David with the powerful Personal Secure RV Wi-Fi Setup – Click to enlarge
NOTICE: SEE NEW UPDATED 2018 TUTORIAL —> CLICK HERE
NOTE: Yes, even though this post was done a long time ago…The setup tutorial is still valid as of 9/4/2018. There is one change, no longer is there an AirGateway which has been discontinued. It now uses and AirCube ISP. We also kindly ask you please share this post with others on other sites as needed. (Firmware surely has been updated, but the settings are more or less the same.)
On with what you are here for…
What can we say, we all would like a much better connection to an RV Parks Wi-Fi. For at times, you just can’t reach based on where you are parked or you can not stay connected. It also would be nice to have our own internal protected Wi-Fi setup in our coach or RV for all our devices to connect to. (Noting can make you 100% secure, but having your own internal Wi-Fi setup surely makes you more secure than just being on a RV parks Wi-Fi network.)
Seeing I have been asked about a lower cost solution vs our other video of our personal setup, in the below video we show you how you can do this for under $100! You will not only have a much more powerful connection to a parks Wi-Fi over a longer distance, but you will always connect to your own secure Wi-Fi in your RV so you never need to connect to another SSID for each device. This also means you will be able to connect your wireless printer and print to it any time. (Just leave the setup plugged in.)
In the photo above, this is all you will end up with at the end. All you will need to do is plug it into an outlet. Then, seeing this is a much more powerful directional antenna/radio, just point the antenna towards the parks closest access point and connect to it.
The best placement for the antenna would be pointing out a window. You can use a longer network cable to put the antenna somewhere else if you do not have an outlet close by. You can even put the antenna outside. But I am getting ahead of myself. First things first….what you need to do this.
All the items listed below you can purchase from Amazon. The names of each product are also links to the product on Amazon. (Below the main products are OPTIONAL upgrades that will setup the same.)
….What you need….(Just click the product name to be taken to Amazon.)
Ubnt NanoStation Loco M2 – This is the directional antenna and powerful radio all built into one nice package. It is made by Ubiquiti which is a carrier grade company. As such, it is not as consumer friendly with wizards and the like, in other words, it is not a fancy looking user interface as it is geared towards someone who knows what they are doing. Do not let that scare you however, as once it is setup, which I walk you through, you will be good to go.
NOTE: There is also an M5 unit and some people have bought them thinking it is newer. This is NOT a new version! It is a 5 Ghz version of the radio which most parks don’t support. You can surely buy one also and have both the M2 and M5 and if a park offers 5Ghz, then use that as it is a less crowded frequency and you likely will do better on it. AGAIN…Only if the park supports 5Ghz. If you have no idea what I am referring to, then just be sure to buy the M2. :)
NOTE: You can also use this NanoStation with any router you may choose once it is setup. (Stop video when we get to the AirGateway setup.) You would come out of the POE power injector’s LAN port into the WAN port of a router of your choice and use the same steps below (or talked about at the end of the video) to connect to a RV Parks AP. Sorry, I will not be able to help with your own router setup, just too many on the market. The AirGateway below is what we will use for the wireless router as it makes for a nice little package.
Ubnt AirGateway – SEE NOTE BELOW!!!! This is also made by Ubiquiti and is a very little wireless Wi-Fi router like any wireless router you may have used. It is just nicely connects into the setup without needing a separate router. This is actually what all your devices will connect to to talk to each other and the Internet. It may be small, but can cover your motor coach or RV without an issue. Best part…it’s low cost and it uses the same power supply as the NanoStation as it just pops into place. This makes for a clean setup. You only set this up once like any Wi-Fi router.
UPDATE: It looks like Ubnt has now replaced the AirGateway with the AirCube ISP (Link: https://amzn.to/2wJlmJf ). The difference here is that it does not just connect directly onto the PoE injector. It connects like this…Ethernet out of the PoE Injector that came with the NanoStation into the AirCube, and then a ethernet cable out of the AirCube into the NanoStation. (Thus passing power on through as it has POE pass through on it.) It is clearly marked on the AirCube. So once you setup the NanoStation using the tutorial, STOP, and move on to finishing the setup using an APP…. U-Mobile app for Android and IOS (Which is easy!) Once setup, you still control the NanoStation the same way to connect to and RV Park’s Wi-Fi.
Two Network Cables – You will need two (2) of these in order to set this up, but will end up using just one when we are done. I recommend shielded cables and that is what I linked to. If you already have network cables, then you are all set. If not BE SURE to order TWO.
….Optional Upgrades….
Ubnt NanoStation M2 – A more powerful model of the Loco M2 listed above with double the antenna range for hard to reach access points in a park. (It is also double the height do to the large antenna.
NanoStation Window Mount – A handy window suction mount for your NanoStation. Great for windshields or other areas as the NanoStation is usually poll mounted outside. (But we are using it inside.)
Ubnt NanoStation M5 Loco – While most parks always run at 2.5Ghz, thus the need for the M2 unit, you may also consider adding an M5 Loco unit so you could use 5Ghz if the park has it. Or the full size NanoStation M5 (NOTE: This is NOT in place of, but in addition to the M2. You set it up the same way and then just use the one you want.) 5Ghz is a less crowed frequency not most parks currently do not offer it.
Ubiquiti NanoStation Loco M2
Ubiquiti AirGateway
Now as a reminder, even though you will have a much better chance connecting to the RV parks Wi-Fi service, that does not mean you will have better Internet. The speed depends on a number of things, from the amount of data bandwidth they have coming into the park, to how many people may be on the Wi-Fi network using it. Or the park could even be limiting speed per user among other things. But one thing is for sure, you will have a much better way of connecting to them as well as having a secure Wi-Fi setup inside your coach or RV.
As a side benefit, if you have a MiFi, JetPack, Hot-Spot, or something else you use to connect you to the Internet, you can also connect this setup to that just like you would an RV park. This is great for the times you need it, like if the park is just really bad or you are somewhere that does not have Internet. Then all your devices will just stay on your secure Wi-Fi without the need to change to another connection.
IMPORTANT NOTE: These Nanostations are very powerful, please DO NOT point it at your our personal HotSpot or even have it close. I would suggest laying it down flat when used with the HotSpot so not to over modulate the radios. Try to be between -50db and -70db when looking at the signal.
The video is a little long, 24 minutes , but that does not mean it is difficult. I just happen to go into more detail and explain things along the way. I could have made it 10 minutes but then some people would likely become confused.
*** NOTICE 1 *** In order to configure the NanoStation you MUST HAVE a network port in your computer and KNOW HOW TO change the network settings from using DHCP to using a STATIC IP and back again. I use my MacBook showing my screen, so if you have a Mac product, you should be able to follow along. If you use Windows, here is a Google search to help you if needed – CLICK HERE (You will only need to set the IP and Subnet.) NOTE: New MacBooks may not have a network card, and the MacBook Air surely does not. If you need a network adaptor a USB to Ethernet one works great. I use this one in my MacBook Air… Plugable USB to Eithernet.
*** NOTICE 2 *** You will also likely need one computer to do the configuration with and another to watch this video as we will be turning off Wi-Fi during the process.
If you mess up, don’t worry. You can always reset both units to factory defaults and try again. To do this, with the units powered up, use a toothpick or something to press down and hold the RESET button on each unit for 20 seconds and release. Wait 30 seconds before powering them off.
So, are you ready? Do you have your parts? Do you care to just watch the video to see what you are getting into? Well here you go. (You will likely want to watch this in HD and full screen mode to see my screen share as the entire video tutorial is done with my MacBook Pro as I do the demo from my desktop.)
Here is a recap on how to connect your private Wi-Fi network to a RV parks Wi-Fi or to your own Internet data connection… (Like when you go to another RV park or need to use your own Internet data.) Copy the text below and save it if needed.
Point the NanoStation towards an access point. Hint…Try to point it towards the main office where the Internet connection usually comes in. Plug in the system if not already plugged in and give it 30 seconds to boot up.
FOR AFTER ALL IS DONE…QUICK CONNECT CHEAT SHEET….
1) Connect to your Wi-Fi SSID.
2) Open web browser and go to: http://192.168.2.1
3) Put in the user name and your password. User name = ubnt Password = What you made it.
4) Click on the WIRELESS tab.
5) Click on SELECT
6) Find the Access Point you would like to connect to. (The park or your own data device.)If there are several with the same SSID name you want to connect to, then select the best signal. The first number in the Signal column you want to be closer to zero. -55 is better than -75.
7) At the bottom click LOCK TO AP.
8) If the Access Point requires a password *, enter it in the bottom area. (The park would have supplied one if needed. Or the one for your own data device.)
9) Bottom Right of the screen click CHANGE.
10) Top of the screen click APPLY.
In under 30 seconds, you should see the antenna lights light up and then you should have access to the Internet.
Dealing with Captive Portal or “Agree” Pages: Some parks require you to “agree” or login with a user name and password before you have access. So once you connect to the park with the NanoStation, while on your Wi-Fi network, the first time you open your web browser the “captive portal” page will come up asking you to agree or log in. Once you do, the portal will note the MAC address of the NanoStation and then allow access to anything on your local Wi-Fi network.
NOTE: If your browser defaults to a open a webpage that is HTTPS (vs HTTP) then the captive portal can not show up as it is not HTTPS active. So be sure you are trying to go to a site that is not HTTPS. (Ie…Facebook, Google, GMail are all examples of HTTPS sites that people have their browsers default to.) So try another site…any site…maybe ours http://Bott.net, and the captive portal page should come up for you. Also some campgrounds auto log you out after X hours or at the start of a new day. If this is the case you need to AGREE again. Just a heads up.
*NOTE on WEP Security: If the RV Park uses WEP as an encryption, then you will have try a few settings to connect to the park. WEP is hardly ever used anymore, but I just had a person need help connecting. You will more than likely need to change KEY TYPE from HEX to ASCII if they give you a actual word vs a bunch of characters. With each change you will have to click CHANGE at the bottom and then APPLY to see if it worked. If the lights on the back of the NanoStation light up, then you connected. If not, try again by changing the TYPE to be Shared Key.
REMINDER NOTICE: These Nanostations are very powerful, please DO NOT point it at your our personal HotSpot or even have it close. I would suggest laying it down flat when used with the HotSpot so not to over modulate the radios. Try to be between -50db and -70db when looking at the signal.
QUICK VIDEO ON UPDATING THE NANOSTATION FIRMWARE…
We kindly ask you share this as the topic comes up in other places so it will help others. Enjoy your own personal secure Wi-Fi connection.
I think thid just what I have been wanting. If you have the time I have a quedtion. On the road & atho me I usr a Freedompop Hot Spot. It is a MiFi 4082. Will you set up work on my laptop, Kindle Fire & Samsung note? Thanks for your time. Eddie
All your Wi-Fi devices should be able to connect to your own private Wi-Fi network when done with the setup. You then can connect the NanoStation M2 antenna to the RV Park or even your Hot Spot for Internet access.
I am going to pole mount the antenna on the back Moffet my nRV and about 6’ higher then the roof. If i use a longer cat 5 cable will it make a difference?
Nope…Ethernet you can run 300 feet. So I think you are good. :)
Hi David
Your better RV Wifi set up is for maximizing the parks or location your staying’s WIFI connection to your RV. So if the WIFI is not good, your service will also be no good correct? Do you have a mobile or cellular connection? What do you use the WAVE for?
If the park wi-Fi service is not not, then nothing you can do will help with that. This just gives you the best chance at getting service as you are better able to connect to the parks wi-fi system. Here is a blog post talking about RV Park Wi-Fi… https://outsideourbubble.com/better-understanding-rv-park-wi-fi/ The WAVE is just another way of doing what this thus system does. THey just have custom firmware for the Ubnt radios.
Ed,
Your FreedomPop Hotspot connects to the cellular network, and not a WiFi network.
Unless you’re having difficulty connecting your laptop, kindle and Note to the FreedomPop hotspot, this won’t improve anything.
Where this setup *will* help you is if you’re on the road and can’t get connected/stay connected to a WiFi hotspot because of a low power signal, whether that’s at a campground, hotel, or at Starbucks.
For your FreedomPop MiFi device, you’d probably be more interested in a 3G/4G Cellular Signal booster from Wilson Electronics.
Hope that helps!
-Jon
Thanks Ed. I think he meant can he connect all his devices to the router and then the Nanostation to his FreedomPop which is then connected to the cell network. I thought he was just asking as question on will his devices work. At least that is the way I took it. :)
But you are right, that unless the FreedomPop has good service to the cell data network, you get what you get. And if you have poor cell signal then you surely want a Wilson Sleek which I talk about here…
https://www.outsideourbubble.com/rv-internet-access-and-rv-dedicated-wifi
What is the name of the power source you use?
Sorry, No idea really what you are asking. But power comes with it and it is called a POE. (Power over ethernet)
David
Have you seen the wifimylife system or heard of it? It is suppose to be all in one system. through camping world its $1,000. But, once you factor in the wave, hotspot, antennas, routers, etc, i am wondering if this is a good idea
Sorry, never heard of it and would NEVER pay that amount for a Wi-Fi system. WOW…Reading their site I just cringe and that the fact they are stating what they are! Their is nothing that I read that MUCH less costly systems can do. And the fact that you are still using YOUR DATA PLAN is nothing more than putting a SIM card inside a Wi-Fi device and the Winegard V2 does that at a much less cost!!!! Oh my!
Is this type of setup better than using one’s personal hotspot on an iPhone5 for an internet connection?
Yes. This is because you always would then use your SSID to connect to and thus allowing you to keep things connected like a wireless printer. You also gain a high powered directional antenna to use to connect to a RV Parks Wi-Fi to share or you could just connect it to your hotspot on your phone. (Antenna connect to your phone when in HotSpot mode like it would any other AP.) Because of this, all devices are still connected to your own private secure network regardless of what you are connecting the antenna to. Hope that makes sense.
Great video, direct and succinct. Question: Can this be plugged into my Motorhome inverter which is not pure sine wave?
Hi Mike…Glad you liked it. I do not see any reason it can not be as it is just a step down AC/DC transformer. I am willing to be you already have transformers plugged in somewhere in your Motorhome. :) Before we got this coach, with the new inverters, we never had any issues with such things.
David: I so enjoyed your info and tutorial. I now feel confident I can complete the setup and have strong reception of the park signal and have a great network in the coach. Thanks so much for your time and expertise.
You are more than welcome John. Please feel free to share it with others you feel it may be of interest to. I felt good that most people should be able to do it, if they know how to change their network card setting on a Windows machine, as I had my wife do it with the video. Now nothing against my wife Brenda of course, but she would have been the first to admit she would not have even known where to start. As she watched and followed along, I took notes and then redid things as needed. So she was a great help in this also.
No offense taken. I agree…I fully admit that I am techie challenged.
UPDATE: Hi David: Since my comment above, we have made our first trip with the setup. I must say, it indeed works as advertised. I bought the upgrade items and it just pulls the signal in and the LAN in the coach is great for all the devices. The current CG we are in uses a 3rd party contractor for the Wi-Fi and each site only has 2 logins available. Needless to say, with this setup one login to change the AP and everything works great. Thanks again for taking the time to walk us thru the setup with your great video.
Do you find the Ubnt NanoStation Loco M2 sufficient for your needs in typical RV parks, or would you recommend the non-Loco version with more range? I guess I’m assuming that you us the first version that you recommend and find it sufficient – but let me know if that is not the case.
Hi Doug…That is a loaded question. :) It all comes down to where and what kind of Wi-Fi service a RV park may have. IE…Do they have just a LinkSys router in their office and if you can reach it you can use it? Or do they have multi access points around the park? If you want to have the 100% best chance between the two, then go for the larger model of course.
But in all likely hood, you will be ok with the Loco. The reason is that is is already so much more powerful than your computer, phone, or tablets Wi_fi radio/antenna. Usually the issue is more that you can not talk back to them as your signal is not strong enough to each. (The signal meter you have on your device only shows how strong the signal you are receiving form them is. And they could be using a big powerful antenna themselves.) So even with the Loco (smaller) unit, you will be able to point the antenna towards their AP thus focusing the power output toward them.
Larger Unit = larger antenna db gain and output power.
Hope this helps. Told you it was a loaded question. LOL But at least this may shed some more light on how and why you may have a poor Wi-Fi connection now.
Here is more info on using RV Park Wi-Fi that we did that kid of explains it more… https://www.outsideourbubble.com/rv-internet-access-and-rv-dedicated-wifi Note, this is showing the more costly setup we did in our coach.
Thanks David – this is a very useful option to learn of.
Hi, I just wanted to let you know that I finally got around to setting this up today. Perfect! Thanks so much for the info!
So is the Rogue Wave the better way still today?
The Rogue Wave is a way to go if you don’t think you can do the setup. It offers custom firmware that is easy to use. However, if this does not scare you, then this is much more powerful of a setup.
Boy am I impressed!
Thanks Ray. I have to do something in my free time. :) But the real question is…where you impressed because you were able to do it? LOL
We did a similar setup accept we used the Ubiquiti Bullet http://www.ubnt.com/airmax/bulletm/ with a 15db antenna that we mounted to the crank up TV antenna we can pickup wifi from a mile away with a clear line of site. it is nice because we just crank it up and down with the antenna.
Yup, lots of ways you can do it with different products and the Bullet is by the same company so the same setup instructions apply. The bullet is more expensive than just using the more powerful full size Nanostation M2 (More powerful as it is directional and thus offers even longer range as the power is focused.) What you did works great and you used your crank up antenna. (Newer RV’s usually do not use them.) We also have a BulletHP M2 on the top of our coach.
The idea here for this tutorial was something that someone could just put together and just point. It is quick and easy without the need to run cables. But surely, if it was mounted outside you would always have better connection. This is a clean easy solution to getting a better connection to a parks Wi-Fi and having your own Wi-Fi network.
David, do you think this system is a better option than a Rogue Wave running through a wireless router? Did you opt for this rather than the roof top antenna on your new coach? (I’m looking at a Rogue Wave still in the box! Wouldn’t break my heart not to mount another device on the roof!) Thanks for your great web site and all the great info you share!
John Johnson
The Rogue is for people who just want a easy solution as it has custom firmware on a Ubnt BulletHP M2. It makes it easy to just go to the IP, 192.168.89.1, and then select a AP to connect to. That’s it. Simple. You can also store favorites. Just add your own router if you want a Wi-Fi network in your coach vs just connecting the Rogue to your computer.
The others like the NanoStation needs to first be configured and then you have those steps I listed to select an AP to connect to. (I also added a Wi-Fi router into the mix in this build for a complete solution.)
So it kind is a hard question to answer. I have both. I had the Rogue first and still use it today to make it easy. But I use the NanoStation M2 when I need the longer range connection that a directional antenna provides. (Though the Rogue handles 98% of the needs.) And seeing it is mounted on my roof, I do not need to set it up, it just runs.
The reason items like the Rogue and Ranger exist, and cost more, is that it caters to people whom don’t want to deal with setup or do not know how to. IE…Brenda could get to the Rogues page to check on or setup a connection. It is outstanding to use for someone who just needs a simple interface.
I know that really may not directly answer the question…but it is kind of hard to. Once the setup is done on the NanoStation, and you connect to an AP a few times, it really becomes a non issue to do when you move or need to connect it to your personal data, like a HotSpot.
In regards to mounting it to the roof, please remember the NanoStation is a directional antenna. So it must be able to be pointed.
Now I am totally confused. I use a Freefpop Mifi device. I turn it on and then turn on either my Samdung Note, Kindle Fire or my Notebook STtelite laptop. Where I livee I have poor to fair signal. I live in Port Charlotte Fl. When in theotorhome the signal can be spotty at best. I am looking to improve overall reception. I don’t see anyplace on the Frrrdompop device to connect an antenna or anything to. It does have usb port. Advice from Frredompop and support sucks. But. Where I love it kind of works better than anything else. No landline to jhook ip a DSL
. Even verix on service is marginal plus substandially higher cost. Just need a simple fix. I am not a techie perdon
Just want to ug & play. Thanks. Ed
Ed, as was mentioned in reply to your other post, if you are having service connection issues with your HotStop device, FreedomPop, then you will actually need a Cell booster like the WeBoost Drive 4G-X RV. Your FreedomPop device will be able get increased range vs the small antenna it has in it. Just place it next to the indoor antenna.
More info from on the the WeBoost Drive 4G-X RV….
http://amzn.to/2znY8Hg
My blog would only help you connect to further away Wi-Fi access points in an RV Park and create your own Wi-Fi network inside your motorhome. (You can also connect it Wireless to you FreedomPop so all your devices stay connected to your private network.) But based on your comments, you really need the Wilson Sleek to help keep you connected to the cell tower.
Hope this makes sense.
Hi David: Well, Santa left a M2 and an Air Gateway LR in the stocking and following your great instructions it was fairly easy (windows Vista had a couple of challenges) to set up and configure the radio/antenna and the air gateway. I have wanted this capability in the coach and would never have tried it without your expert guidance. THANKS!.
P.S. Sara and I have really enjoyed going back and viewing all of your blog videos and other info in preparation for our journey “out west” this coming Spring.
Thanks for what your bring to the TRVN.
John
Thank you John for talking the time to write. I am glad you had success and wish you happy surfing. Now you will think of us each time you connect. LOL
According to Amazon, the Ubiquiti NanoStation loco M2 2.4GHz Indoor/Outdoor airMax 8dBi CPE is longer available from the seller. Do you have an alternate seller to recommend??
Using the link above in the post at this time, I see it shows 5 left…
http://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-NanoStation-2-4GHz-Indoor-Outdoor/dp/B004EGI3CI/?tag=af037-20&linkCode=w10&linkId=
Not sure what you were using to find the product.
Hi David,
I know the link shows a qty but when you check out amazon says the supplier has no stock. I ordered from a different supplier in Amazon.
Thanks
Ah, thank you. I just updated the link to another Amazon vendor. Weird that Amazons count is off.
Hi David. Great video. My Panasonic TV is Internet ready. Will I be able to use your setup to run it at the same time as using an IPad?
How would it hook up to the TV?
Tom
Milton FL
Hi…
All your wireless devices will be able to connect at the same time to the AirGateway SSID you setup when you configured it. IE…”Toms Net”.
For the TV, I would guess you would go into the menu and find networking or something and then scan for Wi-Fi networks. It should find yours, you select it and enter in the password to connect.
REMEMBER! Just because you have a good connection to a park, that does not mean you may have good Internet speeds. That all comes down to the parks system and amount of data they have coming in. Also they may control your speeds or data use or even block streaming services. It can also depend on the number of users sharing the data.
I am mentioning this seeing the TV would be used for streaming more than likely, just saying that why you can connect it, it may or may not be able to stream off the Internet. The RV Park we are at now, we can without issue.
Hope this helps.
Thus my question – how do you get speed enough to stream movies or TV? Thanks, Kim Pierce
As mentioned, that is 100% dependent on the RV Park and a number of factors. The RV Park may not have enough bandwidth coming into the park to support the number of people, as such, things will be slow. They may choose to limit the amount of bandwidth they allow you to have at one time or over an amount of time. They may have older Wi-Fi equipment that can not handle todays traffic. Some even block streaming all together as it should be only used for surfing or emails as that required little bandwidth compared to streaming. Just like your phone…sometimes you have great speeds, and other times it may be poor. It all depends on where you are and/or the number of people on the same cell tower at the time.
The intent of this setup is to give you the best chance at connecting, and staying connected, to an RV park or other Wi-Fi access point. A lot of parks for example offer Wi-Fi but you better be in a good spot to be able to get it with your computer or tablet. This would allow you to have a much better chance seeing you are using a high powered antenna/radio vs the one in your computer or tablet.
So for watching TV and/or movies, would it be better to have satellite, like DISH or Directv? Thanks, KP
Correct. Dish Network is our choice. See this post and video…
https://www.outsideourbubble.com/rv-satellite-tv-making-a-choice
Thank you for you help!! KP
David, ***off topic a bit sorry***we have dish and recently added a hard drive to the reciever for dvr capability. With that installed we are now being taxed from each state if we change the local channels to that state, or at least a few of them from the south east have so far. I’m just wondering if others had seen this and how many states are charging.
Hi…
I am sorry, but this is the first I have heard of it. Adding a hard drive surely should not make you be taxed differently. I sent a note to someone at Dish to see if he knows anything.
Hi David,
Just got the devices and cables and ran through the setup and your video. SUCCESS!! I was having issues with one of the repeaters in the park, it could be down for hours. Actually it was down when I was doing the setup and had to use my smartphone to watch the video.
The access point is still not working for me but by pointing to the main office i have internet access.
Thanks for all the info.
Congrats! And now you can see the power of having a high powered directional antenna. :) Good job in thinking about repointing it. Kudos!
Hi Dave,
Been browsing thru the various tabs and was checking the firmware update for the NanoStation. Current is XM.v5.5.8. When I check for updates XM.v5.5.10 is available.
Is it advisable to update?
You can if you feel like you can do it. The last tab is the one you would use. Note…any M series Ubnt product uses the same firmware file. So 5.5.10 can be used in the M2 as well as the M5 or any other M series device. It uses the AirMax Platform.
http://www.ubnt.com/download/
It is an AirMax Platform.
I did not post or talk about Firmware Updates as I am guessing most of the people who needs to use the instructions more than likely would not feel comfortable about doing it. Everything from 5.6.X up will be just fine for this use IMHO.
Here are the release notes for the update
====================================================================
Version 5.5.10-Service release (October 01, 2014)
————————————————-
Regulatory updates:
– New: Open 5150-5250MHz frequency range for United States and Puerto Rico (U.S. territory) countries. This change applies for product models listed bellow:
* Rocket M5/Rocket M5 Titanium
* NanoStation M5
* NanoStation M5 Loco
* NanoBridge M5
– New: Add 40MHz channel bandwidth for New Zealand
Does not specifically mention the NanoStation Loco M2 although the file notes say it’s for this model.
That is the nice thing about the Ubnt products. All the units in the M line use the same firmware yet based on what it is, like the M5 referenced, it does different things. Feel free to install the 5.5.10 firmware if you like. You do that on the last tab but it will not really be needed for how you will use it.
and LOL 1 more question.
I go back and forth between the US and Canada. I noticed the setup for country when logging in to both devices. Do I need to change the country to Canada when I go back? Are the freq’s country specific?
Thanks
You do not need to switch. Based on what country you are in the setting allows some freq to be used and also may limit power output based on what country you selected as it is based on there laws. You would want to us US. (I think Canada is mostly the same anyway.) Just set it and forget it.
ok Thanks
Great set up. One question though. What happens if we decide not to run the generator or inverter while going from location to location, do the units remember their info, and all we need to do once arriving at a new campground, do a search for signal etc..?
