EnGenius EOC-2611P, deaf as a post

Before Dirk and I can go on experimenting, I have to sort out a problem with my brand new EnGenius EOC-2611P. When compared to the TP-Link TA-WA5110G, a dirt cheap AP with comparable features, the number of SSID’s the Engenius can find is pathetic. Both systems were connected in exactly the same way: located just underneath the antenna, with power supplied by using POE.

My dealer confirmed that this problems sticks up its ugly head sometimes, and will replace it.

Only two access points found by the $160 EnGenius EOC-2611P. These were my own, with their antenna located just 2 meters from the WiFi Grid Antenna.

The $35 TP-Link TL-WA5110G finds 17 access points with ease.

Long Range Wifi: success.

Yesterday evening PA2AYX and me managed to establish our first reliable long range Wifi connection. Before we did, I replaced the 16-element Yagi by a Grid Antenna, because I had some doubts about the Chinese-made thing. In the end this proved to be unjust, but I left the Grid on my roof anyway. The advantage of a Grid instead of the Yagi is the smaller opening angle, 14 degrees instead of 23 degrees. Gain is about the same, 24dBi versus 25dBi. Some more accuracy is required when pointing the antenna to the other station though.

Measuring 100cm by 60cm, this is not a small antenna!

We agreed that my system would be set up as an access point, and Dirk’s system would be configured as a client router. The way this works is easy to understand: client means that his system is configured to pick up a host (my access point), and router means that his system will hand out IP addresses to all the connected clients.

Setup at PD0AC
Grid Antenna – EnGenius 2611P (AP mode) – Switch – Modem/Router – Internet.

Setup at PA2AYX
16-element Yagi Antenna – EnGenius 5611P (client router mode) – Switch – Clients (desktops, notebooks)

Internet speed was fine at Dirk’s end. Later in the evening Dirk upped the stakes by hooking up his D-Star repeater to the system. To our surprise, this worked without a hitch. Speaking of stealing bandwidth!

Plans for the coming days: bridging
The next step is to connect our two wired LANs by putting both EnGenius system into bridge mode. Some adjustments have to be made before we can do that. Both our networks reside in the 192.168.2.xxx range, and that isn’t going to work. After all, bridging is all about connecting two networks which can’t see each other because of incompatible IP-ranges.  I will change my network to reside in the 192.168.1.xxx range instead.

Some numbers
Both EnGenius systems generate 28dBm, which equals to 600mW. In our setup there are no cable losses to take into account. When converting this to ERP or EIRP, this is what our antennas spit out:

OK, not enough to fry a bird sitting on our antennas, but impressive nonetheless. And slightly illegal, so we keep our systems on the air as short as possible.

Abort, Retry, Fail?

My 16-element Yagi for 2.4GHz, 25dBi gain.

The answer is: Fail. We won’t abort though, but retry. When we were setting up our long range WiFi network, we ran into some problems. At PA2AYX’s side, everything is fine. At my end it’s not. The 16-element Yagi, bought on eBay for less than $15, is fine. My access point (TP-Link TL-WA5110G) is fine. Power output is fine. The coax cable between the AP and the Yagi is not. Far from it, to be exact.

Scam, scam, scam
When I ordered the 10 meter long cable, it was advertised as “low loss cable for 2.4 GHz’. When the cable arrived, I quickly realized that I got scammed. The cable proved to be ordinary RG-58, a cable I would only use for HF, nothing else. So here we are, most of the Yagi’s gain is eaten up by a poor cable. 10 meters of RG-58 @ 2.4GHz equals a loss of at least 10 dB, probably more. 10dB is a lot – both RX sensitivity as well as TX power are divided by a factor of 10. LMR-400, the cable I expected to get, loses only 0.22 dB per meter. This means 2.2dB cable loss, which is more or less acceptable. Better numbers, sure, but dangerously close to 3dB, a factor of 2. Here is a list of cable losses, at 2.4GHz:

• RG 58: 1 dB per meter.
• RG 213:  0.6 dB per meter.
• RG 174: 2 dB per meter.
• Aircom: 0.21 dB per meter.
• Aircell 7: 0.38 dB per meter.
• LMR-400: 0.22 dB per meter.

