Antenna Installation

[wlf00]

I purchased a Poynting 7 in 1 MIMO antenna to go along with my cellular router. I am looking for a good place to have it installed on the roof of my RV. I am currently at Lazydays in Tampa having some other work performed. Is there a better place to go and have this installed? How do I go about finding a skilled technician who can do the install?

Thanks for any input.
Bill

[lemodrop9344]

Originally Posted by wlf00

I purchased a Poynting 7 in 1 MIMO antenna to go along with my cellular router. I am looking for a good place to have it installed on the roof of my RV. I am currently at Lazydays in Tampa having some other work performed. Is there a better place to go and have this installed? How do I go about finding a skilled technician who can do the install?

Thanks for any input.
Bill

Not sure which brand cellular router you have, however, I would encourage you to set up the device & use it with the included paddle antennas. You will want to ensure the SIMs (assume you have at least 2 based on your antenna choice) are connecting to the cellular carriers you are using. Assuming you have the correct data plan SIMs for the device, connecting should be fairly straight forward. A few people do encounter issues.



There are a lot of factors to consider with the placement of the device in the RV. Once you hook it up to an external antenna, you are pretty much locked into where the device can be placed.


A skilled RV technician is not necessarily skilled in the installation of a cellular router. Sure, he can drill a hole in your roof & route the wiring & probably get that part right. Sometimes, there is a little more involved than that. Will you be using Ethernet connections, or, will all devices in the RV be connected by WIFI?



I have the same antenna with a Peplink Max Transit CAT-18. I made a bracket so it can mounted on the back cap of the RV. It was modeled after the bracket over the road truckers use to mount dome antennas on the back of their cabs.


The interesting thing so far..... the paddle antennas work just fine so I've not yet installed the external antenna.

[wlf00]

Originally Posted by lemodrop9344

Not sure which brand cellular router you have, however, I would encourage you to set up the device & use it with the included paddle antennas. You will want to ensure the SIMs (assume you have at least 2 based on your antenna choice) are connecting to the cellular carriers you are using. Assuming you have the correct data plan SIMs for the device, connecting should be fairly straight forward. A few people do encounter issues.



There are a lot of factors to consider with the placement of the device in the RV. Once you hook it up to an external antenna, you are pretty much locked into where the device can be placed.


A skilled RV technician is not necessarily skilled in the installation of a cellular router. Sure, he can drill a hole in your roof & route the wiring & probably get that part right. Sometimes, there is a little more involved than that. Will you be using Ethernet connections, or, will all devices in the RV be connected by WIFI?



I have the same antenna with a Peplink Max Transit CAT-18. I made a bracket so it can mounted on the back cap of the RV. It was modeled after the bracket over the road truckers use to mount dome antennas on the back of their cabs.


The interesting thing so far..... the paddle antennas work just fine so I've not yet installed the external antenna.

Thanks for the reply. I purchased the Peplink Max Transit Duo Cat-12 router. It makes sense to try it out first with the paddle antennas. I plan on using a Verizon and an AT&T SIM so I can get coverage just about anywhere.

I realize that Lazydays is not necessarily the best place to get the antenna installed. How would one locate a facility that would have the know how to install an antenna and router in the optimum place?

Bill

[lemodrop9344]

Bill,
Finding qualified technicians to work on just about anything can be a challenge.

Optimal place/location for the Peplink?????
Where in your RV do you have readily accessible power, or, are you prepared for additional electrical wiring? Will you power the unit with the RV's 12 VDC or the RV's 120 VAC? How will devices within the RV communicate (connect) to the Peplink? Your options will be Ethernet or WIFI. I would really encourage you to connect your PC via Ethernet so you do not have to depend on WIFI to manage the Peplink.

How long are the antenna cables? To some degree that will determine the placement of the antenna? Unless you ordered longer cables, the antenna arrived with cable lengths optimized for signal strength. Then you need to find a location on the outside of the RV where the antenna can be mounted so the 'other stuff' mounted on the roof does not interfere with receiving/transmitting the signals.
With my Peplink device's location (rear driver side of the RV), I have trouble with getting a good WIFI signal to the ROKU which is installed in the overhead on the front passenger side. Unfortunately, the WIFI signal has to go through the washer/dryer & the pantry. Consequently, I have installed an access point for transmitting the signal up front.
These are some of the thing you need to figure out prior to a permanent install you will have to pay someone to do.

Not trying to rain on your parade, just trying to give you a few thing to think about prior to deciding where to install the device. These are not things I would let someone that won't be using the equipment to decide.
Once I arrived at a location plan, I would go to a shop familiar with the installation of mobile radio's, dome satellite/gps antennas in commercial vehicles. Another option would be to find a fellow RV person who has performed a similar installation.

The Peplink Max Transit Duo CAT-12 with 'data only' plan SIMs from Verizon & AT&T should connect with out any issues with the default factory settings the Peplink shipped with.

These are very capable units with a lot of capabilities. Folks on the Peplink forum can be very helpful, but, somewhat technical at times.
Feel free to PM me with questions & good luck.

[wlf00]

Thanks a lot for all of your comments. I have decided to just use the paddle antennas that came with the Peplink for now. I may ask around at the RV show in Tampa in January to see if I can find someone with the knowledge to do the install.

Thanks again.
Bill

[lemodrop9344]

A good conservative approach with the installation. By the time January rolls around, you will have had an opportunity to use the device & will most likely have some ideas on what works best for you.

Good luck & safe travels.