(Ok, this isn't about a Total, but you'll get the idea.) Three weeks ago I replaced my 5.8 ghz backhaul with two APPOs. One at the water tower (WT) set to Client Bridge mode, and one at the NOC (NOC) set as an Access Point.
This worked well for three weeks - as good as or maybe better than the more-expensive 5.8 YDI radios. Then on Saturday, the one at the NOC stopped working. I reset it a few times, and that worked. My link stayed up for 16 hours. Sunday the link went down again. This time the one at the WT was the culprit. It had a link light, but I could not log into it. I plugged my laptop directly into it, reset the power shot numerous times, used different power shots, tried straight through and crossover, searched for the APPO, entered the ip address manually, all to no avail. So up the tower I go, 150 feet, (this after just having knee surgery) and replaced the radio. All came up and worked fine. For 18 hours. Then the APPO on top of the WT failed again. (This is the second, brand new APPO unit, in two days.) The link light was out, and woud not come on no matter how much resetting, powering off/on I would do. So I took my last spare (again a brand new APPO, as if that means anything anymore) back up the WT, 150 feet, bad knees and all, and replaced the one that worked for 18 hours. The link came back up. I'm crossing my fingers, praying to God, knocking on wood, and doing everything I can to hope this one will stay up until I can get EC to send me three replacements for these three APPOs I've replaced in three days. (Side note: I'm glad that ElectroComm has been so good to work with as they have been, or I'd be back to just being a dialup ISP, being an embarrasing failure in trying to offer broadband using Smartbridges infrastructure.) To make matters worse, this all happened two days after signing a contract with the county for $1500.00 for a year for my wireless service. I fully expect them to call me tomorrow and tell me to stick that contract in my ass, thanks to these APPO units that were apparently assembled and/or QA'd by Larry, Moe and Curly, if at all. I have an AP on top of the same water tower, an OLD APPO, made back before it seems that Smartbridges decided to be all things to everyone and add in every new feature that was mentioned, running from the same UPS and mounted on the same mast as the one I have changed three times in as many days. This OLD APPO is having no problem at all. I have another OLD APPO in a different location that is an AP that hasn't been reset since October 2002. Again, I refer you to the downhill slide in the QA department. These old units are working like a champ. The new stuff coming out of Singapore leaves a lot to be desired. It's not unrealistic to expect to be able to get more than 24 hours of service out of an APPO before having to replace it. And again, this wasn't an isolated incident - it was three brand new units in three days. If this last APPO that I put up there fails before December and it's not due to a lightning strike or rifle shot, I plan to begin the process of exchanging all of my Smartbridges equipment with Cisco, or whatever solution will put stability ahead of experimentation. Being new to this, I don't know if all manufacturers have this same problem or not. Maybe I'm setting my expectations too high, and the all have problems like this. Has anyone had any good experiences with Cisco, Alverion, Telex, or any of the other vendors? I would really like to stay with Smartbridges, but not if this level of quality (or lack thereof) persists much longer. (And this is all in addition to six of 10 Airbridge indoor units I have to return from this last shipment as well for various reasons...won't associate, won't come on, power light comes on but nothing else, ethernet light comes on and goes back off intermittently with a known good cable, ESSID turning to garbage, ad nauseum....but the backhaul (APPOs) have been my main focus right now as they are taking my entire wireless network down when they have their daily failures.) Sam Morris, Owner Loganet Internet Service Logan IA PS: It would be way-cool if the plant in Singapore would send me three APPO units made from the most-recent batch that hopefully have all of the problems fixed. Given the embarassment and serious financial impact my company has suffered and continues to suffer from my loyalty to and the failure of the units shipped from Smartbridges right after the production plants cranked back up, this doesn't seem like a lot to ask. I already know I'm losing the $1500.00 contract with the courthouse. As soon as the phone company starts up DSL next week I expect to lose several more customers, and I can't really blame them, given that these APPOs have forced them back to dialup so frequently. If Smartbridges is willing to do so, my address is: Loganet 2607 220th St Logan IA USA 51546 Phone number is 712-644-3578 if you need it. If you can send me three that will work for a reasonable period of time I'll even pay you for them, but as things stand right now, I've more than paid for the lack of quality of your products in lost and frustrated customers, severe damage to my company's reputation, and a general feeling that I have been royally taken in by a company I had counted on. I just hope mine can survive through all of this. 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