Mikrotik LTE WAN home network

Was contracted to set up a new home network for a client. He is currently on legacy satellite internet and starlink is not available where he is. A new cell tower was recently installed near his house so he wants to change his service to LTE.

Objectives:

  • Install LTE Modem and router
  • Install wireless AP’s
  • Remove Satellite equipment

I am going to be using Mikrotik again for this install as they have very reasonably priced 4g LTE CAT6 modems.

The modem can also act as a router and all of the devices are POE. I don’t see why I couldn’t just run a single injector at one end and then daisy chain them all together. Client doesn’t have need for any wired connections so after initial config everything should be WiFi only. Small two story house so just one AP per floor centrally located.

Project is a ways out but I wanted to just start writing stuff down here.

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I’m pretty sure POE doesn’t work that way. Worth a try though!

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The Mikrotik AP’s pass through Poe. What the limits of that function are idk.

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I was just wondering what injector you were going to use, there’s some 57V / 0.8A barrel jack PSUs, and there’s that RBGPOE … does CAP ac work with passive POE in, … can you daisy chain 2 of them and the LHG off the 40W power supply brick?

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Yes, they operate off of passive Poe 17v-57v. What you just described is what I am imagining.

That is what the back of the cAP AC’s look like. I don’t have a LTE modem to try it out with yet. These are for another project.

Worst case scenario I have two injectors. One to feed the AP’s and one for the modem.

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Purchasing list and Network Map:

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So I have been thinking about the POE situation and wiring and such. These are the injectors that Mikrotik supplies:

I am thinking that there is no reason I couldn’t just have this at the fuse box/convenient location and use it as the management interface as well as the POE injection. I did the math on the power supply and it should be no problem powering all of the devices off of the 57v power supply I listed. The PITA will be running all of the wires.

Also, is lightning a consideration here? Idk if the antenna has a grounding wire or if they expect you to run the Ethernet through a grounding peripheral.

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Revisited the POE chain capabilities and the cAP AC access point draw quite a bit of power. People seem to recommend not having two of them chained as if they are hit with a lot of traffic they will overdraw what the Poe out port can supply. However, the LTE modem is well within the confines of the spec so I will chain Poe>cAP>LTE and then just use a second injector for the ground floor Poe>cAP with a small inexpensive switch in between.

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I’ve been using this to power my USW flex with a U6-LR, pi4, Odroid-n2+ and a Chromecast ultra hanging off of it.

It’s a bit chunkier than injectors they used to throw in with their APs in the past, but not by much

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Ok, so the scope of the project has changed. After further consideration the client wants to extend wifi coverage to his detached shop + house. The shop is a large pole barn and is much taller than the house. Therefore I am thinking that it would be the ideal location for mounting the 4g Modem. Also, the connection between the house and the shop is a suspended power line. I am considering using a fiber patch cable to bridge the two sites and running it with suspended power line using some outdoor rated SFP cables. This is my first time working with fiber so if anyone want’s to chime in I am all ears. Also, the modem has RouterOS on it and seems like it will be fine acting as the modem+router. Any reason this wouldn’t be a solid setup?

Link Product Price Quantity Item Total Total
RBLHGGR&R11e-LTE6 MikroTik LHGG 17 dBi 300 Mbps Lite Head Grid and LTE6 kit Mikrotik LHGG LTE6 $187.00 1 $187.00 $740.46
RBcAPGi-5acD2nD-US MikroTik cAP ac Dual Band wall/ceiling Access point Mikrotik cAP AC $64.50 3 $193.50
RB260GS MikroTik RouterBOARD 260GS CSS106-5G-1S Mikrotik Network Switch $36.00 2 $72.00
Cisco GLC-LH-SM-20 1000BASE-LX/LH SFP Transceiver Module - FS SFT Dual-LC Transceiver Module $8.00 2 $16.00
Amazon.com: Superpower 24V 6A Volt AC Power Adapter Supply with 5mm DC Output Jack for LED Strip Light : Electronics 24v 6A Power Supply $14.95 2 $29.90
Monoprice Cat6 Ethernet Bulk Cable - Solid, 550MHz, UTP, CMR, Riser-Rated, Pure Bare Copper Wire, 23AWG, 500ft, Black, (UL) - Monoprice.com Cat6 Ethernet Cable 500ft $57.94 1 $57.94
9/125 LC-LC Singlemode Fiber Optic Patch Cable Duplex - Yellow - FS LC-LC Fiber Optic Patch Cable $30.00 1 $30.00
solidMOUNT MikroTik LHG Series solidMount Pole Mount Adapter Pole Mount for LHGG LTE6 $27.75 1 $27.75
MikroTik GESP+POE-IN Gigabit Ethernet Surge Protector and PoE Injector Surge Protector + POE Injector $14.25 1 $14.25
QILIPSU Hinged Cover Stainless Steel Latch 285x195x130mm Junction Box with Mounting Plate, Universal IP67 Project Box Waterproof DIY Electrical Enclosure, ABS Plastic Grey (11.2"x7.7"x5.1" SSL) - - Amazon.com Junction Box $31.99 2 $63.98
Amazon.com: Surface Mounted Power Strip 3 AC Grounded Outlets Mountable Power Strip Socket Adapt to Deak Conference Table Wall Hotel Improvement (3AC) : Electronics AC outlets $12.99 2 $25.98
Amazon.com: C2G Power Cord, Flat Plug Extension Cord, Universal Flat Panel Power Cord, 18 AWG, Black, 1.5 Feet (0.45 Meters), Cables to Go 27900 : Everything Else Short Power Cord for 24v Power Supply $6.95 2 $13.90
Amazon.com: 2 Pack Black 1 Female to 4 Male 5.5mm X 2.1mm CCTV DC Power Supply Splitter Cable : Electronics Barrel Connector Splitter 2-Pack $8.26 1 $8.26

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Scope has changed again. I started asking more questions and digging a bit to figure out exactly what he wanted. Has now turned into Network + security system bid.

Wrote up a bid for 3 tiers of connectivity from just the house to house + shop + security system.

Probably going to do Blue Iris on a secondhand OptiPlex. Put a second NIC in it. Use some HikVison cameras and one one of the OptiPlex NIC’s on a seperate VLAN so they aren’t calling home and have the other OptiPlex NIC on the LAN so I can set up remote access stuff.

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