Best (powerful) WAP?

**evilsatan** · 18th December 2014

Just wondering what experiences people have with current WAPs? I like to get cable modems and use DD-WRT, recently I used a TP-Link TL-WR2543ND which after a bit of messing around with its setup seemed good, I am going back tomorrow so will see how it is doing after a few weeks running.

I am trying to pick a WAP to replace a Netgear WN802T which is dropping signal. The WAP will be in the loft of a large house so needs to have decent penetration and coverage which I know is a bit of a contradiction. I'm not sure if there is any point in me getting a simultaneous dual band AP or not.

So far I am thinking:
Draytek Vigor AP-700
Draytek Vigor AP-900 (simultaneous dual band but expensive)
Asus RT-AC66U (simultanous dual band, Wireless-AC but expensive)

I'm not really a fan of internal aerials, I always think the gain must be lower, is there any science behind this or is there no difference?

Cheers

**Over Carl** · 18th December 2014

Dual band can be handy in some of these type of envoironments. I know someone who has one at his workshop that has 2 SSID's, one normal and one 5GHz. Sometimes I can see both, but often I can only connect to one or the other.

At home I've got an ancient Buffallo reflashed with DD-WRT so I can crank the power up to 200Mw, original aerial changed with a high gain one. Not perfect unless I can upgrade all clients to 200mW. Even with DD-WRT, not all routers have hardware that allows higher power.

Just imagine instead of routers and mW ratings we have people speaking at different volumes.

Imagine two people are a large distance away so one person starts speaking louder. At a high enough volume, the person at the other end should be able to hear him. However unless the other person starts replying louder, the replies will never be heard.

Net effect of this is that I can connect my mobile to my access point even when I am outside and across the road, but I can only actually use it if I am in or near the house.

I would love to have a play around with Draytek's new managed Wifi system (AP900?) but unless someone want to pay me to install a managed wifi system I doubt this will happen soon. Also I think when I last looked it at, a few features aren't yet available but will come as a future update. Maybe best to let other people pay to complete the beta testing before jumping on board.

**evilsatan** · 18th December 2014

I like the analogy mate, sometimes I am able to connect to very weak wifi signals but have no WAN access.

The Ap-900 is about the same price as the Asus but I think they would rather AC future proofing as it's a home rather than Draytek stability that I use for most businesses.

Any more experiences from anyone?

**evilsatan** · 23rd December 2014

Last bump before I make a decision!

**eblaster101** · 24th December 2014

I have the Asus AC one mentioned its great. You can flash DDWRT on it but the wireless becomes less reliable. Works perfectly on stock.

**evilsatan** · 28th December 2014

The AC68U is on offer over at Amazon so might pick that up. Apparently Merlin is a good firmware for them but I will read up why that is and stick to stock if it doesn't tempt me.

**ZX7R** · 28th December 2014

I recommend you look in to the Ubiquiti wifi (Pro) gear as well. They run on a software based management tool but technically you only need to run it once to configure the WAP(s).
http://www.ubnt.com/unifi/unifi-ap/

Edit: There's a long range version as well.

http://www.4gon.co.uk/ubiquiti-unifi-uaplr-p-4749.html