Hi…
Just like any other router or such device, when you save the settings they are saved within the RAM of the device. So yup, just plug it in, connect and search for the AP you want to connect to.
Side note…Not sure why your inverter is not on all the time even when plugged in. For if your coach looses power, it will just cut over to the inverter in a instant without anything going down. (then again…Not sure what you have…so it may not apply.) In our case, and in the case of out 2008 coach, the inverter was never turned off unless in storage.)
I would say yes, any router in the past I’ve had remembers the settings. So all you have to do is connect to the new AP once you arrive.
If in doubt pull the power now and see if the setup stays.
I would like to to if the system would work in Italy, and if pluging is already available for 220 V
I am almost positive Ubnt as NanoStaions that at 220 as they are used all over the world. However, you will need to find the product dealer. Does Amazon service Italy?
Just completed the setup video. We are using the Loco and LR. It was very easy and works like a champ. Thanks for sharing this with us.
More than welcome. Hope it comes in handy.
I just learned that you have to be careful about the relative location of the directional loco radio and your devices. MY ipad was acting very strange when connected. I realized that I was in front of the directional loco and it was so powerful that it was blocking the connection between the ipad and the LR. Once I moved, I had great connectivity and access. Thanks again for your idea and video.
I had mentioned that a few times that it was powerful and not to point it towards a My-Fi, HotSpot, JetPack, etc. :) Not sure what a LR is however. But glad you solved it.
Well, I got it hooked up and running, but for some odd reason the radio won’t connect to my main wifi signal, but it DOES connect to my guest signal. I have tried it several different ways with WPA and WPA2 along with my access code, but to no avail. I found an unsecured signal and could connect there too. I am dumbfounded here…Any advice here? Either way, glad I found this..Thanks
Hi…Had one person find out that his home router was setup incorrectly and could not connect to it, but yet could other things. He decided to reset the home router to factory and after that, it worked. Not saying you should do this, but it surely seems it is in your routers main side settings as you can connect to other AP or even the same router on the guest side.
By chance, you did not name the SSID in the AirGateway the same as the home router did you?
David,
Thanks for this article!
I bought the Ubiquiti non-Loco, double height NanoStation M2. When it arrived today, it took me about 15 minutes to set up.
Results:
My Samsung Galaxy S5: 18 visible APs (Access Points), none providing a usable connection.
My ASUS Laptop: 19 visible APs, none providing a usable connection.
NanoStation M2 laying on it’s back (worst possible position for a directional antenna): **54** visible APs, 35 of which are broadcasting an SSID and could be connected to. Several open ‘xfinitywifi’ APs in the neighborhood provide excellent connections with my Comcast credentials.
This is going to be SO useful on the road. Great timing, too. I’m leaving Denver and hitting the road fulltime this week.
Glad it all worked out so nice. Told you it was a powerful antenna. Now remember, if you need to connect it to your local HotSpot, JetPark, etc, please DO NOT point it at it.
David, you did an AWESOME job with this tutorial! Directions were perfect (as long as my fingers typed the #s and periods correctly). I was up and running in no time and look forward to getting on the road and trying it out. Many thanks for doing this – Mike
Currently I have the radio velcroed to my window but I can see at some point I will need it outside to get to a signal. I assume the radio is weather proof to some degree, so how are people getting the ethernet cable from inside to outside?
Hi…Kind of hard to point it when it is Velcroed to the windshield is it not? Might want to get the window mount for it listed above. Any case…Yes, the NanoStation is meant for outdoor use. So no issue.
Longer shielded network cable to get it out side and up in the air. Usually run under the slide out seal or between it depending on your slide out.
I have used a 18 foot expandable painters pole and 2 hand squeeze clamps to attach it to the end of the slide out of the coach. Between the inside wall and the outer lip.
Take care.
My coach’s previous owner had a CB, and ran the wires out through the seal on the slide.
I can’t attach a picture here, but I’ll post one at YarrVee.com for you here in a minute.
-Jon
Hi Dave,
Hmm I said window not windshield. I have velco on 2 windows right now so I can move it where the signal is the best. I would rather keep it inside if the signal is good.
As you and Jonathon posted, looks like the slide is the way to go. I have a class C so I might use the doors as well.
Thanks to you both.
Opps, sorry! One thing the window mount gives you id a way to turn the antenna towards the area so you are sure to achieve the best signal you can. Oh, sorry on not thinking you may not have slides. Just whatever you do, be sure not to pinch the cable of corse. :)
Weird problem: I can set up the Nanostation without problem. Then, I configure the airGateway. But afterwards when I select my home wireless network everything quits working. I can no longer access web pages or the airGateway. My home router is an Apple Airport Express, which is where I believe the problem is coming from. To test this I take the Nanostation and airGateway elsewhere and everything works fine. Bringing the set up back home and problem persists. I think there is some setting on the Apple Airport Express causing the issue. I have also had a problem using a VPN from home. If I bypass the Airport Express and connect directly to my internet provider the VPN works – but not through the Airport Express. Any ideas on why the airGateway will not work through the Airport Express?
I have heard of setup settings in Airport Expresses might not always play well with others. I have not tested such a setup as I would not need to in a home.
One question though just to be sure…You did not name your SSID of the AirGateway the same as your home SSID on the Airport Express right? If so, that could be it as you may be actually connecting to the AirGateway thinking you are connecting to the Airport. I ask for I had someone do that not thinking they were connecting the Nano to the AirGateway vs their home network for it was named the same.
Seeing it works elsewhere….GREAT! As it was made for RV use. :)
Thanks Dave! It works like a charm. Just set things up on my Win 8.1 laptop after I googled how to change settings on the network adapter.
You are more than welcome and glad it worked out for you. Please feel free to share the blog page with others it may help.
Now you have me wondering if I can use the nanostation to increase the range on my DJI Phantom Vision. Unlike my other multirotors, it uses 2.4 for the video downlink instead of 5.8.
And you would want to do that why? That quadcoptor is meant to be flown within line of sight and not far from the operator. It is really more of a hobby toy for the masses. (With great flight time.) The 5.8 Ghz radio, while great with line of site, is very poor once something gets in the way. (As you know with your 5.8 video link and the static.) As such, you have more of a chance at loosing radio control. With that said, they use a system where the patch antenna on the radio talks to the Phantom directly. The SSID you get on your phone is from the patch antenna that is acting as a relay between two networks.
Oh don’t get me wrong. My comment was sort of tongue in cheek. I am all about safety and have no need to fly beyond line of sight. I am always on the lookout for any improvement that can keep the signals (video and flight control) locked to each other better. I’ve been flying RC for most of my 65 years. I’ve competed with both fixed wing and helicopters. I started building multirotors with cameras 5-6 years ago when we used circuits from a Wii controller and an arduino board for a flight controller. I bought a Phantom for the longer flight time. I have been a Leader Member in the AMA for 30+ years and understand fully, the debate on UAVs in the NAS. Too many fools buying quadcopters off the shelf with no understanding of their operation, their danger to aircraft and their danger to people and property. Regulation will become a necessity. I hope it does not ruin things for us conscientious folk.
I forgot we may have already chatted via email. Well, it was you or someone else. ;) At least you can see I try to play safe. (Other than doing a 1.86 mile flight out with my X650 hitting 63 MPH. But then again, we were in the open desert of Quartzsite. Brenda watched with binoculars.) I came back as I was nervous of not having enough battery to get back.
1.86 miles! Amazing! And you are correct that you chose your site with safety in mind. We just returned from Camp Red Bay. I saw a note somewhere that you might have been on the way there and was hoping to meet you. Maybe next time. :)
Yup…will be there around the 8th. Red Bay…have to love it…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjA7g_0T9SM
Lunch at tha Pig! Great video. I took some stills. It was cold!
Hi David. Good video tut. Thanks. I’ve been using a similar setup for a couple of years with excellent results. Its a UBNT PicoStation mounted on the MH ladder. I set it in station mode and cable it to an old router inside the coach. Works great but I’ve run into a few parks this year that have captive portals that I cannot get past. The method presented in the video is easier than mine. I would follow it if starting from scratch.
From Wikapedia…A captive portal is a special web page that is shown before using the Internet normally. The portal is often used to present a login page. This is done by intercepting most packets, regardless of address or port, until the user opens a browser and tries to access the web. At that time the browser is redirected to a web page which may require authentication and/or payment, or simply display an acceptable use policy and require the user to agree. Captive portals are used at many Wi-Fi hotspots, and can be used to control wired access (e.g. apartment houses, hotel rooms, business centers, “open” Ethernet jacks) as well.
Hi…Not sure how a captive portal would make for an issue. A captive portal is used to redirect you to a login page when you open your browser and try to go to a website for the first time. Then you login with what they gave you and it should record the MAC address of the PicoStation (Or NanoStation) and you should be off and running.
Both of the parks had simple redirects where you had to agree to terms. In both cases I agreed and the connection hung. I was able to connect my laptop directly to those same access points with no problem however. We’re in a park now that has TengoInternet. No problem connecting the Pico here. I wonder if those parks were filtering UBNT hardware using MAC address?
Could be not not likely the both would be doing it. I would have hunted for something else. After all Ubnt gear us used for other things. IE, someone could be using it directly plugged into their one computer just to increase range.
Tango…AAUGH!!!!
It looks like you would be triple-NATed with this setup – the RV park wifi is probably NAT, the Nanostation is configured in router mode with NAT enabled, and the Airgateway is in SOHO router mode which also NATs. Does this setup work if the Airgateway is configured in bridge mode? Or maybe leave the Nanostation in it’s default bridge mode and the Airgateway in it’s default router/NAT mode.
Anyway, nice tutorial – I’m going to order these and play around with some alternative setups.
I do not see an issue being triple NAT’ed. You know how many other times the ip may change going through a providers network?. IE…Verizon gives you a private IP on 4G and then, say the JetPack, gives you another IP. Inside Verizon it may change, you just do not know. Sure you can mess with it and change things, but I do not see any reason to. I went with the recommended configuration per Ubnt. The NanoStation comes in Bridged mode as they are usually used to make a backhaul to another NanoStation.
hi david, thanks for the tutorial. will this work with a nanostation loco m5?
Hi… A NanoStation Loco M5 is a 5Ghz radio. It will work, but only with other 5Ghz radios. (Most Wi-Fi is 2.4Ghz…thus the M2) “M5” does not mean new model or higher power or anything, it is the frequency. If you want more power, buy the NanoStation M2. (The Loco is 1/2 the size and power but surely fits most needs.)
Great video David. Quick question and Brenda is a tech wizard compared to me. Once it is set up and I change locations, will I always need a laptop to reconnect at the new place or can an IPad be used to do that?
Great write up. Ordered parts from your links and followed your video. Only problem was my
dyslexic typing . Yes mixing up the 1 s and 2s .With the Nano Loco just laying flat on the couch, I all ready see 6 more ssid’s All working well and I expect there will be
many happy connections on the road ..
Thanks again David
Frank from central NY
Glad it all worked out for you. Happy travels and surfing.
Hi David,
Thanks so much for the tutorial! I recently had a WiFi Ranger system that never quite worked right – eventually failing completely. Following your presentation, I purchased an Air Gateway LR, and a Nano Station M2 to replace the WiFi Ranger. Using my Windows based system, changing the DHCP to static IP was easily done using on line guidance you provided.
Although I had a couple of head banging moments (nothing to do with heavy metal rock), it all came together as advertised, and it all works like a champ. I have every device locked on the system, and data flows freely here at home. Our coach is snow bound for a few more months. However, I’m planning on using a non-permanent installation of a collapsible painters pole to place the Nano Station M2 outside at an elevated height, as well as making it easy to rotate for increased signal strength.
My thanks for a job well done in telling the RV community how to achieve such great, inexpensive results!
All the best!
Glad to read it worked out well for you. Sorry about the headache you must has had from the head banging. :)
David,
Love the writeup but I was wondering a couple things. If I am not mistaken you installed the RougeWave on the outside of your 45LP and used that as your way to gain access to local wifi networks. On this writeup, you introduce the Nano Loco as a cheaper alternative. I just placed my order for a 45LP like yours and was wondering your opinion on the two pieces of equipment. If you were doing it again would you go with the Nano Loco or stick with the RougeWave.
I have researched and it appears that the RougeWave is simply a rebranded Ubiquiti BulletM2 but with a different firmware. So from a cost stand point the BulletM2 is comparable to the Nano Loco.
Finally, I have a ton of questions on your “media/PC” cabinet in your closet. I still actively manage my software company, but plan to be on the road at least 1/2 year. I have needs to manage backups of my laptop and ways to store my critical media. So any insight would be great.
PS.. On a final note, I am an avid UAV pilot as well. My big rig is a DJI S800 with full Gimbal, and my new little buddy is my IRIS+.
Hi…Yes, still have the Rogue but currently do not use it as I have been playing with the full AirOS. You are current to say that it is a BulletM2-HP with just custom firmware, for that is what it is. It is made to be simple. Very simple. And it is. As such, you pay for that. ;)
I did the NanoStation Loco M2 in the demo as most people would not want to run wires to there roof or to a ladder or something. So the NanoStation, being directional, is a easy choice as it small and can be used inside or out and gives you the most power being directional. So you can just stick it to the windshield with the suction mount and everything is in a nice little package. Plug it in and point.
I use both. The omni BulletM2 on the roof most of the time. But when I really need some range based on where I may be parked, as long as I will be somewhere for a week, then I put up the NanoStation.
As far as the media area. The back area of your coach will is different than ours. As such, it is kind of hard to help. But if you want gear in the back closet area, I would have them run a Cat6 cable from the AV area in the bedroom, to the back somewhere. At least then you have a cable run then to connect items in the AV area to. I have my wireless router in the rear closet area also and everything plugs into that. As far as storage, look into a Qnap server which is very easy to use and setup and is a great, powerful, OS that you can do all kinds of things with. Amazon has them at good pricing… http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Qnap (I have a custom built 20TB server.)
Ok, yes, UAV’s. :) I looked at one of those one time and it was then to new to big with to many issues for me to feel good about. Some people have had no issues. Others…lots. I really like the new Inspire…But Brenda says we do not make $ doing the videos so it was shot down. :(
David,
Thanks for the quick reply. I will continue to research options for the Wifi Antenna. I am thrilled with the NETGEAR AirCard Smart Cradle I recently acquired to work with my hotspot. It provides 5 ethernet connections and a Wan connection. In addition it can provide up to 20 (not sure why the limit) IP addresses which should serve all my devices.
I am not familiar with the Qnap server, so I will do some research on your suggestion. I was thinking about deploying an UnRaid Server using just SSD drives as I am worried about the constant “bumping” while traveling.
Good idea on running the CAT6 cable to the closet, and I am guessing I will try to install the network equipment in the rear, but I will not know till I actually get in and play around.
Finally, yea the Inspire 1 looks nice, compact and great video…..I did see somewhere that the inspire 2 is going to be released soon, so maybe a price drop is going to make the 1 more attractive.
Did not know what level you may have been with the server that is why I mentiomned QNapp as it is quick, easy, and powerful. But with that said…I do run a UnRaid server. :)
I did not do SSD’s based on the cost for the storage I wanted. I just power down the server before we leave so the heads lock into place.
The cat 6 to the rear was just to be able to hook AV gear in the bed room to the network. I did not do any AV in the rear as I am only use one Kodi Media Center and a Dish Hopper.
Thats encouraging. Its hard to pass up the massive amount of storage for cheap using platter disc. I may still go that route. I assume you must be using Sickbeard and SABNZB for media purposes? I actually have started using the Amazon TV Fire Stick with great success running Kodi.
I am a Direct TV subscriber in my permanent home, so adding a couple receivers is the best value for me and the wife. Just not thrilled with having to buy the Traveler in addition to having the inmotion receiver. My next challenge is to get many of my automation functionality of my home into the Bus. This includes all of my video cameras and monitoring equipment. We have two dogs and would like to remotely monitor the Bus when we are away.
Take care and safe travels.
J
David,
Thanks for the great article! I’ve got the nanoStation and airGateway up and running. Easy setup thanks to your tutorial.
I do have some questions regarding the firewall in the nanoStation. First, I see there is a firewall tab under the network tab. By default, it appears that the firewall is not “on”. Is this correct? Second, does the nanoStation have a set of default factory rules or do I have to “program” all firewall rules I want to employ?
Thanks again for the article!
Glad it worked out for you. The setting you are referring to offers finer control over the firewall. However in this case the firewall is running in the AirGateway as the NanoStation is the connection and should not be in fill firewall mode. So if you want to mess with anything, it would be in the AirGateway but it really does not need to be touched.
David,
Thanks for the info.
One point of clarification, in the nanoStation or the airGateway, if the enable checkbox under the firewall tab is not checked (the factory default), do I still have the factory firewall rules enabled?
Thanks!
You are protected as you are behind a NAT. The only thing that the firewall option does is allows for you to put in dedicated IPs and ports to block or accept. If you check the box, you will see the menu expand and you can see this. If you are looking for more control, then do not use the AirGateway but instead plug the NanoStation into the WAN port of a router of your choice.
Do you have a flex mount on rooftop for Rouge Wave?
Does antenna stay “up” all the time?
Is rouge inside or out?
Feedthru cable only with external mount, or use an N-bulkhead feedthru as the mount?
Use short cable as the flex mount? Add spring?
Is there a more powerful 3 rd party omni-directional antenna for the Rouge?
Will Rouge handle a more powerful antenna?
Hi…I made a mount out of flat aluminum stock and bent it to make a flex mount. It is always “up” but is at a 70 degree angle. It is on the roof. Mine cable as ran when the cables for the Traveler sat dish was run. You can just pop it through where you can as it is a very small hole and then use Dicor to seal it. The Rogue is a Ubnt BulletM2, so any antenna that works with that will work.
See you posted this on the Under $100 post, I am not sure why you are asking about the Rogue which was a different blog post.
question i have a netgear router and a voip phone service basic talk tho waamart that needs Ethernet too connect too can i hook my router too this so i have the eithernet ports or is there one on the poe for me too setup my phone
Hi… You can either come out of the NanoStation POE LAN port right into the WAN port of the router and NOT use the AirGateway as I am assume your Netgear router is also Wi-Fi. And yes, if you wanted to, you could plug something into the LAN port of the AirGateway.
SiDE NOTE: I am not sure if you have used the BasicTalk while in an RV park or only at home…But there is a chance you may not be happy with the results at some parks.
thanks i have order this system and going too try it out and will post how it turns out also if i wanted too add a amplafire too this say a 8 watt is this possible
No. The radio has a built in amp matched to the antenna which is directly connected to it. By law, that would be very, very, very much over the little which is 800mw. Not to mention, it would not help any for it takes to to have a conversation and the computer or tablet more than like would not be able to talk back to it as it is much lower powered.
see i live in a apt all brick with 3 floors and hot spot on first floor and iam on 3rd with my netgear wifi adapter i only get 2 bars and want too try too max this out the hot spot is 150 meg comcast internet hope this will work for me any ideas will help thanks
You will NOT get 150 Mbps in the air. It is my bet that they they do not even have it set up correctly as a 150Mbps cable modem requires a Gigabit connection to an AP, so unless the AP is an AC radio version, it can not even pass 100Mbps from the modem. Even so, you still would not be able to get that baed on all the things in your way.
You best bet to try is to use the full size NanoStation M2 (Not the Loco). Remember, this is a directional antenna….so if you are two floors up, you will need to actually point the antenna down towards where the AP is locations.
Good luck!
thank you very much if this doing work i will send it back and get the bigger one
Great video.nim thinking of ordering the more powerful one for s few more bucks but I wonder if your instruction on set up would be the same
Yes, 100% the same. Same holds true for any of the AirOS powered radios.
Great video buddy. Ubiquiti makes great products. We have about 5 RV parks that use these radios and a few other locations where we use these. We use the loos but have found the beams to be nicer however for a coach setup the locos or nano stations would be better for your application. Just a few advance things to add when looking at the main screen with the color bars look at the spot that says horizontal and vertical the closer you make the gap between the numbers means your alignment is good our general is a 4 point difference or less. You will notice the quality % go up. On the next screen wireless tab you will see power output you don’t want to blast it it you are sitting on top of of a raduoturn it down every time you change and apply the radio will need to reboot. If you bounce back to the main screen the 2 bars arendpply the bottom right will increase or decrease if you can change the power so they balance at 95% and above your good we always low ball the power and go up. It should also help prolong the life of your radio and clean up the signal. Think of a fm radio with an amplifier if you have an static station and boost it all you may do is increase the noise. Sorry some of this may be to advance but may help if you are doing a long stay. These radios may take time to get used to but you won’t find find a better radio and Noone can beat the price. If you get get and lemon they are very good with returns.
Hello…I have installed a number of RV parks and including redoing a few done wrong. I am very versed in the use of Ubnt products. The writing of this is to be helpful for RV’ers who usually are not all that advanced with setting such things up as these radios are not for a normal person. In other words, you very easily can confuse someone with such details thus making for more issues. In regards to power, seeing a person can not see the other radio side, they would have no idea if they are over powering that radio as you can only see YOUR side of the receive unlike when you are setting up RV parks. This video goes along with the blog post that of course that give some other details as well as other videos I have done on using Wi-Fi in RV parks. All in all, thanks for making the post just in case I might not been aware. :)
Did you install on the front windshield from inside? or it has to be on the outside?
Does not need to be outside. You can use it from where ever you get a useable signal. No issue going though glass.
Just to let you know, I ended up getting the the longer range (Ubnt NanoStation M2 and air gateway LR) setup for both units, and your set up worked just perfect. Now I am thinking, maybe I should have gotten a rooftop permanent Omni antenna instead …LOL I know, I get crazy with this stuff, and I am not even a full timer :) Great instruction set though
Great to read it all worked out well for you. The directional antenna will give you much more reach than an omni on the roof. I use the omni for convenience and the NanoStation for range or other needs.
Thanks so much for posting information on how to do this and the great video! I’m typing this message while using the NanoStation. I had a few trials and tribulations getting it set up, but I’ve got it worked out now. I’m at the KOA in Cheyenne, WY and discovered here that I couldn’t put the campground’s wifi password in the appropriate box on the setup screen as it doesn’t contain enough characters. But, when I log in, it just brings up the screen to enter the password.
So…THANKS so much for providinging so much help!
Hi…Glad it is working, but not sure what you mean that it does not contain enough characters. I am guessing that the parks SSID you are connecting to does not need a password, but when you go to use the park, in your browser it will ask you for the password. This is called a CAPTIVE PORTAL setup. You can get on the Wi-Fi network with out the need of a password, but the password given is to allow you to use the Internet. Totally different and why the NanoStation said it did not like it. MAKE SURE you know the difference between the Wi-Fi password and a Portal password. One is needed to actually be able to connect the the parks AP’s SSID and the other is to allow you through to the internet.
When getting on a OPEN network, the NanoStaion WILL NOT ask you a password at the bottom but say NONE.
But glad you are online! :)
Thanks for the explaination of what I have encountered.
I picked up the nanostaion M2 and airgateway. I watched the video now 5 times and have been able to connect to multiple APs in the neighborhood. Only issue I have is that I’m not getting internet access.even with my own home router. Signal strength seems ok. I briefly had internet access both with the lan connection and connected wirelessly but the speed was so slow that pages timed out. I’m using a 50 foot shielded cable and wondering if the cable length may be the issue.
Hi…Cable length would not be an issue. Seeing you said even with your home router, maybe a NanoStation issue. Unsure. Just be sure you do not have the NanoStation right next to the your router or it would be overpowered in signal. You saying first you did not have access, and then you said you did have access, just either can mean user error or hardware issue. Try not using the AirGateway, disconnect it, and plug the NanoStation into the POE port and then go directly to your computer via the LAN port. (Have your Wi-Fi off.) This will tell you if you have an AirGateway issue maybe. OH!!! Also BE SURE on your NanoStation that you have the NAT box checked. If not checked, you will not have access.
I’m wondering if it’s a hardware issue. I was able to finally connect but the Internet connection is slow and quirky. My router is about 50 feet away in the house with the radio attached to the side if the camper outside. I’ll keep trying with variations in the hardware to see if I can isolate it. The signal I’m getting ranges from 58-87 for my home network. The camper network shows up as well at 45-50 in strength just for additional info as to how the radio is working.
David,
I see both of these on Amazon… Same price. Do you know the difference?
(Thanks for the great articles)
Ubiquiti Nanostation NSM5, 5GHz, 802.11a/n Hi-power 20 dBm Minimum, 2×2 MIMO AirMax TDMA PoE Station
$81.50
Sold by:itamtech
Ubiquiti NanoStation M2
$81.50
In stock on June 24, 2015.
Sold by:itamtech
The M5 is a 5Ghz radio and it would not be want you want to use as most parks do not offer 5G even though that is slowly changing. The M2 is 2.4Ghz and is what is mostly use. Interesting that they are the same price as the M5 is usually is a little more.
Hi David – I just set this up today using the NSM2 and AirGateway LR. I really appreciate your video and step by step instructions, it made it simple. I’m using a Windows 7 laptop and was able to easily change the IPv4 from ‘automatic’ to static to setup the NSM2. Can’t wait to start using this in the RV on our travels.
Love your site, thanks for all the great videos!
Tom
Having an issue connecting to the park wifi. I do not see the bullets to select any of the park APs.
What does that mean?
It could mean that they block routers and thus it is detecting the NanoStation as something other than a computer, phone or tablet. I am guessing you have bullets next to other APs and that they all are not missing. I have yet to come across this so this is a guess and is very possible.
Ahh Crap, any way around this? Yes I have bullets next to other APs
As mentioned, I have not run into this so I am really not sure what they may or may not be doing. For all I know, it could as simple as the two manufacturer radios, the NanoStation and whatever they use for AP’s, don’t work together for some reason. I really am at a loss at this time.
Oh! Maybe their radios don’t use standard
channel width. Perhaps they’re set to 10 or 30MHz instead of the standard 20MHz.
Try going into your NanoStation and under wireless change the Channel Width to 30, save and apply and see. If that does not work, try 10, save and apply and see.
JUST REMEMBER TO PUT IT BACK TO auto 20/40 after as that IS the standard.
Just to be sure also…
Check that the NanoStation is set to 20MHz (or auto) and that WDS is not checked. Also in the AirMax tab,make sure the AirMax protocol is turned OFF.
David
I am @hyjack on the Ubiquiti AirMax forum. The issue the poster is having is firmware. Ubiquiti has devalued security WEP and TKIP starting with firmware version 5.6.X. The selection “bullet” for the SSID well show back up if they use version 5.5.11 or lower. Also of note when a M2 firmware is either upgraded or (in this case) make sure they use the XM version and NOT XW.
