MIMO antenna for mobile hotspot router

[engnrsrule]

I am getting ready to try Nomad. Their Air model has MIMO connections, as well as what is supposed to be a good internal antenna. Watch for my review...

Have heard too many negatives recently, and a previous endorser I respect rescinded their endorsement, so I am cancelling my order.

 

[booster]

Have heard too many negatives recently, and a previous endorser I respect rescinded their endorsement, so I am cancelling my order.

I think you are wise to do that. I hope you don't have any issues getting out of it all, as that was one of things a lot of complaints were about.


It is really too bad that Nomad didn't work out for us as it covered all the things we would have needed for travel and at home. I do think the market is headed toward doing a lot of what Nomad claimed it could do, though.

 

[booster]

Have heard too many negatives recently, and a previous endorser I respect rescinded their endorsement, so I am cancelling my order.

This may be the influencer you are referring to, but apparently from this one there are many resinding their endorsements of Nomad.

Personally, I lost of confidence in Mike Wendlund years ago when he was defending the old Roadtrek on a host of issues that were obviously not true and were certainly unethical, so this is not the first time he got sucked into a bad situation that he should have known better than to pursue.


At least it is good to see him and other influencers publicly trying to fix some of the damage they caused, though.

 

[Davydd]

Wendland was a rookie Class Ber recently retired when he came on to this forum asking many questions. He was a former reporter for a newspaper so it was natural for him. He did get into promoting Roadtrek out of exuberant enthusiasm for Class B initially and he quickly realized he could he could have a second career as a reporter. Then he realized that career would be limited with just Class B RV issues so has expanded by first a Class C and now a 5th wheel. He is hands on more but he is still a reporter and most reporters are not in depth or opinionated in what they present or in what they hear. So take it with a grain of salt when they delve into opinions because they make their money by promoting an interest of companies and advertising.

I enjoyed his yearly rallies in the UP at Tahquamenon Falls state park in January. At first it was Class Bs and a couple of hardy tent campers. Now I don't know because we opted to take an Ocean cruise last January. I learned I could camp down to -15F and most Class Bs endured the cold weather if they had an electrical hookup and a decent toilet.

 

[engnrsrule]

I am getting ready to try Nomad. Their Air model has MIMO connections, as well as what is supposed to be a good internal antenna. Watch for my review...

I received my Nomad kit and posted a summary of my experience at
https://www.classbforum.com/forums/f5/my-nomad-experience-13959.html

 

[engnrsrule]

No easy answers on the RV internet stuff. I would say a rooftop mimo is a must for cellular based mobile hotspots or modem/routers. Some folks I know couple their own cellular internet connection with a strong wifi extender to grab the campground or host signal, or even their phone's hotspot in a pinch. Combination antennas are available that include wifi and 5G/4G capability.

 

[Johnnyfry]

Booster, I have dealt with Century Link and know the frustration. In the end I got a T-Mobile Home Internet device. I has been wonderful. I typically get between 100 and 400 Mbps. Cost is $50/month with no contract. Of course, it depends upon the availability of 5G T-Mobile in your area. I use it in Tucson in winter, pack it up in the RT going east in summer and plug it in when we get to Virginia. It is a self contained modem/router that needs no wired connection. I understand that Verizon is introducing a similar set up.

 

[booster]

Booster, I have dealt with Century Link and know the frustration. In the end I got a T-Mobile Home Internet device. I has been wonderful. I typically get between 100 and 400 Mbps. Cost is $50/month with no contract. Of course, it depends upon the availability of 5G T-Mobile in your area. I use it in Tucson in winter, pack it up in the RT going east in summer and plug it in when we get to Virginia. It is a self contained modem/router that needs no wired connection. I understand that Verizon is introducing a similar set up.

We tried similar with ATT, but even with the $99 100gig of data it wasn't enough for us, and we don't even stream much at all.

 

[Johnnyfry]

Before I signed up I was assured that the service was truly unlimited and would not be cut back or throttled. We stream all of our TV watching, run 2 computers, 2 iPhones and 2 iPads and have never hya hint of a problem. The only issue I have encountered is an occasional drop out lasting, at most, a few minutes. These have gotten far less frequent as coverage has improved. I have had the ser roughly 2+ years.

