Don't buy Motorhome WiFi, Kuma Connect, Maxview Roam, Avtex AMR985 until you have watched this.
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- Опубліковано 14 січ 2023
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In this video we look at Motorhome WiFi Kits sold by Motorhome WiFi, Kuma, Maxview and Avtex and how you can save money by buying the same items separately.
Product Links
SMARTY SIM - £10 gift card.
i.smarty.co.uk/p5atUN
ROUTERS
Tuoshi (Kuma) Router
www.alibaba.com/product-detai...
Teltonika RUT 240 (Maxview Roam) Router
amzn.to/3INQ7T0
Teltonika RUT950 (Avtex) Router
amzn.to/3kjiGxo
Huawei (Motorhome WiFi) Router
amzn.to/3QK49Hw (New)
amzn.to/3ILyFPa (Renewed)
ANTENNAS
Panorama
www.centralcomputers.co.uk/pr...
Poynting Puck 2
amzn.to/3GIjvaJ
www.solwise.co.uk/a-puck-2 (Discount code EXPLOREVAN)
Poynting Mimo 3
amzn.to/3WdAoQv
www.solwise.co.uk/A-MIMO-0003... (Discount Code EXPLOREVAN)
12v POWER LEAD
amzn.to/43UN7vJ
Music
SOLO ACOUSTIC GUITAR by Jason Shaw freemusicarchive.org/music/Jas...
Creative Commons - Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported- CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/_solo-acoustic-guitar
Music promoted by Audio Library • SOLO ACOUSTIC GUITAR -...
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Any offers or discount codes are correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change or availability from the provider.
Any information provided on this channel is intended for general guidance only and must never be considered a substitute for advice provided by a qualified professional.
Topics in my videos may have potential safety implications for you and your van.
Any information I share in this video is purely my opinion. What you chose to install or how you install it, is entirely your choice and responsibility. - Авто та транспорт
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Hi Mike, Lee here, Product & Design Manager at Maxview.
Thanks for the interesting video. I just wanted to add a few comments on the Maxview product to further the discussion.
The routers we use are indeed RUT240s, although very soon to be RUT241s. We also use RUTX11s and RUTX50s on our other kits. Our Maxview Roam Antenna however is a Maxview designed and manufactured product - making antennas has been our business for almost 60 years. Certainly nothing wrong with Panorama and Poynting antennas though, they are very good products.
You make a very good point on Antenna gain, and as I’m sure you will understand this is a complicated area! From our antenna modelling, peak gain across all bands is between approximately 6 and 9 dBi, with best performance in LTE Bands 1, 3, 7 and 42. Some of the smaller puck style antennas have very low (or even negative) gain in the lower frequency bands, so always worth checking the data sheets if available.
In terms of price, the RRP is certainly £349.99, however you can pick up the kit from a lot of reputable online retailers for only £299.99, so pretty similar to picking up a RUT240 and comparable antenna separately. However it is customer support where we genuinely believe Maxview add value, as once you factor in all the different SIM providers, configuring APNs, running out of data etc., having someone knowledgeable on the end of the phone or email can be a big bonus. If someone really gets stuck, we can also make use of Teltonika’s great RMS service to remote in to the customer’s router and troubleshoot. We also think our Maxview Roam app has some good benefits, and we have a cool new feature being added to it in the near future… That being said, I have heard many times that people have also received very good customer support from our competitors.
Hopefully this is interesting info to you and your viewers. Please don’t take the comment as a grumble, anything that gives consumers good information and keeps manufacturers on their toes is a good thing in my book!
Hi Lee! Thanks for your comment and sorry for the delay getting back to you, I totally missed it coming in!
I really appreciate you taking the time to respond and clarify the points in a very balanced and customer-friendly way!
We've reviewed the RUT241 and RUTX11, both of which are great units, we are a big fan of Teletonika so I do think they are a great choice for your packages and would definitely recommend them.
It's also great to have more info on the Antenna and yes totally agree that gain across the bands and in different environments is such a challenge to compare, especially when it comes to the higher-spec models. Therefore the other features of the antenna are often more compelling such as the ease/options of mounting. From what I had seen it does appear these are slightly limited with your design with no out-of-the-box options for surface or magnetic mounting, meaning it would generally be a more involved install. But do let me know if this is not the case or if you have any plans to make it more flexible in the future.
You make a great point on discounted price and given your relatively small margin/markup compared to some of the other competitors and your choice of high quality and up-to-date routers, I do think your packages are worthy of consideration, especially with your support point, which I am reassured is likely to be worth it, given your detailed and knowledgable response.
Thanks again for responding and I am sure your info will be greatly appreciated by our viewers and subscribers
Cheers
Mike
Really good to see someone from a brand coming up and clarifying specs and data info. Not so common, unfortunately
I've been debating the wifi issue for months now, and refusing to pay the £350+ for bespoke campervan solutions. Thanks for this video, and the discount on the antenna, really useful and finally provided a clear answer to what I need, for the right price.
Thank you so much for this video. Have bought the router off ebay and got Smarty sim - works great. My vodafone broadband contract has ended - so now I just use my Huawei with the unlimited data for £20 and it works fine in the home too. Used your link for Smarty so hope you get your £10 voucher - well deserved for the advice.
Once again a cracking review and honesty Mike. The companies may grumble about you making videos like this but consumers save a lot of money which is what it's all about 👍👍
Thanks, yeah I doubt they’d be too happy but in the grand scheme of things I’m sure there are plenty of people that will still take the easy option and buy the kit.
But for those that are happy to shop around plenty of savings to be made 😀
Well what a great video! I am so grateful that this came up as a suggestion when researching wifi options. I have to explain that I am in no way technically minded and do not understand any of the terms and jargon I read or hear. I was minded to buy the Avtex kit as a peace of mind purchase but your video opened my eyes to not only purchasing the components separately but buying a used router.
I have purchased a brand new Poynting Mimo 3 antenna for £115 (delivered) and a used Teltonika RUT950 in mint condition for £100. More importantly than just saving a few quid for me though is the process of learning and understanding the options has taken me. In my naieve way I feel a sense of achievement which is thanks to this and your other videos, for which I am very grateful.
For other consumers who like me invariably look for plug and play solutions I managed to set this system up very easily. I had the advantage of utilising the hole in the roof of my motorhome by removing the TV aerial but the set up using the Teltonika wizard was straight forward as well. I am delighted with the results, thank you once again.
That is lovely to hear! Glad it was helpful! Safe travels!
Absolutely superb, been to a few festivals this year with very poor Wi-Fi, will follow this guide.. thanx
Brilliant. Just timed perfectly for the finish of my build. Thanks for putting this info out there.
Very informative. Thankyou. I am thinking of upgrading, and do not want to pay over the odds.
Absolutely love this. great breakdown beautifully delivered.
Great and helpful video! Thank you for the research work. I'm not a motorhome owner yet but your videos seem to be my go-to source for all these equipment needs.