I will post some more this weekend on a few advanced setting for your users this weekend. All in all it was a good video and a great start for the user. My hats off to you, good job
Jack
Yes, James from Ubnt mentioned it in that thread and it was the issues as the user had upgraded to 5.6.2. Had him go back to 5.5.11 and he was set.
Yes, the video has been used a lot for my fellow RV’ers and with great success.
I did not get into any more settings than what was needed. You see, most coach owners are not really computer literate so I tried to help and thus the video even talked about what cable to plug into what and when. Even with that…some choose to connect the AirGateway right from the start then send an email that something is wrong as they could not get to the NanoStation. I even had to add a note in the video about it.
Please feel free to send me your advanced setting using the Contact Us page as I would like to see what you would propose.
Anyway…Thanks for the note.
Installed. Up and running on the first try.
Didn’t have an available WiFi connection to test, so I used my phone’s WiFi Hot spot and it worked like a charm. This setup even works with my modified sine wave inverter.
A few days later, trying to use it while sitting in a Flying J and pointing it at McDonald’s proved to be confusing. I could see both connections and I choose the McDonald’s connection because I new it was Free/Open. The problem for the next 30 minutes was the captive portal that they use. I could connect to the signal, but couldn’t get to the internet. Once I figured out the sequence of events needed, I was able to get through to the internet. This McDonald’s had a timeout sequence in which you would need to login in through the portal every 60 minutes.
Here is the sequence of events that I used to get through the captive portal to the internet:
1. Open a browser window
2. Hit “WWW” “Enter”
3. Wait between 10 and 40 seconds for the captive portal greetings…
4. Accept to the terms
5. Keep this window open (so you can come back to it easily when you need to renew subscription for timeout). All that is needed is the “refresh” the window.
6. Open another browser window and surf….
If there is an easier/better way let me know….
Thanks for the effort
Hello
Thank you for the wonderful write up and video. I purchased the system as you described and just set it up. My only problem seems to be a ip conflict. We are parked at home waiting on Michelin to make XRV tires (not good) and I have hooked to my home wireless to set up and test. I had to set the air gateway to the 192.168.3.1 and the range from 12.168.3.2 to 192.168.3.256. This works at home except for hdhomerun. my question is will I need to change this ip setup when I am at rv parks.
thanks
Yes, IP conflicts can happen when in different places. Even more so at home when you may have multi things going on. Not sure what you used 192.168.3.1 vs 192.168.2.1 as was suggested. But it surely should not be an issue in RV parks as I have not come across one yet that used 2.1 as their Wi-Fi network.
Interesting as your network would see the NanoStation and give it an 192.168.1.X IP address. The NanoStation then hands out an 192.168.2.X to the AirGateway with an router IP of 192.168.2.1. As such, all traffic flows from the 1.X to the 2.x which is what is talking to you home 1.X address. I am not sure where the conflict would come as they should be kept separate.
Hello
Thanks for the reply. The ip conflict wasn’t with the nanostation which I set as 192.168.2.1 but with the 192.168.1.1 on the airgateway. This is the address of my home router and since I have some static address for printers is why I changed the ip and range. Once again thanks for your help.
SR
David, have you tested this setup on a campground with tengointernet yet? They are paid subscription and there are different pages you have to go through in order to get logged in.
I have used it on a Tango service long ago without issue. I connected the NanoStation to the parks AP and then when I opened my web browser and tried to go to our site, it then redirected me to the login page for Tango. Once I logged in, all my devices were online. Even with that said, I have no way of knowing how they do things everywhere. So milage surely can very.
HI. great write up and instructions. Have been using successfully since the beginning of year, however this trip succsessfully set up at first camp ground which had secure log in, but the last 2 that have no security have been unable to connect too. I log on to nano station wireless tab hit select choose the best single strengh for the park (no security) hit lock to AP, wireless tab comes back up, but with waiting icon rotating on screen (I have a McBook Air). if I move mouse rotating icon disappears, hit change then apply. Nano station appears to reboot, with 2 green 1 red 1 orange and then 2 more green lights on. However, when I try to log on to the internet browser tells me I am not connected? Have tried rebooting and changing to different Park signal with same result. Every thing looks normal, I am stumped!! Any ideas?
By the way I can connect directly to the Parks Internet without any problems!
Thanks DJB
Sounds like something changed seeing you mentioned all the lights are lighting up, and they should when the NS has made the connection to the AP. I would make sure you did change anything by accident in the settings. You can also try connecting to your NanoStation directly vs using the AirGateway by disconnecting the AirGateway and plugging the NS right into your ethernet port. (You will need those 2 network cables.) POE to NS and LAN to computer. Make sure your Ethernet port is on DHCP. If that works, then the issue is with the AirGateway. But something surely changed it seems.
Thanks for your input David. Will be visiting several parks in the next few days, so will try current config to see if it will work on any of the systems. If not will try your suggestion. Pretty sure I have not changed config accidentally, just wish I had saved the config so I could compare. Strange thing is it appears to have locked on to to park wifi OK ,but does not seem able to pass through an Internet connection.
Will keep you posted.
dJB
Which is why I suggested trying it without the AirGateway. Also, does the park have a user name and password login in? If so, you need to open a browser and then try to go somewhere that is NOT and https site. Then the login should come up. If your browser is set to auto open to something that is HTTPS (secure) it may not be able to pull up the login portal page as it is looking for an encryption that is not there.
Oh, if you have a HotSpot or JetPack, turn that on and connect the NanoStation to that and try.
The setting I would look at in the NanoStation would be making sure NAT is checked on the Network page.
Hi David B.,
Do you know if David Barber resolved his issue? I am having a very similar situation now. The parks wifi is totally open with no log-in pages of any kind and I believe I can connect to it based on the signal bar on the main page. However, I cannot get to the internet on that connection. When I lock on to a secured wifi signal, I get internet access as expected. My home page is not a https site. I expect there is a check box somewhere that is not set right but have no idea what to look for. Ideas are welcomed.
Thanks for pointing us to a very good product.
Hi…
Make sure that in the NanoStation setup, under the NETWORK tab, the box for NAT is checked. If not, check it, click change, and click apply. NS will reboot.
You also mentioned that the “The parks wifi is totally open”. But then you say “When I lock on to a secured wifi signal”. So if the AP you are trying to connect to has a password that is needed to be able to connect to the AP, then you will need to be sure you have entered it correctly (caps or smalls). So unless the AP says OPEN next to it when you find it in the list, it needs a password which you put in after you select the AP. Put in the password on the bottom of the WiFi page click Chance, click Apply. NS will reboot.
The signal can be seen with or without a correct password as it is showing you the incoming signal of that AP you are connecting to. If you want to know if you are properly connected to the AP, then log into the NansoStation setup and on the first page, on the right look for TX/RX Rate: You should see something such as 56 Mbps/56 Mbps. If you only see one number, than you are only SEEING the AP and are not connected to it. (Thus the password. Numbers will greatly very and even change.)
Hope one of these helps.
Hi David,
I’m sorry I wasn’t clear. The parks wifi is totally open – no password or redirection at all. There is also a fellow camper here with a wired connection to Suddenlink and he has allowed me to connect to his secure wifi connection with a password. I can connect to his wifi with no problem. It is the open – non-secured park wifi that will not connect. I can connect to it directly from the laptop. The signal is plenty strong enough. The NAT box is checked.
I purchased and used this setup on and off since last January. I am a little familiar with the connection setup. When I look at the WLAN0 graph on the main page, both red and blue lines show activity when connected to the secure AP. When connected to the unsecured park wifi, the red line does not move from the bottom line. Does this TX line represent the outside wifi, the AirGateway or my laptops TX? Both lines on the LAN0 graph move with use.
It seems that the Nanostation is happy with secure connections but not unsecured. Perhaps there is a security related checkbox somewhere in the setup that needs to be changed. I have verified that all my pages have the same information and boxes checked that you show on your video.
Thanks for your help.
I did some experimenting yesterday and I have verified that everything works fine on unsecure APs. It is just something about this particular campgrounds open wifi that prevents internet access thru the Nanostation. Maybe there is an IP conflict, if that makes any sense. How would I find out?
Seeing that the NanoStation gets the IP assigned from the parks AP and that you are behind a NAT (actually 2) then it is not likely an IP conflict. Maybe as simple as in compatible hardware. I have not run into such an issue though. But it totally sounds like you are just not being allowed to connect to the AP for whatever reason seeing you can use other AP’s without issue. Sorry.
David,
Just wanted to say thank you for the information and help in your video. I set up a NanoStationM2 and it works great.
Dave,
I think you have done for my internet success as much as any other mod I have done to my coach. I went a little further and mounted the Nano Station on a old Winegard TV antenna mount I had in the Satellite location I removed last spring. The result is fantastic as I am able to connect to an Xfinity Hot Spot a 1/4 mile away, inside a building, over a hill, through a thicket of Georgia pines, and past all of my neighbors houses. Connection is solid and speed is acceptable given the obstacles in the way. Thanks so much for you tip.
Steve
More then welcome. And yes…Using that crank up antenna is one of the best things! :)
David, Have been following your OOB blog for some time. We have different coach now and need to set up a park wifi booster sys. My question is: are you still recommending the same antenna and router as previously indicated here? No next big thing…yet.
Have not purchased anything and wanted to touch base with you, Thanks for ALL the great work you do,
Happy Trails, Skypilot
Hi…No changes at all. Still the same gear.
David: Why is there such a major cost difference between the gear you are recommending for WiFi boosting and the WiFi Ranger products that would presumably do the same thing. I was pointed toward WifiRanger until I came across your article and video.
They have custom written firmware that can do a lot, more than most need IMHO. And then you have the sales & marketing to the RV’er costs. :) Same goes for the Wi-Fi Rogue.
Thank you so much for the excellent video!!! I successfully set this up today and very much appreciate the step by step instructions…concise and easy to follow.
Great tutorial. Im curious about the power block you snapped into the AirGateway. Is that the power supply for the NanoStation? Also, do you have your Nanostation mounted outside the coach?
The POE (Power Over Ethernet) block is the power that comes with the NanoStation that the AirGateway snaps into. DO NOT put it on until told to do so however as you will not be able to reach the NanoStation to set it up with the AirGateway in the way.
Great post , Thanks
Have you ever dealt with GoWIFI,used as the internet service on many bases .
Followed your video worked easily with my phone hotspot, It picks up the Gowifi signal strong and allows me to select, and apply, but when using laptop wifi and using it, a home page to log in comes up, this does not come up using the nanostation M2 and the gowifi
any thoughts
Thanks
Hi Jim…Not sure what you mean by the “home page to log in”. What home page? What log in. If it is all set up correctly, when you connect your laptop to the SSID you made for the AirGateway, you would be surfing the internet as normal. You also say “but when using laptop wifi”, I would think you would have done that as part of the setup for when you setup the AirGateway, you are using Wi-Fi.
Thanks for the fast reply
“home Page to log in” what I mean by this is currently I am on a Navy base and the rv park uses Gowifi as their internet provider. when using this on my laptop and its wifi, i select the Gowifi SSID and it redirects me to “https://portal.nnu.com/navy2/main” which then I enter my username and password and it comes up with a new homepage and I can access any internet sites. This is just like being in a hotel and using their internet, before accessing it you have to log in on their site.
But when I use the nanostation plugged into my laptop(wifi off) using the ethernet as shown in your video, It finds the “Gowifi” no problem -59/-91. I select/change/apply and it seems to connect. but when i check it by going to web browser (I used firefox, explorer and Chrome). it will redirect to the above site but it gives me a “connection timed out” error instead of bringing up the home page.
I then turned on my phone hotspot, had the nanostation scan again. It picked up the phone no problem. I selected it, changed and applied it. I then went to my browser and was able to access internet with no issues, so nanostation is working as it should.
I am thinking maybe because I am on base, some security issue ??
thanks
It could be something on the base.
But check the NanoStation settings and make sure you did check the NAT box. (Just in case.)
Also when you bring up the browser to try to get on the Internet, please be sure your browser is not trying to go to a HTTPS site by default. So in the browser URL bar, put in something that is not https… like http://OutsideOurBubble.com. The reason for this is that if you are trying to automatically access an https site, it can not reach it and thus it can not display. It also can not automatically pull up the captive portal (the Gowifi page) as it is not the correct https site. So try a normal site and see if the captive portal comes up.
Sorry, I am using the Nanostation M2 and the Air Gateway LR
Hey David- thanks for the info. I’m having a problem connecting. I put in the IP and subnet mask then hit ok. When trying to connect it still says “I identified network “. Any ideas? Thanks, Neal
Unidentified network. Sorry. I feel like I tried everything.
hey David I got it to work!! thanks again for your great insight! We really enjoy your website. Neal
Dave, Thank you very much for the video. This is something I have been wanting to do for some time. You made it simple. I guess I am going to purchase a Loco M5 to use where 5 GHz is available unless I can find something that is switchable.
Dennis
Sounds like a plan and you program it the same way. Same instructions and you can use the same AirGateway.
Hey David. Quick question. Why can I not connect to my radio (192.168.1.20). This is the second time I’m setting this up (first time was a great success) and I’ve followed all instructions and when I pull up to login to my radio, it won’t come up. I re-watched the video and double checked my steps. All are correct. Does this mean I have to reset my radio?
Could be a number of reasons…But just by chance did you happen to hook up the AirGateway already? If so, you will not be able to reach the NanoStation to set it up the first time. If so, remove it. If not, resetting the radio will not hurt it.
Woo Hoo!!! I got it all set up. I had to reset both units and start over. I’ve got my personal network set up. It’s just too bad the RV park’s WiFi stinks. But I easily switched over to my Personal Hotspot on my iPhone and all my devices are connecting (iMac, Macbook, iPhone, printer). Thanks again for putting the tutorial together. After I’ve done it 100 or so times, I might not need to watch the video anymore. LOL
I would suggest checking the connection at the airgateway to the nanostation. Mine was loose and acted like you describe.
I just finished setting all of this up. Great instructions. We have a Printer, Apple TV, LG Smart TV, Patriot Media Server, 2 iPhones, 2 iPads and a Macbook Pro all nicely networked.
NICE!!! :)
Hi David – I found your website recently after searching for a wifi solution. We are currently at a resort that only has wifi at the clubhouse. I could see the SSID while at the clubhouse but nowhere else beyond its immediate area. I ordered the parts you listed from Amazon, had everything shipped here in 2 days, and set it up today. It works perfectly!! The unit is mounted to the inside of our windshield up high facing the direction of the clubhouse. I can even see our SSID from the pool, which is 4 lots away (using the standard power airGateway).
I’m so glad I brought a laptop as it was needed for the initial configuration. We had burned through our monthly 10 gig of Verizon data in about 10 days, and were facing $15/gig after that. I had been looking at the Wifiranger unit, which was significantly more expensive, and am so glad I found your website. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and putting together an excellent video!!
You are so welcome and so glad you had such great success! :)
Thanks for posting this. I’ve been looking for a solution to replace my external usb antenna. Here in the UK and Europe we need to run most things from our 12v batteries so have found that the Airgateway and antenna will run from 12v injected via a low cost PoE adaptor. I made up a pole to mount the antenna on to keep it as high as possible and away from the airgateway and can easily pick up signals from over 1 mile away and even further with easy line of site.
Hi, Have you ever had any issues with poor data throughput via the AirGateway? My home connection is 70Mb/s which when on a wired connection to the Airgateway is routed at almost full speed. But on a wifi connection the speed is dropped by around 60 to 70%. Have tried different settings, channels etc but no better speed.
Yes, on every Wi-Fi system. Just by the way Wi-Fi works, you will have speed loss vs a hard wire. This will very based on a lot of things. I am just running one right now and I I have about a 15% loss in speed.
Reminder…If you are TOO CLOSE to it, it would be like me standing next to you with a megaphone trying to talk to you. (thus very LOUD) You may hear some of what I say, but not all and I will need to repeat myself over and over thus slowing down the conversation. -55db is the sweet spot when it comes to the signal just for an idea while you are playing around.
In the option section you list the more powerful M2. Did you mean the M5?
No. There are two versions of the M2. A full size one and the Loco which is 1/2 the size. The M5 is a 5Ghz radio and the M2 is a 2.5Ghz radio. While some parks are adding in 5Ghz access points, most are still 2.4Ghz and thus the use of the M2.
David,
Have you considered throwing an experimental $100 at this solution to purchase a Ubiquiti NanoBeam ac (NBE‑5AC‑16 or NBE‑5AC‑19) to see what speeds you can get on the (fairly rare, but increasingly common) opportunity to connect to an 802.11ac Access Point?
I know the choke point is often still the backhaul from the campground/coffee shop, etc., but I’ve seen some impressive speeds over 802.11ac on the occasions I’ve found it to be available, and have had an 802.11ac device on-hand.
I was visiting a friend who had upgraded to COX cable’s “Gigablast” service at home – it’s advertised as Gigabit fiber, but isn’t quite that fast – but I was seeing 250-450 Mbps on my 802.11ac devices, vs “only” 40-45Mbps on my 802.11n devices.
I have not for this is for the general RV’er and most parks do not have such gear nor the speeds to make it worth while IMHO.
I used your guide to connect to a (paid) public wifi hotspot with a NanoStation M2 for the last half year – thanks for that! It’s a life saver.
Recently I decided to try a NanoBeam M5, and maybe add a load balancing router (if I can stretch my technical abilities that far), to use with two antennas.
Long story short, Ubiquiti says that their AC devices cannot connect to third party devices. I tried to research this before ordering one, but was only able to find the answer afterwards. So now a new NanoBeam NBE-M5-19 is in the mail for me, and the AC is being returned. I hope the setup will be the same as in your guide for the NanoStation.
Hi, glad to read all is working out for you. Yes, you can us a load balancing router but just an FYI, all that will do is separate your traffic. Some devices will go over WAN 1 and some others WAN 2. It WILL NOT take two 10Mbps links and make it 20Mbps. That is called “Bonding”. You will only see speed improvements when multi devices are in use at the same time and thus the band width maybe split based on how the router assigned the WAN use. Like some do a simple assignment of WAN port based on when it is connected. So the first device will be assigned to use WAN1 and the second WAN2, and then back to WAN 1 for the third and so on and so fourth. When devices start to drop off the network, it will then look to see what WAN has the least number of devices when something connects and put it on that one, thus “balancing” the use.
Some will do it based on server connections…But remember, you can be using an https connection over multi WAN ports as it https needs to talk to the same IP. And that leads me to this issue…If you are connecting to the same service provider, their is only ONE Public Facing IP…This can be an issue for WAN1 and WAN2 will both be using the same providers router with that one IP. So usually balancing needs to be used with two separate providers to really work correctly. (Your Router will get confused as the “Gateway” for both WAN ports will be the same.) Yup, right over your head. :)
As far as the NanoStation 5AC radios go…Yes, they only work with other Ubnt AirMax 5AC radios. They built this product for one reason…To get the most speed they could out of the 5G Wi-Fi bandwidth. “AirMax” is not just a product category name, it is their own proprietary protocol! As such, AirMax needs to be used with AirMax to be able to talk. The use of 5AC is very misleading to say the least as AC is a wi-fi Protocol! I even got burned not knowing the above thinking AC was AC. Nope. :) But I can say that the AirMac 5AC Bridges work outstanding. At the park we are currently at, Southwoods RV Resort, I built the network. My connection to the network is via two NanoStation 5AC’s that are 1/2 mile apart. I can reach download speeds of over 200Mbps and the park only has 400Mbps down and 20Mbps up coming in. :)
Be aware that the NanoBeam NBE-M5-19 needs to be aimed correctly to work well based on the more narrow beam. As such, you will be messing with alignment. The NanoStations M5’s are much more forgiving. Just my .02.
Been using my Bullet for over a year now with no issues, until last weekend. When searching for a signal, my bullet m2 couldn’t find anything, but I know very well that there were signals in that range. Even tried my hotspot on my iPhone. I had to reboot to get it to find a signal sometimes it worked some not. So when I got home, I ran the search with no problems. I also updated the firmware, so hopefully this was the problem.. Any advice?
Not really other than the radio could be failing. Power cycling it would have been the first thing to try so it would be sure that there was no garbage or anything was stored in memory as it would clear all the memory caches that could become corrupt with a memory leak or something. I do not mean reboot, I mean actually removing power for like 1 minute.
I took the POE wire out put it, back in and repowered it that way, I also have a Loco M2, it did the same thing.
Hello David:
I found this page while doing a Google search trying to find a solution to the public Wi-Fi security issue and your solution is awesome. I didn’t even know that UBNT had made a wireless gateway that small! I have ordered one and it will be on its way shortly however I did have a couple of questions for you.
I’ve got a Picostation M2 (high power indoor/outdoor model) however the thought of running a line to the roof of the camper honestly terrifies me (leaks are BAD). I noticed that my camper has a RG-6 coax connection run to one corner of the camper for cable TV and we are not going to be using it. Do you think that with the appropriate adapters for the RP-TNC antenna on the Picostation (or if need be, the BM2HP Bullet), we can use that RG-6 drop for the external antenna (leaving the radio inside)?
Secondly, do you know if the airGateway supports the use of VPN on WAN? I’m concerned about others being able to sniff traffic on open unsecured APs that are common on guest networks controlled by a captive portal. I can spin up a VPN endpoint in AWS to terminate the connection (granted this adds latency, however nothing I use requires low latency data transfer.)
Please advise.
Sorry to say no as the RG6 cable has different specs vs antenna cable.
You could ways just run a wire out though your slide. I have one right now that I have run out of the coach from under the slide as I can get it through the rubber flap.
I am not sure on the AirGatway supporting Open VPN inside the radio. I have never looked as it is not a need for me as I run though a Asus Router and use the VPN setup inside that. But seeing you ordered one, you surely will find out soon. :)
Hello David:
I wanted to follow up with you and present my findings with a bit more detail other than “It works well” (which it does). I was able to use your tutorial and get the Pico set up in the same manner as the Nano your video, although I highly recommend anyone considering do this to stick with the Nanostation as it’s directional antenna is far better than the Pico’s omnidirectional antenna. Since I already had the Pico, it was just a $20 investment to get this up and running (the price of the airGateway)
First off, I wanted to say that I abandoned the idea of using the RG-6. After doing some investigative disassembly and pulling certification sheets, any benefit from using the higher power AP would have been lost on the coax, which isn’t the best coax in the world. Unfortunately, I don’t have any slides in my travel trailer, so I’ll vet the need for a suction cup mount (coming soon, thanks amazon prime!).
One of the biggest concerns is security, especially in a public wireless environment. I assembled the Pico and the Gateway in my test environment, then proceeded to hit it with as much traffic as I could generate and the Pico didn’t break a sweat. There is one important thing I would highly recommend that anyone following this tutorial perform, and that is disabling remote management of the Nano/Pico remotely. On the WAN Network Settings section, check the box for “Block Management Access”. This turns off the ability to access the airOS login page from the wireless side of the Nano/Pico. This does NOT impede the ability to manage the Nano/Pico from inside the airGateway’s network.
When I performed the vulnerability test, I found port 80(HTTP) and port 443(HTTPS) listening. Checking that option and re-running the vulnerability test demonstrated that the ports were filtered (this is the best case scenario, filtered ports do not acknowledge a connection attempt, whereas a closed port will acknowledge even if a service isn’t listening.). By removing the external management capability from the Pico/Nano, any attempts to break into the configuration pages of the device would be completely ignored.
Now for some real-world numbers!
Laptop to Picostation (wired) – 22ms ping, 29.47Mbps down, 13.22Mbps up
Laptop to airGateway (wired) – 24ms ping, 27.19Mbps down, 12.17Mbps up
Laptop to airGateway (wireless) – 24ms ping, 25.70Mbps down, 11.64Mbps up
The numbers essentially say that you’re exchanging 5mbps of download speed for a more secure network and that is outstanding considering the size of the airGateway. Also, taking into account you’re going from wireless (Public Wifi) to wired (Pico/Nano -> airGateway) then wireless again (airGateway), the speeds are very impressive for something so small.
While the airGateway didn’t have any VPN on WAN options like I was looking for, the speeds speak for themselves and I should have no problem using a work VPN in my camper. Alternatively, should we outgrow the airGateway’s throughput, we can install another router that does provide VPN on WAN fairly easily.
To touch on some of the other respondents’ concerns:
– Yes, this is a technically a double-NAT. Treating the wireless as the “WAN”, the connection between the Pico/Nano’s wired ports as an intra-LAN, and the airGateway wired and wireless networks as the LAN. If there is some concern about this, you can always assign the airGateway’s WAN interface IP as a DMZ host in the Pico/Nano. This forwards all traffic inbound from the Wireless interface of the Pico to the wired interface of the airGateway.
– For users that need a connection for a wired device, you can use the LAN jack on the airGateway to serve that device, or get a small pocket switch to make multiple connections available. As long as the DHCP pool limit is left default on the airGateway (I think the pool is from .2 to .254) there shouldn’t be any problems with IP conflicts in the network.
Thank you for your article, advice, and the video presentation. This has helped tremendously. Also, I’m going to step away as it appears I’ve written a book. Sorry about that.
This solution is awsome! I had it working well then we “moved” to my inlaws driveway for a few days while we move. I cant get the gateway to allow internet access when connected to my inlaws belkin router. The inlaws router does have the nanostation in the cliant list; all lights on the radio are on but i am getting a site cant be reached error. The IP for acces to his router is the same as the 168.2.1 on the nanostation. I dont know if there is some sort of IP conflict? Thanks for any recomindations you can provide.
Ben
His IP being the same as the NanoStation is your issue as both are trying to be the gateway at the same IP address of 192.168.2.1.
I’ve read through, and watched the video. Very helpful! Of course, being in Canada, these parts will probably run closer to $300 buying them locally and the amazon.com vendor does not ship to Canada. Oh well. The one thing that concerns me is having to change the network configuration every time we move, which could be daily as we cross the country and back. Being that my husband is SO not technically inclined, this would present a big challenge. Can I set up the antenna (maybe wireless?) without the need for a router or reconfiguration?
You only need to use a computer once to get it setup. To connect to another network, you just login into the radio (antenna) and make the selection. It is very easy. Just see the 10 simple steps mentioned in the blog. 10 sounds like a lot, but it is click this, click that, so more or less spelled out. :)
Got it all set up last night. Hardest part was configuring the network card on the laptop to static, but the online chat lady (Vivian) at Ubiquiti was VERY helpful. I was impressed by their support! Especially at 10pm pst. Now I have to find a really long ethernet cable so I can mount the antenna to the old TV antenna on the roof and run the wires to the front of the motorhome. I’ll be able to lift and rotate in any direction…..just have to remember to put the antenna down before driving away. Thanks for the video!
