Just received the Bullet 2HP and first impressions are good. Ordered from Netgear along with their 8dbi omni antenna. It is small and very light weight but appears sturdy enough if well mounted. The antenna mounted directly to the Bullet but I think I will make up a short length of LMR400 to take any torque load off of the Bullet's plastic case. The antenna connection appears water tight but I have my doubts about the little grommet that
seals the Ethernet end. I will definitely add a few wraps of amalgamating tape to the bottom half.
For a $30 antenna the Rubicon is pretty well made if a bit shorter than other 8dbi
marine antennas I have used. Fittings appear to be chromed brass. The mounting
hardware however is electroplated mild
steel which will have a
service life of 3 months at best. I think I will fabricate something out of Starboard. Hooked it up to a
low power (20mw) access point and scanned it with my field strength meter. A crude measure but the pattern seems to be very close to the 8dbi spec when compared to the 2.5dbi antennas that came with the AP. Vertical 3db down beam width is about 40 degrees which gives plenty of room for rocking.
Other than a 4 sentence comment on the box no instructions come with the Bullet but the
documentation on the Ubiquiti site is very good. Setup was exceptionally easy compared to the EOC-3220s I have been dealing with. It can serve simultaneously as both a bridge to the shore side A/P and as a router to manage the boat
network so I think a simple Access point might be all that is needed to serve the local
network. I will try that tomorrow. Sensitivity looks excellent. It saw basic home wifi routers up to 3 blocks away through the pine trees and blanketed by my two high power A/Ps on the same channel. It even found a
low power WRE54G expander in the basement of a house 3 doors away.
Endurance is the one thing I am worried about. It is very small and extremely light weight. I am not sure hwo well it will survive at the masthead. Heading to the
BVI in a few weeks for a 10 day
charter. Have a bosun's chair and a crew with more guts than brains so we will give it a workout. After that it goes on a
Privilege 435 heading out this Fall on a
round the world rally. We will know for sure by this time next year.