ePMP3000 - RF Elements Horn - 2 x AP's, 2 x 30 degree horn

We’ve been using the ePMP3000 (not the 3000L) plus the 60 degree Dual Horn. We’re hitting a capacity limit at a specific site and would like to split this sector into two 30 degree horns.

Obviously, we’ll lose the Mu-Mimo but at 30 degrees, we would lose it regardless and we primarily need the bandwidth capacity.

Can this work? I see there’s 4 SMA cables for each chain. Is it possible to use an RF Elements horn with the regular ePMP3000?

Or would I have to go down to something like the 3000L? And if so, would I still be able to achieve the same bandwidth per SM (~120Mbps on 20 Mhz carrier?)

RF elements makes a bracket specifically for connecting the 3000s to two horns (pointing the same direction). There have been others using 3000 with horns pointing different directions.

It seems that if you want MU with 30° horns you could actually do this by pointing the horns back to back or possibly just offsetting them 30° from each other. However according to cambium doing so will have downsides for any N clients you may have.

Anyway, several threads on the forums discussing using 3000 with RF Elements horns and a fair amount of conflicting information on how well it works (mostly about MU which it appears you are not concerned about).

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Sorry my title must have been misleading. But the reason im “splitting” the sector is for additional bandwidth capacity. I want to replace the 1 x AP with 1 x 60 degree dual horn with 2 x AP, 2 x 30 deg horn to get additional capacity in the same coverage area.

Sounds like I’d just be better off using a 3000L. Will it get ~120Mbps on 20 Mhz carrier? I’d prefer to use the 3000 as we have plenty spares on hand.

I understood that… I think. I assumed you meant 2 x 30° horns per 3000 AP but I guess maybe what I didn’t understand is you are wanting to just connect a single horn to a 3000 ? I don’t know how/if SU works on the 3000 or if it’s only MU… but in theory 2 2xMiMo antennas pointing in the exact same direction should give you a meaningful improvement in RSSI / SNR and thus MCS rates which translates to more capacity (the better the MCS rates of all the clients the more clients it can handle)

I’ve tried to sort out exactly what you lose if you only connect 1 2xMiMo to a 3000 and… not really much reliable info and I have never found the free time to experiment. We had almost 30 3000L’s at one point and now I have none because they never failed to find a way to cause me grief. Terrible radios IMHO. The 3000 on the other hand is a great radio and I wish Cambium had supported it better with more antenna options.

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Ahhh perfect, you asked pretty much the same question. Thanks! I guess I should have simply phrased the question as “Can I connect a 3000 AP using only 2 chains?”

From what I gather from that previous thread is CH0 & CH3 should be connected when doing only 2 chains. But then “Giuseppe” mentioned, its needed for N radios. But in my particular case, we have all F300 AC clients, so I guess CH0 & CH1 should theoritically work.

So all that said, its experiemental. Not sure how to properly lab up 20 something clients and simulating real world data use. This isnt a site where I can experiement. Ill try reaching out to support and let you know what I dig up.

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I would love to know what you find out and/or results if you end up doing it.

Thanks

If/when I get around to it, I certainly will. Thanks again

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