NanoPi R5C - Rockchip RK3568B2 - 2 PCIe 2.5Gbps

Hardware Questions and Recommendations
107

There may be Mediatek packages that do it but not the common mediatek 7921k which has a single radio.
AFAIK there has to be at least 2 radios.

108

Does anyone know if I can power it with 5V/3A or does it have to be 5V/2A?

109

Higher A is never an issue.
It indicates max output.

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110

I use personally the power supply for rpi4/5. 5V/3A, perfect.

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111

Dear Community!

I would like to inqure, that is this stuff is perfect for Dumb-AP operation? I would like to connect to my network with 2.5G LAN, and use with AX Wifi..

Thanks

112

Certainly not.
It may be a decent wired router, but a purpose built wireless router/ AP will be considerably cheaper and has a much better chance of being better at being an AP.

113

Could you explain a bit why not? I can't find cheaper solution with 2.5G LAN, which supports openwrt, and strong enough to runs out 2.5G LAN and AX wifi.

114

I don't have time for the long version now, but if you check the explanations why x86_64 doesn't make a good AP, most of those reasons apply here verbatim.

So just the, very, brief reasons:

  • only one M.2 slot (you need 2, or 3 (6 GHz))
  • did you see the size of board and case, relative to an AP capable WLAN card
    • too small, no chance of mounting the hard-required cooler (nor even the card itself)
    • how would you mount >=4 pigtails and >=4 antennas
    • and rk3568 is already running rather hot on its own, before talking 10w of additional heat
  • very unlikely to provide 3A over 3.3V (beyond PCIe specs)
  • did you check the pricing for 4+ pigtails
  • did you check the pricing for 4+ antennas
  • did you check the pricing for a DBDC based mt7915 WLAN card (ignoring physical dimensions, current draw and heat dissipation for a moment)

…and you still wouldn't beat a 15 buck covr-x1860, dap-x1860, wsm20, nor a 30 buck ax3000t, each of which would run circles around this for AP usage.

(for the details, please do check the in-depth reasoning for the x86_64 as AP case, it applies)

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115

These routers doesn't have 2,5G port... I want to upgrade my network to 2,5G LAN.

116

and for that task r5c is completely capable - just don't expect it to do AP work like any of those dedicated 15$ devices would.
Also keep in mind that wifi6 on openwrt barely surpasses the 1G limit - and that is on high end radios - with proper cooling.
you have been warned - your money - you choice :slight_smile:

117

I don't know where you live. Here in France, R5C is about 105€.
The GL-MT6000 is about 160€, and also have 2x2.5G eth. Maybe a better choice for you if price are comparable.

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118

So If i buy r5c, I can't reach 2,5G on wifi? At this moment I use 2 Xiaomi AX3200 in my house, and both of them are fully use 1G LAN via wifi and cable too.

119

Re-read slh's response. The R5C is not a good choice for an AP. It's a router.

Sure, you can buy two antennas and a card and use it has a travel router in a pinch, but it's never going to be a high throughput AP. If you want an AP, buy an AP.

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120

The included wifi is Realtek wifi 5 I think.
I bought it without wifi and I'm going to try to add my own antennas and a Mediatek 7921 (wifi 6).
We'll see how that goes. -)

121

Some people only need a 5GHz AP. :slight_smile:

122

I got the device and I installed the snapshot but it seems to have a password, luci, and the wrong IP (2.1 instead of 1.1).
I tried to log in via luci and ssh.

I wasn't sure I was trying to log in to the right device so I nmapped it:
Nmap scan report for FriendlyWrt.lan (192.168.2.1)

I downloaded this:
https://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/targets/rockchip/armv8/openwrt-rockchip-armv8-friendlyarm_nanopi-r5c-ext4-sysupgrade.img.gz
gunzipped and dded to an SD card.

123

The OP is looking for an AP with real WiFi throughput to make use of a 2.5 Gig port. I don't think the R5C is a realistic solution to that problem.

124

He needs at least 2 wifi 6 APs then I guess (1201MB/s)?
I don't think even a traditional router is a solution.

125

I wonder if I got a used unit that didn't boot off the SD card. :frowning:

126

You need to press the mask button with a clip for a few seconds, inmediately after conect the power.

from https://www.youyeetoo.com/blog/detail/nanopi-r5c-ysdpnanor5ca-214

Method 2: Insert the TF card, Press Maskrom Key (or short-circuit the Maskrom contacts) and then power on (need to keep the short-circuit for about 3 seconds), it will start from the TF card

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