 

[engnrsrule]

Learning a lot

I have been looking for a new solution since cancelling Nomad. I have settled on a two pronged approach due to learning about yet another facet of mobile internet. The technology is the X62/X65 chipset, which enhances 5g service and is said to "future proof" the modem piece. This generation of devices is expensive. Netgear's MR6550 is an unlocked (any carrier) device and is $999, lesser models around $700. The cheapest X62/X65 modem/routers are $350 or more (used). The Netgear M6 series all include antenna porta and ethernet.

The second prong is to just get a cheaper 4g/LTE hotspot in the interim, probably used, and upgrade to X62/X65 when more models are introduced and the prices come down.

The Inseego Wavemakers do not include this tech. Also because the sprinter is a full steel shell, the rooftop antenna is I think essential. I did pick up a MIMO/Wifi/GPS antenna. Have tested the wifi function and it helped. Do not plan to use the GPS function at this time.

As I said before, I am coupling with a decent Wifi repeater/extender. I picked up a used King KWM2000 and it works well, and has a wifi antenna port. Inexpect it will function as my on board router. I expect the modem device I get will have antenna ports, X62/X65, and ethernet so it can connect to the King Router.

A friend uses the T Mobile solution referenced in another part of this thread and likes it. He also connects his T mobile "box" to his King Router.

 

[booster]

Before I signed up I was assured that the service was truly unlimited and would not be cut back or throttled. We stream all of our TV watching, run 2 computers, 2 iPhones and 2 iPads and have never hya hint of a problem. The only issue I have encountered is an occasional drop out lasting, at most, a few minutes. These have gotten far less frequent as coverage has improved. I have had the ser roughly 2+ years.

That is interesting. When I checked with them about 6 months ago even their unlimited phone plans only had 50gig of 5G or even 4GLTE if 5G wasn't available. After that they said it could go as low as needed to assure the faster speeds to those that still were within the 50gig. I got that information at the local T Mobile store. I just looked online and they still sell 50 and 100gig home data plans so I guess the question would be why. We don't have our cell phones on T Mobile because they don't have coverage a lot of the places we go to when we travel.



One thing it did say in when I looked just now was that the data from data was prioritized to mobile devices first and home plans got what was left for speed which was interesting.

 

[Johnnyfry]

Interesting, possibly T-Mobile got out over their skis in what they could actually provide and changed policy. Also loading factors in different markets plays a role. I use speedtest to monitor my download speeds and, while there is variation, it has almost never gone much below 100 MBPS. I have been told, however, that they stopped opening new accounts in certain areas.

 

[engnrsrule]

Update to my On Board WIFI

As earlier posted, I was waiting for a 5g hotspot device with X62/X65 chipset to become affordable. That day arrived when the Netgear Nighthawk M6 became available under $100 on Amazon (refurbished & unlocked).

My old $14 4g jetpack was still working Ok, with one exception. Almost any loss of Internet seemed to be due to the jetpack's WiFi link to the King Router. The M6 ends that issue since it connects with Ethernet cable to the router. Plus the M6 has the same MIMO antenna ports. Another feature I like is that I can keep the battery out and it functions on/off with the power switch. All I had to do was swap the sim from the jetpack.

I can still switch the King Router to other WiFi (the rare good campground system or when moochdocking).

 

[MsNomer]

M6 for less than $100? I was looking a few days ago and cheapest I saw used was ~$600.

I punted and bought another M1 after the first one crapped out. We use it with the ATT $20/month unlimited plan I got with Mobley in 2017. The card is 4G, so 5G device would be overkill, but I would like more reliability. (Mobley device did an OS upgrade that rendered it worthless.)

 

[booster]

M6 for less than $100? I was looking a few days ago and cheapest I saw used was ~$600.

