Skip to content
Posts
Spotted this Cisco AP at LocoLanding Adventure Park in Penticton, British Columbia.
I thought it interesting that they went for the black face plate but not for a fully black body. Does Cisco do that? I know they sold a ton of indoor APs in all black to a large customer in western Canada. Saying that, I wonder if all black outdoor AP in a warn, sunny location is healthy for the AP’s internals.
I spotted this unit at a restaurant on a recent vacation (hello, Gananoque). We’ve got what looks to me like an indoor AP which is outside and unfortunately mounted vertically instead of horizontally as it should be.
I don’t recognize the logo on this AP. Any thoughts?
Earlier this year I was in San Diego and took a walk down by the pier. There’s a spot where you can sit on the pier near the Midway Museum and someone (the city?) has installed a Merki access point and a camera.
What interests me most about this is the empty bracket that’s still mounted above the camera. Looks like maybe a Cisco 1552E used to be mounted on this pole?
Well this is a first: actually featuring my own handiwork on this blog.
A good friend of mine wanted to extend Internet connectivity from his house over to his workshop, about 60 meters away. Trenching cable was an option, but we opted for a wireless shot between the buildings.
The distance was short enough we could cover it easily They live on an acerage with no other WiFi nearby which meant lots of spectrum for us to use for the shot We were up for the challenge š Since he was already using Ubiquiti kit in the house, I wanted to keep things as homogenous as possible.
Itās really snowy in parts of British Columbia, Canada right now. The trees are covered in a brilliant blanket of white snow. And so are the Cisco industrial WiFi routers that dot this part of the province :-)
This particular router is one that I drive past a few times a year in different seasons. Right now itās -20C (-4F) and thereās snow everywhere.
(That big pole on the back side of the router is just a mounting pole, not an antenna)
Man, LAX is pretty gnarly. Between taking photos of planes and APs, it's amazing I didn't miss a flight. First off, pretty obviousāat least in Terminal 2ā that they're an all-Cisco shop. No shortage of 3702i APs anywhere.
Curiously, they also had a healthy amount of 3802e APs (“e” denotes a model with external antennas).
I’d love to know why they mixed models like this. They even had the two models fairly well intermixed; a specific model was not just in a specific area.
Charleston had Wi-Fi all over the place (at least down town, in the market/tourist-y district). They appeared to be using Meraki MR74 or MR84 APs for their city/open Wi-Fi.
Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC
Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC
Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC
Waterfront Park, Charleston, SC
The city’s Wi-Fi network was open for anyone to use (I think? I don’t recall if there was a captive portal). Only real complaint is the size of the broadcast domain š.
I don’t recognize the equipment, but a good use of outdoor APs given the exposure to sand and water. I’m also assuming that we’re looking at a panel antenna on the front of the AP which indicates some thought and engineering went into this deployment. Very cool, considering this is a hotel network after all.
One thing I noticed though is that their cabling is the weak link: they’ve installed RJ45 jacks right next to the APs which are certainly not protected against the elements.
More spotting at airports! This time Ottawaās Macdonald-Cartier International. Cisco 1552 outdoor APs are providing WiFi coverage on the apron.
Ottawa International (YOW)
Ottawa International (YOW)
Ottawa International (YOW)
Ok, more sightings at an airport! Similar to Calgary International (YYC) , San Diego International (SAN) has APs mounted right outside the terminal along the arrivals/departures road. SAN is using Cisco 1552s.
SAN Taxi Line AP
Iām sure the metal-wrapped cement column does wonders for the signal in the Taxi line. Also not sure why these APs are carrying the SSID for the conference room?
SAN SSIDs
What was cool though was in the rental center garage, there were APs everywhere.
Calgary International Airport (YYC) has completely transformed their Wi-Fi service is the last couple of years. They switched from their prior vendor to a 100% Cisco solution all while greatly increasing the quality of the network and expanding the networkās footprint so they can provide high quality connectivity in areas of the airport they couldnāt before.
First off, when you get dropped off at the airport, as soon as you step out of the car youāre within the Wi-Fi coverage area.
I found this post sitting in my drafts folder. I started writing it in Dec of 2016 and guess I forgot to finish it!
After many weeks of talking about it, we finally flew out to Vancouver to visit a bunch of friends we have in the area. I saw these Cisco 1552 APs along the water front as we were wandering around downtown.
Vancouver City Downtown
Unfortunately, I didnāt have any proper tools with me to scan for SSIDs so Iām not sure what networks are operating in this area.
Spruce Meadows is an equestrian facility in Calgary, Alberta which hosts multiple well-known horse jumping events throughout the summer. Thereās lots to see there, but of course I had one eye peeled for technology ?.
I spotted this Cisco 1532I access point at a distance of a few meters. At that distance, I almost mistook it for a speaker because itās so small! I guess Iām used-to the larger-sized 1552s. The grey color also didnāt help in identifying it.
In August 2016, the Canadian National Womenās Open Championship was held at the Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club in Calgary, Alberta. A friend of mine, Stephen K, went to watch the tournament and took these pictures (š).
