TP-Link TL-WA7510N
150Mbps Outdoor Wireless Access Point
By Juha Saarinen, Auckland | Tuesday, 28 August 2012TP-Link’s TL-WA7510N is a flexible access point with multiple operating modes and a long reach. It uses 802.11a/n wi-fi in the 5GHz band, for increased performance and less susceptibility to interference – the usual 2.4GHz band is very busy these days.
The admin web interface provides full control over network parameters but the device was a bear to configure, requiring rebooting after changes. Nothing I did would make it pick up an IP address via DHCP on my LAN, and I had to use a static one instead.
Housed in a sturdy, light-grey weatherproof case suitable for outdoors deployment with power over Ethernet, 4kV lightning protection with grounding, and external aerial connector, the TL-WA7510N features a 15dBi dual-polarised antenna and 500mW transmission power. This, TP-Link says, is enough to maintain a stable wireless signal “ranging multiple kilometres”.
And, the TL-WA7510N does seem to provide good reach: after setting up the device so that it pointed towards a field roughly 750 metres away, I was able to connect to the TL-WA7510N from there via a Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tab that showed three bars of wi-fi signal strength. The tablet was able to receive data 12-15Mbps and send at 8-10Mbps with WPA-2 PSK encryption.
The 150Mbit/s promised for the TL-WA7510N is too optimistic considering the Ethernet port runs at 100Mbs. What’s more, selecting New Zealand as the region stops the TL-WA7510N from using 40MHz bandwidth, only half that, and the 802.11n speed is set to 65Mbs instead.
In other words, the TL-WA7510N goes the extra mile but not at the speed promised and is difficult to configure, which is a shame as it retails for an affordable $165-$180: far below its $229 RRP.
TP-Link is distributed in New Zealand by Anyware Computer Accessories.
This review was first published in the August issue of New Zealand PC World.
Not incorrect statement
From the vendor's specifications:
"Complies with IEEE 802.11a/n, wireless speed up to 150Mbps"
Please take a look at what the vendor says before you you jump to conclusions.
Posted by Juha at 21:40 on August 28, 2012
From the vendor's specifications:
"Complies with IEEE 802.11a/n, wireless speed up to 150Mbps"
Please take a look at what the vendor says before you you jump to conclusions.
Posted by Juha at 21:40 on August 28, 2012
Not incorrect statement
The Wireless 802.11 standards are measured in Half-duplex. Where as Ethernet standards are measured in full duplex. So if you take full-duplex ethernet, the LAN port is actually 200Mbps. I'm not jumping to conclusions, I just know what I'm talking about.
Posted by Anonymous at 08:42 on August 29, 2012
The Wireless 802.11 standards are measured in Half-duplex. Where as Ethernet standards are measured in full duplex. So if you take full-duplex ethernet, the LAN port is actually 200Mbps. I'm not jumping to conclusions, I just know what I'm talking about.
Posted by Anonymous at 08:42 on August 29, 2012
Not incorrect statement
I meant to say in that last statement "If you take Half-duplex ethernet, the LAN port is actually 200Mbps".
Posted by Anonymous at 08:43 on August 29, 2012
I meant to say in that last statement "If you take Half-duplex ethernet, the LAN port is actually 200Mbps".
Posted by Anonymous at 08:43 on August 29, 2012
MOST POPULAR
@NZResellerNews
Twitter
Facebook
Linkedin About the New Zealand Reseller News Group
Reseller News is a fortnightly newspaper and website covering all aspects of New Zealand's technology channel.
Have something to say?
Join LinkedIn for free to participate in the conversation. When you join, you can comment and post your own discussions.
CURRENT ISSUE
- Allied Telesis axes NZ staff
- Express Data expands portfolio
- Brocade ANZ country manager talks OpenStack
- GeoOp expands with IT resellers
- NEC's 50 years in NZ
- Inhouse: Contract work, or reseller startup?
- Coffee Break with Luigi Cappel
"The 150Mbit/s promised for the TL-WA7510N is too optimistic considering the Ethernet port runs at 100Mbs"
This comment is incorrect. the 150Mbit/s is half duplex, meaning the full duplex speed speed is 75Mbit/s. The 100Mbps LAN port is more than sufficient as it is 100Mbps full duplex.
Posted by Anonymous at 11:55 on August 28, 2012
Flag abuse