When you have your internet set up this way, are you still bound to the bandwidth requirements that the RV Park requires?
But of course. This is not meant to get around park Wi-Fi rules. The RV park sees the NanoStation radio as just another device and treats it as such.
Hi David,
Thanks for your article. I have a Verizon Jetpack (that provides a wireless internet access). As I understand, can I use another device (another router or access point?) to act as the router, correct? I
In this setup, if you want to use your JetPack, you would turn it on and connect the NanoStation to it’s SSID. All your devices would then be connected to your main Wi-Fi SSID and not to your Jetpack. Seeing you connected the NanoStation to the JetPack, all data will run through it. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the quick response! Sorry to be a bother but I meant another device to act as the router without using the AirGateway. Right now I have a TP-LINKWA701ND access point; I’m just trying to figure out the right configuration (whether to use a Bridge, etc).
You can plug the LAN port on the POE injector into any WAN port of any router and the router will see it as an internet connection as the NanoStaion will hand out an IP to it. Hope that helps. ;)
Fantastic video David. Thank you so very much!
Is there a way to do this without a laptop? iOS iPad or iPhone??apple tv? Thanks in advance.
Dave E
I am sorry, there is not as there is no way to talk to the NanoStation at first without one.
Actually, just thinking about this….Maybe. IF you were to connect it all together and power it up, you should be able to see the SSID http://www.ubnt.com. Connect to that and then try going to 192.168.1.20 and the NanoStation should show up. Login and configure per the instructions in the video. I have not tried it, and I do not have a extra AirGatway, but that may work. I will need to get a AirGateway and give it a try and if it works, I can do another video for those that only use tablets/phones.
Hey David,
Great writeup. I have a wireless bridge and yagi antenna setup I put together to connect with a neighbor a few years back, but this was still immensely helpful when I stumbled upon it looking to do something similar for the rv. Super compact and simple – I’m using the Loco w the air gateway router and the window mount. Picked up a flat ethernet cable so I can just stick the Loco outside and very gently close the cable in the window. Super easy. Thanks again for the video.
I’m writing because while I’ve susscefully connected w it to a number of rv parks/hot spots, I’ve also come across some troublesome ones. One rv Park in particular would not load the wifi splash/landing page through the Loco. Directly from phones, iPad, ect it came right up but I could not get a splash page through the Loco after trying and trying. Ever run into this? They had a robust wifi setup w multiple antennas, and when I logged into the Loco to select an ap I could even see they were using ubiquity equipment! I locked into the ap just fine, good signal. No splash page. Tried everything I could think of, lots of diffrent sites, no luck. Wondering if you’ve ever run into this or had any ideas.
Not sure what you were trying to use to get the splash page, but if it was a computer, (or even a browser on a phone or tablet) and you where trying to reach any site that started with https, you would not get the splash page based on encryption of https. You would need to try to go to some other page like OutsideOurBubble.com to get it to come up. If that still does help, try connecting directly and look at the URL or IP address that comes up when the captive portal page loads. Then connect back to your local network (the one using the NanoStation) and type that URL into a browser and it should come up. (You can also, if you know how, look at the Gateway IP that your device was handed out when directly connected and type that IP in.) Hope this makes sense. I had the https part in the blog write up. Once you do it from any device when on your network, you should be good to use any device at that point as their network recorded the MAC address of the NanoStation.
I did find your note on https and did try several non https pages, including outsideourbubble.com, and also ones that successfully brought the splash page up on our ipads/iphones/android phones directly.
Directly putting in the ip does sound like a great idea. I had tried copying down the splash pages url that came up (direct) and using it when connected to the nano but it didn’t help, but who knows if there was a redirect or something going on there. I’ll have to figure out the page ip or find the gateway ip and try that. Sounds promising. We really liked the rv Park so there’s a good chance we’ll go back – will try this next time! Thanks!
Yes, somewhere on your device you should be able to see the IP address of the gateway. IE…If I type in 192.168.96.1 right now, I will see the Captive Portal screen come up for the RV Park we are in. I have never not been able to use the NanoStation unless the park was still using WAP security which is no longer supported. (Very old)
How secure is logon information sent using the Loco M2 and AirGateway? I am using it on an unsecured wifi in a campground. My concern is logging into a Netflix or Amazon or email account and my password being accessed. Do you have any suggestions for settings I could use to make it secure?
Your video is great! It helped me work through some issues when I did my setup. Thanks for the super information.
You would note have any issue for th most part unless you have someone in a park spoofing the parks network and there is not much of that going on in RV parks. Please see this post… https://www.outsideourbubble.com/wi-fi-and-security-on-an-open-network
I have to say this setup works extremely well – thank you for this info!
Is it also possible to connect to the secure version of the Xfinity hotspots, the ones named “XFINITY” (as opposed to the non-secure “xfinitywifi” SSIDs), which require a profile to connect to? When I’ve tried it, I just get a window asking for a username and password, but my Comcast username and password doesn’t work there as it does on the http log-in page….
Thanks again for all the work you put into detailing this configuration – it’s awesome!
Mark
Sorry, I would not know about Xfinity login’s. I can say I have used the Time Warner Wi-Fi access points when I have seen them on the road just using my username and password. They have some good 5G links around when it more dense areas. I used one in Indio Calf for example.
Can’t connect to the rv parks repeater I can see our but no option to click it
My guess is that is your NanoStation can SEE the SSID of the access point, but no option to select it to use it, is that they are using very old security on it called WEP and that is no longer supported by commercial gear such as Ubnt.
Hey guys may somebody help me intervene this puzzle. I have an internet in my phone shared to me using wifi hotspot. Now is is possible use the same internet to share to my nanostation Loco M2 since I did not buy Router. Is it possible to feed my Nanostation loco M2 with that internet shared to my phone by WIFI Hotspot by another person
Nope…it is not a repeater.
Another thing guys who have experience with these Nanostation Loco M2. How long can the network range get to , supposing that you are using single Nanostation as AP to spread WIFI to other devices around you. Kindly guys help me.
That is not what this tutorial is made for. It is for connecting you to an AP that has Internet and then making that available on your own private Wi-Fi network.
Why is this not working? I get DNS errors when I try to connect through the router. The campground free wifi has no security and my router is WPA. Do they have to be the same? Did I screw up when I changed the country code to US from Canada when we crossed the border?
Based on the very limited information I am sorry to say I would not have any idea. I know nothing about your router or config. Changing from US to Canada only affects power output limits. But not sure how you did that unless your started over from factory default as it is not a changeable option once selected. So if that is what you did, my guess is you missed a setting or changed something you should not have. If you connect the NanoStation right to your computer via a network cable without a router and it works, then it is not the NanoStation but your router.
I followed the setup instructions to a “T”. It worked dandy when we were at home. I didn’t get the opportunity to try it while we travelled through Canada as the campgrounds we were at didn’t have wifi and we were buried in the trees when we had shared wifi in Alberta so I didn’t bother trying to connect.
When we got to Bismarck and a campground with free wifi thought I’d give it a whirl. Plugged everything in. When I went to log in, I was given the option to change the country, so I did (of course, can’t change it back now…) Picked one of the campground wifi sites, set it up, logged off, and tried to access the internet. DNS error. Tried another of their locations (they have 4). same thing. Checked the lights on the antenna, they’re all working. I would have to try again to get the exact wording of the DNS error, if that would help.
The note at the bottom of the page listing all the visible wifi signals reads:
Selectable SSID’s must be visible and have compatible channel bandwidth and security settings.
When I try to connect with another site the DNS error is that the site’s DNS could not be found, and then it suggests my computer is off line.
Beginning to think its the campground wifi. Can barely connect, same error messages when I do.
Not the campground wifi. :( Tried connecting through my hotspot and got the same no-go result. Flooey!!!!
Highly suggest starting over as surely you have a setting that is not correct in the NanoStation or Router. Sorry, I can not be of further help.
Hi David
Thanks for your brilliant video on setting up the Nanostation. I found it worked very well in my neighbourhood bit in both Rv parks I have tried it so far, their wifi network was visible but not selectable (no radio button). In my research I learned that my problem may be that the current firmware is not compatible with the older security protocols and that the solution is to revert to older firmware. Can you confirm that I am on the right track? If so could you point me to the firmware I should install and the instruction documents from Ubiquiti to accomplish this?
I am very appreciative for your help in doing the original setup. You have a real talent for explaining technical material the the lay person.
Cheers, Gerry
Hi…That is correct. However I would NOT go down in firmware to something so old that it is no longer a used protocol. This could lead to more issues. I am not even sure you could go back far enough to in firmware that is still available that would even have the old WAP in it. Downloads are here…use at own risk… https://www.ubnt.com/download/airmax-m/nanostationm
Purchased all of the items suggested, I followed the tutorial on YouTube, I could not connect to the air Gateway router after plugging everything in. I noticed on the air Gateway quick start guide it states that the IP address is 192.168.1.1 not the IP address that is stated in the video. I used this IP address because it was the only way to get into the router.I then continued on with the tutorial but at some point after I applied changes, I got locked out. Now I cannot log back into the router using the IP address. I am completely stuck with no way to make changes on the router. Please help.
I answered the question on YouTube that you posted. I highly recommend you start over by factory resetting both items as the tutorial is spot on. Be sure you do not hook up the AirGateway to the POE until told to do so. To reset the devices, power them up and them press in the reset button with a paperclip for 20 seconds.
I just purchased a NanoStation Loco M2 and airGateway for our RV and successfully configured and used both units after following your video. This saved me hours of troubleshooting. Thank You David
David…Thanks, so much, for sharing your expertise and the video. I just purchased a new to me motorhome, so today, I order all the components to setup this system; although, I did go with the larger antenna… more bigger is always more better…ha ha
Thanks Again!
Mike
David,
Brilliant solution but was wondering something. Can I forgo the whole router and laptop thing by using an android app like EasyUbnt to setup then fqrouter2 for wifi extension?
The reason I ask is that I have a Joying lollipop in dash radio unit that i use for nav, OBD2, and other stuff. It would be great to reproduce the automated functionality of the expensive units by using the Joying unit, which sits unused when parked.
Is this possible?
EasyUbnt requires the NanoStation to be ON a network so it can see it. So if you can hardwire it, then sure I guess you could do the main config with it. I use EasyUbnt for network control only and for aligning radios. Not sure what you really are looking to do as I have not used fqrouter2. LOL..Not sure what coach you have, but if you are doing things from a Android headend radio…CoachProxy you would love. ;) http://CoachProxy.com (Something I worked with a friend on.)
I just realized that fqrouter2 is discontinued and may be hard to find. There are several wifi teetering apps available, WiFi Tether Router, could also work.
Hi David!
Where is the information on your more expensive setup?
Th is is the way I do it now. Here is the older post… https://www.outsideourbubble.com/rv-internet-access-and-rv-dedicated-wifi
Thank you David!
Excellent, project started… :-) Thanks
Forgot all you taught me! Had to come back for a refresher course. Thank you again, David.
You did this post two years ago and it’s still as relevant today as it was then. Just bought all the items you mentioned on Amazon and installed them and it fixed all the wifi issues we’ve been having in our Tiny House. Threw up some pix on our page. Much appreciate for the highly detailed walk through!
https://www.facebook.com/choochootinyhouse
Hi David, i’v used the setup for a year all over North America including Alaska and western Canada with no issues I couldn’t solve with a little research or trial and error.
I have received several popup notices for UBNT Firmware updates. Should I worry that the updates may cause any troubles? Can I just ignore them? If I do might that cause problems in the future/ Thanks for your guidance.
Hi….Glad to read all has worked out. So in that thinking…If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. :) Sometimes firmware can make for issues so unless you NEED to update, it surely is not needed as you have not had issues. (Nor would I expect you to.) You can go into the last tab (System) and uncheck the box to check for new firmware and then click CHANGE and APPLY.
Wow, thanks for the quick reply! And advice. I thought that might be the answer, but the tip to turn off ckeck updates is much appreciated.
David, I feel as if I know you personally, due to all the videos I have watched of yours. I ordered and received all of the parts and configured them via your video and some other vidoes to assist with the windows stuff. I,m very amazed that it works and more so that I got it to work. Many thanks.
PS. I can’t get connected to our fios dvr to watch recorded videos, IP issue? Any info would be great. Thanks again for sharing your great ideas.
Without knowing how that works in regards to connecting, I would have no way to help. There are SO MANY ways they could be allow for it, but I have no idea. IE…Do you need to have a PORT forward open on your home network? Do you access it via IP address? ETC ETC. Sorry, but I can not help with this. (BTW…That would be streaming shows and most RV parks are not setup to handle that and if you do it on a jetpack, you will kill your data unless you have unlimited data.)
Thank you David! Read your solution, watched your video, ordered the parts, followed instructions, now enjoying “no hassle” resort login internet service with all devices, sa’weet! Great post!
Great to read. Enjoy! :)
Great video! Can the same be done using Ubiquiti Nanostation NSM5 instead of the M2?
As long as you understand that an M5 is a 5Ghz radio, then yes. (Sometimes people think that an M5 is either stronger or newer and that is not the case.) 5Ghz is starting to be used in parks more, but 2.4Ghz is still the norm as it can get though things better.
Easy peasy! Toughest thing to do is change your PC Ethernet card to a static IP. I couldn’t figure out how to get to that setting, but Google is my friend:-) The second hardest thing is getting past the browser security. I was using Chrome, and I couldn’t quickly find a way to say ignore the security warning so I just changes to the Internet Explorer. I don’t stay at many RV parks, but do boondock at Walmarts etc where there are open wifi signals, but a lot of time are weak as you are parked away on the edges of a parking lot. I also discovered I didn’t have a Ethernet port on my laptop so I’m glad I did the configuration at home with my desktop and Ipad.
David,
Have been running the original version for 2 years now and love it. I’m interested in accessing the 5G band. One park we are in is broadcasting both and the 5G seems faters Do I need to upgrade both the WiFi and Antennae? Is there an upgrade?
Thanks
Hi Bruce…You just need to purchase a NanoStation M5 (or M5 Loco) and set it up just like you did the M2. Then all you need to do when you want to use 5Ghz is unplug one NanoStation from the ethernet cabler and plug in the other one. Both are 100% the same in software and use except for 2.4Ghz vs 5Ghz. Hope this helps.
Thanks David. SO there is no device that will do both 2.4 and 5?
Also what is the difference between the NS M5 and M5 Loco?
Not in a NanoStation. Remember, these are made for commercial installs and as such, a choice would be made on if it was a 2.4 or 5 setup they were doing. Having both radios in a unit would up cost and also would require more than one antenna as the antennas are tuned for X freq.
The Loco is 1/2 the size. There are two versions of each. Full and Loco.
Thanks David
I am currently running firmware XM.v5.5.11. I need this version to connect to one of my RV parks. I want to try the latest firmware. Is there a way to back up XM.v5.5.11 so I can reload it?
Thanks
There is not. You will need to find the firmware version. Usually if you email support at ubnt.com they can send older versions to you.
Ok Thanks.
David,
my current airgateway ver is v1.0.3 I see the latest update v1.1.7 . Should I update to the latest?
Thanks
Bruce
Hi….Funny you should ask as I am going to do an upgrade video for both the NanoStation and AirGateway. Just have not had the time. But yes, you can do so. The easy way is when you are connected to the Internet, just go into the AirGateway and tell it to Upgrade. It will then download the current version, install it, and reboot thus kicking you off. Once it is rebooted, you should be good to go as all settings will carry over. Same goes for the NanoStation…but do ONE at a time.
Thanks Dave, all done.
But I did have to download separately and then upload it.
Thanks for this tutorial. Just received our M5 and router. Wasn’t too complicated with your step by step process. We have been having a lot of issues with staying connected and had to put our laptop next to the window or outside to get even 1 bar. Now we have decent signal since the park doesn’t fix the issue. Can’t even believe we are connected and not next to the window. Thanks again from GA.
Hi…You do know the M5 is a 5Ghz device and not a 2.4Ghz correct? I mention this as most RV parks currently are not 5Ghz access points. 5M does not mean it is newer or anything, it is the difference between wireless frequency types. Just make sure you are aware. (I carry both an M2 and and M5 and will use the M5 as I can as it is let congested.)
Hi David!
First let me thank you for this information! I had originally watched your YouTube video over a year ago and you made setting up our own network so easy! We’ve been able to use it throughout out or travels with no problems until now… the park we are at now has a splash/agree page that the page itself is https:
(https://cbh.cox.com/hospitality/cbh_american_heritage_rv_park_williamsburg_va_2150100029)
And since it is https I am not able to get the page to come up to “agree” any suggestions?
Thank you!
Pam
You just need to know the splash page of the captive portal and you seem to have that. However, it does not seem to be an issue on your end that I can see as I can not even pull it up. (They are using an outside service.) I looked up the IP address of the domain name, seeing it is a public IP and not private IP, I then did a PING to it to see if I could reach the server…
PING 68.99.123.224 (68.99.123.224): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 68.99.123.224: icmp_seq=0 ttl=55 time=51.863 ms
64 bytes from 68.99.123.224: icmp_seq=1 ttl=55 time=76.780 ms
64 bytes from 68.99.123.224: icmp_seq=2 ttl=55 time=51.953 ms
64 bytes from 68.99.123.224: icmp_seq=3 ttl=55 time=55.358 ms
….As you can see, I could. Yet I could not pull up the page which I would think should respond yet did not. (It just sat their trying.)
So, I am not sure it is on your end of things. Pulling up a captive portal that is behind https is usually not an issue. (I do it all the time.) The issue can come in when you are trying to go to a site that is https before you have access thus blocking some captive portals. But in this case, it is the portal that does not seem to be responding.
It should be as easy as connect NanoStaion, open browser, goto site and agree or pay or whatever.
Got it working… I know one thing was on my end, I forgot to change the (WPA Preshared Key) to the password for this park, but also I believe that something was wrong with COX connection because we tried to hook a PS4 up directly to the connection and got the same “page can’t be displayed” after leaving it for a little while and coming back it worked. Thank you so much for all your helpful information with RV living in general! Have a great day!
Great to read! :) Glad you enjoy the site and the information.
I loved your video! I was very well done and interesting to learn from!
Two weeks ago we took delivery of our new coach and I wanted to make sure I had what I needed to be able to support the WiFi for not only internal to my coach but also pickup better signals from the campground supplied WiFi or free APs I’m close to when stopped for our driving breaks.
I was curious why you didn’t used the Ubnt Nanostation NSM5, 5GHz, 802.11a/n Hi-power antenna? Was it because it wasn’t available when you first did this tutorial or did you feel there may be an issue with connecting the NSM5 to the Ubnt AirGateway? Also, is it the POE module which gets pugged into the bottom of the Ubnt antenna or is it the AirGateway? If it’s the AirGateway and you were to select the AirGateway-LR wouldn’t the AirGateway have a problem with the bottom cover on the antenna?
Hi…The NanoStation M5 is, as mentioned, 5Ghz. Most RV parks do not offer 5Ghz but that is changing as gear gets replaced. But as of now, the M2, being 2.4Ghz, all parks will have. You could get an M5 also and program it 100% the same way and swap them out as needed. It has nothing to do with the AirGateway.
I am sorry, but I really have no idea what you are asking about the POE. So…The POE injector comes with the NanoStation and the AirGateway or the AirGateway LR gets attached to that POE injector. On the bottom side of the AirGateway or Airgateway LR, is also POE passthrough port that the NanoStation gets plugged into. Hope that is what you were asking. (The POE and the NanoStation are connected via network cable.)
Hi David,
Thank you very much for your reply! You explained it perfectly. I was slightly confused and thought the AirGateway-LR was plugged into the bottom of the NanoStation, my mistake. I now understand it’s just the network cable being plugged into the NanoStation. I also, forgot the 5Ghz is not as popular with the parks and that most still used 2.5Ghz systems. I do like your suggestion of getting the 5Ghz NanoStations in addition to the 2.4Ghz so I can swap over if needed when a park has the capabilities.
Thank you for helping me get my head around it. ;-) I can’t wait until I get my AirGateway-LR and NanoStation so I can get it all setup.
David, I used your setup instructions for a wifi booster system including the ubiquiti m2 bullet titanium with the air gateway. It went seamlessly thanks to your video. I’ll be installing it this summer in our class c. The total cost was less than half the commercially available systems, and I was able to select a more powerful omni antenna (10db vd 8db) than what comes prepackaged. The most difficult part was creating the roof mount bracket for the bullet/antenna since I don’t have a crank up style tv antenna to attach it to. Your instructions made this all possible and I want to reassure others that if you’re using other ubiquiti products the software interface may be the same. Thanks again and happy travels.
Thanks Craig. Please feel free to share a link to the blog post for others that may not know us. ;)
David, I used your setup instructions for a wifi booster system including the ubiquiti m2 bullet titanium with the air gateway. It went seamlessly thanks to your video. I’ll be installing it this summer in our class c. The total cost was less than half the commercially available systems, and I was able to select a more powerful omni antenna (10db vd 8db) than what comes prepackaged. The most difficult part was creating the roof mount bracket for the bullet/antenna since I don’t have a crank up style tv antenna to attach it to. Your instructions made this all possible and I want to reassure others that if you’re using other ubiquiti products the software interface may be the same. Thanks again and happy travels.
My Nanostation M2 running great after a year. I converted a short length of cat 6 cable to break out the + and – lines which I brought out to a 12v connectotor. That way I don’t need the 120v poe. Works great. That’s for the write up.
Is there a way to power this off 12v D.C. Instead of 120v ac?
I am sorry, this is something I never really looked into. But the NanoStation will run on 12V. So you could get a passive POE injector and wire that to 12V to power the NanoStation. Here is a quick Google search with some results. Try some other words… https://goo.gl/753ZbD HOWEVER…12V unless clean can kill a radio quickly and power fluxes in 12V in an RV are happening all the time. Also look at some of the other search links at the bottom of the Google search page I referenced above.
It’s 12V DC native, so you can just use a passive POE injector with a standard cigarette lighter to 2.1×5.5 DC connector. Like this https://www.amazon.com/iCreatin-Passive-Injector-Splitter-Connector/dp/B00NRHNPUA and this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DVZYA20
David
I got my NanoStation M2 and AirGateway set up and it works great. Last week I was at a park that had strong WiFi and I just wanted to connect my NanoStation so our other devices could use our AirGateway. The NanoStation picked up about 5 of the parks WiFi stations BUT there was no radio button to click to connect to any of them. I connected to them, using the password provided by the park, with my laptop but could not connect via my NanoStation. What am I doing wrong?
P.S. Hope you enjoyed your recent stay in Gallatin, we just live 6 miles South.
Hi…This is likely due to the park running WEP encryption for the AP password. WEP was removed as a protocol a long time ago by the Wi-Fi Association as it was not secure at all. Seeing Ubnt gear is commercial gear, WEP is not supported. So while you can see the parks AP, the NanoStation can not connect to it if they are using WEP as it no longer knows what that is.
David, a followup question. I am worried about the security of using park wifi systems. Since I’m connecting to those systems behind the ubnt airgateway – where I have security and passwords enabled – is my connection/info then protected over the parks wifi handling ? Thanks.
You are protected behind a firewall in the AirGateway so people in the park can not get into your devices. As far as being secure when on the internet, only if it the site is HTTPS then you are encrypted from your machine all the way to the the site and back. Then again all this goes out the door if there is someone running a “Man in the Middle” hack and you happen to connect to them thinking it was the park. (Though not likely. Just thought I would scare you more.)
Hi David….just purchased our first (and probably only) motorhome, and trying to get it all set-up for our big trip out west. I was all set to purchase the items as you describe, on Amazon, but then noticed they are advertising another product by Ubiquiti called an Airmax. It goes for about twice the amount of the Loco. What would be the advantage of this unit, if any? I plan to get the LR version of the Airgateway. Forgive my stupidity. I’ve watched your video and read your instructions about 3 times now, and maybe understand about 3/4 of it, but I think I can do it! Just getting hung up on what to buy. After setting this up, I will be exploring the cell phone signal boost options.
By the way, I watched your video on the RV fire with the dog rescue. It has made me seriously rethink ever leaving my dogs alone in the RV. Scared me to death. Since you travel with your furry loved ones, how do you handle this safety dilemma?
Bless your heart for saving that pup!
Thanks so much for all the great posts. I have forwarded your website to all my camping buddies.
Hi…AirMax is the protocol name that they gave it that covers a number of products that use AirMax tech. You may have been looking at the NanoStation M2 which is a larger version, 2X’s, of the NanoStation Loco M2. NOTE…There is also an M5, that does not mean it is newer, the 5 is for 5 Ghz. M2, the 2 is for 2.4 Ghz. So be sure to get the M2. :)
As far as your other question…Do you leave your house now without taking them with you? Can your house not have a fire issue? It is just something that CAN HAPPEN be it in an RV or a sticks and bricks home. That fire was cased by a propane fridge which was recalled for just that reason. The owner of that coach did not heed the warning recall. Such a shame.
BTW…Never say “Only”. :) Take care.
I am looking to set up a system like this but do not want to use a LAN cable or laptop. I just want to use my smartphone and tablet to access the wifi. Is there a way to set this up without a Mac or PC?
I am sorry, there is not based on the gear used being commercial gear. But once setup, you can use a phone or tablet from that point on to select a parks AP to connect to.
Dave,
Thanks a lot for all the info. Really was a simple set-up. And the equipment is really stable.
I found a side benefit for the system that really helps me when at home. While I was doing and testing the set up I did it out in my shop. My wi-fi won’t normally reach out that far, but with the Nano, I get good network connectivity.
I set up all my devices to connect with the Nano so when I get on the road I won’t have to reconfigure them again.
Hi David,
I watched both you videos. I am a full time online student and we are in El Paso with horrible internet. I am interested in learning more about the Rogue Wave. If its what you use, I’d like to see a video or a breakdown of all the equipment o your coach.
Hi….I no longer use the RogueWave and use the setup you had seen in this post and video when needed. In regards to the gear in my coach, I installed a full commercial Ubnt UniFi system which would be total overkill for most people. But for park internet connection to a parks AP, I use the NanoStation.
Dave,
Followed your setup, pretty easy to follow. System logs onto park wifi, but no internet connection. If I shift the system to my Mifi, it works perfect. Shift it back to the park wifi, nothing. If I connect my computer directly to the park wifi, it works great. Not sure what to look at, and it may be just this park that will cause problems. Unfortunately, this is the park we spend more time at than any other due to family in the area. Any suggestions on where to start looking?
