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Author Topic: Ubiquiti Rabbit Hole  (Read 2593 times)

Mark Norgren

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Ubiquiti Rabbit Hole
« on: February 06, 2021, 08:29:10 AM »

I just bought the ubiquiti uap-ac-m-us.  Yes, I have read most all of the posts on this board, some dating back to 2014, which is ancient.  I also have watched a number of videos on Youtube, trying to get a better handle on the setup.  My intention is to use this with my Midas M32R and an Apple Airport Express to increase range for outdoor events this summer.  My board is currently set up in my studio ready for the AP to be delivered next week.  I plan to mount this on a mic stand, possibly place that on top of a table if need be to get a direct line of site from on stage.  No I am not a systems or network engineer and yes, I have read that these can be difficult and confusing to set up correctly.  Please do get frustrated with this question, if so, just move on and I'll try and work it out on my own.  I am hoping someone has already done this with the Airport Express and can offer some advice.  One person advised to run this only on the 5.8 side to avoid all the traffic on the 2.4 band and that seems like sound advice.

Any step by step advice would be greatly appreciated!  I know there is a wealth of expertise out there and I'm hoping one of you will chime in and save me hours of frustration!  Thanks in advance!
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Tim Hite

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Re: Ubiquiti Rabbit Hole
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2021, 03:04:50 PM »

I think the one big snag is to make sure that you turn off the "connection monitoring" feature in UniFi controller when you set up your AP. If it's on and the AP can't see the default gateway, it will not broadcast an SSID.

This is great when you're building a mesh network, as it stops clients from connecting to dead end access points. It is infuriating if you are just trying to use a single access point as a stand alone device.

The alternative is to add a USG on your network, which provided DHCP and a default gateway. The you can mesh AP's together and build up the coverage you need. Owning a Could Key is super convenient, as you can use it to easily configure multiple network "sites" and build several systems for rental and event use with one cloud key that handles all your management. You can then manage them with any device. If you elect to run UniFi controller on your computer, you will need that particular computer available to make any changes to your network. Cloud Key is a lot of convenience for $100

Otherwise, it's all pretty straightforward if you can configure an airport ok linksys appliance.
« Last Edit: February 06, 2021, 03:10:35 PM by Tim Hite »
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doug johnson2

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Re: Ubiquiti Rabbit Hole
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2021, 04:56:33 PM »

I can't help you with the Airport Express, as I have never used one.  I have been using Ubiquiti products for several years.  Personally, I would ditch the airport express and just use the uap-ac-m-us with a wired router and a switch.  Wirelessly, it will out preform the Airport Express in every way.  The Ubiquiti stuff isn't plug and play but, its not difficult to set up.  There are some configuration guides on the Ubiquiti website that are very easy to follow.  Here are a couple:
https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/205197610
https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/205197610-airMAX-Configure-a-Point-to-Multipoint-PtMP-ISP-Style-Access-Point

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Debbie Dunkley

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Re: Ubiquiti Rabbit Hole
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2021, 08:27:06 PM »

I just bought the ubiquiti uap-ac-m-us.  Yes, I have read most all of the posts on this board, some dating back to 2014, which is ancient.  I also have watched a number of videos on Youtube, trying to get a better handle on the setup.  My intention is to use this with my Midas M32R and an Apple Airport Express to increase range for outdoor events this summer.  My board is currently set up in my studio ready for the AP to be delivered next week.  I plan to mount this on a mic stand, possibly place that on top of a table if need be to get a direct line of site from on stage.  No I am not a systems or network engineer and yes, I have read that these can be difficult and confusing to set up correctly.  Please do get frustrated with this question, if so, just move on and I'll try and work it out on my own.  I am hoping someone has already done this with the Airport Express and can offer some advice.  One person advised to run this only on the 5.8 side to avoid all the traffic on the 2.4 band and that seems like sound advice.

Any step by step advice would be greatly appreciated!  I know there is a wealth of expertise out there and I'm hoping one of you will chime in and save me hours of frustration!  Thanks in advance!

Mark, reach out to Frank Kayser on here and see if he can help - he helped me set mine up just as you describe ..... Airport Express, Ubiquiti, used to extend range etc. He was fantastic and I couldn't have done it without him.
I have had ZERO dropouts since I started using the Ubiquiti with probably 3 times the range that I had with the AE alone.
I always use 5gHz with my 'rabbit'  set up high on an extended mic boom stand.
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A young child says to his mother, "Mom, when I grow up I'm going to be a musician." She replies, "Well honey, you know you can't do both."

Mark Norgren

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Re: Ubiquiti Rabbit Hole
« Reply #4 on: February 07, 2021, 08:15:37 AM »

Thanks for the help people, some great advice! 

