We solved the random crash / freeze up, boot looping, connection loss issues that sometimes happens with these devices. Note that the devices we repaired all came from hot environments. The issue with crach / freeze up and/or boot looping was not a firmware or logic issue instead it was found to be a capacitor issue. In the CPE-450 there are 4 surface mounted caps (x2 220uF @ 10v, x2 100uF @ 35v) that at first glance look like quality nichicon caps but they are just cheap fakes. The units we repaired it was mainly the 220uF @ 10v caps that were at fault either bulging or had "R. Kelly'ed" itself (leaked) and this I am determining is due to the 10 volt rating being too lo low for a 24 volt PoE device (or 12 volt via barrel connector) also coupled with the heat from their environments. We wound up removing all 4 caps and replacing them with new nichicon high temp low esr caps with voltage ratings of 35 volts then let them run on the bench over the weekend with the air conditioner off and none of the units crashed. We buttoned them back up and sent them back out to be re installed at their normal locations and so far nothing has failed since in the past 2 months. So yeah if your radios start acting weird power cycling losing connection, becoming slow then it could be any of those 4 caps gone or going bad. They are cheap to fix just mind the two screws under the label on the back of the radio that will free the internals. neat fact: These radios have 2 LAN ports and 2 radios. If you disable the Read from DIP Switch option and set the radio up manually in slave mode you can use them to not only act as a bridge and 5GHz AP (repeater) but also as a 2 port LAN switch where WAN is the bridge radio meaning you can connect 2 devices to the units LAN ports like 2 IP cameras or loopback to a 2.4GHz AP on one port and Lan drop on the other manually setting these up as masters or slaves with repeater AP on will allow for other brand radios like Ubiquiti Nanostation M series to connect and gain internet access
Thanks for sharing your findings on the CPE-450 capacitor issue. It's good to know that the random crash / freeze up, boot looping, and connection loss issues are not due to firmware or logic problems, but rather to faulty capacitors. Not that it makes the issue to resolve. I'm glad you were able to fix the problem by replacing the capacitors with new ones. Your tip about using Nichicon high temp low esr caps with voltage ratings of 35 volts is very helpful. I'll be sure to pass that along to anyone else who is having problems with their CPE-450. I also appreciate the fact about the CPE-450's LAN ports. I didn't know that you could disable the Read from DIP Switch option and set the radio up manually in slave mode to use it as a 2 port LAN switch. That's a very useful feature that I'll be sure to take advantage of. Thanks for sharing and for watching.
Thank you for your great review, which answered two of my questions. It does penetrate brick walls and you still need an access point at the slave end. Fantastic.
So I have a metal barn 300 feet from my house. So the plan is to buy this kit and set it up like you said. The slave unit will be set on top of the barn and then connected with a cable to a TP Link wifi router placed inside the barn. Hoping to add a TP Link access point in the 'barnyard' so to speak so I can connect a pair of game cameras I want to use for security purposes.
That should work provided that the TP-Link does work in router mode. The only issue I can see is WiFi bandwidth drops as the signal hops between different access points before connecting to the internet for streaming (assuming that’s how you’ll see what’s happening on the cameras). Let us know how you come along.
Bottom line however is - there is 'NO' substitute to a hard wired internet connection to a Wi-Fi hot spot, wrt to energy used in providing this connectivity instead of a mesh system...
@@MyHomeFarm Just need to get one Ethernet cable from Main ADSL etc into loft then a big router up there feeding whatever to the bedrooms, It's much better to get signals through Floors and Ceilings than through walls! You could even do it in black external Ethernet cable on the outside of the house behind a down pipe....
I've seen wifi bridges like this before, being advertised as weather resistant, and they're not at all. The open LAN sockets underneath will over time simply rot with moisture in the air. They don't have to be directly rain on/wet, there's enough water in the air to make this happen. It would need an IP65 grade enclosure to be an outdoor device, it needs to be sealed. Fortunately a plastic enclosure would be fine and wifi signals dance through thin plastic. But for me, i'll be going for an IP65 rated device, the Wavlink AC600 probably.
This is why the 450's I got remain on the shelf in my storage room and I cant even give them away. I just stick with ubiquiti though you pay for it, their stuff is reliable and just works.
I bet you could paint it to look like brick and make it virtually invisible. I bet that wouldn't effect the performance much, if any.
We solved the random crash / freeze up, boot looping, connection loss issues that sometimes happens with these devices. Note that the devices we repaired all came from hot environments.