Thanks,
Jake
Hi…Does the park have a captive portal that you need to go though after you connect to the parks SSID? If so, after you connect to the park with the NanoStation you then need to bring up their captive portal to login or agree. After that, all your devices connected to your network will have internet. If they do not, and you are sure the NanoStation is connected to them, then they could be blocking routers from being used. (Which is totally silly for them to do as it actually saves them bandwidth and connection overhead. IE…One device, the NanoStation, needs to be keep track of on their system vs the 5 or 6 devices you may own that would otherwise need to connect separately thus taking up more of the parks connections.) You can tell if the NanoStation is connected to the parks AP if all or most of lights on the back light up. Good luck.
Dave,
Thee is no captive portal. All of the lights on the back light up. During the setup, while I was connected through the cable, I could not access the internet then either. Got the same results I have with the router connected.
Thanks for the help.
Jake
You surely will want to check with the park then. Not sure what kind of park it is or if they have anyone that actually knows anything, but it sounds like that they are detecting and stopping routers which is just a really bad idea for the park to do. The only reason to do such a thing would be if they are selling Internet access per device. Then they may want to block as then you need to pay for access for each device. But seeing there is no portal, then they surely are not selling access and thus SHOULD NOT be blocking routers as it ends up hurting their network. (I know this as I have setup a number of parks.)
Oh, not sure how close you are to their Access Point, but you could be over powering it with the NanoStation. Try turning it away from the access point if you are close to it. (Within 5 or 6 sites) If you over power it, it would be someone standing next to you with a megaphone and trying to talk to you. You likely would not like that to much and “tune them out.” (So to speak) Seeing you say it works when you connect the NanoStation to your MiFi, then it seems you have it setup correctly or I would have said to look to be sure you checked the NAT box when you were setting up the NanoStaion in the network section.
Dave,
On the main page I have a signal strength of -58 db with the antenna pointed away from the wifi antennae, and -67 when pointed at it. Seems backwards, but that is what it shows. Could be a reflector in the coach I’m picking up. I’ll talk to the park tomorrow to see if they can be any help.
Thanks,
Jake
That is the signal YOU are receiving. It does sound like weird reflections or interference as it surely should move more towards zero when pointing at it. (-58 is better than -67) However, turning it away is to stop you from over powering them as the NanoStation is VERY powerful. You have no idea what they are seeing on their side as there is no way to tell unless you are looking at their radio, which you can’t. But I am guessing it did not fix the issue when you turned it away. (-55 is ideal for a receiving, but also just as important is what they are receiving from you.)
Do you or know anyone who has any experience with the Ubiquiti PICOM2-HP Wireless AccessPoint 600mW?
I’m considering building the system you show here but using this instead of the NanoStation. I want to mount the unit on the roof of my camper so I wanted to go with something that wasn’t directional as I would not be able to easily move it.
Yes, you can use that and program it the same way as the NanoStation as it uses the same firmware. So the tutorial will work just fine.
Just wanted to thank you for this solution. I used it with both my house system (sort of simulating using the house’s wifi router (an Apple Airport) as if it was the campground’s) as well as a KOA campground. At the KOA they had a couple outdoor routers and one internal one. I was able to use my phone to access 192.168.2.1 and choose/apply which one to use. As hoped-for, all the various other devices just point to the AirGateway and don’t even notice the change (except for the understandable, but short time-gap when the NanoStation resets to the different campground router).
Note for others: I could not get this solution to work by using my PC running Windows 10. Don’t know why and I tried a myriad of settings and security stuff, as well. So, finally, I borrowed my wife’s eight year old macbook and everything worked like a charm. Now that the basics are setup, I won’t have to use the ethernet (as you learn above) or her Macbook and I’m now able to use the smart phone, via wifi, to reset the NanoStation to any new campground’s or locations.
Glad to read all worked out for you. A do know a lot of people that set it up using Windows 10, so can’t really say why you would have had an issue. Glad though you are all set. :)
Just want to add my thanks along with all the other folks you have helped. Your instructions are spot on. I am currently up and running at Myrtle Beach. My question, I would like to change the name of my personal wifi. Can I do that without connecting everything back up via cables? I just don’t want to go in and change the name and discover that I’ve broken the “link” – sorry I can’t be more clear.
Thanks,
Donna
Hi…Yes you can. Just go to 192.168.1.1 and login to the AirGateway. Then you will see where you can change the SSID. Click Change, then APPLY. It will reboot and you will then see the new SSID that you can connect to. Short of that, if you mess up, you can just reset the AirGateway. wWith it powered up, Preston with a paperclip on the reset button for 20 seconds and then release. It will reset the routers to default and you will then connect to the SSID http://www.ubnt.com and run through the set up again.
David – I love this solution and have been using it for over a year. I have a question: Why does the antenna see multiple access points for one park when my iPhone or iPad sees only one? Would you recommend looking for the strongest one of these and connecting to it?
I am still amazed at the old setups I encounter at various parks across the country as evidenced by the lack of a radio button beside the access point name.
Thank you for putting this together and for all of your support!
Will this boost the signal of a mobile hotspot?
Thank you,
Dave
It does not boost the signal as that is 4G and thus requires something like the weboost Drive 4G-X RV. (https://outsideourbubble.com/weboost-drive-4g-x-rv-know/) This can connect to the JetPack however like you could an RV park and thus still allowing you to stay one the same SSID all the time.
You are a rockstar for taking the time to answer all of these posts!!
I see that your post has been recently updated indicating that it is current however I see on the Ubiquity site, the Nanostation M is listed under ‘Airmax Legacy’. While the Nanostations are still available, is there a newer product that would be a replacement for this setup? If so, is it any better or just newer?
The NanoStation M2 is current. They changed the model name more or less away from just M to be M2 ad M5. At first it was just a 2.4Ghz product.
So i’ll be using this for my camper i’ll soon be getting. So the ” CPE”/ nanostaton connects wirelessly to the camp sites wireless network and converts it to wired access. Then you’ve connected it to a wireless router? Could I just get the nanostation and use a switch just for wired internet and then add a wrieless AP to the switch if I had wished to do so?
Hi…
Yup, sure could. What we are doing here is making for a very simple, small, unit. But if you use a wireless router, you would not have the need then to have to add an access point.
Really nice and well documented. Thanks for this :)
I happens to have the airgateway installer version which have USB power input and I would have thought I just could use this connected to my caravan battery. But what I realize is that it seems that this version does have other and les functionality.
Do you know if it somehow can be used, perhaps update with other firmware?
Cheers Thomas
Thomas…I am so sorry, but I am really not sure what you are asking. I know of no other AirGateway.
He must mean this https://dl.ubnt.com/datasheets/airgateway/airGateway_Pro_Installer_DS.pdf
Ah yes…The installer tool. Totally forgot about that. :) It is used out in the field to do quick configs pointing the antennas etc.
Your writeup is very informative and helpful; since it was written several years ago, any changes to recommend like newer or updated equipment like the NSM2 for increased range?
Hi…As it is mentioned right at the beginning, it is all still current. The NanoStation M2 Loco is still the current model to use or for more power/range, it would be the NanoStation M2 (No Loco) which is 2 times the size and kind of overkill.
Just watched your video on firmware update. I have two issues. When on the main tab and looking for version I see “Version:v5.5.6” No xm or xw or ti. Second issue when I am on the system tab and click check now for system updates popup box in lower right gives me options to go to download page or dismiss but not to update. I have the NanoStation M2 (No Loco) and am connected to an AP.
An other issue i have been having is while browsing the internet from my laptop connected to airgateway I repeatedly lose connection and have to reconnect laptop to airgateway. Will be OK for period of time, maybe 10 – 60 minutes maybe longer then will lose connection and need to reconnect again.
Any help greatly appreciated
Hi…You should be able to see XM or XW somewhere. Once you know the hardware type you can download the firmware from here… https://www.ubnt.com/download/airmax-m/nanostationm Download to your desktop and then go to the SYSTEM tab and click on CHOOSE FILE and upload and apply. But that is the NanoStation and has nothing to do with the AirGateway. You will find that firmware here… https://www.ubnt.com/download/accessories Just login to your AirGateway and go to the system tab and do the same as the above. Good luck.
Thanks, found the XM designation on the system tab with firmware version. It did not show on Main Tab. Firmware update on Nanostation now completed with your help. Since update XM does show on Main Tab. – Will try firmware update onn AirGateway next. Do you feel that may help my repeated lost connection to Laptop? Thanks again.
Not 100% sure as chip manufacturers can do weird things with Wi-Fi chips and how they interact with other manufacturer chips. But the connection issue is NOT because of the NanoStation as the connection is between your device and the AirGateway. So updating that will surely not hurt. Good luck!
Just an update in case it may help someone else. Update of firmware on AirGateway did not solve the recuring dropped connection to laptop but then I decieded to reset the Air Gateway by using the reset button behind the hole in the device itself and then went thru the procedure for setting up the AirGate in your origional video. Now 2 days and counting with no dropped connection. Previously dropped multiple times per day. I am declaring it fixed!! Thanks for your help on this and for the origional video without which I wouldn’t have had a clue about this sytem much less how to implement it.
Glad you are all set. You are welcome. :)
David.
Thanks for this, however I don’t seem to be able to connect to the nanostation, have tried numerous time and I get a message “your connection was interupted”, any idea what I’m doing wrong?
Sorry you are having issues. Sorry to say hard to help as that message does not help any. I have no clue if you are just setting it up and how far you got etc. I know if you follow the tutorial, it surely goes without a hitch.
I’m in the library so haven’t seen the video yet. My question is will this set up work for my Ford F150 build out? I’m in the process of getting solar kit installed too. I need better connection at the campgrounds but also need a long range boost for when I have to stay else where…campground not open in the winter. Thank you!
Ektar
Sorry, hard to say as I have no idea what you will be trying to connect to and the distance. This is only for Wi-Fi not cell-phones just to be clear. :)
Hey mate sorry for the delay…I’m permanently camping in Ford F150 truck
with a topper. I have a laptop & ipad mini.I’m not always at a campground
& the one where I am now does not have wifi.
I’m trying to find out the best way for me to stay connected. I will be adding
solar to keep things charged & run a fridge freezer. Thank you so much for
your time.
Cheers
Ektar
That really is not an easy question to answer for if you are relaying on RV Parks Wi-Fi, then building one of these in the tutorial will give you the best CHANCE at being connected. But that all comes down to the RV Park and how well they are setup. Why you may have a great connection to the park, that does not mean the park has good wi-fi or bandwidth needed to handle the park etc. So your best bet is to be sure to have a JetPack from Verizon or somewhere to be able to have data as long as you are in 4G coverage area. So if the park is no good, you at least then can change over to the JetPack.
Learning a lot from you David. Looking forward to meeting you both on the road somewhere. We’ve been to a lot of the same places. Bought our first motorhome last year and did our first “snowbird” thing from Nov to Apr. We call it our 2 4 6 8 trip. 24 states, 6 mos and 8,000 miles. Loved it so much we came back and sold everything and will be heading west in a couple weeks as fulltime’rs.
Weak wifi had to have been the biggest pain in the butt on our trip, almost as bad a people who don’t pick up after their pets, hehe. Might not have time to order the stuff now because our mail will be forward soon but when we get to South Dakota, we will be there for a month. Will def get it hooked up then.
Will be wintering again in the southwest. We’ll keep an eye out for you’ens. Jim & Beryl
Hi Jim…Great to read. Congrats! Hey…Seeing you will be out west, and you want to meet us, why not make plans to come to our OOBerfest in January! Here is the full info… https://outsideourbubble.com/ooberfest-2018/
Ok, all signed up. We will be there. This will be a first for us, never boondocked before (other than Walmart). Got 2 big dogs so we might have to be out on the edge somewhere.
Hi David,
I am looking in to this system for my RV and was wondering if this could also be used on my home wifi system to extend my wifi coverage to areas of the house and back yard that have poor coverage with my comcast router.
Thanks,
DW
Yupper. Just connect the NanoStation to your SSID of your Home Router. NOTE…You will need to make the SSID of the AirGateway something else other than your home network name. If you are thinking of doing this just for your home, there are better ways to do it than this. But seeing you mentioned RV, then yes…you surely can use it at home also. But you will just connect to the SSID of your extended network. (I have never tried using the same SSID on the AirGateway with the same SSID of a home network. But in theory, it Should work as long as you lock on to the MAC address of your home router vs the AirGateway.) Note, you want to be sure you are not using the same IP range. Most home systems are 192.168.0.X or 192.168.1.X and this could, maybe run into an IP conflict. Good luck!
David,
I would like to thank you for your help. I ordered the parts and set per your video. The set up was easy and it has been working great extending my home wifi signal. I am excited to see how well it works in the rv next month.
Thanks again
DW
Great to read. Enjoy!
Hi. David. I set up everything very successfully, was out RVing and was connecting just fine to various sites’ wifi. Then, one day, I saw the update buttons. I don’t know now if I updated the Nanostation first instead of the router. I went through the whole routine and then I absolutely could not connect to the nanostation anymore. Such a bummer. I then pushed its reset button. No help. Then I read various search results that I may have nuked something with that reset, tried to ping it or to download some help with tftp (sp?) –> no help. Could not get to the login page of the radio.
So, I got home, bought a new router, new Nanostation, got on my wife’s imac (with ethernet), carefully turned off the wifi, set the IP address as you directed manually to 192.168.1.10. Then, in Safari, I still can’t access the new Nanostation at 192.168.1.20. Tried repeatedly. On the back of the radio I have the power light solid green and the LAN light green blinking. Any advice at all on how to proceed? Damn, it was working so fine until I tried that upgrade on my own! ?
Thanks for any help,
Jonathan
Remove the AirGateway as I am guessing you still have it in place which is blocking you from reaching the 192.1678.1.20 address.
I still have the airmax connected by ethernet to the imac. using terminal command arp -a got:
? (192.168.1.20) at (incomplete) on en0 ifscope [ethernet]
Thanks Dave for replying! I plugged the nanostation into injector’s POE port after removing the airmax gateway and the LAN cable to the imac into the nanostation’ LAN port. tried to access it with safari –> no soap. Went into settings/network and tried to directly enter the ip address and the usual subnet mask into the network setting manually but just got an error message that there’s another device on the network (evidently the nanostation is meant) with the same IP address.
What should I do now?
Thanks for any help!
Jonathan
Dave
I have a MAC Book Pro 2011 which I’m trying to set up like above video………I have configured manually the static assigned ip address to network card. When I go to web browser to put in radio ip address it won’t pull up, help I have tried removing my home page, not allowing pop ups, allowing pop ups, no firewalls and no security…….arrrrrg! Any suggestions????
Sounds like you may have already connected the AirGateway before you should have. Doing so would block you from reaching the NanoStation.
Hi David, I’ve been using the Nano Station M2 and air gateway for about 18 months. We’ve been to many areas without any issues. About 2 weeks ago the M2 stopped getting a signal. Only the first 2 green lights are lit. (second one flashes slowly). I’ve been trying to find information to get our system working again. I’m using a Macbook Pro and I can’t even access the 192.168.2.1 Do need to reset this to factory and do the whole set up again? Thanks!
Hi…Sorry to read of your issue. The first light is POWER, the second is the LAN connection which flashes when there is communication happening across the wire. Not sure of to interpret “stopped getting a signal”. Those other lights were not light up and less you are successfully connected to an access point. If that access point you were connected to is now off-line, well so would like to be. So I really guess I don’t have enough information to go by. Now in regards to connecting to the NanoStation directly and can not reach 192.168.2.1, well, how are you connected to it? Are you plugging the LAN port of the POE injector into your computer Ethernet? If so, you need to be sure your port is set back to “Using DHCP” so it can get an IP from the NanoStation. You did not mention if you are using an AirGateway or something else so not sure if a wi-fi router is involved. But the good news is this…you CAN factory reset it and then just set it up quickly again, after all, you have already done it. :) REMINDER…If you do go to factory reset it, you need to be sure not to try to set it up again with the AirGateway still connected to the POE injector or you will not be able to reach the NanoStation. To reset it, with a powered on fully, using a paperclip press in on a little button inside the reset hole and hold a little button down for 20 seconds. Then release. This will reset the unit back to factory defaults and takes about 2 mins so DO NOT power it off for at least 3 mins. GOOD LUCK and glad to read it was working great for you. (Sometimes these units can automatically reset back to factory defaults if it detects some bad issue somewhere. That could be what happen here but is rare.)
Hi, David. Thanks for the great video! My husband and I are on the verge of ordering the NSM2 and Gateway LR for our travel trailer. One question though, once the initial configuration and set up is complete for both M2 and Gateway on the computer, can you access the Ubiquiti set up screen to change the AP from any device, such as a tablet or cell phone?
Hi…Yes, at that point, any Wi-Fi connected device to the AirGateway can get you to the NanoStation to make changes. They now even have an APP that can be used. Just please be aware however, you are dealing with commercial gear, which is fine and great, but it is usually something that is setup and not touched like we all are using them. As such, if not using the app and using a browser, I would at least use a tablet as thing will be small on the screen. As far as the app, I really should take a look at it as I never really have, but I have read that others do it that way. This is the APP for AirMax… https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ubnt.umobile Hope this helps! Take care.
David,
Currently running XM.v5.5.11-cpu400.28081.150804.1144 for the NanoStation Loco M2 antennae. It’s an older version that I needed to run for a specific RV park. I’m trying to update it and when I check the update box it says it’s up to date. Is there a newer version I can manually DL?
Thanks Bruce
Sure…here you go… https://www.ubnt.com/download/airmax-m/nanostationm
Greta Dave thanks. Now looking for airGateway updates. Why are the update buttons not working? The antennae gave me the message that it was up to date.
airGateway tells me it cannot contact teir website but I can from the link displayed in the error message???
Confused. Bruce
Older firmware does not know where the new download servers are.
Not well thought out to change the download servers.
Any idea where the airgateway updates are?
Same download page…Found under Accessories…
https://www.ubnt.com/download/accessories/airgateway
Hi Dave, just wanted to thank you for the video and the heads up on the Ubiquiti gear. I don’t know if your aware, they changed the firmware a bit. Under the NAT box is another box, “Block management access”. It’s checked by default. You can’t make any changes until it’s unchecked. Bummer, huh? The other thing I remember isn’t such a big deal. It wants to change the system password before making changes or saving changes under the network tab. It’s getting a little pushy on the password, but that’s probably a good thing. Anyway, good work.
David, I just purchased a Nanostation M2. For the initial setup, Ihave a router set up to broadcast a wireless signal with no security (simulating a campground AP). I can connect to the router wirelessly from my laptop. I followed your instructions to set up the nanostation. It sees the router, but when I “lock to AP, change, and Apply”, the signal strength lights on the nanostation never come on. I’ve gone back in to the Nanostation web console and all of the settings seem correct. Can you offer insight?
My apologies! Apparently, at some time in the past, I had set a wireless MAC filter on the router. The laptop was included, but the nanostation was not. I have removed the filter and the nanostation connected immediately. My old brain does not have such agood memory these days.
Sorry for the delay. We just arrived in TX after 3 days of driving. Glad you found the issue!
Hey David
We are using Nano station, POE with the WIFI unit. There is a LAN connection next to the POE port. I want to connect another device to our system to monitor the coach inside temp. Do I need another modem? Do I connect the LAN port to the modem?
Thanks for all the great info!
Dana
The LAN port on the AirGateway can be use for anything hardwired as the AirGatway will just hand out an IP to it just like it would a wireless client. You could even connect a switch to it and have multi hardwired devices if you wanted. Not sure to what you are referring to as a modem.
When using the NanoStation M2, is there a reason to NOT use the “Bridge” mode instead of “Router” mode?
This would seem to bridge the park WiFi to the WAN interface on my internal router (in your example, the Airgateway, but in my case, I’m using a Mofi4500-4GXeLTE V2 router) and cause one less “hop”…one less NAT.
What am I missing with this idea?
My devices will connect to the Mofi, so my internal network will still be separated from the park WiFi.
Wanted to get your take on this. Thanks!
Hi…Sure you could if you wanted your router to have a parks IP. If not setup right in the park, your router is then exposed on the network vs being behind a another wall. But thats really the difference. The HOP is not like a Wi-Fi hope where you would loose speed if that is the concern. If NAT is the Concern, you knowing about NAT says that you then know enough to make a choice as to what mode you want to run in. (Oh also…as I have run into this…This also allows you to change the NanoStations MAC address to get though if they are blocking routers from connecting.)
David thanks, this is great. I got all the bits from Amazon today and set it up. At first, it was very slow and was kind of depressed because I really wanted this to work. It’s easy for me to switch from one hotspot to another but not so much for my wife so shielding her from that was my main goal.
I performed a speedtest connected to the hotspot itself and then another one connected to the gateway which was using the hotspot as its source and the results were *very* different. I moved the gateway as far from the nanostation as the ethernet cable would allow and things got better almost immediately.
I bought the airGateway LR and the NanoStation M because when you can have more power, why would you not? :)
I really appreciate your work, this is excellent!
Eddie
Glad you have it working. Please BE SURE you DO NOT have the NanoStation anywhere near the JetPack/HotSpot as it will over power it and also make for poor results. Also, you may have the JetPack and the AirGateway on the same Wi-Fi channel which will cause interference. So you may want to check that. :) Also be aware that with each Wi-Fi hop, wireless hope, you will loose speed. Thus your computer connected to the JetPack is one wireless hop. If you are connected to the AirGateway and the NanoStation is then connected the the JetPack, that is two wireless hops. As such, you will loose some speed. But anyway, it sounds more like a same channel issue or you had the NanoStation to close to the JetPack. In any case….Enjoy!
How can I check to see if the JetPack and the AirGateway are on the same Wi-Fi channel or not?
I found how to set this on the JetPack and set it to channel 11 but don’t see any way to set it on the AirGateway unless I set it to a specific frequency. Is that what you mean?
Thanks,
Eddie
Seeing the Ubnt devices are commercial gear they go by actual freq and not a simple number. 1 = 2412, 6 = 2437, 11 = 2462 You only use 1, 6, or 11 so the channels do not overlap. You can use an app, like Wi-Fi Analyzer if you use an android and see all the SSID’s in the air. Best to try to set one to 1 and the other to 11 so they are far apart. Most default to 6.
Thanks very much!
David, with the loco, how do you get around networks that allow one device only and require you to authenticate via a webpage before connecting. Setting the passcode in the radio config won’t work in this scenario I’m finding
You are talking about a “Captive Portal”. After you connect the NanoStation to the park, you open a web browser and when you try to go somewhere, you will get the captive portal page. Put in the password or user name and password and it will log the MAC address of the NanoStation as that is all is can see connecting from you. I clearly state this in the blog post.
David, Is there anything available similar but in the 5 Ghz space or better yet that covers 2.4 and 5 Ghz? Thanks for all your info you provide.
Hi… For Ubiquity antennas/radios, no as these are commercial radios that an installer would used based on the need. A dual band radio would add to the cost that is not needed in this case as the installer would know what to put in. (Unlike a Dual Band Access Points.) There’s two radios NanoStation M2 (2.4Ghz) and the M5 (5Ghz). I carry both just in case I can use the 5Ghz as it is a less crowed freq. I just have them setup 100% the same so I just plug in the one I want to use/try and everything is the same no matter what.
Simple help I think. I have a wifi hotspot that I use in my RV. I link my Smart TV to it to stream tv, as well as my laptop. I am looking for something to pull in a signal when I am boondocking. I believe I understand repeaters and boosters etc. My little hotspot just does not have the antenna length etc that some of the other stuff does.
In simple terms, what would you recommend to get a better signal that my little hotspot can sit on or connect to. Thanks and I hope this is appropriate for this forum.
Hi…Got you covered. You are looking for a 4G booster. See here… https://outsideourbubble.com/weboost-drive-4g-x-rv-know/
Hi Dave, I really appreciate your time and effort to put this together! I just received the necessary parts, nanostation loco m2 and the air gateway. I thought I’d try configuring and testing it at home before our next trip, but it’s not going so well. Here at home we have fibre broadband internet and the wireless router has a default IP address in the range 192.168.2.* Would this result in an IP conflict? After following all your steps, I can’t get to the internet. I can hit the wifi router (using my wireless credentials) with good signal strength but I can’t bring up any web pages.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Rob
So instead of using 192.168.2.X use 192.168.10.X. So where I have 2, make it 10. :) Just remember then to get to the NanoStation it would be 192.168.10.1. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the help…worked like a charm! I even managed to get the AirGateway working! It’s a great setup :-)
I do have a question on the logistics when switching campgrounds: if you mentioned this step already I apologize, but do we need to remove the AirGateway and reconnect the laptop to the LAN port of the power injector to change the SSID?
Thanks again!
Hi…Glad it is working. All that is required to change what you are connecting to is to have it all powered up and then just go to 192.168.2.1. You can be connected via your SSID and no wires are needed. You also can use an APP on your phone. If using Android, go into the Play Store and look for UMobile, the icon is a big U. This will allow you to connect your phone to the AirGateway and click CONNECTIONS, click the PLUS, click LOGIN and add your NanoStation buy putting in 192.168.2.1 for address and the the user name and password you use. Save it and it will connect to the NanoStation and in their you will find a place you can run a SCAN and select the SSID to connect to.
David, is there any way to have both the 2.4 GHz AND the 5Ghz connected to the airGateway at the same time? I would like to set up my cell data hotspots to use 5Ghz as I have heard that it is faster, and have 2.4 GHz ready in the event we are close to good wifi. If I had both live all the time I would not have to switch my hotspots over to 2.4 GHz. Or is this just a silly idea?
I only ask because I have heard that 5GHz is faster and there is less contention. Internally that is what I would prefer but if I have a 2.4 GHz antenna then that is what I am locked in to.
Hi…5Ghz can be faster as it is a less crowded frequency and it can carry more data. However, it also does no go though things very well because it is a higher frequency. Line of site is alway best for 5Ghz or being closer if you have things in the way. You can not have 5Ghz and 2.4Ghz at the same time on the AirGate way as WAN as you can only have one radio plugged into it at a time. But I am not sure what you are asking. Are you asking about connecting to the park or have 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz for your devices to connect to in the RV? If you want it to connect to the park, then you would need an M2 and a M5 and set them up the sale and just choose which one you will use to connect to the park with. (Most parks use 2.4. More recent installs would likely be dual band 2.4/5.) If you mean for your devices to connect to…then you want the AirGateway PRO which is a dual band wi-fi router. It does both 2.4 and 5 at the same time for your devices to connect to it. You could use any Dual Band router of your choice for that matter and not use an AirGateway. You then plug the NanoStation into the WAN port of the router. The AirGateways are great for RV as they are very small and take little space and everything is running off of one power cord. Here is a link to the Pro… http://amzn.to/2jIrRVp Hope this helps.
