Hello all,

I am new to HSMM having started yesterday. I want to go buy some routers and am confused as to which to buy and which will work. I think I want:

1) Works with the current BBHN firmware

2) Has detachable antennas

3) High power option

and I need to know where to buy from. I see the list of supported hardware but do not know how to determine which has a detachable antenna. 

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

John, N9CNM

You CAN still buy WRT54G V4 and below from NewEgg, Amazon, even Craigslist. There are a ton of them still available in the world. They still work and I can see no shortage in the near future.

Last I checked, there is even a guy on Ebay selling them WITH OUR BBHN FW ALREADY LOADED.

So they are STILL quite the usable and purchase-able piece of hardware.

Once the SDWG gets the Ubiquiti FW done, currently in Beta test (no, they are not looking for any more help at this time), then UBNT hardware will be available.

You could always follow others' posted instructions on building it on other hardware (Raspberry Pi, Beaglebone, etc). See Google for those instructions.

KTF

In general, you should not use higher than normal power, except in very special circumstances.   Instead of high power, use a high gain beam antenna and/or higher location. 

Just using an amp doesn't work that well because you still have to hear the other mesh node.  Unless the other mode is high power as well, you won't hear him.  You also still get interference from all the other 2.4 GHz civilian users.  Also, due to the way 802.11g and OFDM work, you interfere badly with the standard wifi users.