On 08/07/2014 03:57 AM, Dan Egli wrote: > Honestly the problem is power and money. I'm designing this for someone who > is currently in the USA, but I know that they are eventually moving to > another country. They already have to get a different power supply when > they leave. They're currently planning on heading to Brazil next. Brazil > power is quite different from other locations. It's not just different > prongs on the plug or power at 2x the voltage and 1/2 the Hz rating. The > power there (from what I understand) is 220v and 50Hz vs. the USA 110v and > 60Hz. While I'm sure there are ways to convert from one power type to > another (APC stands for American Power _Converters_, right? they'd probably > have something that would work), it's still a huge hassle and would be less > of a hassle if the AP wasn't present in the equation at all.
I'm happy to report that this has not been an issue for quite a few years (at least in the last ten or so). Every power brick I own says right on it, 110-240V, 50-60 Hz. Even those tiny Apple or Amazon USB power plugs that are less than 1 inch cubed can handle any voltage and any frequency. So not the issue you think it is. If you do have an AP that ships with a rare power brick that's not international compatible, just replace the brick with something that is. As for converting line voltage, hertz typically doesn't matter, except for old analog clocks, and converting voltage is easy using a transformer, though I've not needed a transformer while traveling for many years, as nearly everything is capable of handling any voltage these days. > Then there's the fact that a good AP can cost upwards of $200 (the new > Linksys WRT1900AC is $280!). That's money that could be used to place a > quality Wi-Fi NIC in the server that works correctly and handles AP mode > well. I expect that a $50-$100 AP will work just fine. I bet one of the ubuiqiti networks products would suit you fine, and they are well under $100. They are little linux boxes, but they choose the hardware carefully, and ship with the right drivers. You might use their specs to find a WiFi NIC to try on your server, however. I can tell you from recent experience that a finding a quality Wi-Fi NIC is rather difficult, and getting good Linux support is even more difficult. Many NICs don't support host (ap) mode even if it's the right brand, and often Linux drivers are, well, lacking in quality and features. Furthermore, I've not had good luck with stability either. I have used atheros and intel chipsets, and neither was satisfactory for me (little x86 box). hostapd would often just go stupid, requiring frequent kicks. At least with a dedicated external AP, you can reset it as needed without hurting your server. /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
