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Unite Explore Hotspot - MIMO antenna thoughts


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Just picked this device up, and it has two ports for external antenna. Have been reading all over, including the 2C's Technomadia RVMOBILEINTERNET websites (A great resource, for a reasonable fee, recommend their site to all:)! https://www.rvmobileinternet.com (And IMO, pay to join for the Member's only content...). I've also been reading on the Boating community boards too. 

So here is what I understand the options are for roof top external antennas:

1) Dedicated MIMO specific antenna. 

2) Dedicated MIMO + Wifi combo antenna (Have the WiFiRanger gear covering that, so really don't need another WiFI antenna.)

3) Two independent non MIMO antennas, one connected to each port. (Like the Wilson 4" Stubby that is being tested now on the 2C's site. Or perhaps to BoatAnt (Non MIMO). Or perhaps Maximum Signal's 13" Magnetic Antenna (Still using this with my MS Amp now.)

4) Other? What am I missing????

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So many new MIMO antennas appear to be in the pipeline, including MIMO Amp and Antenna combo's, that I'm hesitant to spend a great deal of $$ now - as I suspect over the next 12-18 months we'll see many changes in this area(?). So, I could say go with two of the Magnetic 13" Max Signal antennas. 

But, as the DB gain from the antenna will be partially stepped down due to connectors required to hook up to the Explore Unite, I'm thinking higher gain DB antenna's may be worth paying up a bit more for now. Say two BoatAnt, as they have "700-3800 MHz with a peak gain of 10 dBi". And they're not too tall to be too concerned about up on the roof top. 

Besides my #4 about 'What am I missing?'. What other single antennas, or MIMO specific antennas, would any of you suggest I look into? Say I'd be willing to spend $300 or so now for two single antennas, or MIMO. 

TIA, and as always - my apologies if I have not got this right!!

Best,

Smitty

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I wanted to close the loop back on what way I'm going on this, for if it gives others items to look over. 

-I wanted magnetic mount and low profile and KISS for this specific antenna.

-I did trade off about a 5' longer cable so I could mount it to the AC shroud.

-I was able to get the TS-9 pigtail without requiring another adapter in the mix.

It came down to be between Mobile Mark (301 series) and Panorama (TRNC series). Went Mobile Mark because it was 2" lower profile then the Panorama. (This fixed item will become our highest point on the RV, and 2" is 2":)!). The Panorama TRNC series did have 5db vs Mobile Mark's 3db (In the LTE range.), but also required a hole penetration, which I did not want to do on the AC shroud. 

I also reflected upon the RVMOBILEINTERNET members content, where the 2C's shared their testing results of many various antennas, amps in multiple locations. One comment caught my eye, that sometimes higher db gain could cause a problem too, yielding slower download speeds. 

So I figured since in the future I'll add two higher db gain stand alone antennas, that having the 3db lower gain MIMO all-in-one would be a good complement to them in the 'get me connected arsenal'. 

I had some lead-time concerns, so went with the Mobile Mark 301 series (Three cable unit, that has a GPS connection too, which I will keep coiled for now.). If I'd had more time, I probably would have gone with the 302, as I agreed with another RVMOBILEINTERENT poster, that it had a bit wider range of coverage. May never become an issue in this part of the world, but figured you never know what may happen, and the price difference was minimal... But lead-time turnaround was not going support my wanted delivery time.

KISS for now, and it's on the way... We will see how this works:)!

Best to all, 

Smitty

(Reminder. This was to specifically feed a MIMO ATT Unite Explore. But can also use it for other devices I have in my arsenal too.)

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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2 hours ago, vermilye said:

Another option is an external antenna & a cradle amplifier.  I use a WirEng Boat Antenna wired to a Wilson Sleek amplifier.  If I need the amp, I slip the Jetpack into the cradle.

Agree with that too. And do have the Maximum Signal amp and their 13" Magnetic antenna too. We also recently pulled our WeBoost Sleek at one location, and attached it the antenna. 

But for this exercise, or 'tool' in our staying connected arsenal - I was focusing on MIMO supporting solutions. And sure, MIMO devices can be augmented by using a single external antenna, as most devices have a dominant port out of the two available. But in many cases, the MIMO's dual antenna connectivity will yield the fast download/upload speeds. 

I do like the reviews, think Jack did first full write up I recall, on the BoatAnt. Sounds like it is supporting you well too:)! As time goes by and if I do decide to add an pair of stand alone higher db gain antennas for MIMO feeding, the BoatAnt is one of he pairs I had listed on my short list. (But heck, seems like very 6 months new equipment and antennas are coming out. And being very sensitive to the newer carrier bandwidths is important as more and more carriers provide Carrier Aggregation utilizing multi bands. The technology just keeps on rolling:)!)

Best to you, and all,

Smitty

 

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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I've been finding that mimo outperforms amps probably 50% or more of the time- even amps with the best antennas on them.  Assuming everything is set up correctly. That is in MY set of circumstances. Smitty, I'll be interested in your findings.

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
Living on the road since 2000

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  • 2 weeks later...