I punted and bought another M1 after the first one crapped out. We use it with the ATT $20/month unlimited plan I got with Mobley in 2017. The card is 4G, so 5G device would be overkill, but I would like more reliability. (Mobley device did an OS upgrade that rendered it worthless.)

We also use an M1 with the small 5X6" antenna they sell that sticks on the van window. That antenna works better than a big stand outside one we have also. We have it as third line for our Consumer Celluar plan and use it only for hotspotting.


We had ATT in the past (CC uses ATT and I think is even now owned by them) and we have never gotten a clear answer on if the 50gig/month data cap for hotpsotting on unlimited plan applies to the M1 like it would a phone. We might get to 50 gig in a month on the road, it would be close as that is about what we use at home on the DSL internet. We are rarely out for a month straight that doesn't overlap to periods so haven't had an issue, but we would if we decided to start streaming instead of bringing flash drive things.


4G is plenty fast for all we do and in many of the places we go the 5G signal is not as stable as the 4G one, it appears. The M1 gives us about 20% faster speed than the phones do hotspotted, though.

 

[avanti]

If you are willing to do a permanent installation in your van, I am convinced that right now nothing beats the Peplink MAX BR1 Pro 5G matched with the Peplink
Mobility 42G 4x4 MiMo rooftop antenna.

The BRI Pro 5G is sold for $999 most everywhere. However, TechnoRv occasionally has pretty good sale prices. Over the Xmas holidays, they were selling them for $848. They also have a 10% "new customer" discount, so. I got one for $764.

Combine this with the "secret" $10/month T-mobile service and you will be off to the races with a genuine 5G setup that is as good as you can get for any reasonable price, and is about as future-proof as you can get at the moment.

 

[engnrsrule]

M6 for less than $100? I was looking a few days ago and cheapest I saw used was ~$600.

I checked my Amazon Listing and same seller has one for $151 now.

NETGEAR Nighthawk MR6500 M6 Pro 5G Mobile Hotspot Router (AT&T GSM Unlocked) (Renewed) https://a.co/d/4rodwTc

 

[avanti]

4G is plenty fast for all we do and in many of the places we go the 5G signal is not as stable as the 4G one, it appears. The M1 gives us about 20% faster speed than the phones do hotspotted, though.

This is no doubt true. However, be prepared for a pretty rapid move to 5G over the next few years. The carriers are anxious to move toward an all-5G world as rapidly as possible, and all that 4G bandwidth will soon be recycled.

For a glimpse at the future, give the very cheap T-mobile plan a try. They are virtually 100% 5G. I have gotten better service from them than either AT&T or Verizon virtually everywhere we have travelled.

 

[MsNomer]

Avanti, do you travel to the boonies? We have devices on all three networks and it seems rare for T-Mobile to have service where there is little population.

 

[avanti]

Avanti, do you travel to the boonies? We have devices on all three networks and it seems rare for T-Mobile to have service where there is little population.

We certainly do. However, it is true that our sample of really far-out camping has been somewhat limited since we started the T-Mobile experiment. What data I do have is quite encouraging, though.

I stayed away from T-mobile for many years for the reason you mentioned. They had earned a reputation as a good "city" carrier. However, by all accounts they have been building out rural 5G coverage at a steady rate for a while now and it is starting to pay off. It has gotten to the point where they have started to brag about it:

https://www.t-mobile.com/coverage/small-towns-rural-areas

If you decide to review the Net's opinion, be sure to ignore anything more than a year or so old.

My guess is that Verizon still has an edge in rural coverage, but it is shrinking rapidly. And, where they do have service it is uniformly excellent. Plus T-mobile is SO much easier to deal with. Like, they answer their phones promptly with real humans. Mostly nice ones, too.

If you value maximum connectivity, you still certainly want two carriers. But, IMO it is no longer true that they should be AT&T and Verizon.

P.S. - For those who haven't tried T-Mobile, it is cheap and easy to give it a try. The secret $10 plan is really $10 (if you ask nicely, they will waive the activation fee), and there is no contract. Also, if you have an unlocked eSIM phone, they will let you try it out for 3 months for free:
https://www.t-mobile.com/offers/free-trial