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Jan 2015 Newsletter
News from Freenet Antennas

Let's Talk SNR

The Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) is one of the most significant factors that control the speed and stability of your link.

Signal: In nearly all cases - there is nothing you can do to boost the signal as it will be set to the maximum legal limit anyway. Your hands are tied here.

Noise: This is any sort of radio noise - including neaby WiFi (maybe your own!) - that interferes with your signal. This you CAN do something about - and it is simple.

For example, keeping the signal level unchanged but reducing the noise level by just 3 dB can result in a speed improvement of a massive 50% on Ubiquiti airMAX products.

So how do you reduce Noise?

Simple ... add a Shield Kit from RF Armor. These are metal shields made of marine -grade aluminium (no rust) that are made to fit almost all Ubiquiti outdoor products.

NB-Kit

This picture shows a  Ubiquiti NanoBridge with an RF Armor shield kit.

It takes about 60 seconds to attach, with just a phillip's head screwdriver.

So what do RF Armor customers say?

 
It's really amazing how much these help reduce the noise. To boot I believe the shield helped save one of our radios from a direct lightening strike on one of our towers. Every other radio died, but the nanobridge is still trucking along.
Date Added: 10/20/2014 by Lance
  
 
Great product! We use these on all of our backhaul links now.
Date Added: 03/26/2013 by Keefe		  
 
All my Problems are gone after installing this sector kit. Very good product. My client is happy.
Date Added: 04/28/2013 by cesar
  
 
We installed RF Armor shielding kits on 7 ubnt sectors ontop of a 90' silo. We were having problems due to some of the APs being in close proximity of each other. After installing Chris's shielding kits our performance was significantly increased! We are in deploying another POP on a Silo soon and will be ordering shielding kits again! Thanks Chris for your excellent design!
Date Added: 06/19/2013 by Brandyn		  
 
I have been a WISP since 2007 and in the last year have implemented the use of RF Armor Shielding at all of my relay and tower sites. I have found that the use of their product has allowed me to make 40% more use out of the license free spectrum by reducing outside noise and interference from other sites. In addition to providing more efficient spectrum use, I have also noticed higher and more stable over the air data throughput.
I have found the design and engineering to be of the highest quality and the ease of application well thought out.
If you are considering the use of the RF Armor products the only thing I can tell you is that we should have all done it long ago and having a site without it is a mistake.
Eric Williams (W7EMW)
SDWISP Network Administrator
Date Added: 10/22/2013 by Eric		  
 
Having to connect two residences approximate 3/5 of a mile (1 km) from each other through minimal bushes/trees, I found that a 5.8 GHz link using a Nanostation M5 on one end and a Nanobridge M5 on the other actually linked up, but didn't have the best signal strength. I've browsed the forums for a while and always saw the RF Armor product, but didn't attempt to try it until now. I purchased one kit for the Nanobridge end, and the results were hard to believe at first. I'm and believer and have just ordered 5 more kits. Amazing product.
Date Added: 10/31/2013 by Bobby		  
 
We don't deploy a Ubiquiti sector without a RF Armor shield kit.
Date Added: 04/08/2014 by Nathan		  

More... 

UniFi VoIP Phones - in Stock now

UVP Ubiquiti is now shipping the UniFi-VoIP Phone (UVP).

We have tested these with our favourite SIP VoIP provider and they work great. You do NOT need to connect them to a Ubiquiti SIP PABX - they are industry standard so work with any SIP provider.

 

But what makes these phones stand out from the crowd is one very simple thing - Android.

android

You can customise your deskphone with apps from the Google Play Store. I just love mine for that reason.

If you are already an Android user, then you will understand that simply by logging into your Google account (once only), your Ubiquiti VoIP phone now has ...

  • syncronised with all other Android phones/tablets you have on the same account.
  • all your contacts. This is a huge feature as it has all the phone numbers and email addresses.
  • all your Google Calendar events/appointments, so it beeps for your appointments.
  • access to your Gdrive (free cloud storage).
  • Google News.
  • and so many features in the Google eco-system.

