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You mentioned the Netgear 2x2 MIMO antenna as a directional option. Pardon my ignorance. But is this for when it's necessary to point directly at a cell tower?
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That is correct. The 8800L has 4 Omni (multiple/any) directional antennas. In some cases, it can be helpful to have a directional antenna aimed directly at the tower. This is what the netgear unit does (it was two antennas).
On another note, as noted in the previous post,for high speed data in particular, Multiple antennas (MIMO) working together perform better than a single antenna, generally speaking. This can be the case even when a single antenna is well positioned, like on your roof, believe it or not... [emoji4] see next on weBoost...
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I was also looking at Cellular boosters on RVMobileInternet.com and they list the weBoost Drive Reach as their top-rated cell booster. I believe this is Wilson product. It seems like this might be good for boosting a weak cell signal in campgrounds, for us a weak Verizon signal.
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Yes weBoost=Wilson (via corporate acquisition)
Boosters/repeaters can be helpful. I have one. That being said I rarely need to use it.
It’s important to know that these devices cannot make the actual signal from the tower to your trailer stronger. What they do is grab on to the weak signal from the tower with a single (not MIMO) roof mounted antenna (directional or Omni directional - your choice on what you install), and that signal is sent to an amplifier, which re-broadcasts inside your trailer through a secondary interior antenna.
But you are still working with a weak signal from the tower to begin with. Also, these are single antenna devices which can work well for voice calls, but are not as performant for data as compared to MIMO configurations. The advantage is the placement of the antenna - typically high up on the roof of your trailer, or on a long extendible mast that you can stick way up into the air to get above obstructions like rocks / hillsides / etc. (couple pictures attached on my exterior antenna at the back of my trailer and the interior antenna positioned mid ship inside)
When I’ve had to use mine it’s typically been in a pretty desperate (very relative term here I am using it loosely, obviously [emoji4] situation - IE zero bars with my phone inside the trailer, and I’d have to walk quite a distance from the trailer to get a signal directly on my Phone. In these cases it works well for voice calls.
I rarely use it for high speed data - because if the signal is that bad data is going to be wicked slow anyways. Emails might trickle in, but surfing, video, etc... typically not gonna happen.
I’ve done some testing and in fact the little netgear most often works better than the weBoost in low signal situations where data is needed.
Finally, note that none of the above has anything to do with WiFi - all of these devices above work with LTE / 3G cellular radio signals for mobile devices (different spectrum than WiFi).
For WiFi I really like my 3x3 MIMO pepwave Surf Soho wireless router. I typically push all data (LTE WAN vis 8800L tether and WiFi WAN) through the pepwave which provides the LAN for the trailer (latptops, phones, smart TV, Victron equipment, etc).
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And I know that no combo of devices is right for everybody. So making judgments about what would be best for us is certainly a challenge.
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You nailed it. Need a few different tricks up your sleeve to adapt to the circumstances present when you park your trailer somewhere.
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I wonder if, for instance, we ended up getting a weBoost Reach along with the Pepwave wireless router you referenced and the Netgear MIMO antenna you referenced in your response to my original post, do you think this combo would take care of our connectivity needs?
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This is a great place to start. You may even forgo the expense of the weBoost day 1, and see how things go. The only downside of the above is that you are more or less single threaded on verizon for data performance unless you hotspot off your mobile att phone, in which case you are reliant on the radio in the mobile phone. But again, a weaker At&T signal to your mobile phone that is still usable will beat no signal to a Verizon 8800L [emoji4]
On a side note the nice thing about the pepwave surf soho is that you can have it hotspot off your phone, and then share that connection with other devices in the trailer via secure wireless LAN.
I’d recommend to spend the $80 bucks for a membership on RV mobile internet - they’ve got some great forums supported by many users who rely on data every day.
. It's not as complicated as it sounds and you'll be really frustrated shooting in the dark if you don't spend a couple hours reading up
cc: WULFRATT & MAGNET18, BeachBouy & Mightymite - thank you)
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