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Old 08-30-2020, 03:40 PM   #43
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I did find one fixed internet provider 50-miles away, but it said I had to be less than 10-miles to a tower so that rules me out.

I doubt they would install a fixed antenna on a portable RV anyway.
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Old 08-30-2020, 04:21 PM   #44
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data

Cellular signal is line of sight so to get service with a booster your antenna needs to see the cell tower, this being said your antenna will need to be higher tan trees buildings and hills. At home I use a yagi antenna (a directional antenna) mounted on a 40 foot tower, and must be pointed at the cell tower. With a SureCall Fusion4Home booster my signal goes from 0 to 30 mbps inside my home.The tower I am connecting to is 12 miles away as the crow flies.
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Old 08-30-2020, 04:38 PM   #45
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MoFi 4500-4GXeLTE-SIM4 Combo and antenna with mast

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Originally Posted by Camper25 View Post
I have some rural land that is 12.8 miles to the nearest interstate cell tower.

I get one bar of service there, so I know that weak internet service is available. I can make and receive phone calls, but my interest is a data connection.

I had a setup that worked in my RV, but it quit working so I returned it for credit.

Do any of you have rural internet, and what works well for you?

Thanks
Here's a system that beats just about everything out there, and you get to use your provider's SIM card to emulate you cell phone data! Its the MoFi4500 wireless router with wireless N for your devices to pair to. The antenna is a WideAnt2-X Dual Antenna for MOFI MOFI4500 and mounts well to this Telescoping Mast to give you even more range. But don't take my word for it, go check out what people are saying on YouTube about it! Safe, and happy travels!
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Old 08-30-2020, 04:51 PM   #46
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I have a plan in the works, the equipment is on order now. More info when it's working.

Thanks everyone.
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Old 08-30-2020, 06:03 PM   #47
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T-Mobile and several other providers have begun Rolling out 5G cell service. T-Mobile uses low band service that is known for its long-distance propagation. You might contact your carrier or T-Mobile and see if 5G is available in your area. If it is your problem may be solved.
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Old 08-30-2020, 06:15 PM   #48
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We use our WeBoost unit in the motorhome, toad, and rental rural lake cabin. Everything is portable and goes with us wherever the phone goes. Getting the outside antenna as high as practical seems to be the key.


[QUOTE=Camper25;5409222]I have some rural land that is 12.8 miles to the nearest interstate cell tower.
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Old 08-30-2020, 07:32 PM   #49
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T-Mobile and several other providers have begun Rolling out 5G cell service. T-Mobile uses low band service that is known for its long-distance propagation. You might contact your carrier or T-Mobile and see if 5G is available in your area. If it is your problem may be solved.
With all due respect I believe that most, if not all, of T-Mobile's "low band" (Band 71) service is not 5G. My understanding is that a portion of Band 71 has been reserved for future 5G service, but I don't believe it has yet been rolled out. I believe T-Mobile does have higher frequency 5G in some parts of the country, including some that they inherited from Sprint.

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Old 08-30-2020, 08:07 PM   #50
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You didn't give any details about your location regarding any property, physical, budgetary or other kinds of restrictions or limitations regarding if you could build anything temporary other than saying you were not interested, when something like this may indeed be required depending on your description of the scope of the project. With a 12 mile distance involved, it's going to be extremely likely that you'll have to put something together that will serve you only while located at the one location, parked on this rural property. Now since you didn't fully explain, it's hard to make suggestions.

Maybe you could explain more about your stake in the property and whether as a last resort you could erect a pole or tower (other than giving this idea another "that won't do".) You also didn't say if the tower 12 miles away is line of sight from your location; you didn't say if you wanted Internet only or wanted the phone to work too (different approaches to system design). And every idea anyone proposed, you said "no that won't work". I guess this was possibly only a guessing game because now you say you've ordered all the equipment you need and will let us know if it works, while you guarantee you will get it working. I'd have to ask "what equipment" because everything anyone suggested if I read it correctly, you said you weren't interested in.

I know you have a dream for being able to buy your way out of the issue but sometimes there is no magic box to provide some pocket size device that makes all the laws of physics disappear.

If I had a piece of rural property with no zoning laws and the nearest tower was 12 miles away and I could see that tower clearly through a telescope or binoculars, I'd erect a temporary tower or tall guy-wired pole and mount a waterproof box at the top with an antenna that would be dedicated to operate only at that location and on the frequency of that particular tower 12 miles away. I'd start first doing research on that tower to see the band your cell provider is using and then ordering something from Vantev, Wilson, Pasternac etc and again about a 14 element narrow band yagi tuned only to the tower freq used by your carrier at that location (this won't be the same need or work as a solution as you travel so you may as well dedicate this "super antenna" to this location only and the reason for that is there are many, many frequencies in use by the same carrier all over the country and that antenna is likly only going to work on a very few).

You are not going get good reception out of one of those cheap Wilson log-yagis with 3 elements that serve multi bands (the ones that look like a white arrow head), while that style would better serve you when you are actually out on the road traveling. Now along with buying something for only this specific location and unique use, namely a single band high gain yagi antenna "cut" to the band of the tower you are targeting, make sure the lead from this antenna is less than a 3' pigtail and assuming your mifi has an external antenna jack, hoist that antenna and your mifi up the pole with the mifi protected inside the waterproof box (with this high gain antenna plugged in your mifi external antenna jack) and see if you have a usable signal. If it works you've done a proof of concept and you can optionally build your system from there with more elaborate components, or if you were looking for an Internet only solution, simply run a power wire up the pole (a 12VDC wire with a 12v-5vdc buck converter with micro-USB output to plug in the mifi) . The constant power source will keep the mifi charged and active.

Otherwise if you you have already bought into some kind of overpriced
booster" and your plan is to mount the electronics inside, then especially if that tower works with a higher band (e.g T-Mobile 4G or some of AT&T LTE at near 2GHz) then you will need to run very thick microwave quality coax to the antenna if you go the standard route of keeping the equipment indoors. I'm guessing that thick coax run is going to be aesthetically unpleasing as well as the other issues which have all been stopped before they got off the ground.
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Old 08-30-2020, 08:52 PM   #51
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We tested some equipment there and I know what does work.

No cell booster, no thick coax, no $250 antenna, no yagi antenna, no mofi 4500, no hotspot.

It's on order and thanks for your interest.
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Old 08-30-2020, 10:18 PM   #52
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When the unit arrives.... I will get it working, take some pictures and let you know what it is. I tested a loaner unit on the land and it's been the only thing I tried that had a good signal.

It's just a dish on a stick..... it's not satellite either.
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Old 09-18-2020, 01:31 AM   #53
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Where did topic starter go ???
I'm interested also in report.
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Old 09-18-2020, 03:09 AM   #54
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This is a MikroTik unit...

Setting this unit up and aiming it at a cell tower that's nearly 13-miles away is not for the average consumer though. Of course, at only a few miles it would not have to be as precisely aimed. There's no tech support for this unit, as it's not consumer grade.

Here's a picture of the unit when I first got it.... now I have it mounted up on a 25' solid pole.
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Old 09-18-2020, 08:46 AM   #55
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What cell data speeds are you now getting?
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Old 09-18-2020, 11:46 AM   #56
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I haven't checked the speed yet, but i will. I don't worry about speed, as long as I have a reliable connection I'm happy.
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