My modified wifistand for APoS surveys

I just wanted to share what I have done with my WiFiStand for APoS surveys. The WiFi stand can be purchased here:  https://wifistand.com/

 

I started out years ago doing AP-on-a-Stick (AP0S) surveys and trying all kinds of mounts, etc, to get the best rig I could make.  I used to use a flexible extension for a painter’s pole, with a slight modification to keep the rig stable when raised up to a ceiling grid.  I bought some “rare earth magnets” on eBay and taped them to the extension pole so it would cling to a ceiling grid when raised up.  I did not outfit this rig so the AP would be supported by the grid by the magnets – I only used the magnets to keep the grid stable when I raised it to the ceiling so the setup would not accidentally fall over.  Here is a picture of my flexible painter’s pole clinging to a metal rail all by itself with an AP attached.

 

 

Here is what that rig looked like from the side:

 

 

After acquiring a WiFiStand, I had the idea of a modification similar to my painter’s pole rig.  Same kind of rare earth magnet stability, and a painter’s pole adapter.  Here’s what I came up with:

 

I found this paint roller with the same dimension as a ¼-20 bolt, so I purchased it.  It was under ten bucks.

 

 

I cut the rolling part off and was left with the stem:

 

 

I have a tap and die set, so I started threading the stem to ¼-20.  This only took about fifteen minutes.  It was a lot easier than I thought, to be honest.

 

 

This was the first time I have ever put thread on anything, so please don’t judge.  And to be honest, if I can do it, so can you.  It isn’t perfect, but it is my first time threading anything.  I think it definitely does the trick.

 

 

I started to screw it into the WiFi stand, and it works.  It was actually too easy.

 

 

Here is the entire rig, assembled.

 

 

Next I glued some rare earth magnets to the rig for stability, just like my old rig.  Again, this is not to hold the entire rig from the ceiling grid – it is just there to keep everything from tipping over.  I used Gorilla glue to affix magnets to both sides of the frame, and then gave it a quick coat of paint to cover up the magnets and glue.  Here it is:

 

 

Just to show how these magnets can make a rig more stable, I am going to show how strong the magnets are.  Here is the WiFi stand holding a Cisco 2802 series access point to a metal railing without any support other than the magnets.  Again, I do not recommend using magnets to support an APoS.  I simply use them to keep my rig more stable – and it works like a charm.