WE826 VS M2M NEXG H721 VS USB enclosure

[Sexyjesus]

So I've got my cart filled to the brim with everything I need for atleast a fairly solid setup. I'm currently torn on routers. I've decided on the EM7576 Modem from Sierra, but am torn on how to implement it in the system. We do a lot of streaming and gaming, and have quite a few smart devices and redundant devices (I.e. Tvs, phones, etc) all running on the network, so I'd like dual band where possible and don't want to "bottleneck" my performance so to speak.

Currently I'm torn on the routers mentioned in the title - I wouldnt mind having some of the new wifi technology such as MIMO and Beam forming as well. I know the WE826 isn't the best for wifi, which is where I'm not sure if just using it as an enclosure with band locking would be beneficial, and run it through a conventional router or mesh system.

The H721 sounds great with the option of dual band, but I didn't see anything relating to options such as beam forming/mimo. Am I missing out on higher speeds/better usibility without these? I'm not sure if the cost of the NEXG vs the much cheaper solution of USB enclosure/WE826 pass through would be worth it if I can still get a better conventional router or AP for the wifi. Unless somehow you can run 2 EM7576 and double your bandwidth somehow, but I doubt it works this way? (clarification would be great - if be willing to pay for 2 monthly services if it did for more bandwidth)

Ive also considered a USB enclosure for the EM7576, but to m understanding would then need a router that supports GoldenOrb/ROOTer - the issue is the routers I was going to go with (something like the Asus AC68U) does not support wifi with GoldenOrb. Would it then be easier to put the EM7576 in the WE826, and then tie it into the conventional router running regular firmware? Or even a switch to A WAP?

I appreciate recommendations - I've learned so much from this damn forum already. Yall the real MVPS.

[swwifty]

If you are really serious about your network, then I would highly recommend running separate dedicated access point(s) and a dedicated router/4G modem.

All modern 802.11 wifi standards have MIMO, and the latest use beamforming. Beamforming is dependent upon the client as well, and most don't support it so I wouldn't bother worrying about that.

I would look at the Ubiquiti Access Points. I have used both the Unifi AC Lite, and the NanoHD. I'm happy with both of them. I think the AC lite is the best bank for your buck.

Also, for what its worth, I use a Rasberry PI with an external USB enclosure running GoldenOrb as my setup. Couple that with an access point and you are good to go.

You can see my post on my setup to see more details.

[Sexyjesus]

If you are really serious about your network, then I would highly recommend running separate dedicated access point(s) and a dedicated router/4G modem.

All modern 802.11 wifi standards have MIMO, and the latest use beamforming. Beamforming is dependent upon the client as well, and most don't support it so I wouldn't bother worrying about that.

I would look at the Ubiquiti Access Points. I have used both the Unifi AC Lite, and the NanoHD. I'm happy with both of them. I think the AC lite is the best bank for your buck.

Also, for what its worth, I use a Rasberry PI with an external USB enclosure running GoldenOrb as my setup. Couple that with an access point and you are good to go.

You can see my post on my setup to see more details.

Swwifty my friend, you are more helpful than you know and your build has helped quite a bit with other questions I might have had. Your testing with the panel antennas was also quite enlightening. I'm assuming my best bet is to just test with the antennas I get and see what bands I pick up with those. My current testing on my phone will only give me so much as I believe the antenna might pickup other bands my phone doesn't seem to like many of them. All I've been able to pickup is 2, 5, and 12 in my testing so far, but is also the reason I decided the EM7576 would be best for 3xca if i can make it work.

I was actually considering the PI setup myself due to your post (hadn't realized it was yours until now!). I'm also worried about LMR length runs and might very well consider an external enclosure now. I'm very serious about making my network work for us now and am not worried about cost terribly to make it all work. We're there any other benefits to external mounting other than shorter cable runs out of curiosity?

I think I might stick with the 15 dBi panel antennas for now and change them out if I find a certain band might perform better. My best testing via phone and network cell info are

RSRP -103
RSSNR 4.6
RSRQ -9

This was about 2 feet above garage height, which sits about 15 ft higher than the my 2 story house. I have a couple towers in the area, and one is more LOS but farther, the other is hindered by houses/hills/trees so more testing will be needed once I get all the equipment in. Hoping to order everything no later than Monday and hopefully have a working connection by the weekend

Also, question on your high pass filters - what MHz are you trying to keep out and is that something I need with a wideband antenna? I see you're shooting just for one band and I can't seem to find what range or why I might need them. But after reading your post, I also realized that band 2 (which I do in fact receive) is twice the width of what 12 and 5 are, which I also receive. I guess once I get my equipment, focusing on band 2 might be a better option for speeds as well here if CA isn't utilized.

[JimHelms]

So I've got my cart filled to the brim with everything I need for atleast a fairly solid setup. I'm currently torn on routers. I've decided on the EM7576 Modem from Sierra, but am torn on how to implement it in the system. We do a lot of streaming and gaming, and have quite a few smart devices and redundant devices (I.e. Tvs, phones, etc) all running on the network, so I'd like dual band where possible and don't want to "bottleneck" my performance so to speak.

