StanVaden

So I come from a retail IT tech, and corporate onsite background. I'm used to leather shoes, white shirt and not being Cat food. I decide that I need to find a different job because I was simply not being challenged where I was working. You know how there's a stage in life where you're looking for a job and you apply to one that you're way underqualified for? You know you're not going to get it but somehow it makes you feel like you're either some kind of hero for actually applying or you're simply wasting the company's time because the job sounds amazing but you'll never get it so "screw you, company in question!"! That was me. Hi, I'm Stan and I'm 22 years old. 

The company called me back. They were like: "Hey Stan. Can you come in for an interview?" I went for my interview. And on my way back home it hit me like a train: "They were simply wasting my time back". I wasn't even home yet when they called me with an offer. I had applied to a job at a predator research centre and lodge and I somehow landed this job as IT department manager, out in the bush, wearing Khakis with absolutely no idea what I'm doing. This is fine, right?

WRONG!

The previous IT Manager had decided that the best idea to supply Wi-Fi to the lodge was using three netgear 150mbps routers in weatherproof steel boxes placed strategically around the lodge connected by homeplug. I knew nothing about Wi-Fi networks besides that you need the little antennas sticking out at the back or else the reach was pretty much non-existent. I've had brushes with Cisco and Juniper equipment back in the corporate world but never actually worked on them.

I took it upon myself to get Wi-Fi smart and fix this colossal mess. After long nights of reading up I went to a local store and saw a Ubiquity UniFi AP. That was it. I fell in love with the interface they had demonstrated to me. I absolutely loved the fact that there's a sexy product that actually gets shiz done without breaking the bank. And the story started.
 
I had done some research and had purchased cat5e UV Shielded cable with shielded RJ45s and 6 Ubiquiti NanoStation M2s I used 2 of them as bridges and the remaining 4 as APs. That in it self was a dream. The setup was so easy that a toddler with ADHD could have done it. After mounting them it turns out they aren't actually a sore to the eye as much as I had originally anticipated and the range on those puppies are freaking amazing.
 
Fast forward a couple of months: We're building a new laboratory where we plan to do research and house predator sperm. This building is a bit far from the lodge where the mikrotik dish is that supplies us "Interwebs". The lodge also contains my server room where all the data on the research we've done is kept. Where all the data of the new feline TB research is kept and where the data from the laboratory in question needs to be kept.

I figure let’s throw two NanoStations at it and call it a day. No. The bridge worked. But it was unstable. It was an absolute nightmare. Had Ubiquiti failed me? Is this where I part ways with Ubiquiti and fork out the cash to some overpriced horrid eyesore? No.

I had decided that I have to obtain an Ubiquiti Certificate. I scheduled and attended the UBWS course at a networking supplier in the city. There I was introduced to the NanoBeam AC 16dbi. The smallest, cutest little piece of hardware I've ever had the pleasure of working on. I immediately purchased two of them. But i wanted to put them to the test. I have a friend that lives high up on a mountain in the city and I have line of sight from my house to his. It's about 6KM apart. I had borrowed my dad's binoculars and a couple of lasers (A completely useless idea but hey, let’s have fun)! We set off connecting the NanoBeams. We mounted them on camera tripods on the roof and used a home-made laser mount to aim the two at each other. This didn't work. We then decided to use the software to connect the two up and it was absolutely nowhere prefect (or good even) But it worked. We played a game of Call of duty 4 and I leached the crap out of his internet. The next morning I had climbed the poles at the lodge, mounted the two nanobeams and tuned them nearly perfect. We did it! The lab now has a "solid" connection to the lodge. Stan still has a job and for the predictable future; Ubiquiti has a hard earned fanboy.

So I come from a retail IT tech, and corporate onsite background. I'm used to leather shoes, white shirt and not being Cat food. I decide that I need to find a different job because I was simply not being challenged where I was working. You know how there's a stage in life where you're looking for a job and you apply to one that you're way underqualified for? You know you're not going to get it but somehow it makes you feel like you're either some kind of hero for actually applying or you're simply wasting the company's time because the job sounds amazing but you'll never get it so "screw you, company in question!"! That was me. Hi, I'm Stan and I'm 22 years old. 

