Outdoor AP coverage patterns vs indoor AP?

[john_d]

So I've got an unusual question. I've got a balcony on the 4th floor that overlooks a pool / clubhouse area, and I would not mind being able to work by the pool if I have good wifi down there.

In the past, I've tried attaching a 7982 to a window facing the pool. The coverage was okay ish but didn't really reach more than 1/3 of the area before dropping to really low speeds.

I've been tempted to try this again using an outdoor AP attached to the balcony. So I guess my questions are:

(1) How does the coverage pattern of an outdoor AP compare with indoor AP's? Obviously the weatherproofing would help me mount in a more ideal location. But does it have a beam pattern that's more suitable for covering a longer distance rather than an indoor AP, which is presumably more optimized for a high density of clients?

(2) Since this is primarily for the pool area (the balcony itself has decent coverage from the indoor AP's), which outdoor AP should I go with? Is this a job for one of the T301 sectorized antennas? I'm not sure what the antenna patterns look like here.