Currently I'm torn on the routers mentioned in the title - I wouldnt mind having some of the new wifi technology such as MIMO and Beam forming as well. I know the WE826 isn't the best for wifi, which is where I'm not sure if just using it as an enclosure with band locking would be beneficial, and run it through a conventional router or mesh system.

The H721 sounds great with the option of dual band, but I didn't see anything relating to options such as beam forming/mimo. Am I missing out on higher speeds/better usibility without these? I'm not sure if the cost of the NEXG vs the much cheaper solution of USB enclosure/WE826 pass through would be worth it if I can still get a better conventional router or AP for the wifi. Unless somehow you can run 2 EM7576 and double your bandwidth somehow, but I doubt it works this way? (clarification would be great - if be willing to pay for 2 monthly services if it did for more bandwidth)

Ive also considered a USB enclosure for the EM7576, but to m understanding would then need a router that supports GoldenOrb/ROOTer - the issue is the routers I was going to go with (something like the Asus AC68U) does not support wifi with GoldenOrb. Would it then be easier to put the EM7576 in the WE826, and then tie it into the conventional router running regular firmware? Or even a switch to A WAP?

I appreciate recommendations - I've learned so much from this damn forum already. Yall the real MVPS.

The WE826-T2 is limited to 100mbps where the M2M is a 1000mbps (Gigabit) router.

The WiFi on the WE826-T2 is less than optimal and is not recommended as a source to provide WiFi to multiple devices. The WE826-T2 is best used as a modem, and DMZ everything to a good WiFi router of choice.

The M2M router coupled with the WLE900VX offers stable and strong 3 x MIMO 2.4 or 5GHz AC WiFi. While the WLE900VX is a dual band WiFi card, it must be set to either 2.4GHz or 5GHz. For a router to transmit both 2.4 and 5GHz WiFi, it must have two separate WiFi cards/chips.

Most use the WLE900VX for the 5GHz and the Atheros AR9280 for the 2.4GHz WiFi.

The EM7565 is the most commonly used modem for the M2M and works well for most carriers. While the M2M will support dual modems, and allow redundant connections set as load balancing or failover, it will not bond the two connections to get greater bandwidth.

Couple the setup with a set of the external 15dBi panel antennas using some quality 50 ohm low loss cables, and you should be good to go.

If you need WiFi in a location (or multiple locations) where the WiFi is poor, install one (or more) Ubiquiti Unifi access points.

[swwifty]

Swwifty my friend, you are more helpful than you know and your build has helped quite a bit with other questions I might have had. Your testing with the panel antennas was also quite enlightening. I'm assuming my best bet is to just test with the antennas I get and see what bands I pick up with those. My current testing on my phone will only give me so much as I believe the antenna might pickup other bands my phone doesn't seem to like many of them. All I've been able to pickup is 2, 5, and 12 in my testing so far, but is also the reason I decided the EM7576 would be best for 3xca if i can make it work.

I was actually considering the PI setup myself due to your post (hadn't realized it was yours until now!). I'm also worried about LMR length runs and might very well consider an external enclosure now. I'm very serious about making my network work for us now and am not worried about cost terribly to make it all work. We're there any other benefits to external mounting other than shorter cable runs out of curiosity?

I think I might stick with the 15 dBi panel antennas for now and change them out if I find a certain band might perform better. My best testing via phone and network cell info are

RSRP -103
RSSNR 4.6
RSRQ -9

This was about 2 feet above garage height, which sits about 15 ft higher than the my 2 story house. I have a couple towers in the area, and one is more LOS but farther, the other is hindered by houses/hills/trees so more testing will be needed once I get all the equipment in. Hoping to order everything no later than Monday and hopefully have a working connection by the weekend

Also, question on your high pass filters - what MHz are you trying to keep out and is that something I need with a wideband antenna? I see you're shooting just for one band and I can't seem to find what range or why I might need them. But after reading your post, I also realized that band 2 (which I do in fact receive) is twice the width of what 12 and 5 are, which I also receive. I guess once I get my equipment, focusing on band 2 might be a better option for speeds as well here if CA isn't utilized.

There's no benefit to having your router outside, other than keeping the cable runs short. I did that, because otherwise my runs would have been about 40-50ft, and LMR400 isn't cheap. Ethernet was much easier to run back into my office where the rest of my network equipment is housed.

The high pass filters were mainly an experiment. I live in a pretty rural area, but I wanted to block out any frequencies below 600mhz as I thought the receiver might be overloaded from nearish FM radio stations and AM radio stations. The benefit was not really noticeable.

That being said, I did just get my ham license and am soon going to be transmitting on bands all below 600mhz with power up to 100 watts, so I'm glad I have it now

I wouldn't advise you to bother with it. I'm using the wide band yagis now, which I believe I mentioned before. I'd recommend using a wide band antenna, and not trying to focus on only one band, unless thats all you have.