I've decided to give Ubiquiti products a try. I've placed an order for my first product, the Nanostation M2 LOCO, primarily for the range that the product specs claim.
I've experimented with Open-Mesh routers. They are pretty good; I'll continue to use them. However, even Open-Mesh suggests that their products are best used indoors. I have a high-powered one on a pole on my roof. It's impressive how far the signal gets considering how small the unit is and that there are trees in the way.
Still, the little routers use dipole antennas, which I suppose I could replace with something more directional or higher gain. I'm happy with what they can do; but, I need more coverage.
Before changing the stock product, I want to see if I can access the signal from a further distance using the Nanostation.
In my mind, I'm thinking that having radios that mesh is helpful; but, I don't necessarily want to build the city network entirely on mesh due to the network overhead required to maintain it. The idea is to have affordable access points.
For more robust service, I'm also looking at the Ubiquiti sector antennas, M2 Rocket, and omni antenna. Combined with Nanostations, these products should yield good, solid connections at the distances I need. Well, in theory. I should get my hands on some and put them through the paces.
