Hey Chuck,

Sending a second message because the listserv didn't like my large image attachment.

Understood.  I found the documentation last night and have been reading/watching through it and I am developing a better understanding of the topology and equipment.

And that's quite a generous offer!  It's much appreciated, but generally, I prefer to own and operate my own equipment.  Additionally, cost is not a factor for me, so I'd much prefer that loaner equipment go to potential new users who may have fewer resources, or be available for backup purposes.  That being said, I'm not in a huge hurry or anything, I just enjoy learning and experimenting.  I suspect this isn't a unique quality among this group.

In performing a 5.7GHz link analysis based on your parameters (60˚ coverage, assuming a conservative 10dBi gain from Prestige at the slight offset), with an LGH 5 XL mounted to the mast at my QTH, the numbers appear a bit more comfortable, though still in a range I would consider marginal.  The receive performance specifications for the LHG 5 XL are right around where I was estimating, and it looks like I'd be into the green with a small fade margin of ~12dB.  Of course, that rmonline isn't estimating a "forest loss" makes me wonder how accurate it might be in this case.  I trust it implicitly for UHF and below.  It's relatively reliable for 915MHz, but for 2.4GHz and up, I'm not sure.

-Steve

On Thu, Jun 29, 2023 at 7:09 AM Chuck Gelm <[email protected]> wrote:

On 6/28/23 12:48, kd8mkg wrote:

Hey Chuck,

Thanks for this!  Do you have a ballpark idea of the receive threshold performance for these radios?

Online I'm reading indications that ~80dBm is the absolute floor of something that's marginally reliable; but this source seems to indicate it is referring to consumer devices.  Assuming antennas with a gain of 12dBi at both ends, and 500mW Tx power, my link study suggests a total path loss of ~140dB, and receive at about -94dBm.  Rokland sells a 2.4GHz panel with a claimed 19dBi gain and a 17˚ beam width, which would hypothetically get me to around -86dBm.  If I paid for dedicated hardware at both ends, and had a 19dBi panel at prestige, I could get myself into the yellow at about ~79.86dBm.  It is possible, though, that these commercial radios are more sensitive than I'm assuming.

I have field experience with the 915MHz LoRa hardware, but I'm sort of guessing with this stuff.  And perhaps more importantly, as my brother says; in theory, practice matches theory; in practice, it does not.  Considering the low cost of entry, the best course of action might just be to put up an antenna and see what happens.

Cheers!

Steve

On Wed, Jun 28, 2023 at 5:38 AM Chuck Gelm <[email protected]> wrote:

On 6/28/23 04:39, Chuck Gelm wrote:

Here is Steve's profile toward Prestige Plaza:

Hi, Steve:

Your theory looks fine, but don't buy anything, yet.
1. We have equipment to loan.
2. Since 2018 we have been discouraging grid access via 2.4 GHz.
3. Rokland does not make devices compatible with AREDN firmware. See: http://downloads.arednmesh.org/firmware/html/SUPPORTED_DEVICES.md
Note that most of the compatible devices are packaged with a radio and its antenna in one enclosure.
There may be one radio used with 3 different antenna. Mikrotik RB SXTsq, LHG, LHG-XL.
I have a 'panel' (SXT 16dBi) and 2 'dish' (24.5, 27 dBi) radio/antenna devices to loan.
There already is a 60 degree beamwidth device at PP and it is aimed about 285 degrees. You are about 8 degrees. 

73, Chuck