Thank you! Really glad they are helpful!
I haven't a clue about wifi for a MH, a great video and the process was explained and shown easily. Might be tempted to have a bash and get wifi in my new MH which comes in a couple of weeks. Rgds Gary
Glad it was helpful, its definitely worth a try and isn't very difficult.
Hope it goes well if you do give it a shot!
Safe Travels!
@@ExploreVanUK Thank you.
What a video, this has just saved me hundreds, thanks so much for sharing, now to tweak the router on your latest video lol, thanks again
Great to hear!
I carefully watched your other videos, went a bit mad and ordered a RTUX50 and suitable antena hoping to get the best performance for years to come and never have to worry about wifi again. Found some slightly better prices this week as well which saved £90, still expensive though. I can't bring myself to watch this having just spent the money last week lol
🤣. We’ve not tried the X50 yet as we’re rarely in areas with 5G coverage, but if you are then I would think you will find it very capable. Let us know what you think of it once you’ve had chance to try it out.
You’ve avoided the “motorhome” markup by buying the router separately not as part of a dedicated package so take that as a win!
Nice, I'd been considering getting a Teltoknika 5G router, then I saw the price and I'll probably just try the 5G phone route. 😂
Fabulously informative.....many thanks for this 🙏 🙌
Glad it was helpful!
Great Content, informative and easy to follow.
Very useful video. Looking at the Maxview equivalent components the Poynting antenna is retailing with Solwise at £161 rather than the £139 you quote.
Glad it was useful. It looks like Solwise have had a slight price increase since the video was produced. With our discount code (EXPLORVAN) it would now be £144.90
Great advice and ideas, thank you
Really appreciate this thank you!
Great video ,as usual, we are both pensioners living and mostly travelling in Spain,Portugal and France. All we need wifi for is to watch a bit of TV in the evening or rainy days( not many of those😊) are these systems ott for us or worth the outlay.keep up the good work.
Hi David, It really depends on the areas you are likely to travel. in most towns and cities they are probably more than you would need, where either hotspoting off your phone or a simple cheap MiFi are likely to work perfectly well for what you need.
But if you are going to be venturing into the countryside you do tend to quickly find the performance drops off without and external antenna. But that's not always the only reason why it can be poor.
If you've not already its possibly worth having a watch of my seminar at the Adventure Overland show where I talk about pretty much everything to do with mobile internet. It may help you decide what is the right option for you.
ua-cam.com/video/kEux1qPUC3M/v-deo.html
Great video and certainly given me something to think about. You seem to like the Poynting antenna and the adhesive mounting. Surely though you still need to make a hole in the van roof to pass the antenna cable through?
Thanks glad it was helpful.
It depends how you want to route your cable and on your van. Our Iveco came as standard with roof grommets for cable entry for flashing beacons etc so we were able to use these for the cable access.
You may also chose to run the cables through the rear doors to avoid having to drill holes.
Even if you do have to drill holes for cables these would be smaller and could be combined with entry points for solar cables etc.
Another really informative vlog. Thank you. I have a new van coming so will probably get that aerial and get them to fit it while I decide which router to get so they will just need to accommodate 2 small cables in the solar access point. Will they need a gland each?
The cables on the MiMo 3 are quite chunky to reduce signal loss so will probably need their own entry grommet.
We use a multi point junction box sikaflexed to a high point on the roof to enable us to put up to 8 grommets for cables through and into the van. amzn.to/3H50P6w
(You can just see it in the video to the left of the antenna.) That way we don’t have to add extra hole later and it’s easy to swap antennas when we want to test others.
Thank you! Great video.
Glad you liked it!
Just what I needed to see.
Cheers
Still don't know about 4x4 , GPS and other features of the branded antennas. Any info appreciated on another video.
Also, can we source a black poynting antenna ?
Excellent.
Glad it was useful.
There is a bit info about the various functions in my video from the Seminar I gave at the Overland Adventure Show. Which you can see here.
ua-cam.com/video/Jqsf4p2uwE8/v-deo.htmlsi=tfHcnYpbyUzMJjWs
Like a 1 man mission to fix campervan wifi 😀😂👍👍👍
Thanks for the advice
Absolutely brilliant video and so much time gone into helping others save money!!
For working remotely as a videographer (where I need good upload / download speed, fast browsing etc. and reliable internet for virtual meetings) do you think any options in this video are cut out or do those requirements sound like a starlink job? Thank you!
Hi thanks - glad you found it useful!
It really depends on where you plan to travel and how vital a connection is. If you want to be absolutely sure of a good stabl connection almost every where then Starlink is definitely your best choice.
If you spend time near Towns / Cities that would have 5G then the RUTX50 would be my choice - its still not cheap to buy but being able to get unlimited mobile internet for less than £20 long term makes it significantly cheaper than starlink. ua-cam.com/video/xta51Sp7PzU/v-deo.html
If you don't spend as much time in towns and Cities and are will to think about the locations your going to / move location to get a good signal when you need it then one of the 4G+ options like the Huawei B535-232 I talk about in this video or
RUTX14 in this one ua-cam.com/video/vrIHwMsqi00/v-deo.html.
A good external antenna such as the Poynting Mimo3 range is possibly the most important item.
Hope that helps!
Cheers!
@@ExploreVanUK Thanks so much for such a helpful reply! I'll have a look into the Teltonika, hadn't heard of that. Really grateful for the info :)
Interesting video - I am researching my planned van build for later this year. I don't understand why anyone would buy anything that is not 5G compatible. However I am minded to not have a router and get a Starlink for my van rather than rely on mobile phone signal.
What’s right for one person can be total useless or totally over the top for others. It depends where you plan to travel and what speeds you need and how much you want to spend on hardware and per month.
Although we tried out 5G here
ua-cam.com/video/xta51Sp7PzU/v-deo.html for us it would actually be pretty pointless as
a) we rarely stay in areas that have 5G coverage.
b) any where there is 5G coverage there is also good 4G+ which is plenty fast enough for us.
Starlink or other LEO options are a good solution if you are happy with the cost per month and happy that if you are in a high congestion area you still may not great speeds as it gets more popular. Also if you spend time in forests or heavily built up areas with out a clear view of the sky performance could be sporadic or none existent.
If you’re planning to stay in towns or cities and really need the speeds of 5G then it’s a good options for a low monthly fee, but it’s worth considering do your really need it.
@@ExploreVanUK Agreed; what is right for me may be a completely incorrect solution for everyone else.
As I want to 'work from home' when out and about I will need high speed internet access that is reliable so I have assessed for me that Starlink is the most practicable solution and a good ROI, supplemented in some places with my 5G mobile phone with an external booster.
I think the electronics and communications devices I am planning on installing will probably cost more than the van I am looking at!
@@phil.clarke 🙂 yep I think a lot of us a guilty of adding expensive kit to our vans.
