Recomendations for New Outdoor AP

**TomL8345** · 11-23-2022, 08:48 AM

It looks like my Ubiquiti Nanostation Loco M2 has cratered on me. I am dependent on wireless for my show as I am using multiple RPi's for my show. For the past 2 years I have had the M2 connected to the ETH0 port on my Master RPi, I am looking for something AVAILABLE QUICKLY and reasonably priced to replace my M2. I am NOT great with networking, so any guidance will be greatly appreciated.

**TomL8345** · 11-23-2022, 10:53 PM

The wireless AP's that I am looking at will take some time to arrive if I purchase them. Can I hook a wireless router up to the ETH0 port on my FPP Master RPi to communicate with my FPP remotes?

I have a spare RPi that I could use as my Master FPP inside the house and set the wireless router in a window that overlooks my show. Would that work?

**1amCDot** · 11-28-2022, 03:55 PM

Ubiquiti still makes the Nanostation Loco M2 - you can find them on Amazon or Newegg - the M2 operates at the 2.4 GHz frequency, where the M5 operates on the 5.0 frequency. You should be able to use a router, however you will want to make sure that it is set to Bridge mode rather than Router mode. If it is set to Router mode, you will be performing Network Address Translation (NAT) twice, which can be troublesome. I have used other Ubiquiti hardware, but not the Nanostation Loco M2 - does it give you the ability to backup the configuration, to where you could restore it to a new one? I hope this helps some.

**JLStout** · 11-28-2022, 04:34 PM

Hijacking this thread. I use the Loco M2, with a tplink router. My router is set to router mode, and assigns my IP addresses for my ESPixels. Should I be doing things differently? I have about 30 ESPixels across 2 houses.

**1amCDot** · 11-28-2022, 06:18 PM

Usually a home router provides a firewall, Network Address Translation (this changes the IP address you get from your Internet Service Provider to a local address such as 192.168.X.X) and DNS (Domain Name Service). If you have two routers on your network it can cause problems because it would take you IP address from your ISP, change it to your internal network (192.168.x.x) to a different internal network such as 10.X.X.X. You will also have multiple different DNS servers for different networks on your system. To keep things running smoothly, you only want to perform the Network Address Translation once on a network, unless you want to enter static routes into your routers so the packets know where to go to get to all of the proper devices, which people don't usually do. Also DNS can run into issues because one router may send packets to one route and the other router to a different route and the destination may not be the same for the different DNS servers. You are fine because the Loco M2 is a Wireless Access Point, which means it is getting using the router firewall and the DNS from your router and using the router as its Gateway (to send traffic outside if your network). If you have multiple routers on your network, you should set one to Bridge Mode, so it acts like a Wireless Access Point, rather than performing the router functions. Sorry for all of the rambling.

I hope this helps.

**1amCDot** · 11-28-2022, 11:19 PM

For a little clarification, you want the router that is connected to your internet connection (ISP) to be in Router Mode, so it enables the firewall, DNS and NAT. The other router that doesn't have the ISP internet connection should be set up in Bridge Mode.

**JLStout** · 11-29-2022, 01:17 PM

Show network is completely seperate. Thanks.

**1pet2_9** · 11-29-2022, 01:52 PM

Originally Posted by TomL8345

The wireless AP's that I am looking at will take some time to arrive if I purchase them. Can I hook a wireless router up to the ETH0 port on my FPP Master RPi to communicate with my FPP remotes?

I have a spare RPi that I could use as my Master FPP inside the house and set the wireless router in a window that overlooks my show. Would that work?

To help whatever way I can...yes, that will all work...with some networking knowledge. If you connect to eth0 instead of wlan0, that will probably change the IP address, unless you explicitly set it (which, of course, requires you to know how to do it). You could probably live with the IP addresses just changing, and you change it in Xlights.

**pakeonoahu** · 11-29-2022, 03:21 PM

Just disable WAN port, your WIFI AP should be bridged with the LAN side, configure you LAN with the same subnet as your FPP Master and plug rpi into the LAN side, your router is now acting like WIFI AP only, configure your dhcpd for your WIFI devices.