need to cover a large outdoor loading bay area with WiFi. We have buildings on two sides of it but no decent way of getting power to the middle of it.

We currently have a MR 74 with MA-ANT-23 and MA-ANT-21 antenna.

The tx power cant go higher than 9dBm which Meraki support tell me is the maximum it can do. The signal in the centre of the loading bay (where its most needed) is very bad, so I don't think adding another AP on the other building will help.

Can anyone suggest a better model of AP/antenna that will let us lob wifi further? 

Thanks!

[alemabrahao]

Have you checked the documentation?

https://meraki.cisco.com/products/wi-fi/models/

[GreenMan]

It sounds like you are mainly constrained by the law governing EIRP settings with a high gain antenna.   The reality is that, if you can't reach your target area at maximum permissible Tx power, you probably need to look to put an AP / antennas physically closer to the area requiring coverage.

[Adrian4]

we are in the UK - I think we are covered by the ETSI standard which puts the max at about 20dBm.

Even meraki documentation seems to suggest the same https://documentation.meraki.com/MR/Radio_Settings/EU_Compliance_Information

is the 9dBm limit because when you combine it with the antenna gain you get 20 overall perhaps?

[GIdenJoe · Accepted solution]

You really need to survey the area and use multiple antennas to see what provides the best coverage.

The AP is not the issue here because it is only allowed to send 9 dBm on 2.4 GHz because your antenna has 10.x to 11 dBi of gain totalling the EIRP at 20 dBm which could be the max in your region.  However if you choose a slightly lower gain antenna you could up your Tx power to match that.
5 GHz is allowed to transmit higher but you get a 6 dB penalty due to the smaller receive antennas.
Your area may simply be too large to cover with two antennas.