We're planning to try out Starlink on our European trip, in the summer so will have more insight after that.
Just a word of warning when looking at external phone boosters, the majority available are illegal to use in the UK or EU. The few that are approved for use are in the £400 to £600 mark. The ones approved for use in a vehicle are only allowed to be pretty low gain so make no real difference to putting your phone in a waterproof box outside. You can find out more from Ofcom here, www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-1/mobile-phone-repeaters-extended-range
@@ExploreVanUK Many thanks for the info; that is interesting - looks like my belt and braces approach will be Starlink and a dedicated 5G solution with router like you have described in this video rather than a booster for my mobile phone.
I had the Avtex fitted to our new caravan by our dealer before we collect the caravan. I must say I’ve been disappointed with the Avtex that’s giving very slow speeds or non at all. That’s using a Smarty and a EE sim in the dual sim router. I’ve found that my backup Netgear Nighthawk M2 gives way better performance even tho it’s running on its internal antenna
Hi, yes this is what I would expect the Avtex / Teltonika 950 is only a Category 4 modem so in areas with good coverage the Netgear M2 would give superior performance as it is Category 20 and can therefore aggregate multiple signals together from the carrier.
I would expect the Avtex / Teltonika to be able to connect in areas where the Netgear would struggle given the quoted gain of the Antenna, but I haven't actually tested that antenna so don't have experience of how it performs in reality.
I’ve bit the bullet and binned the Avtex system and bought the Teltonika RUTX50 along with the Poynting Mimo 3-14. Purely to futureproof but also to give me the best speeds. So thank you for your videos on the Teltonika routers and Poynting antennas
Hi. I am just trying to get my head around WiFi set up for the van and have found this video very useful. A friend has already recomended the Huawei router so am thinking of using that. I am stugling however to find the Stabalized Power Suply adapter that you have shown. Please would you be able to give the ASIN for it.
Many thanks. Jon
This seems to be the only one currently available on Amazon. amzn.to/3uhGya9
But there is this one on eBay which is the same as ours. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311949784514?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=KNiiQvHORYu&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Really informative video and I have now bought a cheap router, a cheap antenna and should have good internet in my van for under £75! QUESTION: Do you know if I can get a 12V regulated supply that does not have a cigarette lighter on it, I just want to wire direct to my fuseboard
Hi - glad you found it useful!
There are hard wired regulators - this is an example - amzn.to/3F69Oma
They do tend to be a little more expensive as they are higher rated than the cigarette lighter type
@@ExploreVanUK Great! Thanks again!
Great video, Have issues with wi fi and trying to improve.
Have poynton puck how easy is it to put cable through solar gland ?
👍
When are put our solar on we over sized the entry hole and put a waterproof accessible entry junction box on the roof so we can add and remove cables easily.
If you have a standard solar glad you’ll probably have to replace it.
The bit I found cheeky was the way some resellers are advertising the Avtex solution as 5G/4G/3G when really, it is just the antenna that's 5G the router is still only 4G. So it wont actually process 5G until you upgrade the router. The antenna is the cheap component in the kit. It's "5G ready.... ready for an upgrade"
Totally agree!
@@ExploreVanUK - I am looking for 5G.
can someone recommend a whole setup (Product names)
Thank you
I’m looking at one of the huwawei rougher and a Poynting 4G-XPOL-A0001 antenna as I have found them secondhand cheap. As our caravan always has electric hookup I’m assuming I don’t need the 12v adapter? And can run it on the mains plug.
Hi thats right the Huawei router should come with a 240v mains adapter.
You may want to check our video here, as we found the XPOL-A0001 didn't perform very well for us when we compared it to others.
ua-cam.com/video/s4nNAjV0oRM/v-deo.html
The Puck and the MiMo from Poynting were significantly better. You can see them in this video.
ua-cam.com/video/dIHdKssGjGU/v-deo.html
hi, comprehensive info, i bought a tuoshi router last year from aliexpress having watched this vid, only just got round to fitting it, and have an issue you might help me with, it is recognised by my phone laptop etc with a smarty data sim but won't connect to the internet ! it says dns resolution not resolved? have you come across this before? your help would be greatly appreciated best wishes Lindsay
Hi, It sounds like you need to set the APN for SMARTY. You should be able to do this in the settings:
The details you need are:
APN: mob.asm.net
Username: (blank)
Password: (blank)
One potential issue, not mentioned in this and your previous videos about the subject (IIRC), is the power consumption of each of these solutions (it doesn't really matter if the router comes with the kit or buy it yourself).
I'm currently using an old android phone to keep my van under control with a wifi camera (the phone is actually doing a lot more than that), and the leisure battery has no problem keeping it on 24/7 (I have a solar panel keeping it topped up), but I don't know if I deploy one of these routers (or a different one, preferably with openwrt) which impact it will have on the battery.
Hi, I’ve not noticed any significant difference in power usage between any of the solutions we have tried from Phone hotspot, portable MiFi to full blown router. If used in the same way / for the same process.
For example the RUT950 uses approx 137 mAmps at 12v so 1.6w when idle with mobile and wifi active.
Consumption for any device will go up and down based on the activity it is doing.
It tells you on the back of the router input is 12v - 1 amp per hour
@@pcat1378 that's about 8 times more than what observed by @ExploreVan UK. Most probably the sticker refers to the maximum consumption and not the average one.
@@LucaOlivetti He talks about the RUT950 and not the Huawei router in his comment, two different devices. The average one will of course be much lower.
@P Cat - @Luca Olivetti is correct. The figures stated on the device are the Max input rating needed to ensure that a suitable power supply is used. This is usually the maximum demand the device will ever make plus a healthy safety factor, so whilst the Huawei does say a 12v - 1A power suppy is needed the actual usage is substantially less.
I just did a quick test and saw a peak demand of 300 mA (0.3 Amps) during boot up and once running it stabilised at around 200 mA (0.2 Amps).
We are currently in a moderately good signal area and are only connected to it by WiFi not LAN cable. You may see some variation in lower signal areas as it may increase its signal power and if you connect LAN cabled devices that may use more power but wouldn;t expect it to be significantly different.
Hi Mike, Anthony from North Wales. I currently have a TP Link AC750 with a Poynting Puck on the roof. I think the router may be faulty as my speed results are suddenly very slow. I was looking to upgrade to an Avtex AMR985 or a Maxview Roam or Roam X. Do you think my puck would work OK with either the Teltonika RUT950 or RUT240 and would I gain much by upgrading the puck to something better. Also what do you think about upgrading further to an RUTX11and would I then need to change the aerial? Thanks
Hi, I’m assuming your Puck is a Puck2 which has 2 connections and there for is MiMo. It would be fine with RUT240 or RUT950 for the 4G antennas you’d have to use the included WiFi antennas.
However both are Cat4 routers (the same as your TPlink assuming it is the MR200 variant) so will probably be very similar in performance.