Future:

  • The UVP-PRO (with WiFi, Bluetooth, and camera). Arriving soon.
  • The UVP-Exec (like UVP-PRO but with bigger 7" screen).
  • A soft-PBX. Ubiquiti will be releasing free VoIP PABX software very soon. Free meaning: "Free" and "no licensing costs". So you can have your own PABX in each office branch - with free calls between them, and cheap in/out calls to the PSTN (Public switched telephone network) via a SIP provider (there are many in Australia).

What to test the quality?

Give me a call. If I am in my office I will answer.

  1. Call one of these gateway numbers:
       Adelaide 08 7070 8048
       Brisbane 07 3811 5071
       Canberra 02 6108 4381
       Darwin 08 7905 7005
       Gold Coast 07 5699 9615
       Melbourne 03 8813 2100
       Perth 08 6365 2856
       Sydney 02 8412 8300
     
  2. Enter my extension: 
      191722

More...   More...    More...

New airFiber-24-HD

AF-24-HD

 Ubiquiti has announced a 2nd 24 GHz airFiber model with these features:
  • 2+ Gbps Performance
  • Sub-Microsecond Latency
  • Longer Range (due to the larger Receive antenna)

The new model and the older 1.4 Gbps model will both be on sale. The new model is more expensive. ETA on our shelves is Feb-2015.

More ...

 

airMAX-AC Webinar

Webinar Click image to watch the Webinar on the new airMax AC Range.

Online Training

airMAXTraining

UniFi Training1

UniFi Training2

In a world's first, Online training (developed in Australia) is now available for the Ubiquiti products shown.

You benefit  in a number of ways:

  • Cheaper - than attending a formal 2-day course in a classroom environment.
  • Faster - no need to wait until the next classroom course is scheduled nearby.
  • More convenient - the self-paced courses can be scheduled around other demanding work.
  • More practical - the Ubiquiti classroom courses are great for students needing to delve deep into theory such as Radio Waves, Antenna design, TDMA protocols, Link-Budgets, UniFi-WiFi site surveys, etc. But in many cases, students just want to know how to setup some very common scenarios. These Installer courses are targeted with less theory and more practice.

The way each course works is ... each student:

  • signs up and receives by email a set of detailed course notes. These can be kept as a reference document for use later on-the-job.
  • is allocated real test hardware for 7 days. This is hardware the student gets to configure (over the Internet).
  • passes an online quiz for each module. When all module quizes have been passed, the student gets emailed a Certifcate of Completion.

More ...

Classroom Training

airMAX and UniFi

We have both airMAX (airOS), and UniFi training courses available. The courses are each 2-days, and are booked separately. But in most cases, we will schedule them back-to-back so students can attend both in a 4-day stretch.

Upcoming scheduled courses:


City

UAC

airMAX

UUC

UniFi
Perth 2015 Mar 24-25

2015 Mar 26-27
Sydney 2015 May 12-13 2015 May 14-15

Custom

Your office

 Your Office

 See the Full Calendar.

New Products - In Stock Now

UVP

UniFi VoIP Phone

Android-powered VoIP phone.

More...

 Upcoming Products

The products below have been announced. We will keep you updated via this newsletter as we learn more.

UniFi-Switch

UniFi Switches - 24 & 48 port

Basically similar to the EdgeSwitch range, but these switches are managed by the cloud-ready UniFi-Controller.

Centrally Managed Gigabit 24 and 48 port switches.

ETA: ????

More ... and More...

Tell us of Your Success

Do you have a WiFi success story you would like to share with other Freenet Antennas customers? If so email us the details and we might publish in our next newsletter.

 Talked the boss into updating our APs to UniFi from Cisco

When we added on to the building again, I had the option of buying another Cisco AP for $350 (maxing out our controller), or selling the Cisco stuff, and buying all new Ubiquiti gear....

More ...
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