[smartBridges] Omni antenna coverage

[Derek Breiland]

Up to this point I have been running off of one tower with 3 sectors.  I am looking at putting an addtional AP up about 6 miles from this tower to penetrate into a community of homes that will otherwise be difficult to cover due to the number of obstructions not to mention their elevation on the map leaves a little to be desired.  It will also enable me to install a less expensive CPE at the customer site if I can bring the AP closer to the customer making the service a bit of an easier sell.   I want to utilize an omni antenna in this area.  I have not yet decided what to backhaul with yet but I am considering an APPO to the new XO2 at the remote.  I can use one radio on the XO2 for the backhaul on one channel and the other radio for the access to the customers.  I am not a big fan of repeaters unless absolutley necessary.  It seems that most complaints on this site have the word "repeater" in the paragraph so I will try and stay away from it.   My question is to anyone currently working with onmi antennes on an AP.  What ranges can I expect for the various dB omni antennas?  9dB seems small to me, 12dB is maybe the ticket, 15db - way overkill?  I do not want the pattern to get too large to cause problems with my main tower.  I am looking at trying to get out no more than 3 miles for the AP.  The AP and omni will be mounted on a 40'-50' existing tower.  Also has anyone had better results with one manufacturer over the other with the same dB antenna?   Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.  I will be doing more and more of this so I would like to get it right the first time based on others experiences in already doing it.