What do you do when you get kicked off the wifi. I’ve noticed when on the parks wifi just on my laptop (not the setup you have explained here – BTW I’ve ordered all this stuff from Amazon) but just using my laptop on the open free and unprotected wifi, it kicks me off sometimes, switches me to another wifi and I have to reconnect to the free wifi. Do you ever have this problem with this setup and how do you resolve this. I’d like to know as I will need to connect for a week at a time and stay connected with this setup. Can it be done without resigning in, redoing all this work, etc. Or once I set everything up as you have explained in this video, does it stay connected all the time.
Thanks
Marc
I am sorry, but that is hard to say as I have no idea how the park is setup etc. So not sure if they are kicking you or if your computer is seeing a better open connection and jumping to it. So it is hard to say. With NanoStation you can LOCK TO AP so it does not jump from that AP.
Nice. I didn’t know about the lock feature. I’ll be installing it today. Fingers crossed.
David, this worked like a charm but I had to connect the white nano station antennae first to get it all to work – FYI. It wouldn’t show an ethernet connection during initial setup while connected to my computer so I had to connect the white nano station to the power box via cable first, then it all worked exactly like your video. I think in your video you don’t specify to connect the white antennae for initial setup. I could be wrong. But it all worked out. One last question I have is, Do you know why, when pointed at the parks wifi, the signal strength on the antennae goes in and out intermittently? It will show all bars lit up like a Christmas tree as you say, then drop to just the first two green lights, then back to the tree every 10 seconds. Finally, I’m not very tech savvy and I was able to get this all set up using your video. Very clear instructions. Thanks
Marc
Actually my video is 100% accurate and I show you what to plug in where and when. The issue you see with the light is likely due to in correct password as the radio is trying over and over to the make the connection as their is no way to tell you that the password is not right. It is connects, tries the password, fails, drops, and then tries again.
In this case, it’s an unprotected wifi (no password), I can connect to the parks internet without the nano just with my laptop and also with the nano (albeit the speed is really slow). Weird thing is it will load a web page really fast occasionally and then takes forever to load the rest. Actually I had my kid check the signal strength lights on the antennae and every time it lit up fully the web pages load fast. When the signal drops to 2 lights the pages don’t load. As I said earlier, 10 second intervals. Weird huh?
If you are also close to the AP, you could be overpowering it, which I did mention in the video and in the blog post, as such the AP you are connection to could be trying to kick you off. Over powering is like standing next to someone with a bullhorn that is trying to talk to you. You would not like it much. So try turning the NanoStation away from the AP, thus reducing power, or actually reducing power in the Wi-Fi tab. Just another thought.
I tried both, reset the system too to make sure I was following your instructions exactly, which I did. And still no luck. I second time I redid the system, I noticed even before I set up the airgateway the nanostation was kicking me off every six seconds. I even buried the antennae in the couch and put a blanket over it. Still got a strong signal but keeps kicking it off. I did by the way opt for the bigger antennae because the wifi is about 300 feet away. Just another thought. I am connecting to a wifi on a kiosk that is an antennae that is being captured and rebroadcast over another antennae. It’s the parks way of getting their wifi to the remote side of the park. I’m assuming that shouldn’t matter though. I was wondering is some default settings were wrong when I got the device as I noticed on my system config page it showed “Block management access” was checked enabled and on your video yours was not selected “enabled”. I wonder what other settings are different from your tutorial? I know you probably feel I’m being a pin at this point but I really want this to work. It’s such a cool idea. Thanks for any help.
Marc
New firmware, new features. “Block management access” is to block getting into the unit from the wireless side of the network. You can leave in UNCHECKED. But that is not your issue. It is still behaving like it does not like the password as it connects, seems to try the password, and then gets kicked because it is not correct.
Not sure what Firmware version you are on, but you can try updating the NanoStations firmware. BTW…Have you tried connecting to the NanoStation to a JetPack if you have one? What I mean is, another wireless SSID vs the park you are at. It could be the park itself is the issue with compatibility. More or less try connecting to another access point that’s not the parks access point and see if you stay connected. Also, you want to try to point to an access point it doesn’t have a hop in it. Each hop is a data speed loss. Seeing these are very powerful radios, you should be in a pointed toward the office and hopefully lock into the access point that doesn’t have any hops at all. The trick there is figuring out which access points are hardwired versus a wireless hop. :) But if you have checked and rechecked the settings, the last thing could be a hardware issue with NanoStation. But I would try to connect to something else first and see what happens.
David, one other thing, whenI looked at the log it repeats the following infinitum:
New access point/cell address:46:D9:E7:AD:F3:19
Received deauth from 46:d9:e7:ad:f3:19. Reason: Deauthenticated because sending STA is leaving (or has left) the basic service area (3)
Maybe this can help you help me trouble shoot as the forums are getting me nowhere. Have you had any luck calling the manufacturer?
That MAC address is not even listed to any company but it would be the MAC Address of the AP you are trying to connect to. No idea what they are using for gear, but it’s not good gear if it is not listed in the MAC address database. (All MAC address should lead back to a chip manufacturer.) Ubnt will not be able to help you as you are using commercial gear trying to connect to someones else’s network. Not to mention, they do not expect these devices to be setup and programmed by a non tech. But like I said in the other thread, try to connect to something else.
David, I figured it out! The Park had to reset their wifi. Power outage had messed it up the week prior. Your set up works like a dream now. Thanks so much!
Marc
David, I have very recently subscribed to a VPN (NordVPN). I believe its working fine, but I notice that once my PC is connected to the VPN I can not connect to the NanoStation (192.168.2.1) I must first disconnect from the VPN then go to the NanoStation, make my changes, then exit and re-connect to the VPN. Are there any settings in the NanoStation or my laptop that I can make to avoid this issue?
Thanks in advance for your help,
Ray
When you create a VPN you are putting yourself PC onto a totally different network. As such, the NanoStation can not be seen as it is not on this private network. This is what make a VPN a VPN. (Virtual Private Network). I am not sure if you are using the AirGateway or not, but you could get a router that handles VPN’s and put your network on the VPN through the router. Thus all devices then will then run through the VPN. Seeing that the NanoStation is then seen as the WAN connection to the router, you can still reach it. I use an ASUS RT-N66U as my Router/VPN thus everything runs throughs the VPN tunnel. Hope this makes sense.
Thanks for the quick response.
Yes, I’m using the Air Gateway. Since it’s a bit of a pain to work around, it looks like my next step is a router that is compatible with VPN. I’ll look into the Asus. I appreciate your help.
Oh, the AirGateway does support the use of a VPN or you would not be able to use it like you are. The difference is that you want a router that will handle all the VPN traffic vs it being just on your PC. You could always get the Ubnt app for your phone and connect to the NanoStation using that to make changes. Or you could use any device with a browser to connect to it even while your PC is on the VPN. The only reason you can get to it from your PC is because you are on a totally different network when you turn on the VPN. As such, all the other devices connected to the ASirGateway would still have access to the NanoStation to make a change to the network. The APP is UBNT Device Discovery Tool.
Thanks, David. you save me from buying a new router. I should have thought about using another device to make any changes.
Now if only I could get better data bandwidth from the cell tower I’m sitting near I’d be in high cotton. Ah well, back to the 1200 baud days.
In your initial setup of the NanoStation, right after turning on NAT, you go down and change the IP address of the LAN. In your video, that is listed as “LAN0”, which I assume is the “Main” wired lan port of the NanoStation. However, in my Nanostation M2, that device is listed as “Bridge0” even though I’ve changed the Network setting to Router! I can’t get that to allow any other device other than Bridge0!
I’m on firmware XW.v6.13, which is the firmware that Ubiquity support sent me for this NanoStation.
Any ideas on how to change that Device from Bridge0 to Lan0? I believe it’s why I can’t get mine to work!
Have you tried it? It is just fine like that. They just switched the name based on how the unit is being used. It’s all good. Mine already reads Bridged0. It actually is making a “bridge” between wired and wireless sides. If it is not working, you have something else not set just right I fear. (When you say you can’t get yours to work, you never mentioned in what way.) But the change from LAN to BRIDGE is not an issue. Mine reads…LAN Interface: BRIDGE0
well, I messed around with it enough, and finally got it! It still shows the Lan Network Settings as using Lan Interface “Bridge0”, but it’s handing out a DHCP in the correct range, and it’s connecting to the remote Wifi via the NanoStation radio! Thanks for all your contributions to this community!
Yep, like I in my reply…mine reads the same. Glad you are good…Enjoy!
Does using this setup impact others on the same wifi network by overpowering the radio in the access point?
I notice there is an output power setting on the wireless page. Is there a recommended setting?
Thanks
Sure it can if you are close to the AP. This is a waring I clearly give in the blog post. It will not just affect them however, also you as “noise” is “noise” which is more or less what you would be making. You would not have any idea on what to set that power at as you can not see what they are receiving signal wise. You can only see what you are receiving from them. I usually turn it down to 10 and then do a speed test and see where the UPLOAD is. (which is your transmission out) I then move it to 20 and again run the test. If I seen no improvement or it gets worse, I move it back down. If I see an improvement, I can try a little higher. Hope this makes sense.
Ive been reading thru your posts here and the ones from the RV forum and havent found a definative answer for my questions. Ive seen where you can set up system at home and then when you get to your destination (camp site) log onto the campgrounds wifi, question is do you have it tethered to your laptop via cat5 cable or can you use a tablet or phone to connect. We have a small camper and space is at a premium so even a small item like a laptop would be in the way. Nowhere to keep it set up. One more question if you dont mind. One camp ground we stay at we attempt to log on and get the message “connected, no internet”
How can we be connected but have no internet? Justntrying to make sense of this, thanks
John
Hi…No cable needed after setup. You just connect to your SSID and then go to 192.168.2.1 as clearly was mentioned to then go in and connect to the the AP’s SSID you would like to connect to. I am not sure on the second question if you are referring to if you use a device or if you are using the NanoStation. In either case, you can be connected to the AP (Their network) but have no internet if 1) Their internet connection is actually down, thus NO INTERNET. or 2) They have a Captive Portal you need to go though to AGREE to their terms of use. Until you do that, you also can not reach the Internet. This was also covered on the blog post…
Dealing with “Agree” Pages: Some parks require you to “agree” or login with a user name and password before you have access. So once you connect to the park with the NanoStation, while on your Wi-Fi network, the first time you open your web browser the “captive portal” page will come up asking you to agree or log in. Once you do, the portal will note the MAC address of the NanoStation and then allow access to anything on your local Wi-Fi network.
NOTE: If your browser defaults to a open a webpage that is HTTPS (vs HTTP) then the captive portal can not show up as it is not HTTPS active. So be sure you are trying to go to a site that is not HTTPS. (Ie…Facebook, Google, GMail are all examples of HTTPS sites that people have their browsers default to.) So try another site…any site…maybe ours, and the captive portal page should come up for you. Also some campgrounds auto log you out after X hours or at the start of a new day. If this is the case you need to AGREE again. Just a heads up.
OK, thanks go for the info. Just needed it cleared up in my head.
Hi David
First I would like to thank you for this wonderful video, it is very well done and quite simple to follow.
Now I ran into a problem and I wonder if you would have some suggestion on how to solve it.
I did the installation as you described it at my home first, everything seems to be ok, I get a strong signal (of course the wifi is a few feets from my desk…) lights are on on the Nano but it seems I cannot access internet as it looks like my supplier wifi network doesn’t accept the password.
I entered it a few times but it doesn’t work. I know the wifi works and the password is correct.
I used a MacBook to set things up, the NanoStation loco M2 is updated to v.6.1.3 and is installed with a Air Gateway, wireless connection works fine, Mac is running under OSX 10.10.1
I would really appreciate if you have any suggestion.
Hi…You could be WAY to close as I mentioned in the blog post. IF you are to close with the NanoStation which is VERY POWERFUL, you could be over powering your homes wi-fi router. Also, are you SURE you are connected? To know, the lights on the back on the unit will all light up and stay lit. If they light up and then go off and then do it again, it is because it is trying the password over and over. (Remember, case sensitive) If all of this is good, go back into the NanoStation and in the NETWORK tab make sure you did not miss checking the NAT box. Without it data will not flow. Hope something here helps. IF not, go back and recheck ALL the settings to be sure they are correct.
Hi David
As you suggested I rechecked all the settings which seems ok, I checked my password wich is also correct, The lights on the unit are all “ON” and steady but the LAN light keep flashing, so my guess is that I will have to find a way to increase the distance between my home wifi and the nano.
Thanks
Try setting your MacBook to use DHCP again and remove the AirGateway from the POE injector and power the NanoStation directly and use a cable to go from the LAN port to your Mac. See if you get a 192.168.2.X IP address. (It will tell you the IP in the network settings of the Mac) And if so, can you then surf the web? If so, AirGateway issue. If not, something else still not right with NanoStation. Just point the NanoStation down on the table.
Oh…What IP does your HOME router give out if to connect to it with your computer? If it is 192.168.2.X, then that would be the issue as it would then be a conflicting IP with the NanoStation. If that is the case, you would need to change the NanoStation to be something like 192.168.5.X. So on the network tab, you would change any 192.168.2.X to be 192.168.5.X (X being whatever it is now.) Three places. After you make that change and apply it, after it reboots you would then connect to the NanoStation at 192.168.5.1. (Hope that makes sense.)
Hi David:
Is there any way to reset the Ubiquiti using software. I damaged my reset button and can’t physically press it.
thanks
Garry
Hi David
You hit the nail right on, my home wifi is 192.168.2.24 so as you suggested I changed the Nano to 192.168.5.x and my problem was gone.
So again I thank you very much for your help and I hope we could eventually meet during our journeys.
I must say that your setup video is by far the most easy and comprehensive one I have seen.
Thanks again and good caravanning.
I do think there is a factory reset in the system tab or the last tab to the right. If not, look at your POE injector, it also may have a reset button on it and if so, after you power it up, 60 seconds, press in on that one. It shorts two of the ethernet pins which does a reset of the NanoStation.
GREAT!!! Glad you got it going!!!! Glad my videos are of help.
Thanks for the help David. I think I must have damaged that reset button as well on the POE injector. I can’t get to the system tab as the Nano won’t respond to any address that I put in. If I bricked my Nano then so be it. Thanks for all you do here David. Hope to pop over to your OOberfest as we will be camping with LTV group next door.
cheers Garry
That is why Amazon is so great, just replace it. ;) If you are here…be sure to come over for the talks or at least the party Sunday night. Live music at 6PM…BYOB.
Hi
Thank you for this great “How To” , very informative!
I do have a few questions that I’m hoping you can answer.
First , my main goal is to setup a camera inside my RV to keep an eye on my pets while we are out.
Most likely I will be using my mobile hotspot for an internet connection (but maybe park wifi if it works). The camera I have can send images or alerts such as Temperature ,Motion etc , also, so I have options if live streaming video isn’t possible.
My question is , with this setup will I be able to connect a camera and view it remotely?
Thank you
Chris
As long as you have internet access, I do not see why you would not be able to as it is more or less like a home Wi-Fi system. But you want to be sure the camera system does not require you to open ports on your router for access as you will not be able to do so as you can not control the parks routers. So you need to be sure the camera system creates it own tunnels without the need to open any ports.
Thanks for a great easy to follow tutorial.
I’ve been using the nanostation2 with an airgateway router for about 3 years and my system has worked flawlessly. I have been in the current Park for a year and the owners decided to update the WIFI. Now when I try connecting to the parks WiFi it shows the AP but there is no BOX/ CIRCLE to place a tick next to the AP(no way to select AP) My laptop and phone will connect when given the same AP. What should I look for? Could there be an address conflict? My Nanostation M2 has an IP of 192.168.2.1 and airGateway IP 192.168.1.1. any guidance would be appreciated.
It would not know if there was an IP issue as you can not connect to get an IP, so that is not it. It could be that the new system can “see” routers and not allow them to connect. (The NanoStation is in router mode if you recall.) So seeing they check for this using the MAC address, you could try changing the MAC address of the NanoStation to something like 20:ab:37:7a:51:92 which is a MAC address for an iPhone. You would do this in the NanoStation and I think the option is called CLONE MAC ADDRESS or something like this. Check the box, put in the MAC address, click Change, Click Apply and the NanoStation will reboot and the new MAC address will be used. So I would start their. (Also if they are using WEP as security it WILL NOT work as WEP is not supported as it is so old. But seeing you said new system, that should not be it.) Hope this helps. (BTW…Really, really dumb for them not to allow routers to connect if this is the case. It would save them a lot of connections seeing then all your devices would need to connect to them vs only one.)
I saw your earlier post about reverting the 6.0 firmware back to 5.5.11 to get the bullets back in front of the AP SSIDs. Going back solved my problem, worked great. I used the /XM.v5.5.11.28002.150723.1344.bin
firmware. What a great blog
You can still find 5.5.10u2 (XW) and 5.5.11 XM/Ti on download.ubnt.com, under “See Past Firmware”.
Here are the direct links.
http://dl.ubnt.com/firmwares/XW-fw/v5.5.10/XW.v5.5.10-u2.28005.150723.1358.bin
http://dl.ubnt.com/firmwares/XN-fw/v5.5.11/XM.v5.5.11.28002.150723.1344.bin
http://dl.ubnt.com/firmwares/XN-fw/v5.5.11/TI.v5.5.11.28002.150723.1518.bin
Ah yes!!! I was not aware they still had them posted. THANKS DAVE for the links! (Readers, please be sure you download the proper one for YOUR radio type…XM or XW if needed.) And yes, that does help on some networks for sure to solve it.
COMMENTDavid – love your tech videos and explanations. I had started out with a Bullet but it tapped out after a couple of years so I purchased the Nanostation Loco M2 and Airgateway. Everything works “most” of the time but I’m getting the much discussed no radio button for the APs in the park we are in.
I have tried cloning the MAC to an Apple id but that didn’t make any difference.
I can connect directly with my devices and they show WPA encryption so I don’t think it is the WEP issue but would like to try an older firmware. When I download the 5.5.11 XM version listed back in January 2018 of this thread I get an firmware image size error when I upload it. I’ve tried downloading several times with same result. I know this isn’t the best solution but just want to know if that is the problem.
Sorry for going back a year on this thread but hope someone has another source of the old firmware. When I go to the download area on UBNT it only goes back to 5.6.15 which apparently is after the WEP drop. Again thanks for your instructional videos and any tips on how to proceed would be appreciated. Oh and Happy New Year!
Hi…I am not sure the newer firmware allows you to go back that far. So that can be it. I have heard of some people finding the AP they want to connect to, copy the MAC address of the AP, and put that along with the SSID into the Wi-Fi screen. The MAC address would go to into the LOCK TO AP filed. Put the password in if one is required at the bottom and see if it will connect that way. I rarely run into this.
Just to let yo know that I’m connecting WPA2-TKIP not WEP, but Im not sure about TKIP vs AES. WPA2-TKIP vs WPA2-AES. anyway Thanks for your time.
Device Name: NanoStation M2
Network Mode: Router
Wireless Mode: Station
SSID: Happy Jacks
Security: WPA2-TKIP
Version: v5.5.11
Uptime: 01:42:24
Date: 2015-07-23 07:26:18
Channel/Frequency: 2 / 2417 MHz
Channel Width: 20 MHz
Distance: 0.1 miles (0.2 km)
TX/RX Chains: 2X2
WLAN0 MAC68:72:51:3C:35:3e
LAN0 MAC68:72:51:3D:35:3e
LAN1 MAC6A:72:51:3D:35:3e
LAN0 / LAN1100Mbps-Full / Unplugged
AP MAC: 04:F0:21:22:6B:54
Signal Strength:
-20 dBm
Horizontal / Vertical: -20 / -20 dBm
Noise Floor: -90 dBm
Transmit CCQ: 98.3 %
TX/RX Rate: 54 Mbps / 54 Mbps
airMAX: –
All that matters is you are connected now. :)
Hi Dave, I’m going to put the NanoStation on a pole and use ball bungees to attach it to the ladder. My question is what’s the minimum height above the rig I should place the unit. I think the only thing to get in the way of a signal would be the A/C unit. Any thoughts?
Sooo cool,
After all this time I finally got a loco m2 and set it up. Sweeeeeet. Thank you so much. Now to get a passive POE and hook it to my coach battery bank. Thank you again for a great tutorial and cheaper solution. I use a Raspberry pi as the AP as it have a web server that displays all my solar and weather conditions and now I can use the same connection for antenna pointing for the WIFI thank you again.
Hey Dave,
Just wanted to leave you a thank you. Set up my loco m2 off of this post a couple years ago and it’s served me very well in the camper. Since then I’ve setup a m5 to network my house to my dads across the neighborhood (line of sight, works great) and have replaced the WiFi in my house w 3 Ubiquiti ap’s! Takes a bit of know how to setup but they make great stuff.
Also since finding this post have been following your blog, always interesting!
I would like to say thank you for the great tutorial on setting up your own personal network for the RV. It has been so nice to get a good reliable signal to use. You sir have made a nice, simple and easy to follow set of instructions for us average users and man does it ROCK! Ubiquity equipment is very user friendly, if you follow instructions.
Thank you kindly. Glad it all worked out for you and that it was easy to follow. That was the intent not to mention to save $$$ over other solutions. :)
Dave,
Are you still using the 110volt poe injector? Is there a way to use the 12volt coach batteries? I just bought a poe injector from ebay but I am afraid to try it without fully understanding how it works.
It has a way to inject power but not sure what pins its using yet will get my volt meter out but thought I would as the expert also thank you
Yes, I still use a 110V injector. Never looked to make it use 12V as I never had the reason to. :)
Have you found a POE solution that works with the ubiquity devices for this setup that can run off of a 12v direct connection as opposed to requiring an inverter? We travel in a VW Westy and though we have an inverter it would be nice to just hard wire it.
Thanks for the great directions!
B
I am sorry, I have not.
I’ve been using a passive PoE injector hooked directly to my battery with the NanoStation, works fine. It’s similar to this one (I bought mine a few years ago and it’s no longer on amazon) http://amzn.to/2FIzPbx
Dave.. thanks for this set up… Works good. Although I am having difficulty with one set up. Connecting to Open neteoraks…like Bright House network. They require you to opens browser and input userid and password if your account. What settings do I need to change, vs. logging directly to a wep protected router. I thought When I opened the 1st webpage it would direct me to their logon… But does not
You must have totally missed the section on dealing with agree pages or logins…
Dealing with “Agree” Pages: Some parks require you to “agree” or login with a user name and password before you have access. So once you connect to the park with the NanoStation, while on your Wi-Fi network, the first time you open your web browser the “captive portal” page will come up asking you to agree or log in. Once you do, the portal will note the MAC address of the NanoStation and then allow access to anything on your local Wi-Fi network.
NOTE: If your browser defaults to a open a webpage that is HTTPS (vs HTTP) then the captive portal can not show up as it is not HTTPS active. So be sure you are trying to go to a site that is not HTTPS. (Ie…Facebook, Google, GMail are all examples of HTTPS sites that people have their browsers default to.) So try another site…any site…maybe ours, and the captive portal page should come up for you. Also some campgrounds auto log you out after X hours or at the start of a new day. If this is the case you need to AGREE again. Just a heads up.
Hi David. I know you have addressed the issue of some parks restricting routers from connecting and the solution is to change the MAC address. I changed the MAC address and can connect but not get internet. The park has no sign in portal or other block (I can connect using my phone or tablet in the lounge). Is it possible that I missed a step in the Cloning process? All I did was
1. MAC Address Cloning: checked Enable2
2. entered the MAC address of a phone I no longer use (it is powered off).
3 clicked Change and Apply. (It did not automatically re-boot so I closed the connection and logged back in.)
In Network Mode indicates “Router” – Wireless Mode “Station”
(On the MAIN tab, Throughput, I only get LAN0. The WLAN0 graph appeared briefly, but has since not re-appeared.) There appears to be a good bit of LAN0 transmit and receive activity.
The lights on the Nano-Station do not fully light… only the power solid green and LAN1 blinks.
When I connect to my phone HotSpot all works fine.
Did I miss something?
Thanks for all you do for us.
From the read of your note, it sounds like you are not even attaching to their AP like the password to connect is not right. You mentioned you can connect to your phones HotSpot and everything works and you can surf the internet. So that means that your NanoStation is just fine in it’s setup or that would not work either.
To me it seems like a password issue or just not compatible hardware for some reason. If you can use the phones hotspot with the cloned MAC address, then all is good.
There is no password, just open wifi.
Hmmm, incompatible hardware, Bummer
Thanks for your help
Interesting video, I love the detail. Thank you so much, I just started following your site. Very impresed overall as you are obviously a techie! In this video, how are those IP numbers being determined? Are they specific to the product and clearly indicated in the instructions? Are you making them up? Are they the same IP numbers for everyone? Thank you
Hi…Welcome to the site. They are just network segments I choose to use for the ranges. I could have used 192.168.10.X vs. 192.168.2.X for example. I just tried to keep things neat and easy.
Thanks for the setup instructions. Worked perfectly for me.
Hi David
I am very thankful for your effort in giving all you fans an inexpensive way to get a “boost”
I ordered the components and am setting up. Or trying to.
I have a MacBook Air which does not have an Ethernet port so I have an Apple adapter plug into one of my USB ports.
I have switched to a static IP and the Network tab says I am connected to the Apple internet Adaptor with an IP adddress of 192.168.1.10
I plug everything in and green lights flash but alas they will not stop flashing and my Safarimtimes out. It would appear the M2 is not seeing the computer even though the computer says it can see the M2 IP address.
I have tried reset(s) and disassembling but I still cannot get Safari to load the M2 log in page.
Any advice?
David
Hi…I would try Chrome as Safari is not the best browsers. :) But in your Manual IP, please be sure you also set the subnet 255.255.255.0 as you need that also. If that is all set correctly, please be sure you did not already hookup the AirGateway as that will block the access to the NanoStaion as it is a router. If you did, remove the AirGateway and hook it up when instructed to do so in the video. Hope one of these two help. Oh, the green power light will not should but the LAN light will continue to flash indicating it is trying to communicate.
Perseverance can pay off.
I bought the NanoStation M2, and the LR gateway.
The stronger M2 has two ports on the bottom as does the Loco, but they are labelled differently, Main and Secondary.
When I wrote the above I was not getting anywhere so I reversed the cables and was able to carry on.
