About six years ago Bill Moffitt kicked off a company called Ayrstone Productivity with a simple idea: to maximize a farm's fastest web connection across a greater distance. The AyrMesh network allowed a producer to take a high-speed line that might come into an office or home and create a fast wire-free network that other devices could use to get online. There was one problem as Moffitt points out: "Wi-fi doesn't go through metal very well."

The answer was to create a product that brought that AyrMesh signal indoors. The result is the AyrMesh IndoorAP, with AP standing for access point.

A look at the problem

Farmers were installing the AyrMesh system to boost that high-speed connection they bought for the farm without laying a bunch of cable around the homestead. However, getting that signal into a farm building office became a challenge since many have metal exteriors.

For many the answer was to connect a wifi hub to the Ayrstone product, but that created problems. "Essentially you were connecting a router (the one from the farm) to a router (the Aytstone mesh network)," Moffitt explains. "That created a lot of problems and since I'm the chief problem solver around here I heard a lot about it."

The Ayrstone AyrMesh IndoorAP has the antenna to broadcast the wi-fi signal in-doors, and simply snaps to the power supply of the Ayrstone hub. The diagram on the right shows how it links to the Ayrstone hub outdoors. (Images: Ayrstone)

Moffitt notes that his company's focus has long been outdoor wi-fi access so that machines coming into range could transmit information more efficiently from field to farm office. The firm rolled out a "cab-based" internet hub in 2014 to help expand that capability, and since each AyrMesh hub can transmit for up to a half mile, that really helped boost productivity.

But if the main connection was in the home office and you wanted to get that signal into an outbuilding there was trouble. The AyrMesh IndoorAP solves the problem.

Putting it together

Moffitt explains that the power supply for the Ayrstone product has a network port on it. That power supply is also not weather proof so many times a producer would mount the wi-fi extender outside but have the power inside. "They drill a hole in the building to mount the Ayrstone unit outside and have the power inside," he says.

Farmers liked having wi-fi outdoors from the main line, but many wanted to put that high-speed connection indoors. The power supply has a network connection, so many just bought a router with a wireless setup and tried that, and trouble ensued.

The Ayrstone AyrMesh Indoor AP solves that. For $99.95 you connect that unit right to the Ayrstone Ayrmesh main unit power supply and you have wi-fi indoors. The AyrMesh Indoor AP connects to the power supply of any AyrMesh outdoor product - the AyrMesh Hub2n, AyrMesh receiver or AyrMesh Bridge. And it comes with a bracket that allows it to be mounted high on a wall for maximum signal strength indoors.

There's no added worry about Internet Protocol address - also just called IP addresses - and conflicts that create problems. And connecting devices is easy.

Moffitt explains that the service set identification - or SSID - for the access point is easy to identify with indoorAP added to your network's name. The access point uses the same inscription passkey so you don't have to remember a different one, just fire up, find the network and you're off and running.

Learn more about the product at ayrstone.com.