EnGenius ENH500 Business-Class, Long Range 5GHz Wireless Bridge/AP EnGenius ENH500 Business-Class, Long Range 5GHz Wireless Bridge/AP

Pros: Bought many varying models of the engenius brand wireless products. Just like the other models, this one does not disappoint in basic use. I have many of these deployed outdoors (and in) and I have yet to replace one that worked out of the box. 1 DOA out of 20ish = not bad.

Cons: Some advanced configurations which work with other devices will not work with these, especially when mixing model types.

Other Thoughts: Use the same models for point to point, especially with bridges.

Pros: Bought 2 of these as a wireless bridge setup. They are very easy to setup if you have some basic knowledge about networking and wireless. Had them both working in minutes. One as a wap and the other as a client bridge. Achieving 100mbps transfer over the connection.

Cons: None so far.

Other Thoughts: Each device contains a 24v poe injector if you switch does now offer that.

Pros: High throughput on 5Ghz N... Compatible with a lot of Radios, including Intel Centrino Radios up to 300Mbps. Outdoor range with common antenna setups (simple 2dbi sticks and laptops) better than expected.

Cons: Changed the GUI just a tad and took me a bit to figure out how to apply changes. Documentation a little light but once I got it I can deploy in minutes.

Other Thoughts: 5Ghz frequencies are better for LOS than use indoors. This is an outdoor AP. This product works as it's intended and is in fact Business Class hardware. Lots of adjustment available in the GUI.

I wouldn't recommend this for consumer use, unless you're looking to network your barn to your house in an area with a lot of 2.4Ghz interference. 5Ghz doesn't like walls.

Pros: I own a tech company and we've used this device to bridge buildings with great success. This particular unit is 5 Ghz. You can use this for a directional wireless AP but you'll need the proper NIC in your device to see it. My Lenovo laptop saw it just fine in testing. This is POE and has an additional ethernet port to connect another device on the same CAT run. Great if you need an IP camera connection on the mast.

Cons: none

Other Thoughts: If you want to be able to connect your laptop to this unit, you need a 5 Ghz wireless card. Most wireless cards are 2.4 They sell a 2.4 Ghz model (ENH202) if that's what you need. dextermat thinks the listing is misleading but what he really means is that he failed to apply the listing to his specific application.

Pros: Purchased for a simple point to point setup between two building 250 yards apart.
It took 5 minutes (+plus reboot time) to get the two radios talking...
plugged them in and the network lit up.
The hard part was climbing up on the roof and mounting.

Cons: Couldn't get the radios to pass tagged packets - I developed a work around with our existing gear and now everything works as it should.
I was going to deduct an egg for this but decided against it since I found a solution.
I won't be so lenient next time EnGenius! ;)

Other Thoughts: Great budget appliances!

Since my first installation, I have since purchased other models/frequencies (12 units in all) and haven't had any issues with any of them at all.

They pretty much work as advertised... so long as you know what you're doing.

Pros: Good looking
Compact
goes outdoor
Eugenius

Cons: Only power over POE, where most of wireless device will have both ways of powering on (Have to build protection against water/ snow )
Also useless if you want to do wireless only
Only 5 ghz : not compatible with 2.4 ghz
Cannot connect to 5 ghz network (dlink router)
The title say 802.11n But on the device itself it's 802.11a/n Also did some reading in manual before buying and said it is backward compatible (I assumed it would work with 2.4 ghz)

Other Thoughts: Still have some testing to do with other 5 ghz router but will surely have to send it back since it's not compatible with our motel wireless setup. Too bad since any other Eugenius item that I have bought was really good. More to come.
Not just for Eugenius but most wireless device: They should outline the things I mention in cons so that buyers are aware(like POE only) It's not clear in user manual or on websites, I spent hours reading about the device and never got any clear details.

Pros: Less interference from other radio equipment.

Cons: MUST have direct line of sight (i.e. interference from objects greatly reduces quality - 2.4GHz better at going through buildings and trees).

Pros: Well advertised and described on website.

Cons: Poor signals and too simple in manuals.

Other Thoughts: It never can bring the long range as advertised, bearly from my basement to outside of garage, which is about 100-150 ft, the signal strenth was reduced to less than 2 bar, never can get connected, which is not usable.

Pros: Strong power output, even through 3 brick walls, I can pick up useable signal about 1000 ft away. Because its 5 ghz, it bounces like crazy too, filling rooms not directly in sight of the device. Effective speeds, and no interferance from other wifi sites. Also works about 150ft behind it as well. Hasn't needed rebooting, easy configuration if you know what you are doing.

Cons: 5ghz wall penetration. Even though I can get about 1000 feet out of the building, if I close a metal door blocking the AP, now I can only go about 50ft outside of the building. 2.4ghz should double this on both levels due to more effective wall penetration while keeping similar speeds.

Other Thoughts: I know its designed for outdoor use, but we purchased these for indoor use, beaming directionally to indoor/outdoor locations. Even though you lose a lot of effective range and penetration with 5ghz, a powerful device such as this still makes such a task feasible. The best advantage is the clean and quiet 5ghz signals. From my scanning, I didn't see a single device other than my equipment (in a busy city enviroment). If you can manage the 5ghz flaws, a quiet, effective, and powerful wireless setup is yours for the taking. Plus, its very hard to beat for $99.