Debbie, did you keep your AE?  I will try and contact Frank when it arrives next week!
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Debbie Dunkley

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Re: Ubiquiti Rabbit Hole
« Reply #5 on: February 07, 2021, 11:16:48 AM »

Thanks for the help people, some great advice! 

Debbie, did you keep your AE?  I will try and contact Frank when it arrives next week!

Yes - I use it still just as I always did and the Ubiquiti is used as my extender. I chose to do it this way because many times I like to use the wireless set up for purposes that do not require the Ubiquiti and this way I can do that too.
I have the AE along with a router switch and other sound and lighting peripherals ( Ubiquiti power supply, DMX/Ethernet dongle, DMX splitter) all connected to a rack mount power strip and mounted in a 4u rack case for fast and easy deployment.
Then I can either choose to connect wirelessly to the AE directly OR connect the Ubiquiti and connect to that for better range.

I took a couple of photos for you but lately I have not been able to upload photos on here ....weird..
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A young child says to his mother, "Mom, when I grow up I'm going to be a musician." She replies, "Well honey, you know you can't do both."

frank kayser

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Re: Ubiquiti Rabbit Hole
« Reply #6 on: February 07, 2021, 06:38:59 PM »

Mark, reach out to Frank Kayser on here and see if he can help - he helped me set mine up just as you describe ..... Airport Express, Ubiquiti, used to extend range etc. He was fantastic and I couldn't have done it without him.
I have had ZERO dropouts since I started using the Ubiquiti with probably 3 times the range that I had with the AE alone.
I always use 5gHz with my 'rabbit'  set up high on an extended mic boom stand.


Thanks Debbie, for the kind words.  We did have a fun couple hours sorting it out, didn't we?  Always a good thing talking with PSW folks.


Mark - The Airport has but two ports - LAN and WAN.  One can make configuration changes to the Airport to utilize the two ports, but the function of the airport changes (I believe it becomes a bridge).  Way more trouble than it is worth. You've many options here, but to use the Midas and the Ubiquiti wabbit ears with the Airport, you'll also need a small ethernet switch.
I also run the Airport, and ethernet central equipment cluster adds a POE switch that runs the wabbit ears without a power brick, and the Raspberry Pi (with POE hat) that run my lights through QLC, and a POE DMX controller. The mixer simply plugs into the switch and we're off and running. 


Once up, you'll generally have four SSIDs - Aitport 2.4ghz. Airport 5ghz, Ubiquiti wabbit ears on 2.4 and 5ghz.  Any or all could be combined, and the Airport radios can be turned off, since the Ubiquiti has so much better coverage.  I run two SSIDs - one for the Airport combined 2.4 and 5ghz bands (let the iPad sort out which it wants behind the scenes), and a different SSID for the wabbit ears running the combined 2.4 and 5ghz radios.


Food for thought.  PM me when you're ready to launch.


frank
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Mark Norgren

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Re: Ubiquiti Rabbit Hole
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2021, 07:57:58 AM »

I am so grateful for both Debbie and Frank reaching out offering their support!  I am humbled!
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John Schalk

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Re: Ubiquiti Rabbit Hole
« Reply #8 on: February 08, 2021, 08:47:04 AM »

Because of the wrinkle Frank mentions with the Airport's two ethernet ports, I chose to revert to my ancient, but still trusty, Linksys WRT54G for my Ubiquiti setup.  I took the lazy approach and left the 2.4Ghz radio on in the Linksys so I can "talk" to it wirelessly, and use the 5GHz radio in my Ubiquiti.

My #1 tip for configuring your Ubiquiti WAP is to connect it to a WAN that has internet access first.  Let it update the firmware, if needed, and then do the configuration to your sound system's WiFi settings.
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frank kayser

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Re: Ubiquiti Rabbit Hole
« Reply #9 on: February 08, 2021, 09:10:42 AM »

Because of the wrinkle Frank mentions with the Airport's two ethernet ports, I chose to revert to my ancient, but still trusty, Linksys WRT54G for my Ubiquiti setup.  I took the lazy approach and left the 2.4Ghz radio on in the Linksys so I can "talk" to it wirelessly, and use the 5GHz radio in my Ubiquiti.

My #1 tip for configuring your Ubiquiti WAP is to connect it to a WAN that has internet access first.  Let it update the firmware, if needed, and then do the configuration to your sound system's WiFi settings.


Good idea using the old Linksys as it has enough ports to eliminate the need for a switch.  Pretty much any reliable router can be used in this situation without worry. Setup connected to a WAN also a good idea.
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ProSoundWeb Community

Re: Ubiquiti Rabbit Hole
« Reply #9 on: February 08, 2021, 09:10:42 AM »


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