Looking for internet for your Caravan? Watch this first!
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- Опубліковано 21 лис 2022
- We have tried several solutions to improving internet speeds in our caravan. In this video we share how you can avoid the costly mistakes we made trying to get usable data speeds into our caravan. And the solution we found that has worked for us.
- Наука та технологія
Thanks for the excellent explanation Paul. We had Out There Internet installed in our camper and I’m starting to get the hang of it. It’s a similar setup to the Nighthawk but you can use 2 sims and pick the best signal at your campsite. Most of the information on this whole subject is very hard to find. I have the phone towers app and I loved your little tutorial on how to read the data of each tower. The mystery of sourcing good data internet is real.
Thanks Jessica, we were surprised to see how hard it was to find information on how internet signals work and how hard it was to address the challenges! We have added Starlink to our arsenal of internet solutions, but if we didn't need it for work we wouldn't bother with Starlink.
Cheers Paul & Wenda
The mobile signal is what it is, a middle booster cannot improve it it only gives an increased hotspot in a small area around the transmitter. Forget about Optus use Telstra or any Telstra carrier such as Aldi. We changed from Optus to Aldi and found driving north to central Queensland where we had no signal before for 700 km we almost had full coverage for the entire inland road (on a $25 Aldi sim). Moranbah, a town of over 10 000 had zero coverage on Optus and 4 bars on Aldi. And the Aldi data not used is rolled over. We are on a normal pension so expensive internet over and above our phone costs are avoided. We even stream Netflix and UA-cam with no issues. Just my 2 cents worth. Great channel by the way.
Thanks for the info. Yes the booster does appear to be just a hotspot rather than able to improve signal strength. We have now bit the bullet and purchased Starlink to address our internet needs. If we didn’t need to work we would just go with the minimum. That Aldi plan sounds good 👍. Thanks for watching
Cheers Paul and Wenda
Thank you so very much 😊🎉
@@user-th6un1uo3r 😊 thanks
Forget about 4G, Starlink is now Australia wide, and 50% off until the new years including the RV plan. I have been using Starlink since it was available here in Australia, and I highly recommend it. I'm about to enable the RV plan (extra $30pm) which allows you to use it anywhere, its not tied to a physical address like the normal plan.
Wow that's a great price! Makes the equipment much more affordable. Unfortunately the $174 per month puts it out of our budget at the moment
Thanks for the update. Cheers
@@beyondthegreyoz That's roughly 3 nights worth of caravan park fees per month. 3 extra days free camping??
@@bbobkins you make a good argument 👍
Wefind that with reduced mobile data plan costs and no home nbn Starlink is not much of an additional cost. Also we have full internet coverage that allows us much more freedom to explore remote locations. Starlink is a game changer for us.
@@thommostravels9610 we were just thinking the same thing. Looks like we’ll end up with Starlink lol
Cheers
Thanks Paul for the info now I've got another app to download for the phone keep up the good work
Thanks Ed appreciate the encouragement
Cheers
We have just ordered Starlink with the special they had on. Once we cut off our Nighthawk & Satellite phone (together cost more than Starlink per month), we won’t have the frustration of internet issues again!
Haha we just ordered it too. The $450 sold us and like you say, by getting rid of the other bits you can almost cover the cost. But the biggest advantage is not worrying if you can get reception
Hopefully we get to cross paths in our journeys
Cheers
Very helpful. Thanks for this.
That’s great to hear 👍
Cheers
Very good and comprehensive and informative. Thank you for making time to do this. It helped me a great deal
That’s great, glad it was helpful, thanks for letting us know 👍
Cheers Paul and Wenda
Very well explained and very informative, thank you 👍
Thank you, so glad it was helpful 😉
Cheers
Good information. Sounds like you spent about 5k to get to the best solution. Thank you now the rest can just buy the nighthawk.
Thanks Jarrod, yeah it was about 5k and a lot of stress but now we have too many gadgets!!!
Cheers Paul and Wenda
Even though operators like Aldi or Amaysim etc use either Optus or Telstra networks - the major carriers don't allow access to all their entire infrastructure so coverage can be compromised
Yes that what we learned and it’s why we just went with Telstra and Optus sims. Cheers 😊
I liked your pole for the poyting antenna , what’s it called and where did you buy it?
