mesh access point on forklift

[Andrey128]

I assume this request will be more common in the near future.

There is a warehouse with deployed access points on ceiling, but some employees are sitting inside forklifts (perhaps in metal cabin) and signal for their scan gun is very unstable.

Can in existing infrastructure some additional access points be deployed to form mesh network (along with existing access points in "local" mode) and one of access points be deployed on a forklift to provide good signal for scan gun?!

Or maybe other solutions exist.

[marce1000]

 - There's no definitive answer on that. Only a site survey will point out whether in all cases the fork-lifted AP will be sufficient in touch with steady AP's all the time, in order to keep the mesh network operational for all locations where the fork lift is located.

M.

[Mikey Boy · Accepted solution]

For this scenario I would say it is a really bad idea. The speed that the FLT's can actually move around a building is surprisingly fast, old warehouse systems are notoriously susceptible to poor roaming.

I would say that using hand held devices is the wrong thing to be doing. If they had vehicle mounted computers, most from the big vendors such as Zebra come with external antenna mounting options. You can actually fit an antenna on the roof of the FLT and cable it into the computer. 99% of the warehouses we do we supply like this, going down the mesh route is over complicating it in my opinion.

More recently we deployed wireless in a large freezer, the FLT have fully enclosed insulated triple glazed cabs on them, we had the antenna mounted externally and they work flawlessly.

It sounds more like someone tried to save money by just telling the FLT users to use a hand held scanner (which they probably already had)

[Andrey128]

 thanks a lot for such details, this is what looks a reliable solution!