When setting up the Network tab I followed directions and selected Router but I found that didn’t wok so I switched to Router SOHO and I got the antenna working as I could see it in my Mac System Preferences with the self selected IP within range.
I could not however load any other website! PROBLEM
But I carried on and hooked up the AirGateway LR, and everything seemed to work fine. I could see the signal strength fluctuating slightly in the website.
However for some reason when I log into my own local network I cannot bring up any webpages even though the System Prefs says I am connect as does the WIFI indicate I am logged in.
Anyone have any suggestions?
David
Just from what you wrote it surely seems like you do NOT have the NanoStation setup correctly as you said you were changing things. Even missing that NAT setting will mess this up. My highest suggestion would be to reset both the NanoStation and AirGateway back to factory defaults and start over and follow step by step. And yes, on the NanoStation, when you come out of the POE injector, POE Port, you go into MAIN. (You mentioned you changed the cables, when you should only have ONE cable going to the NanoStation. I say to start over because it would be really difficult to figure out what you have and have not done or changed at this point making for issues.
To factory reset, power them up and using a paperclip, press in and hold the button inside the reset hole for 20 seconds. Then let go. Give it three minutes to reset itself back up the factory. Please be aware you’re going to want to do this on both devices. Then you’re gonna want to disconnect the AirGateway and plug the NanoStation in by itself. Then starting over by setting your static IP address on your Mac and follow along Step by Step.
Good luck!
Thanks David
I will try again in the morning.
Clean slate.
One thing i notice is that the setup page is not exactly like in your video.
Under Network mode if you select Router the LAN only offers a Bridge0 option. Nothing like you example. If you select SOHO Router it offers a LAN option like in the video.
Under the Main tab at the bottom under Monitir, DHCP Client it shows ‘Status Not Connected’!
I’ll reset everything tomorrow and start from scratch. I’ll use the SOHO Router option.
David
Good morning
So I reset the power unit and the M2
Followed the video directions carefully.
I deviated only when using the interface to set up the M2 under the Netwok tab I did not select Router as you asked because if I did then the only option for the LAN Network Settings is Bridge.
Instead I selected SOHO router and completed this correctly.
I switched to DHCP and it selected an address in range
In Safari i addressed the M2 and successfully locked on to the park SSID locked in. The Main page showed the network signal was strong.
Then I checked by selecting another website in Safari. It failed to load with a cannot connect message.
I returned to 192.168.2.1 and looking at the bottom of the Main page Monitor DHCP Client it says LAN0 Not Connected
So, in summary the M2 is apparently locked onto a strong park SSID, but is not delivering a connection to my computer.
What should I do now?
David
If you got an IP address assigned from the NanoStation, you have the connection to it or you would not be able to get to it at 192.168.2.1.
Does the park use a Captive Portal? If it does, and you are trying to go to a website that is https, it can’t pull up as you can not reach the Captive Portal to get through it. You can not be redirected to a captive portal when trying to reach an https site. Try going to bott.net which is not https. (It is my placeholder I use just for this.)
Also, you need to be sure in the NanoStation that NAT is checked off in the Network. If not, it will not pass data. So look for that also.
Hi
I did as you suggested and Safari returned could not connect to bott.net
Can’t find the server
This is a small park in a small town!
Is there any significance to the LAN0 not being connected?
I took this chat to e-mail. Please check your email for continued help. Thanks
Thanks for sharing this information and for helping people figure it out.
Hi Dave,
Are there any usage statistics? Mainly looking for how much data is being used on a monthly basis.
Never really looked inside the AirGateway router enough to be able to answer that. I do not use one myself so I can’t just go in and see. :) But I don’t think so as these are made for commercial use and thus the use would be tracked by a companies, WiSP control system. But in the NanoStation under AP Information, it does show totals so the AirGatway likly would have something. It just won’t be all nice and nifty. Ie…From the NanoStation…
Bytes Transmitted: 768747768 (768.75 MBytes)
Bytes Received: 7675234166 (7.68 GBytes)
Thanks David for that piece of info. Unfortunately it gets reset after a reboot.
Hi,
Thanks very much for this article. I used it to replace my UBNT PicoStation that was acting up. I replaced it with the NanoStation M2.
I wanted to share an issue that I ran into. I’m staying near Phoenix and the park uses a commercial WiFi provider. Initially I found that the NanoStation was unreliable and dropping the WAN connection every few minutes. So, I used the “MAC Address Cloning” feature on the Network tab. I cloned my laptop MAC address to the NanoStation. That was a week ago and it has been working perfectly and hasn’t dropped the connection once.
I hope this helps someone else that might encounter the same issue.
Many thanks,
Bob S
Hi…Let me guess…Tango. I have that even the the blog notes but that you for posting it just incase :) “I DO NOT SEE A WAY TO SELECT THE PARKS AP: As far as not seeing the radio buttons…this can happen for usually one of three reasons. One, the park is using old, not longer supported WEP security. Two, the AP you are seeing is actually being used as a BRIDGE to connect two radios together like it was a network cable. Three, the system is setup to detect routers like the NanoStation and not allow connections from them. Now you can get around the last one by changing the MAC address of the NanoStation to that of your computers MAC address. For example, I set mine to be the MAC address of an old device I no longer use. This is another good thing about commercial gear, you can do this. :) (You will find it in the settings if you look though them if you care to try.)”
David, I chanced upon your site when I was researching WiFi repeaters and Ubiquity. Hoping you can provide your opinion to my solution before I make a purchase. I moved to a very rural farm in Northern Arkansas. My office with ISP connection and house WiFi router (Netgear) is in downstairs NE corner. Have a barn with horses ~300 ft NW of house and want a couple of AC-powered HD cameras which transmit WiFi to view horses when inside barn. Also have a man-cave 120ft West of house. Planning to use streaming video for TV in it.
I’m thinking that either 2 pairs of Locos (M5 or M2) or 1 M5 or M2 at each (MC and Barn) and one repeater with omni-directional antenna can solve. I’d connect to the repeater or the pair of M2/M5 at house side with pair of Ethernet from office (or single Ethernet and weatherproof switch).
I’ve read lots of conflicting opinions about needing a pair of these (for each remote) vs one at each remote. These Ubiquity nano and airmax products look awesome and affordable, but they suck at providing product descriptions. I fully understand commercial focus they have-which is why I’m looking to make the correct purchase the first time.
Any advice = MUCH APPRECIATED as I can’t run to their local retailer/distributor.
Their are a number of things you can do, but you will want to use directional antennas and not Omni if you want the best connection. If stand at the place you want to put the Access Point (The feed at the house) is the Barn and Man Cave within 120 degrees of each other? If so, you would use one Litebeam AC 120 which is a high powered AC AirMax radio with 120 degrees of coverage out. Then at the barn and man cave, I would use one NanoStation 5ACL, the “Stations”, which will point to the Litebeam AC 120 Access Point.
The Litebeam would be in Access Point PtMP AirMAx AC mode and the NS5-ACL’s would be in Station PtMP mode. In the Barn and Man Cave, not you have more or less created a wireless bridge to each place that is more or less like laying down a long cable. What you do with that cable at the other end is up to you. Hope this kind of helps. If you are not within 120 degrees, I would then suggest two Litebeam AC Gen2 per wireless link. Home to barn. Home to man cave. PtP mode.
David, Thanks kindly for the prompt and detailed reply! My barn and mancave are within 120 degress (probably between 100-110 degrees). Have 2 follow up questions, if you don’t mind?
1. If I went with your Litebeam/Nano5ACL approach, for my remote WiFi clients to receive signal, would I need to hook up an independent AP to the Nano5ACL Ethernet port?
2. Evaluating the costs, it would at first glance appear that the approach for Litebeam and 2 Nano5ACLs is ~$256, while the approach of 2 pairs of Nano Locos (M5 or M2) would be ~$272 or $247. Other than extra Ethernet run at home and having 2 devices visible, are there any negatives to that approach? And as a side question, similar to my first question, would I need an independent AP connected to the mancave and barn Nano ethernet port?
Thanks again!
Jordan
Hi..
At the other end of both feeds, at your barn or man cave, you would put in a router and run it in AP mode so you can connect to it. Running it in AP mode would keep everything on your own network. Again, think of what you are doing is running a long network cable to each place. (It’s just invisible.) Even if running the router in AP mode, you can hardwire the cameras using ethernet which is always preferred. :)
Having two Point to Point’s is would always be preferred and the radios only needed to talk to each other vs one of them needing to split it’s time. (You need to be sure to not overlap the frequencies.)
HOWEVER, these radios will move more data than you would likely need. At the park I am at I am two hops wireless away from the internet router…I am connected to a Litebeam 120 with 5 other radios. I can get 105 Mbps at my coach. (I run the network. Everyone else gets 6Mbps.) (Each hop is a loss in speed.) The park only has 150 coming in, and at the time, 37 was being used by others, so I likely could have been able to get all 150 Mbps. :) )
And no matter what way you go…If you do 4 radios, use all NanoStation 5ACL’s. ($49 each) And point them, at each other. For there is no need to use the old models.
Hi David,
I am more likely to go with 2 pairs. I recently moved from suburban to extreme rural and am redeploying WiFi/AC-powered cameras for barn use rather than buy new since they are very good quality HD images. I agree ethernet is better.
As far as the model of radios, I’m not finding the Nanostation 5ACL model for $49 instead at $78. Am I correct assuming the model 5ACL refers to 5GHz / 802.11ac / Loco (or for more local distances and less physical ports)?
btw: My only currently available ISP is providing me 20M x 5M and relaying their signal from their tower to my relay tower using UBNT AirFiber, then pt 2 pt to my house almost 700ft away using Litebeam AirMax bridges. PoE supplied by solar panels and 2 marine deep cell batteries! BUT, I am hopeful that rural area will get a much needed upgrade within next 2 years. I know I can stream movies at house and want to retain that at mancave.
Thanks
Jordan
Yes, that is the one. It is a HOT product and even sold out on Ubnt’s site… https://store.ubnt.com/collections/all/airmax So it seems people are price gouging. Note, it does not come with a PoE adaptor, so you would need a 24v one them. The AC is FASTER. 450Mbps vs 300Mbps. (in theroy) You would use the LAN port on the PoE to connect up. The only one with dual ports is the full size M5’s which is overkill.
Seeing you do not have the data at all, you have no need to go with 4 radios. Just go with the Litebeam 120 and 2 5ACL (if you can find them) or the older M5. Both would give you more speed than you can use at all. You really have no need to run PtP.
Hi, all worked out in the end. Thank You!!!!!!
I took a flying leap of faith and ordered the components you suggested, only ,purchasing 50 foot ethernet cables, as I had rock obstructing my line of sight between my RV to the campground wifi,
In windows 10 I had to redo the ip address step several times to ensure that static ip was enabled along with automatic dns addresses.
Ultimately, I was never able to connect to my parks wifi, ( .4 miles away, even though i moved the nanoloco m2 to a clear line of sight).
I ended up making a connection from inside my rv window to a site 1.5 miles away.
Be creative, persevere, believe in the capabilities of your equipment.
Happy Happy Dance I’m writing this on my in coach connection.
Thank You!!!!!!
Hi David! Excellent guide which I’m sure has saved people tons of money and grief! I have a bit of a modification to ask about but I have not gotten much traction on the ubiquity forums as of yet. I just got an older airstream and I want to set up an outside directional antenna or system, but I keep getting confused as to how Ubiquiti’s products are defined, lol.
My goal is to have directional wifi I can point at an access point and log in once as your system does. I was thinking of using something like the Bullet TI M2 but I wasn’t sure if it would perform in a similar way as the Nanostation you use. I am also going to be installing a cell booster from WeBoost as well and was thinking I could just put in a switch for the antenna depending on which one I needed at the moment. All my cell traffic routes over wifi when it’s available so when in town and near wifi I would just turn that off and use the antenna for long range wifi.
Have I lost a step in this crazy configuration? I still don’t understand the difference between all of ubiquities product lines and their compatibility.
Any guidance would be most appreciated!
Wi-Fi and Cell frequencies are SO different in the spectrum you need to use the proper cable for each. So that is out. Not to mention, you want to use both. For if you are in a park that has poor Wi-Fi then you want to use a JetPack and of course have the best signal. The NanoStation setup would then connect to that that for the data.
David, I’m ordering Litebeam AC120 and 2 Nano ACL5s. Added on 2 Ubiquiti POE-24-12W-G PoE Injector, 12W for the Nanos. Need to order outdoor Ethernet shielded cable. Wondering which you went with? I’ve only used indoor cables in my life, have a crimping tool as well. Not sure though if metal RJ45 connectors work with my tool. Trying to get the order finally placed so I can work on the rest of my stuff.
Also, just curious if these are using 5GHz, and I connect their Ethernet to a WiFi AP on the inside of the barn and mancave, do you suspect that I will have to isolate/select the 5GHz channel range that the Ubiquiti ACs are not using – or do they not specify what frequencies their are using or use the entire public spectrum?
Thanks!
Can you replace it with a picostation to have omni signal?
You are much better off using a BulletHP and an 8 to 12db antenna for the power. The PicoStation is kind of underpowered but yes, it can also work.
Just wanted you to know there is a new Bullet AC out, 2.4 and 5ghz with the newer OS that is configurable over their app :) I should have one in hand in the next few days. Thanks again for the great tutorial!
You may want to do more reading on it. Yes, it is Dual Band, however it operates in 5Ghz OR 2.4Ghz mode. It is one or the other as that is based on the antenna you may use. Also that APP can be used any AirMax antenna.
I use the Showbox app on my tablet to watch movies. I got a google chromecast to be able to watch movies from the tablet in the RV. Alas, I need a network in the RV. I believe this set up will work but want to make sure. Thanks.
This is made to make yourself a private network for your devices to connect to, and then one connection to the park or JetPack. Just be aware that RV Parks are not the place to stream TV or movies as usually the networks are not usually all that great data wise. You may care to look also at this two posts…
https://outsideourbubble.com/warning-dont-attach-wi-fi-devices-rv-parks/
https://outsideourbubble.com/better-understanding-rv-park-wi-fi/
Thanks for the tip. I don’t actually stream – I download shows and movies onto the tablet. Does the private network I create work just like the private network I have in my home? At home, If the tablet and the google chrome are both connected to my wifi network, I can play the downloaded movie on the TV that is connected to the google chrome.
Thats the entire point, to have your own network to connect things to like at your house so you do not need to connect each device to another network when you move to another area. And yes, if you are downloading and then watching…that is the same as streaming as you still need to download a large amount of data. Does not matter if you are watching it as it comes down or after. Data is data the amount you use would still be considered heavy.
Got it. Thanks.
Hi David, Have you tried this is with a Nanostation-5ACL? My issue is, I cannot lock onto any WAPs. I have read this is not supported within the airMAX product line. It looks like I need to pick up a locoM2.
By the way, thanks for the great info shared throughout your videos.
The 5ACL is a 5Ghz radio which is not commonly found in RV Parks unless the system is newer. If a park is using old gear and using old security, the Ubnt gear will not support it as it is commercial gear and thus conforms to todays W-Fi Association standards. Their is older versions of firmware you can put on that will have it. I forgot the version number.
At this Resort I instaled all Unifi Mesh Pro AP’s. I was actually testing this with my UAP-AC-Pro
Then I am totally lost as to why you would be asking me about this if you can install UniFi. UAP-AC-Pros are only AP’s can can not be stations which is what this guild is for building. And if you installed a resort with all UniFi Mesh Pros, I hope you did not use them in MESH format or you did the park no justice. :-) I mention that seeing you asked be about NanoStation setup and unless you could hardwire every Outdoor AC Mesh Pro, then you should have used wireless bridges to setup vs using mesh thus knowing how to set them up and connect them. Thus no use for me. :) The MESH part uses the 5Ghz radios to make the connections to each other, thus leaving only 2.4 as AP’s. Thus is why a you can’t see it using a M5. (The MESH is normally used as a backup.)
All mesh ap’s are hardwired. This is a pretty small resort. 3AP’s cover whole park. I was just curious if you have tried the same thing the video covers with the new AC nanostations since this is my first-time playing with the new nanostations and I could not lock to an AP in my test environment.
Thanks for the quick responses.
Interesting. I just VPN’ed into the network at Jellystone and jumped on to one of the NS-5ACL’s that is used as a bridge. I know it is facing some Outdoor AC Mesh Pros and so I scanned the air. I could see all the guest SSID radios in 5Ghz, but did not have the radio button to connect any. I tried both Station PtP and Station PtMP settings just to be sure. I will drop a note to Ubnt as I would “think” I should be able to connect to a standard AP.
Posted on the Community Forum… https://community.ubnt.com/t5/airMAX-AC/NS5-ACL-Can-t-connect-to-an-Outdoor-AC-Mesh-Pro-AP/td-p/2344852
David,
Is there something I can do with my Loco (or another device ) to allow it to find my iPhone as a hotspot? We were somewhere last week and they had wifi, but my radio did not pick it up. I doubt it was 5ghz. I didn’t ask the people which frequency they were transmitting on, but my iPhone and laptop did see the signal.
Any help or advice? Thanks, Steve
All RV Parks use at least 2.4Ghz. As far as your iPhone, no idea unless you have it running it running it’s HotSpot in 5Ghz mode only as people use it with iPhones all the time without issue.
Hi David,
I have setup my NanoStation M2 and AirGateway LR and have successfully reached the internet via my new private network. However, I’m surprised and disappointed at the slow speeds I am seeing. I have tested it with the a) set-up inside the house in a different room from the router and b) down in the trailer which is 60-80 ft away and 10 ft below the house.
Down Up
Speed connected to my ISP 89.5 5.49
Speed in the house via NS 27 6.20 Power @ 28
Speed in the house via NS 36 6.49 Power chgd to 10
Speed in the trailer 1.86 6.08 Power @28 Signal strength .79
I would have expected to see speeds via the NanoStaion/AirGateway similar to what I get via my ISP when I’m in the house. Is that not right? And I was very disappointed at the very low speed in the trailer although it’s better than the so-slow-it-can’t connect speed it got without the NS.
I did change the power to the NS while testing in the house per some suggestions you had in the comments.
Can you comment on my speed results and offer suggestions and guidance?
Another thing I don’t understand is that when set-up inside the house, the Distance in the Main tab says .1 mile. When inside the trailer, it varied from 1.0 to 1.2 to .7 miles. Any ideas on what’s up with that?
I should have added that when testing in the house, I either pointed the NS away from my access point/home router or put on its face to try to avoid overpowering. When testing in the trailer, I either pointed it out the window towards my access point/router or had it outside about 2 feet above the trailer: there wasn’t a lot of difference in those locations.
Thanks!
Here is a blog post and video on understanding Wi-Fi that may help…
https://outsideourbubble.com/better-understanding-rv-park-wi-fi/
You will ALWAYS loose speed with each wireless hop the signal takes. No way around it as the radio can only talk to one device at a time and can only transmit or receive at a time. As such, you will always loose speed with any wi-fi system. 50% per hop on average. So Nanostaion to router, 50%, computer to AirGateway 50% of that.
Seeing in the trailer you were at .79, that is barely enough signal to even work. I am surprised you got anything. You want the signal to be around -55 is the sweet spot. But more or less, you want to go more towards 0 vs away.
The idea of this setup is to give you a private connection that all your devices can connect to and give you a better chance at connecting to an RV park when sometimes you can not with you computer/phone alone. As you have discovered when your did your RV test. :)
The distance will not work as that is for two NanoStations talking to each other as a Bridge for a WiSP setup.
Hi David,
Thanks so much for your quick & comprehensive reply. I keep learning from you. I would never have guessed there would be a 50% loss per hop nor than the computer to AirGateway was also a “hop” (but guess it makes sense).
Yes, the video was very helpful in getting a better understanding of wifi set-ups and for setting my expectations around public wifi! More RVers should watch that.
You are awesome! Thank you so much. Not only are your videos very informative, you make them fun to watch. You are providing a most wonderful service. Thanks!
Peggy
David,
Is there such a thing that I can “switch” between a loco 2.4 ghz and a 5 ghz?
So if I had one of each, and depending on location, I could toggle between radio’s.
Of course, both set up exactly the same.
Hmmmm..
Thanks
Hi…Not “switch” so to speak. But you surely can buy a NS-M5 Loco and it will setup 100% the same and then you just the connect the one you want to use. It will all work 100% the same way, just 5Ghz and will only see 5Ghz AP’s.
Hi David,
Thanks for the video and follow-up support. I hope that you are getting a free beer or two at every RV park stop you make. You certainly have helped a lot of us out! :-)
I wanted to know if the Ubiquity Air Gateway is able to switch to another SSID if the default one goes down. I am setting this up for my mother and I do not expect her to be able to log into the setup software and select an alt SSID if, say, the one in her park goes down. It would be great if I could select a backup SSID to an Xfinity wifi hotspot or similar.
Thanks!
Don
Hi…Sorry to say no as this is commercial gear and thus is usually used by an installer to set up a connection to a WiSP or a building to building connection. As such, they usually do not change SSID’s or need to after selected.
I have a newbie question. We keep our 5th wheel at a seasonal site less than an hour from our home. I want to be able to remotely turn on the A/C with my cell phone at home and a wifi switch or thermostat in the rig. As an ex commercial HVAC tech, I will have no problem with the interface between the wifi switch and the A/C system itself.
But I am clueless with this wifi stuff. So my basic question (for now) is after I install and setup this private wifi system, will it stay on line 24/7, and reset/connect by itself to the park system if anything (power, park wifi, etc.) was to go down?
Thanks for your reply
John K
Hi…Yes, it will reconnect on a power failure once power is restored and the parks Wi-Fi system is working.
Thanks David
David, thank you once again for sharing this with us.
Somewhere you mentioned (I think) how you set-up your Nano’s and used your Asus RT-N66U router to provide a closed LAN for your RV with manually assigned addresses – or something like that.
Finally got around to adding the RT-N66U router to my Nano’s but am unable to locate the steps you used for running the cables and any other specific config changes. Would you please point me in the right direction on your blog to find it?
To make sure my thoughts aren’t completely wrong, my hope is to add this router and the other devices in the RV so I can assign specific addresses like 192.168.2.4 for the blu-ray player; 192.168.2.5 for the TV; etc. Please let me know if my memory is still working or if this is not the best way to go.
Thanks
Hi…You surely could use that router and I still have one of them. :) So in this case once the NanoStation is setup and working, you would NOT use the mentioned AirGateway. You would just plug the NanoStation into the WAN port of the RT-N66U router. The RT-N66U WAN port would then get an IP from the NanoStation it will then use for Internet access. You would setup the RT-N66U however you want…just don’t use 192.168.2.X as the RT-N66U local network as that is the IP of the NanoStation hands out and thus would become an IP conflict. So you could just leave the RT-N66U at it’s default 192.168.1.X and then you can assign your devices into that IP range. (Not sure why you want to assign IP’s to items like that as there is NO NEED to use static IP address for such devices.) But the RT-N66U is a great router. Hope the above makes sense.
It makes great sense and is appreciated. Will give it a go in the next couple of days.
Thank you again
Hi David,
First off, thank you for creating the site and the video to provide us with th info AND taking the time to answer about a thousand questions! This looks exactly like what I want.
I did notice that most of these devices are now considered “legacy” by the manufacturer. Can you recommend more recent devices to replace the M2 and the Airgateway?
Thank you,
Cliff
Hi…They are still for sale. Remember, they are a commercial product and as such, the new commercial line is the AC line. However they can not be used with anything else but another Ubnt AC product. So you can still purchase the M2 devices.
Another question, is the POE injector included with either the M2 or the Airgateway? Or is it a necessary seperate purchase?
The M2 comes with the needed PoE injector. :)
Thank you for both answers!
Hey David. Have you had in dealings with the WiFi Camp Pro 2 Kit, compared to what is suggested here? Any case where one would be preferred over the other? Thanks, John K.
Nope. Never heard of it.
David, Yesterday, I received my NonStation M2 and airGateway Pro and, thanks to you, our computing devices are now firewalled from the park’s wifi network on our own little private network. Yes, you have another happy camper!
The only wirdness I bumped into was that after the gateway’s automated script would prompt me for info, it would then reboot, not apply my changes, and render the gateway incommunicado. I tried this several times after doing a reset with the same result. I then opted to SKIP the automated script and manually entered the info and things were fine. Just figured I’d post that info here in case anyone has a similar experience.
Thanks, again!
Cliff
Hi Cliff…
You mention the “airGateway Pro”. That is not one of the two units I referenced for the AirGateway and the PRO unit is for installers from what I recall and this not the same thing. Did you mean LR or did you purchase the PRO unit? Just wanted to be sure.
Thanks
Hi David, I double-checked and it is the pro model (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1201347-REG/ubiquiti_networks_amg_pro_airgateway_pro_airmax_wisp_customer.html) I purchased. Now I’m wondering why I did? Possibly I misclicked.
BTW, Everything worked fine for 3+ days. Today, I can get no throughput. I thought it was because the park was crowded. But then most people left. I found I could connect my devices directly to the park’s network, but the park’s wifi login screen would ignore the CONNECT button when I was accessing through my ubiquiti setup.
I’m guessing that the combined usage of our devices viewed by the park as coming from one mac address made us appear as network hogs and their network has a way to reject it? Any thoughts on how to spoof a new mac address?
I would not think that is the reason at all unless you were abusing the parks by stream a lot or something. Not sure what you mean by the “connect button”. But in any case, in the NanoStation, under the Wi-Fi tab there is a place you can put a check in in a box for CLONE MAC ADDRESS and put in a new Mac Address like… 9c:f4:8e:dd:8f:ba which will show up as an iPhone. Click CHANGE and APPLY and it will reboot using the new Wi-Fi MAC.
Hi David,
Thanks for the tip! Going to the NETWORK tab, enabling ADVANCED NETWORKING, gave me the CLONE option. I entered the MAC of one of my local devices and I was up and running, again.
We’re full-timing with work-related activities and also entertainment downloads. I’m guessing we hit threshold for what was allowed from one MAC address, where in the past we were fine on our individual devices. I guess it’s a matter of perception between use and abuse… :-)
As to the CONNECT button, I was referring to the park’s wifi captive login screen. It would no longer respond via the ubiquiti environment until I spoofed a MAC address.
Thanks, again!
Ah! That connect button! :) Yup, then surely that was it and they limit the amount of data over time. In this sure, it sure is nice to be able to use another MAC address. :) Glad you are up and running.
David,
Appreciate your time and trouble but have a problem with this. Can you suggest anything else to take the place of the Air Gateway LR. It is now EOL and the only place I found one was $62.00. Also it is no longer being supported.
