In this exercise you will use Ubiquiti's online "Airlink" software to plan a set of point to point wireless links.
We'll use a planned network for Maewo, Vanuatu as an example. Model links for the following locations:
Coordinates for the sites are as follows:
Open your browser and visit https://airlink.ubnt.com/
These directions will use the example of a link from Gwatiowol. When you've finished this link, save your results and continue on to the next link.
To start, position your browser at one of the sets of coordinates above by pasting the coordinates into the search box and pressing enter.
Now Start a new link by clicking the link button on the left-hand side of the screen.
If you were working on a project previously, this old project will be deleted.
Place the Access Point pin where you would like a tower. Since most of these links are centered at Gwatiowol, place your first Access Point there.
You might want to change the screen display to show a satellite map, or better, a contour map, so you can place your tower on a high location. Do that with the Layers button above the Simulate Links button.
Now to place the Station unit, paste the coordinates of the other end of the link into the search box, and press enter. Drag your Station unit to the location of the other end of the link.
You should now have a link - which you can verify by looking at the Link Simulator.
You will want to make sure you have a clear Line of Sight and 1st Fresnel Zone.
If you don't, using the contour map, adjust the location of your Access Point or Station until you do.
Other settings you can work that are critical to the operation of the link are the Antenna Height, Antenna Gain, and Output Power.
In remote settings, getting antenna height can be very difficult, so it's often better to move a small tower or have additional small towers instead of having a very tall mast. In general towers under 15m are manageable, so try to make your links work with the antenna height at 15 meters or lower.
If you place your towers near to the edge of a hill or mountain, you can manage trees in the near end of the path. It's easy to cut trees around a tower, but it's much harder to cut trees in the middle of a radio path. Assume that in the middle of your path trees will be around 20m high - unless you can see using satellite photos that there are no trees.
When you finish each link, save a screen shot of your window before moving on to the next.