What celluar router do you use and why ?

[dcfleetwood]

I've been looking very close at the Insty connect system which appears to be very thought out by a fellow RVer. Has anyone had a chance to use it and would you share some input. I know it's new on the market but some have had the beta version and some have purchased and are using. So any input would be greatly appreciated. If you have not had a chance to check it out I've included the link. Thanks again!

https://instyconnect.com/

[Papa Foxtrot]

Good info here:
https://ltehacks.com/viewtopic.php?t=2373

[Camper25]

I won't buy another $200 - $500 gadget until several guys on this forum report they own one and highly recommend it.

[IdahoBen]

Originally Posted by Hclint

Hi Folks,
I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask the question and maybe someone can direct me to another thread that is better..... but

I currently use a PepWave Max BR1 MK2 Router with external roof mounted antenna. I only have one sim card installed. It is AT&T sim from my wife's iPad. It works pretty well in most areas but we getting ready to do a big trip and I want a secondary source of data. What plans doe anyone know of out there that give the best alternative coverage and will allow me to use their sim card in the Pepwave? Any thought will be appreciated. Mostly I use the router for general internet and a lot of Netflix and Prime streaming. Probably 150GB per month or so.

Many of us are using Visible (a Verizon MVNO) for $25/mo. See https://www.irv2.com/forums/f53/40-m...ml#post4758860 for more info.

[Jonwright]

I've been pretty happy with the Peplink BR1 MAX mk2 with a separate peplink AP. The 5 way antenna on the roof seems to do very well to pull in signal and we've not been stuck without either park WiFi or mobile connection (VZ and ATT sims).

Since I have @12+ devices I wanted the AP to ensure good coverage within and outside the coach without hammering the processor on the router running all the Wifi.

Our use case is 5 people in the coach doing video conference, Email, telephone etc. during the day. This is worked out pretty well so far.

Even though we have decent data plans - the VZ plan is pretty weak with only like 25GB before we're throttled on an "unlimited" plan.

We aren't full-timers so the data plans are used more if the park wifi is really terrible (I do a bit of research prior to booking for long stays) or we are boondocking during a long drive to our destination.

[tetranz]

Here's a picture of my latest somewhat geeky setup. It's a bit of a collection of components that I can plug and play for various configurations. It can run on either AC or DC.

The main box there is the Pepwave MAX BR1 MK2. That has an AT&T reseller plan and uses a Ponyting 5-in1 antenna on the roof.

If I had total confidence in the plan then I probably wouldn't need anything else. I've been happy with it so far but like any reseller plan it's probably not something to bet the future on so I have a couple of backups.

To explain other the pieces from right to left:

• The vertical thing with red and black is an Anderson Powerpole distribution block. This is for DC. These connectors are very popular in the ham radio world.
• The little thing to the left is a USB buddy which provides USB power from 12 volts.
• Next is a USB splitter to provide 4 USB power ports.
• Next is a Raspberry Pi.
• Finally there's a Samsung S5e Android tablet. This has the $20 postpaid AT&T unlimited tablet plan. The tablet and the Pi runs Easy Tether along with WireGuard as described here. EasyTether gets me unlimited tethering despite the recent 10 GB per month limit on that plan. The Pi is plugged into the Pepwave's WAN port.
• At the top left is a GL.iNet wireless access point and router to use as a backup to the Pepwave.

So ... I can run off the tablet if something happens to the plan in the Pepwave or if we do lots of streaming and want to spread the load to avoid exceeding limits. The Pepwave then acts as a simple router and access point. I can use the little GL.iNet router if something happened to the Pepwave hardware. I haven't measured this but I suspect that the GL.inet probably draws less power than than the Pepwave which might be a reason to use it.

If I'm on shore power then I guess there's no particular reason to run directly on AC but that's an option by moving some plugs around.

Not shown but I can use my Android phone running Visible instead of the tablet. The Pi works nicely with that too. That doesn't need EasyTether because it sets TTL to 65.

I built a special USB cable that lets me connect the tablet for data but not continuously (over) charge the battery.

Future enhancement would be to improve the redundancy by bring T-Mobile into the mix. I could change the Pepwave to T-Mobile but unfortunately neither it or the antenna does band 71 so ... that might need a new router and antenna some day.

I'm running it right now on DC through the tablet, posting this and streaming Sling via Roku on the TV at the same time.

