After having set up a rather mediocre outdoor freifunk router (in terms of coverage and of being weatherproof) I decided to install a “real” outdoor antenna for my lovely Freifunk.
After some research 2 antennas from Ubiquity where in my budget as well as compatible with the Freifunk firmware:
- Ubiquiti airmax Nanostation M2 Loco (low cost)
- Ubiquiti airmax Nanostation M2
The Freifunk Wiki provides a good overview of the the Ubiquity models. They’re robust, have great coverage and come with PoE. The M2 model (not the Loco) comes with two RJ45 Jacks. One is for itself the other one for looping through to a another PoE device. You therefore could set up both antennas with just one PoE cable.
On Ebay Kleinanzeigen (Germanys “Craigs List”) I bought both models used and already flashed with Freifunk Software for a good price (thank you Dirk !).
The Loco is now covering the wider garden area of my backyard and serving many neighbors. The M2 is attached to the roof on the front of the house, facing the park and providing free WiFi to parts of the Parkinsel in Ludwigshafen where the Filmfestival is taking place.
I am now proud member of the Freifunk Rhein Neckar !