The issue with crach / freeze up and/or boot looping was not a firmware or logic issue instead it was found to be a capacitor issue. In the CPE-450 there are 4 surface mounted caps (x2 220uF @ 10v, x2 100uF @ 35v) that at first glance look like quality nichicon caps but they are just cheap fakes. The units we repaired it was mainly the 220uF @ 10v caps that were at fault either bulging or had "R. Kelly'ed" itself (leaked) and this I am determining is due to the 10 volt rating being too lo low for a 24 volt PoE device (or 12 volt via barrel connector) also coupled with the heat from their environments. We wound up removing all 4 caps and replacing them with new nichicon high temp low esr caps with voltage ratings of 35 volts then let them run on the bench over the weekend with the air conditioner off and none of the units crashed. We buttoned them back up and sent them back out to be re installed at their normal locations and so far nothing has failed since in the past 2 months.
So yeah if your radios start acting weird power cycling losing connection, becoming slow then it could be any of those 4 caps gone or going bad. They are cheap to fix just mind the two screws under the label on the back of the radio that will free the internals.
neat fact: These radios have 2 LAN ports and 2 radios. If you disable the Read from DIP Switch option and set the radio up manually in slave mode you can use them to not only act as a bridge and 5GHz AP (repeater) but also as a 2 port LAN switch where WAN is the bridge radio meaning you can connect 2 devices to the units LAN ports like 2 IP cameras or loopback to a 2.4GHz AP on one port and Lan drop on the other
manually setting these up as masters or slaves with repeater AP on will allow for other brand radios like Ubiquiti Nanostation M series to connect and gain internet access
Thanks for sharing your findings on the CPE-450 capacitor issue. It's good to know that the random crash / freeze up, boot looping, and connection loss issues are not due to firmware or logic problems, but rather to faulty capacitors. Not that it makes the issue to resolve.
I'm glad you were able to fix the problem by replacing the capacitors with new ones. Your tip about using Nichicon high temp low esr caps with voltage ratings of 35 volts is very helpful. I'll be sure to pass that along to anyone else who is having problems with their CPE-450.
I also appreciate the fact about the CPE-450's LAN ports. I didn't know that you could disable the Read from DIP Switch option and set the radio up manually in slave mode to use it as a 2 port LAN switch. That's a very useful feature that I'll be sure to take advantage of.
Thanks for sharing and for watching.
Thank you for your great review, which answered two of my questions. It does penetrate brick walls and you still need an access point at the slave end. Fantastic.
Thanks for the video. Actually I believe I have connected with my main and can get wifi signal and data.
Great 👍
So I have a metal barn 300 feet from my house. So the plan is to buy this kit and set it up like you said. The slave unit will be set on top of the barn and then connected with a cable to a TP Link wifi router placed inside the barn. Hoping to add a TP Link access point in the 'barnyard' so to speak so I can connect a pair of game cameras I want to use for security purposes.
That should work provided that the TP-Link does work in router mode. The only issue I can see is WiFi bandwidth drops as the signal hops between different access points before connecting to the internet for streaming (assuming that’s how you’ll see what’s happening on the cameras).
Let us know how you come along.
Finally an easy explanation for these things, I need to internet to my barn loft. Thanks,
Glad it was helpful! Let us know how it works.
Bottom line however is - there is 'NO' substitute to a hard wired internet connection to a Wi-Fi hot spot, wrt to energy used in providing this connectivity instead of a mesh system...
Hard wiring is the way to go, definitely, but it’s not always viable, especially over long distances.
@@MyHomeFarm Just need to get one Ethernet cable from Main ADSL etc into loft then a big router up there feeding whatever to the bedrooms, It's much better to get signals through Floors and Ceilings than through walls! You could even do it in black external Ethernet cable on the outside of the house behind a down pipe....
Max length for Cat6 is 100M. This is much more.
@@AlexS-og3ic Exactly. I would need several miles of cable.
I've seen wifi bridges like this before, being advertised as weather resistant, and they're not at all. The open LAN sockets underneath will over time simply rot with moisture in the air. They don't have to be directly rain on/wet, there's enough water in the air to make this happen. It would need an IP65 grade enclosure to be an outdoor device, it needs to be sealed. Fortunately a plastic enclosure would be fine and wifi signals dance through thin plastic. But for me, i'll be going for an IP65 rated device, the Wavlink AC600 probably.
This is why the 450's I got remain on the shelf in my storage room and I cant even give them away. I just stick with ubiquiti though you pay for it, their stuff is reliable and just works.
I have had mine for 19 months and both are out in the elements and rain and still working at 100%