Did do my roof duties today, including running the cables down to our Communication Cabinet.

The Mobile Mark Magnetic MIMO - MLTM301 (X's 2 MIMO antennas for cellular data. X's 1 GPS (Coiled inside the Communication Cabinet for now.)). Plus added the second Max Signal 13" Magnet antenna. (The one that MS first shipped with the Max Amp, which had the 25' cord but required the adapter to fit to Max Amp. The replacement unit Gord sent us without the adapter being needed, was a 15' run. The 15' run just barely made the run to our new mounting location. And glad we had the 25' for the second location (Only needed another 2' or so to make the second location fit easily. The rest is coiled in the cabinet too.). 

I do understand that the 10' and adapter, will result in a step down in db gain on the 25' run 13" mag ant. 

The Mobile Mark MLTM301 seems to be a solid and quality built unit. Good quality cables and connections. And I agree with Gord's assessment that these little Maximum Signal 13' Magnetic Mount antennas seem to be over performers:)! 

All of these were mounted to a new ground plane attached to the top of the rear AC shroud. Cables are combo zip tied and RTV sealant roof attached, in such away that all devices can easily break away in case of brach or other items encounters...

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The Unite Explore MiFi signal at our vacation home storage area is so strong, that I did not attempt any A/B'ing the MLTM301 into the mix here. Will need to do this as we start our years longer trip at the end of this month. When I do, I'll report back my results. And if I get into an area of extreme fringe coverage that the lower db gain antennas within the MLTM301 are 'challenged'. I'll then A/B those into the mix too, using the to MS 13" antennas. Using the 15' into he dominant port. 

Time will tell, but glad the install phase is behind me (For sure my knees are:)!).

Best to all, and updates to follow as travel reveals opportunities for testing,

Smitty

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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We have an appointment for generator service later today. So left a few hours early to to a place along Mission Bay that we often visit for a day-cation. Many of you may know the area, as it is very close to Mission Bat RV Resort, by De Anza Cove. Where we park is closer to the freeway, and closer to the hills along the East side of Interstate 5. 

I mention the layout, as both Verizon and ATT have poor signal strength here, without cellular amplification help. 

I have our Maximum Signal Amp off for this series of tests. (And again due to time, this is just once again 'gee whiz' info sharing. Not a full series of testing. So just take it for the info sharing that it is:)!)

-MS Max Amp off

-Unite Explore AC815 MiFi only results:

Ping 154 Down 1.08 Up 5.22 (Average of three tests over 10 mins.)

-Unite Explore AC815 MiFi with Mobile Mark MLTM301 MIMO rooftop magnetic antenna results:

Ping 42 Down 4.44 Up 3.67 (Average of three tests over 10 min period, about 30 mins total span time for both tests.)

 

So this limited exercise is supportive of what other's have seen too with rooftop MIMO antennas connected to MIMO dual port MiFi's. 

I held off A/B'ing between the Mobile Mark and the Maximum Signal 13" magnetic antennas I mounted. (Main reason is I left an adapter at home for one of the antennas...). Maximum Signal's Gord and I talked earlier this week. He is sending me another 13" magnetic mount antenna that will not require the double adapter I was going to use. So I'll wait until I get this one mounted and have basically two matching antennas. Gord also is sending me the combo 120/12V power supply for the Max Amp. And as he mentioned to Jack on another thread, this should provide a bit more power to the Max Amp, and could also alter performance. So I'll also wait for that to be in the mix, before swapping the MiFi around from two individual roof top antennas and the Max Amp boosted signal. 

I know that Maximum Signal's testing by our fellow Escapees Technomadia did not come out well for their testing cycles. Jack also mentioned his testing, where in extremely challenging signal situations, the Max Amp outperformed the WeBoost he also had to compare it too. (And other times the WeBoost outperformed the Max Amp. Max Amp does step down signal strength as needed to remain compliant with FCC. I don't know the WeBoost that well, and if it also is compliant with this regulation or not.) I shared my opinion that at times the Max Amp can be confusing on what it is doing, but that also I know from pervious experience at various campgrounds we frequent - that the Max Amp was the difference maker in not only getting a useable signal, but also the SNR levels seemed to be tamed/cleaned up during the amplification process too. (Believe Joel also commented on seeing this with his unit. Think it was Joel(?)). 

One other comment about dealing with Max Signal. Again Gord was a gentlemen when talking with me, and having read my planned usage of the MS 13" Mag Antenna vs going to two BoatAnt's - very kindly offered to send me one so I'd have matching adapter connections. I've never called Max Signal without having  positive customer service experience. 

As I mentioned in the previous post, we don't head out until the end of this month. So I will not be doing much more experimenting around with all of the goodies just added. One last thing to figure out is why I can't get the Unite Explore AC815 to tether with the GOac. The GOac sees it, and goes thru the process of cycling thru multiple tries to connect, but no cigar. (May need to add the AC815 name and password into the GOac, have not tried that yet.) That will be my last communications related item to work on before heading out. 

Best to all,

Smitty

154
1.08
5.22
154
1.08
5.22
 

 

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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