Hello, I have an Outdoor 2.4Ghz AP (RBKAO) with 15dbi omni antenna on a 30m tower. Is it possible to use an amplifier to amplifier the signal so that my P2MP can get a boost in distance coverage? Which amplifier can work? or have been tested to work... Thank you. Nate

What you want to do is most certainly illegal.

it is not recommended, you will get a lot of noise and your clients will not be satisfied. also this will force your competition to do the same, and you will suffer even more.

I used to use amplifiers in the early days. But they do seem to be problematic. Also, links can attain greater throughput without them. With the advent of high-powered cards, they are less needed. But if you really think an amp is necessary, I've had the most luck with rflinx bidirectional amps. I've noticed them performing pretty good with prism cards. Most atheros cards I've tested seem to be crap when amped; i'm guessing it has to do with their better receive sensitivity. Most of my client base is in rural areas, so I've not been involved in amp wars, but I can see it would not be a good thing. IMHO, if you need the best coverage get a XR5 card.

You are also likely to see the performance of your radio cards degrade over time as the amp will overdrive the cards. You will end up replacing cards and amps repeatedly. You are better off using a highpower card without the amp. Also, as mentioned in other replies, you will just amp up the noise in addition to your own signal

I used to use amps too, and I can tell you from my experiance, don't use them.

Amplifiers aren't too bad with PRISM or HERMES based cards, but I have never had one work worth a piss on any Atheros based cards.

I see that the RBKAO has a 65mw card. You can safely change it with a R52H that is a 350mw card. With this change you'll have a noticeable increase in performance. Also important are the CPE. What CPE (routerboard and antenas) r u using?? and what is the distance you want to cover??