I have a Balance One as my main router, and it’s in a server closet deep within the building.
I’d love to have a 5G backup, and am looking at the MAX adapter, but sad that it doesn’t have an ethernet output.
Which would be better:
Plug the MAX Adapter 5G into my Balance one using the short USB cord, and then get long antenna cables to mount antennas in the attic?
Put the MAX adapter in the attic, with direct connected antennas, and get some sort of USB extender cable (powered?). The MAX Adapter seems to have USB C - do extenders even exist for USB C?
The distance from the Balance One to the attic is about 10 meters.
16FT is max cable length for USB. USB extenders may or may not work.
I’d move the balance one to the attic or close by it within 16FT and then run ethernet to a switch wherever the balance one currently resides.
Before doing anything I would place the hardware in the attic in a temporary setup to analyze the signal difference between it and the existing location. You may be wasting time if its not dramatically better. For a fixed location I would want to have a directional antenna mounted outside the building on the side or roof. Do you know where the tower is? Also test the unit outside the house and compare/contrast that with the other locations. If possible test it from each side of the building if your unsure where the tower is.
That would be awesome! And even more awesome would be an IP-rated all-in one antenna that has the radio built in, like the Maritime series Antenna, that could be mounted up high on a mast of a boat. I bet Peplink would sell TONs of these “remote radio” units.
A dome could be leveraged if adjusted to act as a slave but I feel like it would keep the whole setup at a higher cost but having the option would be great. I’d also want a smaller option that can connect to external antennas, for example up on a roof, keep the device in the attic, Peplink “brain” elsewhere in the building, it would be an amazing product offering.