This was an absolutely epic and complicated wireless design for a lake front property in Idaho. My first trip to this property was a scouting mission to see exactly what I was working with and to come up with a game plan for ensuring that the entire property was bathed in strong WiFi and redundant Internet.
The second trip was the install – and it was definitely not without its challenges! Watch the video for full details!
Lake House Wireless Design document: PDF
Equipment used in this build:
UDM-SE: https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-unifi-os-consoles/products/dream-machine-se?a_aid=crosstalksolutions
US-Lite-8-POE: https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-switching/products/unifi-switch-lite-8-poe?a_aid=crosstalksolutions
U6-Mesh: https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-wireless/products/access-point-wifi-6-mesh?a_aid=crosstalksolutions
U6-LR: https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-wireless/products/u6-lr-us?a_aid=crosstalksolutions
INS-3AF-I-G: https://store.ui.com/collections/operator-accessories/products/instant-802-3af-indoor-gigabit-poe-converter?a_aid=crosstalksolutions
NanoBeam 5AC: https://store.ui.com/collections/operator-airmax-devices/products/nanobeam-5ac-gen2?a_aid=crosstalksolutions
Starlink: https://starlink.com
CyberPower UPS: https://geni.us/1bPfkME
trueCABLE CAT6 Direct Burial: https://geni.us/sSe2
KENUCO 4U enclosure: https://amzn.to/3bYKbZf
IP65 Waterproof Junction Box: https://geni.us/91l2w
Comments 5
Hello,
Looking at the first survey and total project costs, what would the lake house job cost? We notice that a lot of customers find good networking expensive. I’m wondering if this is the case too in your area.
Thanks in advance
Author
Good networking IS expensive! This job was unique since I didn’t actually charge labor – more of a friend hook-up. But – this same level of install with both trips and all of the design and setup would have likely been in the neighborhood of $12k or so. There would be much cheaper ways of accomplishing the same thing. That’s a lot of labor for ~$3k worth of equipment.
Interesting setup with VLANs, I tried something similar, but ran into some performance issues on switch, would you be so kind and upload pictures of your configuration of network and ports in this blog for referrence ? The UI of latest unifi OS also changed a bit since your video, thanks so much !
I have the same question, just curious if have you have managed to resolve it?
I saw you had problems getting your cables terminated with that outdoor cable. I don’t think you specified what category cable you used, but I assumed it was Cat6, possibly Cat 6a. The insulations on the individual strands of those (quality) cables are thicker as well as the actual cable size is larger being AWG 23. Standard RJ45 connectors will probably not work with Cat 6 or 6a because the holes are designed for AWG 26-28 and too small. Pushing them into a normal connector results in frustration as I think you encountered. Push-through connectors would have been the good choice in addition to using connectors designed for those larger strands. You have to look carefuly at the connector info to make sure you have large enough openings and push-through connectors to make sure all the wires are properly pierced for a good connection. I have found sources on Amazon (like https://a.co/d/jgzN3VC), but installers should ensure they are advertised for the larger wire openings and allow for at least AWG 23 size wires. I found using these connectors with SSTP CAT 6a cables work fine and easy to use.