Re: [smartBridges] hardware mis-match

[Derek Breiland]

ï Do not want to cause any debates, not what we are here for.  : )  Of course every situation is different and I need to keep that in mind, I did not mean that all of my opinions apply to everyone.  I just start rambling on when I think about how some folks are price gouging customers in some areas and giving fixed wirless a bad name in the "cost" arena.  I got off of the subject I guess.  Sorry.     My point was (and what it started out to be) is that to plan to have the gear that is in today still in in over 5 years from now may be a long shot.  To sell the gear (even at cost) to the customer is a more viable option in the long run in my opinion.   I also was referring to the comment in the previous e-mail as to what the metal on the ABO was coated with.  There was a complaint that it was not hot-dipped galvanized.  I was not referring to the clamps at all.  The reason the coating issue was important to me in particular is that to drive up the cost of the units based on these type of requests (if it were to ever happen) would be counter productive in my case and problably in many cases.  Put the R & D into the radio, not the coating on the mount.  AirBridge has a low cost CPE solution that enables us to be able to push our service more competitively than the Alvarions of the world.  Expensive stuff ($1200.00 list?).  My bet is that unit will be just as obsolete 5 years from now as the SmartBridge gear.  A lot can happen in 5 years.  If putting in either gear to try and get a 10 year solution out of them - good luck.  So, lets keep the cost down on the gear.  I believe we will pulling them back out way prior to a complete rust through of the mount.   So, unlike a tower that once it is up it needs to be there for a very long time, how tough (the coating)does it really need to be?   You are absolutley correct about the clamps though.  That is an item that the costs are virtually the same on (1" vs. 2") when purchased in bulk as Smartbridge would. ----- Original Message ----- From: Sevak Avakians To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2003 4:06 PM Subject: Re: [smartBridges] hardware mis-match Homer & Derek, Homer, I agree with you 100% regarding big corps!  But without getting into a debate with Derek (who I believe is also right) I really just want to get an impression of how many of us are jury rigging our installations to make them fit.  (Derek, everything you said makes sense, but some of it applies just in your particular market.  In other people's markets like mine in NYC, competition isn't going to sit idly by while we corner their customers.  They'll be able to outprice us just long enough until we close our doors then raise prices again after we're out of business.) It seems that too many of us are, and it doesn't make sense to me why we can't ask the manufacturers to standardize things so that it makes sense on our installations. Looking at the gear provided by the distis here, it seems that Rohn 2" brackets are most popular with the 1" TV-type antenna mast.  Maxrad's WISP antennas have the 2" brackets as well.  The smartBridges U-bolts don't fit either equipment.  Is this a US standard versus a metric issue?  I'd like to ask smartBridges if they can provide the 2" U-bolts for their radios.  This way, we can all switch to 2" masts that actually fit the Rohn gear and the Maxrad antennas.  The difference in pricing can't be more than a few cents.  But it's worth it since all the U-bolts that the airPoint Pros and airPoint TOTALs came with are thrown into the garbage. My choice here isn't arbitrary.  I'm not choosing the 2" masts just because Maxrad and Rohn equipment fit it.  The 2" masts are definetely more sturdy than the 1" masts and as my subcons tell me the 2" should be the more logical choice. We shouldn't be crimping and stretching and crushing U-bolts and masts to make this work.  At some point, we'll need to do a professional job on our installations.  We should start that now. On Sun, 2003-10-26 at 12:47, Homer Parker wrote: On Sun, 26 Oct 2003 11:40:29 -0600 "Derek Breiland" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Does technology remain the same long enough to worry about this? 3 > years (5 years max) from now we will all be out installing something > bigger and better anyways, don't you think? I've got installs that have been out there over 3 years now and have never had to go back and adjust, rework or anything.. With the cut throat market we're in, with big corp's coming in cutting rates, we can't afford to be replacing gear every 3-5 years just because.. If it quits, that's one thing.. But if it's a design flaw that causes it, that's a problem.. I've noticed the clamping issue, and figured I'd just have ask ElectoComm if they had any.. But, it would be nice if they were included.. I've had no trouble with the 2" clamps on smaller pipe, I've used some pipe with 1" OD and it worked fine (my first backhaul I setup 3 years ago has a 24DB on 1" pipe.. Was just up there yesterday working on another backhaul and it was fine)... --- Homer Parker LAN/WAN, Wireless Networking, PC Sales/Service Linux, OS/2 and Windows Support PC Services 785.483.7602 129 W 8th #101 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Russell, KS 67665 http://www.pcsrvc.com "So for the IT Manager Role, you want someone who's absolute crap, looks reasonable on paper, and won't cause too much trouble. ... Well I don't have any MCSEs on my books at the moment, but I could call around." -- Simon Travaglia ----------ANNOUNCEMENT---------- Don't forget to register for WISPCON IV http://www.wispcon.info/us/wispcon-iv/wispcon-iv.htm The PART-15.ORG smartBridges Discussion List To Join: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (in the body type subscribe smartBridges <yournickname> To Remove: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] (in the body type unsubscribe smartBridges) Archives: http://archives.part-15.org