The RUTX11 is a cat 6 router which means it will aggregate bands to increase speed if there are multiple available. Your Puck will also work for the cellular connections on RUTX11.
Great video.
With the B535-232 you have. Could you do a video showing RSSI values when changing from the stock antennas to the ones in this video. You can navigate to view these values in the firmware at Advance>System>Device Info.
Yeah no problem, it might be a couple of days until I can get to it, but will reply with the details on this comment.
@@ExploreVanUK Awesome, thank you!
Hi, I have checked today with the following results:
Internal: RSRQ -13.0dB. RSRP. -107 dBm. RSSI -81 dBm SINR -2db
External: RSRQ -10.0 dB. RSRP -88dBm. RSSI -63 dBm. SINR -1dB
External antenna used was a Poynting Mimo3
So you can see an improvement across all measures of Strength, Quality and Signal to Noise.
Sorry only just noticed you asked for a video - here you go - slightly different figures this time, but you can see the improvement.
ua-cam.com/video/YDfG9snvEc8/v-deo.html
@@ExploreVanUK Great, thanks for checking for me!
Hi Mike! What you think which is the best WiFi setup for campervan? I think about to buy teltonika rut950 , 955 , or rutx14 with MIMO 4x4 antenna . Thank you
Hi Robert - there are so many different answers depend on your circumstances that i could talk for an hour on that subject.......in fact I did :-). Have a watch of my seminar from the Adventure Overland Show here where I talk about the different things that impact mobile internet performance, different options and things to consider depending on your circumstances. ua-cam.com/video/kEux1qPUC3M/v-deo.html
The RUTX14 will easily outperform the RUT950 and RUT955 in good signal areas with multiple bands available. However in areas with only one band available they will perform the same. If you have the budget for the RUTX14 and a 4x4 Mimo antenna I would go for that.
But to answer your question in really simple terms - assuming you are travelling in an area with coverage - the "Best" option in my opinion currently is Starlink on their RV plan. But you do need deep pockets.
www.starlink.com/rv
Hi Mike
I really enjoyed this video and decided to buy the roof aerial from Poynting a pre owned HUAWEI 535-232
Install went well, but when I connected my laptop and tried to access the router via the ip address I had the security risk message telling me it is misconfigured and the certificate has expired. Do you know if that means the router I have bought is useless? I am at a bit of a loss and appreciate any tips
Thanks
Ian
Hi Ian, This shouldn't be anything to worry about. I have seen this before with a couple of browsers that flag that the page is not encrypted / doesn't have a valid certificate as it thinks it is an internet webpage rather than the admin page of a device. You can usually just accept this and it will proceed (you may have to click "advanced settings" / "add exception" or something similar).
If you are still struggling try using this link to get the admin page:
192.168.8.1/html/index.html?noredirect
Hope that helps - if not let me know what Operating System and What Browser you are using and I'll see if I can help further.
Hi Mike, great video. I am really interested in the fact that you managed to run the antenna cable through the same hole as your solar panel cable. I've got a factory made van. Is that possible with that too? If yes, do you have a video recommendation for that? Thank you for all your great advice.
Hi Kat, it would depened how the solar cable was put into your van. I fitted both the solar panels and the antennas and knew that I would change to different antennas as we tried them out. So I made sure the hole through the roof was big enough to accommodate not just the Solar cables but additional cables too and then fitted a waterproof multiple output junction box on the roof - so that I can open it to add or remove cables as required.
I would suspect that on factory vans they would only size the entry and the waterproof gland for what was needed at the time. So it would probably need the existing gland removing the hole making bigger and a new junction box installing on the roof.
@@ExploreVanUK thank you. That makes sense (I am just looking at the top of my motorhome and the junction box is tiny!). Thank you so much. I am inspired!
Hi, you say you have the poynting antenna on your camp roof with the stick on pad, has it come unstuck at any time or is it solid if you don't mind me asking cheers
Solid as a rock, it’s a large surface area and comes with a 3M or similar adhesive pad.
Just make sure the surface is clean and degreased before applying.
We also have one using the option magnets which we’ve also had no problems with. (Obviously only if you have a steel roof)
Does the Huawei B535-232 support bridge mode?
I'd like to use it just as a modem. It would be connected to my mobile pfsense router with ethernet. If the modem is in bridge mode, then the router get's the external IP assigned, making it easier for remote access etc...
Thanks.
The support of Bridge mode comes down to the firmware. In most (if not all) B535-232 doesn't support bridge mode as the Telcos that original source them generally disable this option.
The B535-235 variant which I believe is the generic model, usually does have Bridge mode enabled.
Hi Mike, have you any info/thoughts on how the performance of a RUT950 differs when using the supplied 4G antennas vs an external antenna on a MoHo? ie. Is it worth the extra investment / work to fit an external or would the supplied 4G stub antennas suffice in most cases? (Assuming an “average” signal from a 4G service).
Great video BTW, and I’m awaiting delivery of a RUT950 to get things started. I do already have a Netgear M2, but I’d like a more permanent installation in my Motorhome.
Hi glad the video was useful.
Adding a good external antenna gives two advantages, they have a higher gain than the stuby antennas and being outside of the van they are much more likely to have a better signal that hasn’t been weakened by the structure of the van / motorhome.
In my opinion, unless you are always in one location where you know that the signal is good enough inside the van, it is worth adding external antennas.
It’s worth noting though that your Netgear M2 is a good performing router and in some locations being a higher category will perform better than the RUT950.
Though the RUT with external antennas will hold on to weaker signals better.
@@ExploreVanUK Thanks Mike. I’ve got my RUT950 now and as you say, I see that the Netgear M2 performs better (at least at my house), probably due to the 4G+ capability. However, I’m after a more robust solution for weaker signal areas and I hope (as you’ve suggested) the RUT950, especially with an external antenna, will beat the Netgear M2.
3sim mobile broadband 20 quid a month unlimited data free router. sits on dash when parked runs the tablets/laptops. router came with a mains to 12v adapter so cut the cable off and run direct from battery
You may find it’s the same Hauwei router as the one in the Motorhome WiFi Kit.
@@ExploreVanUK if you opt for the 4g version it's a couple of quid a month cheaper and it's a ZTE router, I went for that because we use it mobile and at home, why pay for 2 connections etc (I'm sure I'm Yorkshire Scottish) and when at home we needed a cable for the CCTV, the 4g ZTE router has 4 built in wired ports+ WiFi, the 5g was WiFi only. Huawei is good kit we had 1gb internet with an Huawei box for 3 or 4 years but the company was merged into talktalk and then the price shot up from 24 to 36 so we jumped to mobile broadband
Great info thanks
4:00 That ciggy plug is NOT a stabilised power supply. At all. I'm also struggling to figure out why a 12v to 12v adapter is needed. If you need a stabilised voltage, a buck converter would be best, cheaper too (£4 or less). Interesting comparisons, though.
