Looking for Hawking community!

[Mike Jensen]

I'm working as a client in an RV park. I'm also looking to quote out wireless infrastructure and have been testing various brands of radios (ubiquiti, EnGenius, TP-Link) .

I'm struggling with the Hawking HOD45B right now (I've also worked with the HPOW10D)

• The software (that I'm running 1.11?) has little to no feedback on the AP connection. I cannot tell if I'm associated or not unless I try connect from inside my local home network.
• The 5Ghz doesn't pickup much of anything. My laptop, inside the house, picks up 5 or so 5Ghz networks while the hawking (outside on a mast above the roof lines) barely sees my own.
• I tried a high powered external antenna (with the difficult to find/afford connectors) and it did nothing for my 5Ghz reception.

So I'm looking for a little help:

1. Is there a Hawking user forum somewhere that I've been unable to find so far? (My search led me here)
2. If there are Hawking users here:
   1. Am I missing something with the software, regarding AP association status, etc.? Or a 3rd party software for these boxes?
   2. Is anyone else having trouble (or success!) with these at 5Ghz?

I'm working in station (infrastructure) mode.
When functioning, my router gets a DHCP lease from the AP via the Hawking just fine.

So I can get it to connect and it's sorta usable, but I'm struggling with the issues above and looking for help!

Thanks,
Mike

 

[thiggins]

Sorry, you won't find many Hawking enthusiasts here. Why did you choose Hawking?

 

[Mike Jensen]

It was sort of a last resort, to be honest.

Ubiquiti failed with two different models. Failure meaning that I was unable to stay connected to an open wifi connection and they didn't allow WEP. Those are my two options in this park. One of the two models (air grid) simply stopped being able to detect 5Ghz networks as well. The PowerBeam would simply report 'bad' information in the logs for the open network and was kept being dropped. The firmware does not allow me to use WEP, which my park uses. After a number of calls they sent me an older firmware that supposedly has WEP enabled, but it did not... I lost faith in their tech support. When I buy a product I need solid support behind it. I was very excited about Ubiquiti, but even my distributor admits that their support is next to non-existant.

EnGenius simply did not have the power or range necessary and I could not connect a higher sensitivity antenna to the unit I was testing.

My environment isn't terribly odd:
2.4Ghz is very crowded
A few 5Ghz APs are available - WEP only with one or two open ones (I use my own VPN to tunnel all my traffic out)
A few WPA secured APs that I'm not allowed to use
Plenty of reflections to the best AP (speed wise)

After working through it, I believe high sensitivity and lower power would suit me. The PowerBeam would do that, except for the limitations in the software. Same with AirGrid.

The Hawking can connect to WEP, it can also stay connected to the OPEN APs. It has external antennas that I should be able to upgrade, except for the problems I'm working on.

I don't intend for this to be defensive of Hawking. I'm just at a bit of a loss (pun entirely intended).

Desires:
Ability to attach high gain antenna
Ability to work in both 2.4 and 5Ghz range
Bridge/station-infrastructure mode
Helpful software!
Helpful Tech support!

I'm open to ideas!!

Thanks,
Mike

 

[thiggins]

I would try to convince park management to stop using WEP. They are leaving themselves open to hacking and liability by running an insecure network.

That said, some devices that appear to not support WEP will expose a hidden menu if you lower the connection rate. This sometimes done by disabling 11ac support, typically by selecting an "G only" mode. Be aware that using WEP limits you to 54 Mbps connect rates.

Ubiquiti relies on their forums (Ubiquiti Community) for individual user support, which is usually quite responsive. Phone support is for resellers and large customers only.

A Ubiquiti Powerbeam?! How weak is the signal you are trying to connect to?

 

[Mike Jensen]

I'm going to try work with the park management, yes, but I'm not hopeful given other dealings. I intend to try, but at the moment, I'm trying to work with what I have. As stated earlier, I'm protecting myself with a full time VPN for anything other than tv streaming.

I'm in an odd situation, yes, regarding the low signal. It's a long story that I didn't want to rehash. High sensitivity and low power is my goal. I'm looking for options along those lines.

In the meantime, I picked up another ubiquiti device, the LiteBeam M5. I'll give it a go and can check back here regarding progress. I'll have to rely on the forums, I guess.

 

[Mike Jensen]

I'm not getting through to the Park Management yet, so I'm stuck with what I have for the moment.

The LiteBeam cannot be downgraded to a firmware with WEP and Ubiquiti clearly does not want it used as a client, so that one is out as well.

I tried a bullet with third party antenna and still had consistency issues.

Mikrotik - damn close, but I couldn't fight my way through the UI and was hung up on a misbehaving DHCP client (not unique there)

TP-Link is currently working pretty well.

Yes, I recognize ME as the common element here I'm not above admitting that the problems may well be with the operator!