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.