Interesting…That is news to me as I had just bought one for someone for $32 two weeks ago. I find one here on Amazon https://amzn.to/2MrlCm8 and also here at another place https://goo.gl/4YPD6L As far as another router goes, any router will work. You would just set the NanoStation up to the point I start talking about the AirGateway and then then the NanoStation would plug into WAN port of the router. You will need to use the POE adaptor and come out of the LAN port into the WAN port of the router. BTW…Ubnt still shows them as current… https://www.ubnt.com/products/#airmax OH…You can also use the new AirCube with the NanoStation… https://amzn.to/2vozyXf Looks like I will need to do a new video. :)
Hello David,
I used the TPLink CPE210 instead of the nanostation. Occasionally I get to a park that after connecting they send you to a log in web browser screen an accept window in a browser. In most cases my browser opens with that new login window but occasionally it won’t so even though it connects to their network, I can’t get internet access. Have you ever seen this or know what might cause this issue where it is not passing the data to open the browser?
Great video on setting up a private network !!!!!
Hi…Read my notes above in the post about dealing With AGREE Pages as you must have missed it. Would be the same for anything connecting to something with a Captive Portal depending on how they have it setup.
David what is strange is that I can connect directly to their network and the redirect opens the web page for the AGREE after entering the password but when I connect the radio to their network and enter the password it doesn’t redirect to open the web page. Not sure why its not even opening the web page. I’ve only had this park a few others where it doesn’t work, most places works fine. Not sure why.
It can’t as it is not a phone or computer. You need to connect to their network with the nanostation and then open a browser and try to go to ay NON HTTPS page. What should happen is their system will see the request going out, see it is not authorized, and redirect the call to their captive portal page. Here you go…I have webpage I use just for that that is not https… Try going to… http://bott.net
Well David, just for your information. Iit turns out after much trail and error, I had Security Mode set to WPA-PSK and Version and Encryption set to Auto. I had to change Version to WPA2 and Encryption to TKIP, then open a web browser and go to http://bott.net. Then it opened the captive portal page. For whatever reason it won’t work with those 2 fields set to Auto. Now I just have to remember what I did the next time it happens LOL.
Hummm…First I am glad you got it working. But second, what you did would have no bearing on the captive portal page working or not as what you changed is the protocol encryption used to connect to an access point. The interesting thing is, unless you actually changed it, it is AUTOMATICALLY set when you select the AP to connect to as it can see the protocol it is using. You just need to supply the right password. (Note when you click on SELECT and the window opens it lists all of the SSID and also the security protocol. So this whole time you were not even connecting to the access point at all if you had changed it without knowing. Could not as it was talking the wrong language and would never get past the handshake to connect when they say hello to try to connect. :)
David is right on the money. You need to hit a NON HTTPS page.
Just did the ‘Bott” thing and set up the $100 WiFi solution. A little hiccup on Windows, once I figured out the fixed ip thing. And it might be helpful to point out that the WAP-2 “Passcode” is whatever is required by the RV park. I also was selecting the weakest signal from the RV park, now that I know -35db is ‘better’ than -95db, all works well.
Anyway, thanks so much! We’re in a park with strong Wifi now, but soon we will put it to a real test.
Thanks again!
Bill, Kathi and Zorro
Glad you got it going. The password was talked about and is more or less a given as it is needed just like any other device connection to a parks Wi-Fi. I also mentioned the db and even sorting it so you can select the best one if presented with multi of the same SSID. Strong Wi-Fi does not always = good internet. There is so much more to it than that. This just gives you the best chance at having the best experience a park can provide. It would be good to understand this so you know what you can run into. Thus more info can be found here… https://outsideourbubble.com/better-understanding-rv-park-wi-fi/
I appreciate everything you posted. Everything worked great for me except when I try to connect my radio to my iPhone hot spot all I get is ssid not valid. How can I fix this? Thank you David.
Make sure you have no special characters in the SSID you have setup to use with your phone. Can’t have things like $%&*@!() etc. It’s the only thing I can think of.
Thank you David, it was a (‘) and when I removed it I was able to connect to my hotspot. In fact i’m using my desk top that is connected to nano station that is connected to my hotspot.
You do a great job,
Thanks,
Keith
David,
I’m working on setting this up and ran into a problem I can’t seem to figure out. The only difference between my setup and yours is i’m using the NanoStationM2 (non loco model).
I didn’t have any issue changing my Ethernet to a static IP (192.168.1.10/255.255.255.0) and initially I was able to access the device via my web browser at 192.168.1.20. Once on the network tab there I changed the network mode to “route”, ebabled NAT and changed the IP Address to 192.168.2.1, with DHCP enabled and a range start of 192.168.2.2 / end 192.168.2.254.
I clicked “Change” and it prompted me to change my password right there. Afterwards I clicked the “apply” button at the top and the web-browser (Microsoft edge) gave me an “unable to reach website” kind of error.
I’ve tried using IE, and Chrome and cannot get loged back into the NanoStationM2. Please help!
Hi…Sorry to say it is hard to guess what state your M2 is in or what you are trying to reach. But one thing you did not mention is if you but your computer back to into DHCP mode (automatic). If you did not, then you would not get an IP from the NanoStation and would not be able to reach it. After you apply the settings, whiles it is rebooting, you need to put the computer back to DHCP. If you did do this…Then my only suggestion is to factory reset the NanoStation and start again. With it powered up for at least one min, press in and hold down the RESET button inside the hole with a paperclip for 20 seconds and then release. It will table about 3 mins to reset back and you can start again. Good luck.
David: loved your Video for setting up the Nanosation.
I have a Ubnt LocoM2. I set it up at home and it worked just fine there, When I am at a Campground I can see my Ubnt LocoM2 but can not log on to it. Reloaded the Ubnt LocoM2 at home again it worked fine. Once again at a new campground, I can see my Ubnt LocoM2 but can’t log in it seems to lose my password. Is there any way I can reset my password without having to reboot the whole system? I’m assuming the “Network Security Key” is the same as “The Password” I set up.
Nope…Network Security Key is the PASSWORD for the SSID of the Access Point you are trying to connect to. Has NOTHING to do with the password you set to be able to log into the NanoStation itself.
For the average/newbie RVer, like me, do you recommend using the antenna inside the RV, just by the window as to not mount it on the roof and drill holes? Or would that not work that well?
Thanks for the 5-star instructions and video!
Hi…I never mention drilling or doing anything like that. One of the best parts about this is that it is directional, and powerful, so you can point it out a window and usually you are all good. Enjoy!
Wow, super fast reply!
1 more question: since the original products you mentioned (ubt m2 and ubt airgateway) are older now and harder to find, can you recommend other newer devices that will work using a similar setup? Either newer Ubiquiti or other brands. A simple search on Amazon found me devices from Engenius and TP-Link, but it’s overwhelming and I don’t know if they work well.
Thanks again!
The produce are still current products. They may have been around for some time, but they are surely still current in the the line. The are solid radios.
I agree, they look good, but I was primarily asking about the Ubnt AirGateway (and AirGateway-LR). Every website I’m looking at says “it has been discontinued” and offer other versions instead, but I’m not sure they work for this setup:
1. One website offered this as a newer substitute – “Ubiquiti ACB-AC airMAX Home Wi-Fi Access Point with PoE In/Out (ACB-AC-US)”.
2. Another one linked me to this – “Ubiquiti Networks airCube ISP Wi-Fi Access Point (ACB-ISP-US)”.
Not sure if either of those is a valid product for your setup. Sorry if I’m way off the mark…
The AirCube would work in place of the AirGateway. It is just really a larger form of their little router with more ports. The issue I did not like is that then make it no longer small and easy for RV’ers. The good news is it has PoE out so you can power the NanoStation via the cable used to connect to the two. It also offers 2.5 and 5 Ghz for your devices to connect to so that is a good plus. Looks like I may have to get one and do a new video. :) Oh, it also sets up with an APP. So once you do the NanoStation programming, you can just plug it in and then use an app to get it going. You will still need to be able to access the NanoStation of course to connect it to a parks Wi-Fi, or your JetPack, when you move to another park. But dang, it is MUCH more money.
Ok, last question, I promise:
Walmart sells this item that looks just like the AirGateway-LR (link: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ubiquiti-airGateway-air-MAX-WISP-Customer-Access-Point/55252394), but it’s called “Ubiquiti airGateway air MAX WISP Customer Access Point (AMG-PRO)”. Is that the same thing as the AirGateway-LR? The price, availability and shipping is great.
That looks to me to be the LR AirGateway Pro just named weird. The Pro is Dual band 2.4 and 5 ghz.
Is it possible to run a wired ethernet connection to a laptop computer and use the wireless for a desktop? computer?
Football season is here and Murphy’s law has reared it’s ugly head
Our desktop is working spectacularly with your setup for about six months now. The laptop has developed fits. Slow intermittent or non- existent connection Can I just wire the laptop directly to the nano loco, while using the desktop wirelessly? Which settings do I need to change?
The problem child laptop is a Dell inspiron 3558. The nano loco and computers are in the same location as always , My signal is -64dbm. I’ve disabled re-enabled the wireless driver, updated and rolled back. Throughout device manager shows it is working properly. Any hints what troubleshooting to try next?
You see that LAN port on the AirGateway? Plug into it and you will get an IP from the AirGateway and will have internet access. Heck, need more devices connected via hardwire? Buy a 5 port switch, or 8, or whatever, and plug port 1 of the switch into the LAN port and plug your other devices into any other port of the switch and BAM…They will get IP’s and have access. No other changes are needed. The Wi-Fi will still do the Wi-Fi thing just as it has been.
My guess is you are getting channel interference. You only have 3 usable channels 1, 6, and 12. Heck, even running your microwave makes for 2.4Ghz Noise that can slow dow Wi-Fi. You can try going into the interface of the AirGateway and change the channel to say 1…Click Change, click Apply. It will reboot and be on a new channel that may help. (You will see channels 1-12 but only 1,6,12 don’t overlap each other thus are the ones you want to look to use.) Enjoy!
Thanks! Your reply came in time for a hard wired connection to watch the game (GRIN).
I will try different channels hoping to reduce interference. We recently purchased a counter-top ice-machine.
Another great gift to RV dirt dwellers. It would be a tough choice if we had to choose between ice or internet.
Hmmmm I remember installing chokes on our cords back with windows 95 to help reduce interference when we were using our ham radio for airmail on the boat.
Don’t worry, that won’t make an issue for you. Ice on my friend, ice on.
Thanks to your video and tips I’m getting between 2 and 4 Mbps whereas without your setup I can’t even find the park’s WI Fi network. 5-star YouTube!
Hello David… firstly thanks very much for the article and video. I purchased the parts and managed after some problems to get it all set up! Now, I am getting only 100kbps download speed from the system. The wifi network I am connecting to (60 feet away in a house) gives me 40mbps if I go inside the house. I am in a sparse neighborhood with maybe 2 other wifi access points visible. Any suggestions most welcome!
Hi…First I would make sure that it is not an interference issue. Connect your computer directly to the AirGateway via the LAN part and network cable, turn off the computer Wi-Fi so you are only on the ethernet connection and see what you get. You can also remove the AirGateway and connect the NanoStation directly and run a speed test and see. (So POE port to NanoStation and LAN port to computer) This will at least show if you have an interference issue or an AirGateway issue. My guess is your AirGateway and Wi-Fi you are connecting to may be on the same channel. Good Luck!
Hmm… with NanoStation connected directly, I get 22mbps!
Same with direct ethernet connection to the AirGateway. So, it’s the wireless connection that is causing the issue.
So it is working then, thats good, so then it is an issue between your computer and the AirGateway. Could be an issue with the AirGateway seeing you said you already changed the channel. But if anything, connected to it via ethernet you get 22, then you would likely get 14 with the extra wireless hop.
Hello David…. firstly, thanks very much for the article and video. After several tries, I managed to get everything set up and working. However, I am getting only 150kbps download speed! Upload is around 8mbps. Signal to to the nanostation is -72dbm noise floor -93dbm. The access point is inside a house about 50 feet away. Download speed inside the house from the router is over 80mbps. Not too many access points in this rural neighborhood. Hoping I missed a setting somewhere? Any suggestions most welcome!
Thanks again!
Carl
I already replied once. But you said -72dbm, that is too low of a signal to do any good. You can upload faster as the NanoStation is putting out a lot more power than the router inside the house as such your NanoStation can be heard. However at -72, it is having a hard time hearing the router. Signal is to low.
Sorry about the redundant posts… slow connection didn’t show that the first one got through. So, yes, gateway and access point were on the same channel so I changed that. But, yes, the signal from the access point is very weak. I thought the LocoM2 would serve as an amplifier somehow but I get pretty much the same performance connecting to the access point as I do from my AirGateway. No miracle cure :-)
Thanks again for your help! Are there other products that would work with this kind of weak signal?
Carl
That is because of your low signal coming to the NanoStation. Low is low. The NanoStation has a larger antenna and can hear more and it surely can transmit out further. But your issue is the signal is to low and the NanoStation is having a hard to hearing it. As such, your AirGateway would be the same as it gets the data from the NanoStation. I would have to think you can’t connect your computer to that AP/gateway without the NanoStation. If you can, then you could have a bad NanoStation. You are pointing the NanoStation towards the AP you are trying to connect to right? It is a directional antenna.
Thanks, I understand. I tried connecting directly to the AirGateway and got download speed of 22Mbps. Then also connected directly to the Nanostation and also got 22Mbps download. But, the wireless link from the AirGateway gives me 1 to 2 Mbps at best and sometimes much lower. I can connect intermittently to the AP without the NanoStation. The antenna is pointed at the AP and I move it around to get the best signal (yelow led lit) AirGateway is on Channel 11 and the AP is on channel 6.
Sorry to say it sounds like you may have a bad AirGateway. (Bad Antenna connection) Your NanoStation seems to be working just fine based on the results you provided. So it surely is the Wi-Fi part of the AirGateway. You will have data loss going wireless to it, and that is expected, but not what you are seeing.
OK, while that is a bummer, it is good to know so that I can get it swapped out. Bought on eBay as couldn’t find one elsewhere so hope they will make good on it. Thanks again for your help!
It looks like Ubnt is now moving to this… https://amzn.to/2wJlmJf AirCube ISP. The difference here is that it does not just connect directly on too the PoE injector. So Ethernet out of the PoE Injector that came with the NanoStation, into the AirCube, and then a ethernet cables out of the AirCube into the NanoStation. (Thus passing power on through as it has POE pass through on it. It then looks like it is simple setup using an APP. :)
David, always great information and your videos are both informative and very entertaining. Question, does the Bullet line set up the same as the Nano? Looking at a Bullet that will do 2.4 and 5 ghz.
Thanks
Yes, the same setup. I am not aware of any Bullet that can do both at the same time.
David, I am having numerous drops during each day. The system will work great and then the internet will stop. The only way I have been able to resolve the drops is to unplug the power wait a few seconds and then plug in the power. This brings the internet back but is annoying. I rechecked all of the settings and they were correct. I updated firmware on the AirGateway and nanostation but the problem persisted. I reset AirGateway and nanostation and went through setup again and the problem persists. Any ideas?
Have you considered it could be an RV Park issue? For the most part, these things just work. Have you used it anywhere else or tried connecting to a JetPack for some time and see if it also drops? Just thoughts.
Hi David,
I have this (original) setup and it works great. Now I am adding a Mobley to the mix.
My NanoStation is running 192.168.2.1 and my Gateway is running 192.168.1.1.
In setting up my Mobley hotspot, it is defaulted to 192.168.1.1.
I assume this will cause a conflict? Should I change the setting to 192.168.3.1? I know enough about this stuff to get into trouble but not more.
Thanks for your great tutorial and continued help. I appreciate it!
Hi…
Yes, I would go into the Mobley and go into Settings, Advanced, Router, and change the IP address to be 192.168.3.1 and also the DHCP section then needs to be 192.168.3.100 and 192.168.3.200. Click APPLY and the Mobley will reboot.
You will then be able to connect to the Mobley interface on 192.168.3.1 if needed. I suggest using a label maker and putting the IP on the unit so you will remember. (192.168.3.1)
Nice catch. :)
David
Just curious if you have tested this setup with an access point like the UniFi UAP-AC-M-US? I would like to update my internet setup in my travel trailer and am debating the best options. This option would give me 5GHz as an option which would be nice. I was at a campground last summer that had 5GHz available, but my setup wouldn’t let me connect and the 2.4GHz was very congested. I’m curious if you have tested how much power/signal strength I would be loosing by not going with a directional option. I am hoping to mount to my TV antenna mast. My trailer is a metal box and I would like to get above it. Omni-directional would be nice as I wouldn’t have to worry about my TV antenna pointing one way and my WIFI antenna pointing another. I’m just a little concerned about power/signal loss by going omni instead of directional. Thanks!
Ubnt 5Ghz AC products only with with other Ubnt 5Ghz AC products. They will not connect to another brand AC. MOST RV parks does not have 5Ghz so you will want to carry a NanoStation M2 and M5 if you want the option to use one or the other. If you go with an OMNI antenna you loose a lot based on all power needing to be sent in all directions vs focused. (You would need a LARGE omni to make up the difference. To get the power of 16db NanoStation M2 you would be like an omni over 50 inches long! But you surely could do that and then you would by a BulletHP along with an antenna to connect to it.
Thank you! I’ll give the Nanostatino M2 a try!
So if the Air Cube is connected to only the Loco…. where does this whole rig get its power?
Does the Air Cube have an power supply?
Hi…I clearly show that in the video. A POE (Power over Ethernet) adaptor comes with the NanoStation. The AirCube can be powered via POE. So plug the POE adaptor into a wall outlet, then plug an ethernet cable into the POE OUT on the adaptor and plug the other end into the POE IN on the AirCube. Then there is a POE OUT on the AirCube that you connect an ethernet cable to that then plugs into the NanoStation thus providing it with power as well as being the data connection between the two.
David I’m using the Nano-station M2 but the park has 5GHZ that only 10% of the park is using, Which antenna do I need for the 5Ghz?
Hi…That would be the NanoStation M5 Loco. DO NOT GET THE 5AC as Ubnt AC radios will only connect to other Ubnt AC radios. For the NS-M5, you would setup it up 100% the same way and just use the one you want to. It will all then operate the same way. Amazon… https://amzn.to/30Uc5v9
Just set this up exactly how you said and it works great! I just moved onto a boat and will be traveling the east coast so this is perfect for me. I have been recommending your youtube video on this to friends it was super easy.
Currently I am in a Marina and have about 30 xfinity APs each with their own MACs. I have found that the strongest signal is not the best connection. I have great connection between the LOCO M2 and the AP, my guess is that the AP is overused. Is there a way to determine the best AP to connect to? I have searched the internet to no avail.
Other than connecting to them and trying them, no. There would be no other way to know unless connected.
My Nanostation M2 works great when connecting to an unencrypted site, but I cannot get internet when connected to one with a password. It is a strong and I have all the lights lit, but no internet. I have tried every combination of security settings on the M2, but still no internet. My iPad connects easily just by typing in the password. Are there any settings or procedures that I should consider?
A number of things could be making for the issue one of which is an IP conflict where the NanoStation IP range is the same of that of the network you are trying to connect too. If this is the case, it will have routing issues. I would try going into your NanoStation and under the NETWORK tab change the IP address at the bottom area from 192.168.2.1 to 192.168.22.1. (3 places to make a change)
REMEMBER…There are THREE places you will change the .2. to be .22. Network and the DHCP. So, wherever you see a .2., change it to .22. and at the bottom CHANGE and then APPLY. It will take about 1 min to fully reboot.
NOTICE: At that point your NanoStation will be found at 192.168.22.1 as you just changed it to that.
ALSO NOTE: If you mess this up, meaning you can’t connect to your NanoStation to login to it, you will have to factory reset the NanoStation and reprogram it. So…PLEASE be sure you understand what you are changing in 3 places.
This is only ONE of a number of things. FYI…If you are putting in the wrong password, your lights on the back would flash on and off as it keeps trying to connect to the AP. If the password is right and a connection is made to the AP, you will have SOLID lights. That is why I am thinking it could be a conflict with the IP.
The other other thing it could be is they don’t allow routers to connect and it detected it as a router. In that case you can try to clone the mac address so it looks like some other device. You can use MAC address 10:f1:f2:6a:f4:55 which is an LG phone. So look for that box, check it, and put in that MAC address.
I am guessing that they DON’T have a Captive Portal which you would need to go though before you would have access. You would know this when you tried to use your iPad, you connect, and it would ask you to AGREE or something to continue so you can then reach the internet. If that is the case, you would connect the NanoStation, then you would need to open a web browser and try to go somewhere that is not HTTPS so that the Captive Portal comes up. If they have one, you could type in bott.net (My Captive Portal tester.) If there is one, it would then show up. In the case of a Captive Portal, once you AGREE, then it logs the MAC address of the NanoStation as ALLOWED and as such, any of your devices on your network would then have access. This is all an FYI just in case you have never run into one. :)
But my guess would still be IP. :)
Hope this might help.
Bingo! The IP address change fixed it.
Thanks Dave, you are the greatest.
See, I knew I should not have typed all that. :) Glad it is working. Kept it 22, less chance of happening again.
Dave, I’ve been using the Ubiquiti NanoStation M2 – Wireless Access Point – AirMax (NSM2US) for several years now thanks to your post. I was wondering if you know anyone who has attached it to the crank up antenna outside. We don’t use the TV antenna much any more since we got the network woking and figured that after the NanoStation was attached i could crank it up with the antenna up and point the NanoStation in the right direction from the inside.
Yuppers. A number of people have. NOTE: YOU NEED TO BE SURE TO SEAL IT!!!! The issue is when you lay it down and travel, if you get rain, well, it is not made to be laying down it is made to be upright. So it could be an issue if you don’t seal it up. But yes, a lot of people.
Do you think this would be a better solution for a RV?
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Hi…No…The AirMax AC Products or the UAP products (U = UniFi) are products that only with with other Ubnt products of the same classification. As such, they will not work for connecting up to parks like we are trying to do here. The UAP you mentioned is part of the UniFi System of products which require a controller even. It is used when installing Wi-Fi systems into places.
Hi, David. I’ve run a Nanostation M2 with the air gateway for two years due to your excellent guidance and was able recently to upgrade firmware on both. Then I bought an Aircube AC, thinking I’d get more reach with it around the trailer. I was able to set it up fine with the UNMS app (iOS) but there seems to be no power to the Nanostation from it (using its blue WAN POE out port). Are they not compatible or am I missing something?
Thanks for any help!
Jonathan
Hi…The POE on the WAN port is turned off for safety and must be manually turned on. You will need to go into the AirCube directly via a web browser and it’s IP address, log in, and you will find the POE PASSTHROUGH in there to turn on. For some reason it is in the iOS app or maybe you need an updated firmware on the AirCube to see it. I can see the setting in my Android app. Hope this helps.
At the campgound we go to, I see a lot of the Ubiquiti disks on trailers and at the campground. Do these set up like the nanostation?
I think I see both the model listed below ($65) and the AC model ($99 with both 2.5 and 5 ghz).
In my trailer, I was able to connect to the campground 5ghz with a external rabit ear 5dbi wifi antenna placed at the window and plugged into a computer. Otherwise the computer wifi was not strong enough to connect).
The nanostation would remove me needing to connect via a computer and then share to a router using connectify. If the disk below is essentially the same as a nanostation, it just provides a smaller footprint and a little higher dBi when compared to the nanostation.
(from your previous responses, it seems that using an AC model may be fine if the campground is using these but that avoiding an AC model would provide more options when at other locations where the system is not ubiquiti AC.)
Ubiquiti Networks NBE-M5-16 5 GHz 16dBi NanoBeam airMAX Bridge. (there is also a 19dBi model for $25 more)
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1079073-REG/ubiquiti_networks_nbe_m5_16_5ghz_nanobeam_airmax_16db.html
Does it set up the same way and have the ability to put in the campground password similar to the nanostation?
Thank you in advance for any help.
For what it’s worth, I bought this less than $20 router. It had a lot of positive reviews and remarkably seems to work great for our 30ft trailer. The signal even extends a couple campsites. https://www.amazon.com/GL-iNET-GL-MT300N-V2-Repeater-300Mbps-Performance/dp/B073TSK26W
The Ubiquiti Networks NBE-M5-16 5 GHz 16dBi NanoBeam airMAX Bridge is just that…A network BRIDGE. It is only for use to connect via Point to Point or Point to Multi Point setups and are NOT used to connect normal Wi-Fi to a parks SSID. The NanoStation M2 or M5 is what you would want and then you can plug that into any routers WAN port once it is setup. The AirMax AC is a special version of AC that Ubnt uses and thus only works when using their AirMax AC gear. The only exception to that is the AirCube AC which is a router and thus is normal Wi-Fi AC (5ghz) vs Ubnts version only used for bridging. Hope that makes sense.
Can you set the nanostation M2 up to receive a mobile cellular hot spot? My truck has an at&t hotspot in it, but it is not strong enough to penetrate into my camper where the devices are so I want to boost it and bring it into the camper with the NS M2. I have my NS M2 set up to where it picks up campground wifi and or my house wifi fine and my tp-link access point distributes it fine and all my devices hook up fine and get internet. However, when I set the NS M2 to receive my truck hot spot it links to it, I plug it to my AP and I link my devices to the AP and I get a message that says wifi not available. Why won’t it work for a hotspot?
Thank you,
Ray C.
Hi…A HotSpot acts as an access point and thus the NanoStation should connect to it without issue if it can see it and it has the right password and a good signal. I do it all the time without issue. “wifi not available” is not something that the NanoStation would report, but the Wi-Fi you are connecting to. Looking at the NanoStation, are all the signal lights lit up on the back thus showing it is connected to the HotSpot? If not, it is not connected.
Thanks for your sharing. I’m intending to set up a 5g wifi antenna, what is your suggestion? I’ve found an outdoor panel antenna supplier, it produces several kinds of wifi antenna. For home use, which one should I choose, the indoor directional wifi antenna, or parabolic wifi antenna?
Hi…Most RV Parks these days do not offer 5G Wi-Fi as it does not travel well through things. So I would highly suggest a 2.4Ghz setup and maybe a 5G one also that you can switch to. If you use the Ubnt radios, you would set them up the same so you could just swap them. Just having an antenna, will not help you, you need a radio that acts as a router. Not sure what you are looking for for your home use, as this blog post and video is for RV use.
Thanks for your sharing. What do you think of this kind of antenna to use indoor? https://www.shenglu.com/ceiling-mount-antenna-sl15917a.html
I do not really see any issue with it. It is more or less the same as I have seen in style with other units. Just need to be sure you have a MIMO dual output amp.