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Forum Discussion
Which Orbi Satellite to Buy?
Hi, I have an RBR50 with two satellites that I picked up last year. I have a rather large house (over 6000 sq ft) along with a 6 car garage outside. I have one of the satellites about 45' and thro...
Is the RBS50Y actually more powerful or is it basically the same thing? I read that it penetrates walls better. I can put it inside the garage if there is no benefit other than waterproofing.
I believe the HW is the same, just an RBS50 inside a weatherproof case..
Is the RBS50Y really the same as the indoor RBS50? This review of the RBS50Y claims that it has 5G power is limited due to regulatory limits of outdoor applications: https://www.pcworld.com/article/3263384/netgear-orbi-outdoor-satellite-review.html
Orbi Outdoor’s 5G front-haul output power is much lower than its 2.4GHz radio due to the regulatory limit of outdoor application
That would be a FW difference.
- What does "that would be the firmware difference" mean is there a way around it?
As you mentioned, most countries differentiate for indoor- and outdoor use on the 5 GHz band in their regulations. Devices operated outdoors (regardless if they're meant to be used outdoor or just happen to be outside on a sunny afternoon) must adhere to the lower transmit powers allowed outdoors, I would expect that the RBS50Y as a dedicated outdoor devices is limited to those requirements.
Large parts of the 5 GHz band is shared with weather- and military radars, who are the primary users of these frequencies. For indoor devices, the regulatory body takes the attenuation of your outer walls into account and therefore allows higher transmit powers to be used indoors. This needs to be taken into account for devices that are operated outside, without this 'natural' attenuation taking place.
If you do actually mount an RBS50Y outside, I'd expect it to perform better than the overspill from an RBS50 set up inside and having to pass its signals through your external walls.