Not sure what makes you think that? - as it is - it's easy to tell, as it regulates any voltage between 12 and 24v to a stable 12 volts.
With many Lithium leisure battery set ups the voltage under charge can go over 15v so if the unit is not designed to accept that it could damage it. As I mention the Teltonika devices don't need one as they can accept up to 30v, but for other devices such as reused home devices I would always recommend using one.
You are right a buck converter would do the same job but but it's not quite as "plug and play" as will need to be wired appropriately, fused and you need to be sure you are buying the correct type.
@@ExploreVanUK Put a variable load on that, & watch the voltage change. Another way is to measure the output direct at the plug, you'll probably find it to be more than 12v. All those like this I've tried do this. Put an appropriate load on it, & it should stabilise, largely. Stabilised supplies are usually around triple the cost of these cheapos. Wold love to be proven wrong, but I don't think that'll happen. I've switched to buck converters for this very reason.
Great vid, Cheers. What about picking up wifo hotspots? The Avtex can switch to campside wifi. Will you solution do the same?
Hi the Huawei B535-232 doesn’t have this facility.
But the Teltonika RUT950 does (same as Avtex sell but cheaper without the Avtex sticker) but it is only a Cat4 LTE modem so performance on mobile will not be as good as the Cat 7 Huawei.
If you wanted similar mobile performance as the Huawei and WiFi relaying you would need the Teltonika RUTX11 which has a Cat 6 modem.
@@ExploreVanUK Great intel! Cheers appreciated 👍🏼 Subscribed
@LawrenceHarmer no worries. Glad it’s helpful!
Hi Mike. A bit ignorant on this and your video is really valuable. Can you advise if there is any info update on 5g options? I’m closer to buying a NETGEAR nighthawk M6 pro, but it’s a fortune and no real recommendations on antenna for that. Help?
Hi John, we've only tried 2 5G options at the two ends of the spectrum -
The first is hotspotting off a 5G phone which you can see here. ua-cam.com/video/RZSHdJBf134/v-deo.html
The second the Teltonika RUTX50 (the same unit as used in the Maxview Roam 5G) which you can see here. ua-cam.com/video/xta51Sp7PzU/v-deo.html
If you are serious about having 5G I would definitely recommend the RUTX50 over the Netgear due to it's levels of configuration / dual sims (if you want to use them) and the opportunity to connect a 4x4 Mimo antenna rather the just a 2x2 mimo antenna on the Netgear.
Hope they help!
@@ExploreVanUK magic. I’ve contacted Solwose who have been very helpful. Not going with 5g on the basis of no network off grid really. RUT 901 should do all we need. At c. £300 for the whole kit with antenna. What would you recommend between the puck / XPOL / MIMO omni directionals? Would prefer to sucker or magnet mount externally but can fix (MIMO presumably) if necessary with cables coming through with the PV cables.
@@johnmitchell3027 I'd agree with that unless you are regularly in towns or cities 5G is not really worth it.
I would recommend the Mimo over the Puck if you can stretch to it (we compared them here ua-cam.com/video/dIHdKssGjGU/v-deo.html ) an we found the XPOL very lacking in an early video.
NB we've added magnets to the bottom of the Mimo - couldn't get the actual Poynting ones but these did the job - sadly they are not available anymore but sure you could find similar. amzn.to/48JkJzK
Hope you got your 10% off with Solwise using our code ;-)
Hi I'm currently doing a van build and will need WiFi in remote areas like up in the lake district and through Scotlands forests I was going to get the max view 4x4 as it has 4 x antennas but the price is 900 pound is there any other options that are cheaper but similar signal strength thankyou
If you want to guarantee signal then Starlink would be a better option albeit the monthly charge will be higher, but if you want to stick with 4G/5G check out these 2 options.
Teltonika RUTX50 5G LTE Router Review - Is it better than Starlink?
ua-cam.com/video/xta51Sp7PzU/v-deo.html
Don’t buy 5G Netgear M6 or RUTX50 without watching this first! Spitz AX GL-X3000 5G Router Review
ua-cam.com/video/584LyEDFdiY/v-deo.html
Thankyou will look into this
My experience of an Avtex kit has not been good and Avtex themselves have been less than helpful. My EE mini mifi works in my van but the Avtex system I invested in does not..... They say its poor signal but if that is the case why does my mifi work in the van and the Avtex which has an external receiver does not???
Disappointing they are not more helpful considering you have paid so much to have their name on it.
Really interesting video, what's you view on the merits of the Poyniting Puck 2, or 5, or 7 models vs the MiMo 2 or 3, worth paying the extra for MiMo over the pucks. I've got a small camper with a pop-up roof so reluctant to drill holes, so currently favouring the Puck models magnetic fit option (happy to have the antenna removed when travelling).
Am also considering a MiFi router such a nether nighthawk M1/Mr1100, again for a more mobile solution.
However, looking like no UK providers provide sims that'll cover enough data for TV streaming in Europe when on a long tour.
Hi we did a review of the Puck Vs the MiMo in this video - ua-cam.com/video/dIHdKssGjGU/v-deo.html
We use the MiMo (with additional mounting magnets) and have it permanently on the roof even when traveling, we are very happy with it.
Sorry, my bad
No worries, we have loads of videos, we can't expect everyone to keep track of them all!
Hope its helpful!
@@ExploreVanUK Sorry, another, daft question perhaps, but puck/mimo antennas are usually mounted horizontally, a most fixed-roof vans have a flat/horizontal roof. Will they work just as well on a sloping roof, as my van has a pop-up roof (I don't want to be limited to only getting best performance from the antenna when the roof in down)
Hi Steve, not a daft question at all - the good news is that both the Puck and the MiMo perform pretty well in most orientations. You can see this in the radiation patterns in their technical docs on the Poynting website.
But you are right that they will perform at their best when mounted horizontal, as high as possible and with as few obstructions as possible.
What you would have to be particularly conscious of is that if the metal of the roof was between the antenna and the mobile mast it could have an impact on the signal.
Though realistically you are likely to be better off with the external antenna at height even if obstructed to some degree than no external antenna at all.
Obviously if you went with Mag mount you could relocate the antenna if you found the signal was poor and see if you could locate it in a better position.
If I was you I think I would have the Antenna mag mounted and then have some kind of bracket arrangement to move it to a horizontal position at the apex of the poptop when it was open - that way it has good height.
All of this is assuming the pop top is metal - if it is GRP then the impact would be much less and I'd just adhesive mount it to the roof.
Hope that helps!
In Australia rural area means no man's land there is no signal tower whatsoever. I guess starlink is the only solution.
Yep I would say so for a decent performance.
There are other older Satellite options but the speeds are only really suitable for very basic browsing and email.
