XT8 Transmit Power

[BigEddy]

Hi,

I'm looking at buying a three node AX XT8. In the event that they are too close together, is it possible to reduce the transmit power of the two bands that are not being used as the wireless backhaul, or even disable them so the satellite could just be used as a wireless bridge?

Thanks

 

[L&LD]

Welcome to the forums @BigEddy.

How many SqFt is the area that needs to be covered? What kind of construction materials are used in the structure?

3x AX class routers sound like too much Wi-Fi if the home is modernly built and of average size.

 

[BigEddy]

Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply .

The ground floor is approx. 800 SqFt, with plaster and brick walls.

My primary router is in the middle of the house, and at the moment I am using PowerLine to get internet into the opposite two corners of the house. The Powerline is fairly reliable but does drop occasionally, however I now have WiFi cameras outside my house so also need access points at those two locations. WiFi from my router reaches one corner OK, but is pretty weak in the other, and I'm trying to get the best connection I can for console gaming while also providing wifi for my cameras.

I can't CAT6 the house, so the options I figured I had was either the Devolo Magic 2, mesh wifi or maybe the Netgear RAX200. I figured with mesh, if I could lower the TX power of the satellites, then the distance would cause too much of an issue.

Thanks

 

[L&LD]

800 SqFt is very small for modern routers. What is your current router?

You may find a single unit, properly located, to be enough.

 

[BigEddy]

I'm in the UK, so it's a ISP provided BT SmartHub.

 

[L&LD]

I have no experience with those, but ISP provided means lowest quality to me.

 

[BigEddy]

Yeah, maybe I need to do some more research. Want to be as future proof as possible. Maybe a more Powerful router would be the best course of action.

 

[L&LD]

If the main router can be centrally located, the RT-AX88U or an RT-AX86U may be all the router and future-proofing you need, for now.

But it is well worth testing with one of those routers even without it being properly located.

 

[BigEddy]

Thanks for your help, its much appreciated. It would be good to know if the TX power can be reduced or even turned off on the XT8 satellites, as I believe it can be on the Orbi, so will do some more digging.

I'll also see if I can find any comparisons between the BT SmartHub and some of these newer routers (the Netgear RAX200 does look impressive)

 

[radiomyke]

I've just had a look at the UI on my XT8's and there are options to turn off each of the bands and there's a setting for each band called TX power which, by default, is on 'Performance'; other settings are called Good, Balance, Fair and Power Saving. I've never altered any of these so can't offer advice in this regard but hope this may be of some help.

As an aside, I'm also with BT and, while I don't use the supplied Smart Hub, I believe they're reasonably well regarded for performance.

 

[BigEddy]

I've just had a look at the UI on my XT8's and there are options to turn off each of the bands and there's a setting for each band called TX power which, by default, is on 'Performance'; other settings are called Good, Balance, Fair and Power Saving. I've never altered any of these so can't offer advice in this regard but hope this may be of some help.

As an aside, I'm also with BT and, while I don't use the supplied Smart Hub, I believe they're reasonably well regarded for performance.

Excellent, thank you.