[JimWatts]

I ordered the yet unreleased 5G version and got the 4G to use in the mean time. Testing from my house on the coast of VA where only VZ is usable, barely, I’m getting ~17Mbps down, 8 up from AT&T w/ 61% signal.
CSQ: 20 RSRQ: -13 RSSI: -73 RSRP: -106 for the geeks.
Not bad considering I probably couldn’t make a call if I had an AT&T phone. I’ve seen highs of 50Mbps if i take the unit upstairs to the 3rd floor. I have a T Mobile SIM in there too and expect 5G to be a life changing experience. OK, not really, but it is a very nice package.

[Newjohn]

Wow, you folks are all way above my pay grade in Teknowledge. I’m almost embarrassed to ask if anybody would be willing to give me some advice. My cell phone is Apple 11 Pro and I have Verizon unlimited data plan. We are currently hosting in a COE park that doesn’t have Wi-Fi. I can use my hotspot to stream Netflix and for my Spanish class with Skype On my laptop. Our motorhome has four TVs but we can only get about three or four channels here. Is There someway I can get Netflix or more TV channels ? (without technical skills?)

[JimWatts]

Your phone should be able to provide the network for your TVs to connect to to get to Netflix with (using VZ as your ISP). You say you are streaming Netflix… is that just on your phones screen? You may also be able to use AirPlay if your TV supports it and “throw” you phones screen to the TVs screen.

[docj]

Originally Posted by Newjohn

Wow, you folks are all way above my pay grade in Teknowledge. I’m almost embarrassed to ask if anybody would be willing to give me some advice. My cell phone is Apple 11 Pro and I have Verizon unlimited data plan. We are currently hosting in a COE park that doesn’t have Wi-Fi. I can use my hotspot to stream Netflix and for my Spanish class with Skype On my laptop. Our motorhome has four TVs but we can only get about three or four channels here. Is There someway I can get Netflix or more TV channels ? (without technical skills?)

Get a Roku or a Firestick for as many TVs as you wish. The least expensive ones are <$50. They can connect to your phone's hotspot so you can watch Netflix on the TVs rather than on the phone.

[theoldwizard]

Originally Posted by docj

Get a Roku or a Firestick for as many TVs as you wish. The least expensive ones are <$50.

Get the Fire Stick 4K. On sale RIGHT NOW for only $25 !!

Yes, you can install Netflicks on a Fire Stick TV.

[theoldwizard]

Originally Posted by Newjohn

Wow, you folks are all way above my pay grade in Teknowledge. I’m almost embarrassed to ask if anybody would be willing to give me some advice. My cell phone is Apple 11 Pro and I have Verizon unlimited data plan.

If you are currently getting adequate performance using your iPhone as your cell-to-WiFi adapter just keep using it. If not, maybe it is time to go shopping.

I would never buy a dedicated "hotspot"/MiFi/cell-to-WiFi adapter unless it had provision for external antennas. People forget that the signal from the tower to your device is a plain old analog radio signal. You can't "amplify" what is not there.

Shop for "commercial 4G router".

[tetranz]

Originally Posted by theoldwizard

I would never buy a dedicated "hotspot"/MiFi/cell-to-WiFi adapter unless it had provision for external antennas.

I'm with you on that. I find it quite frustrating the number of devices and device / plan bundles (Calyx for one) that would be great if only you could connect an external antenna.

For any radio transceiver with reasonable performance hardware, if the signal isn't good inside your coach then the blatantly obvious thing to do is use an external antenna.

[docj]

Originally Posted by theoldwizard

I would never buy a dedicated "hotspot"/MiFi/cell-to-WiFi adapter unless it had provision for external antennas. People forget that the signal from the tower to your device is a plain old analog radio signal.

With all due respect, the signal coming from the tower to your device is not analog and there is little resemblance between that signal and the radio signals of the past. With today's MIMO antennas and modems capable of carrier integration that single signal may have multiple "pieces."

Although external antennas can strengthen a signal, sometimes the use of external antennas could actually degrade the performance. For example if your hotspot has built-in 4x4 MIMO how do you know that adding an external 2x2 MIMO is actually going to improve things? Once you add that 2x2 MIMO you prevent the 4x4 from functioning.

Many people on this and other forums are stuck in mindsets that were formulated in the analog era. Making a digital signal stronger doesn't always improve the performance of a system. With digital systems "strong enough" is all that matters. Indiscriminate use of simple signal boosters, for example, can even negate the advantages of MIMO antennas and carrier integration.