The company called me back. They were like: "Hey Stan. Can you come in for an interview?" I went for my interview. And on my way back home it hit me like a train: "They were simply wasting my time back". I wasn't even home yet when they called me with an offer. I had applied to a job at a predator research centre and lodge and I somehow landed this job as IT department manager, out in the bush, wearing Khakis with absolutely no idea what I'm doing. This is fine, right?

WRONG!

The previous IT Manager had decided that the best idea to supply Wi-Fi to the lodge was using three netgear 150mbps routers in weatherproof steel boxes placed strategically around the lodge connected by homeplug. I knew nothing about Wi-Fi networks besides that you need the little antennas sticking out at the back or else the reach was pretty much non-existent. I've had brushes with Cisco and Juniper equipment back in the corporate world but never actually worked on them.

I took it upon myself to get Wi-Fi smart and fix this colossal mess. After long nights of reading up I went to a local store and saw a Ubiquity UniFi AP. That was it. I fell in love with the interface they had demonstrated to me. I absolutely loved the fact that there's a sexy product that actually gets shiz done without breaking the bank. And the story started.
 
I had done some research and had purchased cat5e UV Shielded cable with shielded RJ45s and 6 Ubiquiti NanoStation M2s I used 2 of them as bridges and the remaining 4 as APs. That in it self was a dream. The setup was so easy that a toddler with ADHD could have done it. After mounting them it turns out they aren't actually a sore to the eye as much as I had originally anticipated and the range on those puppies are freaking amazing.
 
Fast forward a couple of months: We're building a new laboratory where we plan to do research and house predator sperm. This building is a bit far from the lodge where the mikrotik dish is that supplies us "Interwebs". The lodge also contains my server room where all the data on the research we've done is kept. Where all the data of the new feline TB research is kept and where the data from the laboratory in question needs to be kept.

I figure let’s throw two NanoStations at it and call it a day. No. The bridge worked. But it was unstable. It was an absolute nightmare. Had Ubiquiti failed me? Is this where I part ways with Ubiquiti and fork out the cash to some overpriced horrid eyesore? No.

I had decided that I have to obtain an Ubiquiti Certificate. I scheduled and attended the UBWS course at a networking supplier in the city. There I was introduced to the NanoBeam AC 16dbi. The smallest, cutest little piece of hardware I've ever had the pleasure of working on. I immediately purchased two of them. But i wanted to put them to the test. I have a friend that lives high up on a mountain in the city and I have line of sight from my house to his. It's about 6KM apart. I had borrowed my dad's binoculars and a couple of lasers (A completely useless idea but hey, let’s have fun)! We set off connecting the NanoBeams. We mounted them on camera tripods on the roof and used a home-made laser mount to aim the two at each other. This didn't work. We then decided to use the software to connect the two up and it was absolutely nowhere prefect (or good even) But it worked. We played a game of Call of duty 4 and I leached the crap out of his internet. The next morning I had climbed the poles at the lodge, mounted the two nanobeams and tuned them nearly perfect. We did it! The lab now has a "solid" connection to the lodge. Stan still has a job and for the predictable future; Ubiquiti has a hard earned fanboy.

Tbh, the Nanobeam was suggested to me by Ubiquiti's online calculator. I then went through all the other Ubiquiti products to find out WHY the NB5ac was the one I needed and then went with it. From what I can tell, no other Ubiquiti product ticked all the boxes at a price I was happy with, without offering more features than I needed. The NanoBeam 5(non ac) does not give sufficient bandwidth at a distance of 500m.
 
I did absolutely no research into other companies offering similar solutions though(other than perhaps a quick "Ubiquiti vs 'x'"). I couldn't see myself saving a significant amount of money going to another company, as the NB5AC was so cheap,  and with Ubiquiti's rep, reviews and general persona, I was sold.

I am in serious awe right now. Tell me though; did you settle for the NanoBeam purely because of it's AC WiFi standard and did you at all consider any of the other Ubiquity products such as the NanoStation M5, AirFiber (5 or 24) or the PowerBeam? @L4RRY

Not judging your thought process. I'm just curious as to your thought process

No change in performance