Wifi range of EVSE

PaulS · 2020-02-05T18:32:21.574Z

It seems that my emonEVSE is right on the edge of my WiFi range. I’ve got a wall-wart WiFi extender as close as I can get it inside the house, but my drive is at the other end of the garden. As it stands it sometimes connects, and sometimes doesn’t. I think it comes down to weather, and if it’s raining then the range is reduced.

When it reconnects after being disconnected it often seems to be in a state where it connects to MQTT fine, but doesn’t accept web connections. That’s annoying, but I expect solving the Wifi connection issues would solve that.

Is there anything I can do to improve to connection on the EVSE end? Can I fit a better antenna or look into a wired connection? I don’t suppose there a way to run the network over the power?

PaulS · 2020-02-11T12:56:16.535Z

I solved this in the end by using a better Wifi repeater in the house. (A Mikrotik mAp Lite in case anyone is interested)

Now I’ve got a stable connection, so I’m not getting issues any more with the web interface not coming back up after disconnection either.

glyn.hudson · 2020-02-11T17:03:52.446Z

That’s good to hear. I’ve also had poor experiences with WiFi extenders.

My preference is Power line Ethernet Wi-Fi access point, at least with a powerline wifi access point the back haul connection to the router is wired (powerline)

amazon.co.uk

TP-Link AV600 Powerline Adapter Wi-Fi Kit, Wi-Fi Booster/Hotspot/ Extender,...

Buy TP-Link AV600 Powerline Adapter Wi-Fi Kit, Wi-Fi Booster/Hotspot/ Extender, Wi-Fi Speed up to 300Mbps, 2+1 Ethernet Ports, No Configuration Required, Wi-Fi Auto-Sync, UK Plug (TL-WPA4220 KIT)

PaulS · 2020-02-14T16:12:29.233Z

Exactly the one I was using before. One problem is I didn’t get a lot of choice about where to place it unless I ran an extension cable. The Mikrotik could be on the end of a micro-usb cable, which was much lighter weight.