@Robin2 I hate to disappoint after your useful contributions which are still appreciated but I am going to have to put your suspicions to rest. Anyone can find a long range antenna, it's the size of it and the actual transceiver that I'm having trouble finding. I know that whatever comes out of this will require effort and money, but the only reason I am trying to reduce it is because if this is something that becomes sellable it has to help the railyard break even. If you do some math you'll realize that even in bulk the consumer (not me, the railyard) will end up having to pay for every part and then some, meaning the cheaper the transceivers are the better. Doesn't mean I'm not willing to throw money at, even just for testing. As far as effort goes, I've expressed this time and again. For universality (ie being able to install at each railyard without unique network configurations) I am avoid certain options which conveniently happen to be more tedious. Again, I'm more than willing to put as many hours into this as it takes, but if your approach on part selection is to go with the first option you see I think you should reconsider your approach for my sake and yours. Thanks.