I've just use a "£103.99" wall mounted TP-link Archer MR 500 WiFi Cat 6 (Smarty network Sim ) with 2 x 4g mag mounts "£14.99" , powered by the Campervan`s 14.6 v LiFePO4 320Ah Lithium Battery/Solar system, I used a 3A Buck Converter Voltage Regulator (8V-40V to 12V 3A) "£13.99" inline just to stabilise a 12.0v into the Archer MR500 using a DC power plug 5.5mm x 2.1mm,,, Wi-Fi is great and hard wired Ethernet cable into the Victron Cerbo GX ,,, ,, all purchased from Amazon UK all for a total cost of around £150 inc the 1st month of unlimited data..
Great set up and a huge saving compared to the "Motorhome" packages!
@ExploreVanUK ...Went to the Forest of Dean , we was the only one`s out of a group who had network coverage ,,, I let 6 campers connect to our Wi-Fi as guests, They was all impressed with the connection, all they wanted it for was Emails / Facebook Messages /Whats App,,, One of them put in orders straight away for the same setup I have,, Other camper ordered a Avtex AMR985 Kit as they wanted a future proof system which is 5G compatible, I don't know why he wanted 5G... I've ever been able connect to 5G only in a passing though a large city with my phone hotspot ,,,, there`s never been 5G signal where I've stayed camping from Cornwall to the Scottish Highlands.
He’ll have a shock with the AMR985 then, as the router is only 4G and category 4. So yours will easily out perform it in a good signal area.
It’s only the Antenna that is 5G compatible so won’t be any help until he upgrades the router.
@ExploreVanUK oh it's not been dispatched yet . He is going to cancel his order in the morning and just get the antenna for now
I'd recommend the Poynting Mimo3 Antenna over the Avtex, 5G compatible and much more flexible mounting options than the Avtex which has to be through the roof.
Great blog thanks, I know you’ve replicated the Motorhome application but is it only for Motorhome or would this be applicable to a caravan too??
Hi, thanks glad it’s useful. Yes absolutely, just as applicable and will work just the same in a caravan. 👍
@@ExploreVanUK is the newest version of this set up a 5g router and compatible antenna??
All the Antennas we talked about in the video are 5G compatible.
If you really need 5G speeds you could go for the Teltonika RUTX50 or the ZTE MU5001 but remember you only get the benefit in areas that have 5G coverage.
Its worth noting that anywhere you get 5G coverage you are also likely to get really good 4G coverage. So do you really need to pay the extra for a 5G router. Where there is only 4G coverage it won’t be any better than a good 4G router and where it does have 5G a good 4G router will already give you good speeds (eg we are currently getting 70 Mbps in a little French town on 4G with a Smarty SIM.
I've just bought the same set up but, the antenna leads have no paper labels (but they do have printed LTE on two and Wifi on the other two) the only instructions are for fitting. There's also nothing to tell you which of these leads to plug into the back of the Huawei B535-232 it just says MAIN and DIV. Will I do any damage to the router if I experiment with the leads?
You need to connect the two LTE connections to the router. (The other two are for WiFi which the Huawei doesn’t have external connections for.)
@@ExploreVanUK Thanks, I'll start drilling a hole in the roof when I get back from work today and hopefully be up and running with a unlimited Smarty sim.
Hi there. I purchased a secondhand motorhome recently. It appears to have had the MotorhomeWiFi 4G Compact system installed. However, the router is missing. Can you please tell me the make and model of this router or suggest a compatible router I can use with this system? TIA.
Hi the 4G Smart compact appears to be a Huawei E5577C
The C is important as this should indicate it has the necessary external antenna connections.
Brilliant. Thanks for the prompt reply, it much appreciated.
I’ll get on line and try and source one now, thanks to your help/knowledge, I know what I’m looking for 🙂
Would the Huawei B535 set up work with the Poynting XPol -1 V2 omnidirectional antenna instead of the Poynting Mimo ??
It would connect ok yes. But the performance of the Xpol is not as good as the Mimo. Xpol has peak gain of 3.5 dBi but Mimo is 5.8.
@@ExploreVanUK thanks, will go with the mimo
Sorry to be a pain, but how does the Huawei 232 compare to the 333 ??
Oh, and you're doing a great job, keep it up 👍
Very little difference between them component and specification wise e-catalog.co.uk/cmp/108222/4g-router-3-pro-b535-333-vs-4g-router-3-pro-b535-232/
Slightly different casing - so essentially just a facelift rebrand / relaunch for 2022.
As we've not tested the 333 I can't comment on the Firmware / User Interface or if the bandlock script we use on the B535-232 will work with the B535-333.
ua-cam.com/video/tRIIWwU8kCQ/v-deo.html
Thanks for a great video. Can I ask what may be a silly question please? I already have a motorhomewifi iBoost D8 Pro. I want a permanent antenna now but wondered if I could still use the mini router in my iBoost kit? Would it be effective do you think? Many thanks in advance.
HI, glad you liked the video!
Not a silly question at all. The router provided with the iBoost kit, is simply a WiFi router allowing you to connect to a WiFi hotspot and rebroadcast it as a WiFi hotspot in your van.
It doesn't have a cellular modem in it, so its of not really of any use if you are looking to use 4G / 5G mobile internet. For this you would need a router with a modem built in. Such as the ones we share in our review videos.
Hope that makes sense
Thanks so much for your prompt reply. We are struggling to fully understand the issue I think! Will the router you talk about help to boost the signal when using our phone data? We tend to use the phone data as our hotspot for our iPad etc. but can’t always get good signal. Thanks so much in advance.
Hi,
I’m afraid not, to use an external antenna for cellular internet a separate router and therefore data plan is the easiest / cheapest option.
There are very few booster systems available for mobile phones that are legal and approved by Ofcom for use in the UK and they are expensive (£500 ish)
www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/advice/using-a-repeater-to-improve-indoor-mobile-phone-signal
@@ExploreVanUK Thanks so much for that👍🏻
I have a campervan and small house in France. Bought Free 5g Sim to use in phone as hot spot in van and house. Great speed outside my small narrow streets in village, nothing in house. Would any of these antennas help if stuck inside window of house please
They may make some difference but it would be better if you could mount them high on the outside of the house.
You may find the Poynting XPOL2 more suitable for stationary use.
@@ExploreVanUK I'll give it a try. Thanks for the very speedy response
HI Mike, Paul here from KUMA UK. Thanks for reviewing our CONNECT product. There are some interesting points in it, some of which we agree with but we'd like to 'clear up' a few please too for your viewers.
The KUMA CONNECT range does have a router shell the same as the one you showed, but as with all routers, it's what's inside that counts. Our CONNECT comes with our UK designed KUMA firmware, and more importantly for your viewers, all the settings they need to use any SIM, in the UK and Europe - plug and play You won't get that with the Chinese copy. It will arrive and it simply won't work. You need to log in to it, change the language into English, research the APN SIM settings you need and then put them in the back of the router. Then it 'might' work.
