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Cellular Booster vs. Hardwired Amplifier / Modem


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I'm curious if anyone has experience related to the performance of these two options.  

Background: Getting ready to head on the road full time with the family for about 18 months in our converted BlueBird 40' rear engine bus.  I work an engineering design job that I can do remotely, but requires internet access.  We will be touring all over the US both in urban and rural areas, but generally doing more boondocking than RV parks.  First loop this summer / fall / winter will be north from AZ to Canada, then down the west coast and back to AZ.  Second trip next spring / summer will be across the southern US then up the east coast.

Option 1: Seems like most folks go with a cellular booster with external antenna, amplifier, and internal antenna.  If we went this route I'd most likely go with the WeBoost OTR setup, but maybe upgrade the internal antenna.  

Option 2: External Antenna(s), direct M2M type amplifier(s), connected directly into a dedicated cellular modem.

I'm assuming option 1 would be more flexible, giving us improved signal for all our phones and hotspot.  And that option 2 would potentially give us the most robust network connection in more remote locations?  Any experiences with either much appreciated.

Rob

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You won't find a better source for info about mobile technology for RV'er than from Technomadia:  http://www.technomadia.com/category/technology/

More specifically:  http://www.technomadia.com/2018/01/why-yes-you-can-have-scenic-views-and-great-internet/

And their book:  https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/book/

 

Al & Sharon
2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 
2020 Chevy Colorado Toad
San Antonio, TX

http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/

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Thanks Al F .. appreciate the shout out. 

 

We've done a lot of extensive field testing with various boosters & antenna combos, M2M and MIMO configurations over the years.  The simple answer is.. each signal location is unique, and there's no one-size fits all best option. 

Here's our full guide to Understanding Cellular Signal and Data Performance:

http://www.rvmobileinternet.com/cellsignal

And of course equally important is the data plans you can acquire to go along with your preferred gear that best meet your needs. 

 

All stuff we cover daily over on the Mobile Internet Resource Center. 

 - Cherie 

 

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Cherie & Chris (and Kiki *meow*) / Personal Blog: Technomadia.com
Technomads (technology enabled nomads) since 2006

Our Nomadic Fleet:
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  • 2 months later...

Wow... was following this thread to answer my own questions. This is waay too complicated. I just want a stronger cell phone signal.

<p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well.

IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR.

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  I've been using a Pepwave BR-1 modem/amp/router ( peplink.com )with two BoatANT antennas (cell and wifi) for several years; there have been only a couple of times without any usable signal. I'm on Verizon; perhaps an additional AT&T sim as fallback would have worked. The device will hold two sims and switch between them.

  This is an internet device and is NOT a phone "booster."  We have zero interest in yakking on a phone, texting or using the internet on a phone screen.

  However, though, we can of course use phone internet functions via the Pepwave and also use a app called Viber which provides voice-over-IP capability when we really want to talk and there's insufficient phone signal. An alternative is of course Skype.

  The Pepwave is also a great wifi repeater. Some new models don't have have the repeater.

-C&J-

 

CG reviews & more - www.fugawetribe.com

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We primarily boondock and have an android smart phone that we use when in the US. We use the hot spot on the phone for our internet needs. We will be getting Verizon’s unlimited data plan this fall and I’m hoping to find a cell signal booster to improve the signal.

<p>....JIM and LINDA......2001 American Eagle 40 '.towing a GMC Sierra 1500 4X4 with RZR in the rear. 1999 JEEP Cherokee that we tow as well.

IT IS A CONTENTED MAN WHO CAN APPRECIATE THE SCENERY ALONG A DETOUR.

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3 minutes ago, Jimalberta said:

We primarily boondock and have an android smart phone that we use when in the US. We use the hot spot on the phone for our internet needs. We will be getting Verizon’s unlimited data plan this fall and I’m hoping to find a cell signal booster to improve the signal.

Jim:

We're in the middle of a trip through the US "mountain west" and decided to invest in a cellular amp but we didn't want to shell out for the WeBoost OTR system.  So for a lot less we bought the current version of the WeBoost Sleek.  It's rated at ~32dBm of gain compared to 50dBm for the OTR.  But I didn't expect that we were going to need it all that often.  And yes, the modem has to sit on the Sleek's cradle but that's not an issue because all we're doing is amplify the signal for a MiFi so leaving it on the cradle is fine.

As for how it performed our only serious test was at Diamond Lake OR where the RV park was in the fringe of the Verizon beam. The Sleek allowed us to get a marginal data connection but according to the work campers there we were lucky to get that.  And it did enable us to maintain a voice call as long as we put the phone on the cradle and used speakerphone (or Bluetooth).  (Fortunately, if we drove ~1/4 mile away to Diamond Lake we could get a great LTE signal while sitting at a picnic table; rough duty, but we were willing to do it!)

One thing we did find was that putting our Verizon MiFi above the Sleek's cradle and our AT&T hotspot under it worked quite well.  We also discovered that Verizon knocks the socks off AT&T in most of the mountain west region.

Joel (AKA docj)

 

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
WiFiRanger Ambassador
Follow our adventures on Facebook at Weiss Travels

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