Learning curve
In spite of the crappy setup at my side, my signal came through. The distance between our two stations is a little bit more than 1 Km, and we don’t have a completely free line of sight. There are some trees in the way, plus a sporting complex. All in all not bad, but not good enough. My setup will be changed completely. I don’t want to calculate cable losses at all, so I ordered an access point which can be mounted directly under my Yagi. These nifty devices are made by EnGenius and other companies. The power output varies from brand to brand, but the options are more or less the same across the board: AP, repeater, and bridge. Power is supplied by POE (Power over Ethernet), the only cable going down into my shack is an ordinary Ethernet cable.

The EnGenius EOC-2611P.

Long range WiFi networks: what not to do
If you own a low power access point, don’t buy so-called ‘boosters’. Apart from the fact that they’re often very unreliable, these things won’t solve your problem. Invest in a hi gain outdoor antenna and low loss cable instead. If possible, replace your ordinary AP by something like the EnGenius EOC-2611P, and put it high up in the air.

Within a week or 2 we will be able to report failure or success. I expect the latter.

When Wireless Goes Rogue

Wireless Access Point
WiFi, who doesn’t use it? I do, but only to surf the WWW. Everything else is done using my old fashioned cabled network. There’s a reason for that: having been an editor for the Dutch PC Magazine for about 15 years, I know how easy it is to set up a rogue access point. In my case it is a FON router, and so far it proves to be quite easy to capture anyones account names and passwords. A rogue access point could be seen as a ‘honey pot‘. The idea of finding totally free Internet access makes people blind for the risks.

Now I’m not interested in someone else’s accounts and passwords at all, and I certainly don’t intend to sniff them out and abuse them, so I used my own laptop and access codes instead. After some experiments I’m pretty sure that I can intercept anyone’s private information who is stupid enough to trust my rogue access point.

More experiments will follow next week when, if everything works as well as we intended, PA2AYX and me will set up a long distance WiFi network. Now remember, this is just for fun, so the ‘Rogue Factor’ will be killed off faster than it took to set it up.

Interesting links:

• http://www.tech-faq.com/rogue-wireless-access-point.html
• http://dimitar.me/karma-on-the-fon-and-sniffing-wireless-network-traffic-with-ubuntu-step-by-step/
• http://www.wireshark.org/

Weather stations, car keys, car alarms and other funny stuff
Another example of wireless going rogue is the use of the 70cm band for weather stations or car keys and alarms. Weather stations aren’t very interesting. Yes, you could jam them, but nobody would probably notice. Car keys and alarms are a different story. Many car makers use 433.920MHz as the standard frequency to operate remote car keys and alarms, which is right in the middle of our amateur band. Not too smart, as it proves to be very easy to record the (AM modulated) signal, replay it, and watch doors open or close. Just a low power carrier is enough to ‘jam’ the doors, or prevent owners to switch on their alarm system. A true haven for thieves.

There are plenty of other and more reliable frequencies to choose from, but the low price of standard 70cm devices seems to be more important. A real shame.

Evolution

Hitachi CH-1330R versus Baofeng UV-3R, 36 years of evolution

At the left: Hitachi CH-1330R CB HT.  At the right: Baofeng UV-3R.

Hitachi CH-1330R Specifications:
Number of channels: 2
Mode: AM
Power output: approx. 500mW
Range between 2 HT’s, under optimal conditions (approx): 1 Km
Case material: steel
Weight: 945 grams (incl. 8 AA batteries)
Antenna length: 1 meter 75cm
Year of production: 1975
Price in 1975: +/- € 115 (not compensated for 36 years of inflation)

Baofeng UV-3R Specifications
Number of channels (10KHz spacing): 10.800
Mode: FM
Power output: 2 Watts
Range between 2 HT’s, under optimal conditions (approx): 6 Km
Case material: plastic
Weight: 127 grams (incl. battery)
Antenna length: 12 cm
Year of production: 2011
Price: € 35.

Wanna go back in time?