Cisco 1552EU at Canadian National Women's Open Championship, 2016
He said there were tripods like this all over the course holding Cisco 1552EU APs. A few things strike me as interesting here:
How horrible would camping be without WiFi?? š There are a few APs scattered around the campground at Fairmont Hotsprings in British Columbia, Canada.
First are some Ubiquity units which I assume are owned by the campground since they are mounted on campground buildings and poles.
UBNT at Fairmont Hotsprings
UBNT at Fairmont Hotsprings
Box at bottom of pole
Next, Shaw Cable has deployed Cisco 1552C outdoor APs with an integrated cable modem to cover the campground with their Shaw Go WiFi.
Usually youād expect to find an industrial, IP67-rated access point such as the Cisco IW3702 in a harsh location such as in a manufacturing plant, on mining equipment, or mounted on a pole somewhere outside.
But this unit is located at Calgary International Airport (YYC) in the āAā wing of the Domestic Terminal Building. Specifically, itās in the long, ground-level hall where passengers board the small, regional WestJet planes.
Cisco IW3702 at YYC in 'A' Hall
The Golden Spike Casino in Las Vegas has a cool outdoor area with lots of games. Theyāre covering the area with Wi-Fi via Meraki MR66s.
Meraki MR66s at Golden Spike Casino, Las Vegas
Meraki MR66 at Golden Spike Casino, Las Vegas
Whatās interesting is the way theyāve mounted these APs on the pole. Thereās three of them mounted around the pole in a way that appears they want to use them almost like sector antennas.
Is dust transparent to RF? š
This AP is hanging in the Four Queens Casino on Freemont Street in Las Vegas. Itās obviously been there for a while because you can literally see the dust hanging off the antennas and power cord.
An AP4131 from Symbol at Four Queens Casino, Las Vegas
An AP4131 from Symbol at Four Queens Casino, Las Vegas
The best part is what you canāt see though: this thing is 802.
Back in June, I was in the RTP area for work and took the opportunity to do some site seeing over the weekend. Itās funny, Iāve become totally spoiled at home with the ubiquity of service provider Wi-Fi that when I travel in the US, Iām usually reminded that this type of access is not as ubiquitous everywhere. In the regular places I visit in San Jose, CA and in RTP, Iāve yet to see the physical signs of SP Wi-Fi.
I suppose you can’t call it “The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth” if there’s no Wi-Fi, right?
Cisco 1552 outdoor APs are attached to the underside of the overhang at the grand stands:
Cisco 1552 at Calgary Stampede
The scale of this picture is hard to grasp. It appears the ceiling is rather close to the camera but just look at the size of the AP; the ceiling is actually dozens of feet away.
Ryan (@homeychan99) sent me a pic of what looks like a Cisco 1552 with a panel antenna at the Calgary Zoo.
CIsco 1552 (I think?) at Calgary Zoo
Lots of Cisco APs scattered around Seattle Tacoma International Airport.
I did not explore the other wings, but along the “A” gates there are 1552s spread around some of the jet bridges. It’s times like this I wish Apple iOS would accommodate WiFi scanning apps so I could see what networks are present in locations like this. I suspect handheld bag scanners used by the ground crew and possibly content downloads to the aircraft (in-flight movies and music).
Shaw is installing Cisco 1552 outdoor APs at some of the Calgary Transit stations to increase their WiFi hotspot footprint. The latest I’ve noticed is at the Center Street station.
Three APs total at this station so there should be no excuses for a bad signal. š
Courtesy of the folks at NOBLE WiFi, here are some pics of their Ubiquity installation at the Cliff Hotel and Spa in Negril.
Ubiquity at Cliff Hotel and Spa in Negril, JA
Ubiquity at Cliff Hotel and Spa in Negril, JA
Ubiquity at Cliff Hotel and Spa in Negril, JA
NOBLE provides WiFi to the hotel’s guests, both inside the hotel (common spaces and rooms) and the outside area (like the pool, as shown above).
Shaw Cable runs a massive Wi-Fi network in Canada that provides hotspot service in every (?) market that Shaw has a presence. Cranbrook, BC is one of those markets and I could not believe how many APs Shaw has hanging on poles there. All up and down the main street you can see the Cisco 1552s hanging on the messenger wire between poles.
Cisco 1552 broadcasting Shaw hotspot
This AP is hanging on the edge of the Safeway parking lot.
When I was in Banff recently, I saw this AP at a construction site.
The odd thing is I don’t recognize it and can’t find it on meraki.com. Any ideas?
Cisco TACOPS has the NERV but also has some light duty vehicles that can supplement the NERV or be dispatched on their own. I took these photos of the vehicles parked on the Cisco campus in RTP, NC.
Here’s a 1552E outdoor AP on the SUV. Cisco TACOPS SUV
1552E on TACOPS SUV
In addition to the SUV, there’s a communications trailer which mimics the capabilities of the NERV, including the mast with the 1552E on it.
NERV is the Network Emergency Response Vehicle and is an asset used by Cisco’s Tactical Operations (TACOPS) team when they respond to emergencies.
The Network Emergency Response Vehicle
The vehicle based in California (there are two in the US, one in San Jose, CA and one in Raleigh, NC) toured through western Canada in 2015. Among its extensive communications capabilities is, of course, Wi-Fi.
1552E and PTZ camera on the mast