rebelwireless wrote:New FCC rules are brutal. AF5X is more-or-less losing 2-4dBm vs EIRP in all but UNII3, then its 1dBm. In some bands, you can't cheat by dropping the claimed gain because the radio is output limited to 7dBm to match the smallest RD23. If you put in 20dBi it will claim 27dBm...
Well as you can see in the pic below:I claimed 27 dB on the 30 dB Dish - reality the antenna is "maybe" 27.5 dB at best in UNI-I - Marketing fluff that hinders us
I claimed 3 dB insertion loss (.5dB per connector and .5 dB per jumper) - I know this is pushing it
As you can clearly see the AF5X limits the EIRP to 37 dB which is a FAR cry from 53 dB
Tx on the radiator is
limited to 13 dB
Now this is UNI-I not UNI-III because I use UNI-III for PTMP, but UNI-I is also allowed 53 dB.
Back when I went to school 53 dB - 37 dB = 16 dB short of regs.
U-NII Low (U-NII-1[3]): 5.15-5.25 GHz. Originally limited to indoor use only. Regulations required use of an integrated antenna, with power limited to 50 mW.[4] Rules changed in 2014 to permit outdoor operation, maximum fixed power 1 watt, maximum fixed EIRP 4 watts (+36 dBm) point-to-multipoint, 200 watts (+53 dBm) point-to-point. However, strict out-of-band emission rules limit practical point-to-point power to lower levels.Why the AFX radios get hit so bad from M5 gear is I believe they employ an LNA like all airFIBER radios do to amplify the weaker signal since the radios are outputting less power. This LNA will amplify ALL signal as it can not be discriminate and thus even BAD noise is amplified.No with the AF5X the UI claims 140 Mbps+/- in both directions so an aggregate of 280 Mbps in 40 MHz of spectrum which is nice BUT I really wish it had an "AUTO" duty cycle as I never know which way I need it.
Cost of AF5X link(2) AF5X $600 for UI claimed 140 Mbps one way (tested at 120 Mbps+/-) or 240 aggregate) or $4.29 per Mbps if costing 1 direction
40 MHz of spectrum
Cost of M5 link(2) Rocket M5 $160 for 90 Mbps one way or 120 aggregate (tested @ 120) or $1.78 per Mbps if costing 1 direction
30 MHz of spectrum
Now people will say Chris the AF5X can do 280 Mbps aggregate @ 40 MHz and the M5 only 120 Mbps aggregate @ 30 MHz. This is true but since I offer a lot of HIGH END commercial links where I tout faster uplink speeds compared to cable I have to leave the duty cycle at 50/50. The M5 will use what it needs in each direction and as I said in reality when the AF5X claims 140/140 but I really only see 120/120 or 240 aggregate and the M5 is 90/30 when testing bi-directional so I get 120 aggregate.
So with that said if I look at tested aggregate rates:M5 @ 120 Mbps
using 30 MHz / $160 I get $1.33 per Mbps
AF5X @ 240 Mbps
using 40 MHz / $600 I get $2.5 per Mbps
I really should get the numbers on AF5X using 30 MHz for a better comparison model but this link is in service.Do not even get me started on the cost when we look at AF2X and AF3X as there was no excuse for Robert to charge almost twice as much for those links compared to AF5X.
Ubiquiti is great at pricing when there is competition and the only reason you can appreciate the lower price for the AF5X was the existence of MIMOSA.
Since we are on price why does an AF24HD cost twice what the AF24 does as the actual BOM is around $100 more to build the HD? The main difference between the 2 links is a more expensive PA, LNA, discrete, and a little more for the chassis.
If the AF24HD was say $500 more per radio I would have already replaced all of my AF24 with AF24HD.
You can play out the same cost per Mbps comparison on the M5 vs the AC line. The new GEN 3 airMAX Rocket does offer more Tx power than current AC models but if you measure the actual radiator power verses what the UI claims you might find something different similar to the NanoBridge radios where what the UI claims may not be what you actually get.
Look the AF5X is a cleaner radio then the Rocket AC Gen 3 with airPRISIM will ever be and as seen in the picture below it is no where near the allowed 53 dB EIRP.
Now with the airFIBER radios and the Chicago team I am always more apt to believe at face value whatever they put in their UI as accurate as their integrity would fight any assertion to display anything but accurate data for pure marketing fluff.
As you can see in the picture below we have a better signal than the UI thinks we should have as the antennas are aligned correctly and we always deploy with RF Armor Shield kits of course. They have the NEW Dish Kits that are designed to fit ALL Rockets made to date and the airFIBER X models. If I remove the Radio Shield in the back the link degrades even though no radios on the tower are on the same frequencies but there are a lot of radios mounted close together.
I strongly suggest the new UDK25X , UDK3X, and UDK5X Dish Kits for the legacy 30dB Ubiquiti Dishes when using AFX radios THEY MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE WHEN OTHER RADIOS ARE NEAR BY!!!If you have an older dish in service with an RF Armor kit you can purchase a NEW BOX for the back UDS25X or UDS3X and it is very easy to change the box on the back of the dish while on the tower.Look the AFX are nice radios and so are the AC radios but you really need to decide if the cost per Mbps justifies itself. And will the lower Power hurt or help you. Some people will some people will not. If you NEED the extra capacity no matter the cost then yes you need to upgrade or purchase the new line as you have no choice but if you have older gear and not shielded maybe you should try shielding first and I do not mean Rock Shield or knock offs of my kits try the real deal there is a difference.
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