Alos, just to clarify, our antenna certainly isn't made by Teltonika as you stated it looks like it is.
Just another fact clear up too if possible please. You've quoted a £100 saving if imported but I am going to have to point out that you have 'missed' the duty, VAT and Chinese freight costs, somewhere around £50 minimum probably, plus the 2,(or 3,4,5), week wait. (All our products are shipped next-day with DPD)
So, what do your viewers get for £40 more??
Let's see....
UK customer support on chat and email
A choice, in the UK of 5 different antenna solutions
A product designed for the UK that works straight out of the box, with a 30 day, no quibble, cooling off period and a 2 year warranty
Real customer service (for example, we had a customer who purchased a STiK antenna kit, then changed his mind - we shipped him the PRO antenna free of charge - of course he's happy :))
UK 240v and 12v DC power supply (which you mentioned is unsuitable but is tested up to 14.8v DC which is more than suitable and in 1000's of sales we've never had a complaint about these)
A free any-network BBGo SIM with 5Gb of data included
Next-day delivery, with tracking by DPD
We appreciate for some people, price is everything and of course we respect that. If any of your viewers want a 2 year warranty, UK support, plug and play and free data, they can get that here kuma-products.com/collections/kuma-connect-series
Best wishes
Paul and the KUMA UK team
Hi Paul,
Thanks for taking the time to comment and appreciate you sharing your perspective:
Just a couple of points of clarity that would be great to confirm - Are you saying the device you supply is not the Tuoshi LT220 Hardware? I note you reference that this is a "Chinese copy" of your device. Just to be totally clear could you confirm clearly and categorically that you manufacture the device yourselves, rather than import the Tuoshi LT220 either with your firmware and stickers applied by the Chinese manufacturer or by yourselves on arrival?
Re: the Antenna is this something you manufacture yourselves or are you able to share the manufacturer / model?
The video does include reference to delivery from China and the challenges this may cause - though Duty and VAT is something to consider - in our personal experience this has been covered by the supplier on dispatch in most cases or not been applicable on arrival - however it is worthy of note that it could be.
We also mention the setup process and how that could be an advantage. We have imported quite a number of 4G devices from China over the years for testing and we have yet to find one that hasn't been able to be easily configured, in fact almost all have arrived preset with the global APN database making them plug and play.
With regard to the 12v power supply - I think you may have misinterpreted the video or I have misinterpreted your response. - we say a stabilised 12v adapter isn't necessary for the Teltonika routers due to their wide operating voltage. But we would suggest using a stabilised 12v power supply with the Huawei or the Tuoshi - which I'd assumed is what you supply?
As we cover in the video we definitely see that there is a market place for pre-configured / tailored solutions and for some paying that premium would not be a bad choice. However we like to share our insight and opinion to help people confirm it is the right choice for them.
@@ExploreVanUK Hi Mike,
I'm sure you probaly know that we can't guess or comment on what other brands do and where they get their components from - so I can't comment on Tuoshi, Maxview, Apple or anyone else as I'm sure you can understand.
What we do know, is that we source all our components from the best suppliers we can find and produce a great 'UK tailored' product that works out of the box for our British customers or your money back, for 2 years minimum.
There are only a certain amount of modules, cases, chips, wires and components on the planet, and these will turn up in many different devices. A particular $80 chip can be found in military drones and AEG washing machines, and you probably already know that Apple use Samsung screens in their iPhones - it's a funny world :)
Thanks again for including us and if your viewers wish to save £40 buying the bits, waiting and building their own set-up there's room for everyone I'm sure
Regards
Paul - KUMA UK
Thanks Paul, I appreciate your response, unfortunately, it doesn't really answer any of our pretty clear questions, that I think our viewers would have liked to understand.
As we mentioned previously we're sure that paying the premium for a packaged product will suit some, but others are keen to understand what they are actually getting for their money so they can consider other options that either save money, are a "better" product or both.
@@ExploreVanUK Hi, the benefits are clearly laid out in our original message - hope they can understand this.
"So, what do your viewers get for £40 more??
Let's see....
UK customer support on chat and email
A choice, in the UK of 5 different antenna solutions
A product designed for the UK that works straight out of the box, with a 30 day, no quibble, cooling off period and a 2 year warranty
Real customer service (for example, we had a customer who purchased a STiK antenna kit, then changed his mind - we shipped him the PRO antenna free of charge - of course he's happy :))
UK 240v and 12v DC power supply (which you mentioned is unsuitable but is tested up to 14.8v DC which is more than suitable and in 1000's of sales we've never had a complaint about these)
A free any-network BBGo SIM with 5Gb of data included
Next-day delivery, with tracking by DPD"
Thanks
Paul
@Kuma Limited Thanks Paul, I'm afraid repeating your previous comment doesn't go any further to answer questions that continue to go unanswered, so I'm happy to repeat them succinctly to give you a chance to clarify:
Are you saying the device you supply is not the Tuoshi LT220 Hardware?
You reference that this is a "Chinese copy" of your device. Just to be totally clear could you confirm clearly and categorically that you manufacture the device yourselves, rather than import the Tuoshi LT220 either with your firmware and stickers applied by the Chinese manufacturer or by yourselves on arrival?
(NB we note this is a service that the device manufacturer do offer)
Re: the Antenna is this something you manufacture yourselves or are you able to share the manufacturer/model?
Your £40 saving figure is something we will agree to disagree with. We continue to feel that a similar or better package (albeit without the UK support and setup and potentially with the complication of importing if they chose to, all of which we note in the video), can be put together for a greater than £40 saving.
On your point of your choice of 5 antennas, obviously, in the scenario of building their own package the customer would have the option of whatever antenna on the market that they felt met their needs rather than be limited to your choice of 5, so I'm not sure that could be counted as a benefit of the package approach.
I do think it is great when manufacturers/suppliers have the passion and confidence in their product to engage
with reviews and demonstrate the value in their product.
so when you say these product's appears to be. what is these based on
Hi, that is careful wording to avoid any potential for litigation.
I’m confident they are those units having visually inspected the units and in the cases of Kuma and Maxview discussed with the companies, some you can see is in the comments below.
If any of the companies would like to suggest otherwise I’m happy to discuss it.
thanks@@ExploreVanUK
Hi Is there a kit that I can use without having an antenna on the roof for European travel?
Hi the antenna on the roof is a fundamental part of increasing the performance by helping to get a better signal from the tower.
You could just get any MiFi unit or a router with built in / on unit antennas with a suitable SIM card but it won’t perform as well as unit with an external antenna.
You can check out some basic options in our video here.
ua-cam.com/video/i5k7PdKY69o/v-deo.html
Thanks
We are looking to purchase either the Maxview Roam or the Avtex Wi-Fi for our caravan. Is there any real main differences between the two, does one function better than the other?
Also I can see the Maxview has 2 options, 150 or 300mbps, would you suggest paying for the higher one for a family of 4?