Hi Wayne we got that complete setup from www.telcoantennas.com.au/remote-data-setup-for-caravans-campers-trailers-mi# You can just buy the mast separately
Cheers Paul
Thanks good information. I see more and more people who work on the road moving to Starlink which now covers Australia. They say that they have much more freedom for remote travel and working remote with Starlink. We don't work on the road but have Cel fi units in both the car and the van with upgraded aerials which while not perfect it is much better than not having Cel Fi. The aerial app is good info and what we find is like you if we are in a town there might be good signal but peak times too many are online and nobody gets anything. We recently camped at a festival of 5,000 campers and the day before everyone came the internet was fast but once the campers came it stopped as too many were on. Since we don't work going remote and no signal is a bit of a break but do have a sat phone in case. Thanks again.
Thanks for watching, yeah we will probably end up with Starlink but for now it’s a little too costly at $174 a month. We are both looking forward to a time when we don’t need to work and not have to worry about it
Cheers Paul and Wenda
@@beyondthegreyoz Yes Starling is pricey. Hope your retirement is not too far away for you it is certainly the best.
@@zoezoe610 still have a few years to go 😢
Thank you
Hopefully the info helps
Did you need to also buy a modem to operate the nighthawk? That may be a dumb question but, hey, when it comes to WiFi tech nothing is certain for me…
Definitely not a dumb question. You need a SIM card for the Nighthawk and then it becomes a modem. It works best with a Telstra sim but can work with other providers. We have a Telstra sim on a plan linked with my phone. If you go into a Telstra shop they are very helpful 👍
Cheers Paul and Wenda
Thankyou for your explanation in a fashion I could get my head around....so hard to find the info I am after on the web and i am yet to front up to a Telstra store with my queries. Can I ask you please you if a normal SIM from a mobile phone (assuming it is the correct size - nano etc) can be used in the Nighthawk or does it have to be a dedicated data SIM? You mentioned swapping Telstra and Optus SIMS, but not sure on this point?
Thanks Kaylene you can use any sim in the Nighthawk. We used the Optus one straight out of the IPhone and it worked fine.
The best advice I would have loved is: Get the AusPhone Towers app, Get a Nighthawk and move it near a window. And make use of the Google speed test
Cheers Paul and Wenda
I went through the same process. Essential fitted the RV wifi unit. Worked ok at home when testing it. But out on the road it was marginal.
Contacted RV Wifi about it. They asked for it back for a firmware update. We got it back, set up. No change in performance.
Then I did the UA-cam research thing. Ended up with the Testra Nighthawk M6 Pro. In the van it was hit and miss. Bought an $85 external antenna for it, one that looks a bit like a cross. Marginal improvement
Then we got the same external antenna as yours. I got a pool pole (for skimming the pool). I clamped a length of 50mm PVC pipe to one of the van’s rear manually handling handles (like someone can move a 3t van by themselves). The antenna head is clamped to the pool pole and extended out from the PVC pipe.
I then use AUS Phone towers to get a fix on the best 4/5G tower. Works well.
The Nighthawk runs on a high output PD outlet with the battery removed. That is supposed to make it perform better and for longer without overheating.
Yeah phone and data signal strength are such a challenge. So many variables and so much misinformation out there.
Thanks for watching 😉
Cheers Paul and Wenda
Your journey through the various options is very helpful. Do you thing that the Nighthawk could be substituted by any modem that has an external antenna?
Thanks glad it was helpful. I’m sure it doesn’t matter which modem you use, the main thing is to get a stronger signal to it
Cheers
Cheers a friend has offered me one at the right price 😂
Quite a journey to get internet even without leaving home.
It certainly was! More challenging that some of the tracks we've been on!
Have you tried Starlink with the new cowfish system.
No but it look like a great idea. Thanks for sharing 👍
The RFshop have a youtube channel that explains the signal problem and has affordable solutions that work. It has helped us make a informed decision for our setup.
Thanks we’ll check them out 👍It has been a challenge getting helpful information on what the actual problem is. But we seem to have a better understanding now 😉
Cheers
Enjoying your utube posts. What oh do for work?
Thank you 😊 work is telehealth psychological and counseling services
Cheers
we use cel-fi go for the car while driving to boost our phones but we now use Starlink RV . for internet and the speeds are unreal
anywhere in in australia a class above anything else
Yeah so we’ve heard. The biggest hurdle for us is the $174 a month! Do you use it in addition to mobile data or instead of it?
We will be using Starlink to replace mobile data and home nbn plans. The extra cost will be negligible. The main advantage will be access to internet in the remote locations we travel to.
@@thommostravels9610 at the moment we have to plan for where we are on work day but it would be nice not to have to worry about it