So I'm looking at the Netgear RAX5 which is about $90. Based on the internal photos (https://fcc.report/FCC-ID/PY322100561/6162693) it has u.fl antenna connectors and the following hardware:
CPU - mt7621at - 880mhz dual core
2.4ghz AX wifi - mt7975dn
5.8ghz AX wifi - mt7915dan
RAM 512MB DDR3 - esmt m15t4g16256a
NAND FLASH 256MB - mxic mx30lf2g28ad-ti
a 4 pin header that may be serial or jtag.
Assuming my work & time is free and I already have a serial tll (and I can actually do it) is it worth the effort at this price point, or there are better packages already supported (at this price point - sub $90)
You may want to consider that there may be markets in the world where Netgear is available but "better packages" may not be, at any price point. And also all the tinkerers who may have bought the device already and would be thrilled to realize that when Netgear stops making updates for it, they can still download current OpenWrt for it.
Wouldn't 2.4 2x2 wifi ax + 5Ghz 2x2 Wifi ax make it Ax1800 class ? I mean I am not concerned about what the real world speeds are here obviously but what is Ax1600 marketing from Netgear . 459mbs on wifi 6 2.4 is what their data sheet suggests which sort of confuses me a bit.
Either way if this was 50$ it would be good as an additional AP for each rooms because Walmart now sells the RT3200 for 80$ which sort of makes any Ax1800 device under 50$ as an AP worth it. But at 90$ the RT3200 is probably a better option than this as it also has a much faster CPU.
With MT7621AT it shouldn't be that hard to get it to run with openwrt however.
Probably because the 2.4GHz WiFi side is only 256QAM (normally 2.4GHz 802.11ax can go up to 1024QAM with 574Mbps 2x2 link rate) so they don't want to confuse people?