Personally I would steer clear from the Avtex it’s a lot more expensive than buying individually and the tech used is old now.
The Maxview is better value but still more expensive than buying separately from somewhere like Solwise.
It depends where you are planning to travel / use it as to what would be the best choice of price Vs performance.
Take a look at our video here that might help you pick what suits you best.
ua-cam.com/video/HOOLqRuugsQ/v-deo.htmlsi=J2U5BsY9zlwULurc
@@ExploreVanUK Thank you. Ok so stay clear of Avtex as the tech used is dated. Ok I can see, it’s not just the speed increase, the lower cost Maxview of 150mbps is Cat4, and the higher 300 is Cat6. Also contacted Swift Dealership and they mentioned as long as it’s them who fit the Antenna (drill hole) Warranty will be 100% fine
@@ExploreVanUKhi, I am also looking at the roam for my caravan, the reason been it says it can connect to a WiFi on site or use a mobile connection, do you know if this is built into the roof part of directly to the router in the caravan... if it's the roof, does your option do this too, I never saw it covered in your video, thanks for your time.
@@michaelrooks5842 the WiFi relay functionality is part of the Teltonika router.
As the Avtex antenna doesn’t have WiFi elements and the kit relies on WiFi antennas mounted on the router which would be inside your caravan its unlikely to actually give you much benefit.
However if you used a Poynting Mimo3-15 antenna which has WiFi elements that connect to the router giving you higher gain and external WiFi antennas it is a useful feature.
@@ExploreVanUK great thanks so if I get teltonika router and a poynting one that setup would do the external WiFi wisp mode and 4g internet? Many thanks
Can I ask will this help then if I can not get WiFi on my phone ?
It won’t give you a “boosted” phone signal to use data off your phone, but it would give you internet access you could connect your phone to, to use WiFi calling if supported by your phone provider.
A system like these with an external antenna with higher gain than the antenna in your phone would mean you are more likely to get a signal in places your phone won’t.
Which do you have in your van & how do you find it on day to day use ?
Hi if you check out the channel you'll see we've used lots of different options to review them, so we don't really have just one we use. The RUT955 is my go to Router as it is really stable and sensitive, has sim switching and I can play with the configuration and integrate it to other parts of the van, but it is only Cat4, which suits us, as we don't need a really high speeds for what we use., but it may not suit others.
When we go away to Europe in the Summer we're planning to try Starlink but that is very expensive on a monthly basis, we've also just tried the RUTX50 5G router which is very good, if you want high speeds and are often in 5G areas.
It all comes down to what you need and how much you want to spend, take a look at the seminar I gave at the Adventure Overland show on all the options we've tried and see which suits your needs and budget best. ua-cam.com/video/kEux1qPUC3M/v-deo.html
@@ExploreVanUK thank you so much for quick response. Yes I have watched a few of your videos regarding Wi-Fi.
Would you say there is much difference between the RUTX50 & huawei for the price ? Thanks so much
No worries, depends how much time you spend in areas with 5G coverage and how much speed you need.
In a 4G area there is likely to be little difference (though the 4x4 antenna connections on the RUTX50 are better if you buy a 4x4 Mimo antenna)
In a 5G area the RUTX50 will be significantly better.
But do you really need 200 Mbps?
got any 4x4 options for a single Antena?
Yep the Poynting Mimo 3-17 has 4x4 Mimo LTE elements (as well as GPS and WiFi) all built in to one antenna unit
Solwise have it here - www.solwise.co.uk/A-MIMO-3-V2-17
and you'll get 10% off using EXPLOREVAN code at the checkout.
3 mobile phone on unlimited data, tether my tv laptop and my wifes phone £16 a month , what more do you need.
Works for many, so glad it’s enough for you.
With a family of 4 and the areas we like to stay it wouldn’t work for us.
Amazing video great break down. Thinking of using the puck and that Huawei router but I have a couple questions.
The puck has 1 lead coming from it do you need 2 for that router?
And what did you plug the charging cable into, could you snip the end off and plug it into a 12v fuse box?
Hi there, glad you found the video useful!
The Router has a 2x2 MiMo connection (2 x SMA connectors) so the Poynting Puck 2 is required which has 2 connectors. It sounds like you may be looking at the Puck 1 which only has a single connector.
Theoretically you could snip the lead off the mains charger and connect this to a 12v source. My caution here would be that the 12v system in a campervan / motorhome isn't always 12v, depending on the battery type and charging method it could go up to more than 15v.
For this reason I would always recommend using a regulated / stabilised power supply to avoid the risk of damaging the router and ensuring a constant 12v supply.
For example something similar to this amzn.to/42x90Bh
(NB I don't know if the plug on this would fit the router or it may need to be changed with the one from the mains lead.)
If you want to wire it direct (without a car accessory socket) - you could use one of these. amzn.to/3lBbo9u
Hope that helps
@@ExploreVanUK that's great thank you. So I need to be looking at a different model of puck?
@@berserkersden3951 Yes, this is the one you would need. amzn.to/3Zenram
@@ExploreVanUK and last one is the Huawei B310 4G Router similar. It has 2 connectors and is 4g
The B310 is only 4G Cat 4 - so will not perform as well (if there are multiple bands available) as the B535-232 which is 4G+ Cat 7.
It does have 2 x SMA connections though.
No Starlink in the UK?
Yep - we have StarLink in the UK but the cost is approximately 5x more (£100 per month) rather than unlimited LTE data (£20 per month) and there are limitations on use on the move and when you don't have a clear view of sky that make it not suitable for all.
We're planning to test out StarLink during our summer trip this year.
How do you get the discount code pls
Hi, which discount were you looking for?
@@ExploreVanUK for Solwise wanting to purchase a Poynting Mimo 3. ,🙏🙏
but WHAt is the speed
That all depends on various factors.
Check out our other detailed video reviews on the various solutions for how they perform.
And check out our seminar that we gave at the Adventure Overland show on all the factors that effect performance.
Well done these companies ripping you off just supplying kit with there name on it
The only one I would consider is Maxview as I now know they do manufacture their own antenna and the other products they use are ones we would recommend ourselves. Their RRP is slightly more than buying things separate but when on offer it’s possible to get a good deal.
Great video. Do you happen to know the password for the Huawei 4G + router as I am unable to configure it? Thanks
The default password for the web login is admin. The default password for the WiFi will be on the label.
If it has been previously configured you will need to factory reset it by holding the reset button for approx 10 seconds (the LEDs will go off and on again)
@ExploreVanUK thanks have tried to reset but no joy. Hoping its not a duff one seller assured me it was working!
Are you able to connect to the WiFi network?
What message do you get when you try to login to the settings page?
Have you tried both the App and a browser?
@ExploreVanUK I am going to try using my laptop, only tried using the app on my phone. It asks for the PW then when I put it in says wrong PW 3 attempts left, resets after a few minutes so try again.