Friday, September 20, 2019

Anyone powering a point-to-point(-to point) bridge with solar?

I have been presented with a challenge.

One of my sites is a golf course. Approximately 1.5km away is the associated Driving Range.

Currently, the course is part of my fiber MPLS setup, but the range is tunneled in over DSL because it's all that's available there. We're paying roughly $100/mo for 10mpbs (you're reading that right).

The thought right now is that it would be cheaper (long term) and a better experience for the users at the range if we could link them to the course over a PtP wireless link and drop the DSL. Problem is, the only way I have decent LoS is if I put a pole up about 1km from the main site and repeat the signal to make about a 45-degree turn around some houses and trees. I've already established that I need a 30' pole... but I have no power within 500' of this spot and in the interest of keeping the cost down, I'm not looking to trench or have the power company install a meter.

Is there any cost effective way to use solar for this application? Anyone here experienced with networking "off the grid"? We're only looking to put up a couple decent APs. My biggest concern is dropping the link if we have a couple of cloudy days in a row or something.

I know this is probably more of a facilities issue for most of you, but figured it's worth a shot.



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