Good review. I'm about to press the button on their 5G indoor unit. I can say pre sale Sophie has answered my questions. They do have a new mobo coming out but she said that's next year. Found the specs on their website and its a Quad core unit with 512mb. Juicy. I agree with you re speed shaping etc. I was with Telstra in AUS and have switched to Optus 100GB more for $15 less, but it's not as fast even though signal strength is the same as they use the same tower. So I'll see how I go.
Hello, I was very impressed with your review of the 4G router you made some time ago now, particularly the way you tested it at sea, under real offshore conditions. Have looked at the Mi Fi Netgear Hawk M1 and possibly M2 as options for their portability and battery powering method, but for a similar cost, your system, although fixed, looks to be a serious option for us for coastal sailing in the UK and over to France etc in due course. If you have a contact to the company that supplied your unit, could you share this with us? I tried calling them but so far haven’t been able to connect. Many thanks. We will be cruising down to the West Country next spring and hope to reach Plymouth like you did!
We did use a similar MiFi but it wasn't very good. I generally try to go for prosumer / enterprise gear as we need a good connection for work. The issue with that MiFi is it doesn't appear to have any antennas so I'd guess that there are some signal strength compromises. You can email outdoor router and they're pretty responsive. I'm also testing a RUTX11 at the moment, slightly different as it's more of an indoor unit but there are pros/cons to each option. Upside of something mounted outside is you can sometimes get signal in some unusual/unexpexted places. Coming down past Portgual this summer we randomly got service for a few minutes ±36mn from shore on the outside of the SW TSS which was enough to get a grib file for the rest of our trip into the med as well as fire off a few whatsapp messages, golden.
Looks pretty cool. Wouldn't survive living on our railing though. My main criteria is that there are antenna and that those antenna are wired directly to the modem chip which reduces noise/improves signal quality. The problem with MiFi's is they have inbuilt antennas that are quite small. It's whatever works for you. If you phone works in your boat everywhere you go then a MiFi will. If you're going offshore and really need range ext. antennas will do better. The router had signal when my phone didn't. My backup solution is as good as a MiFi which is to put my a spare phone in a dry bag and pull it up the mast with a halyard (make sure to have a line to pull down).
I don't think that would be worth it. I have seen someone mount it top of mast which I'm not sure is the best idea as sometimes you need to change SIM etc. Just anywhere on the back of the boat clear of things that will knock it is generally good.
For sure! I am actually about to review the new version. After this video they said they would send me the next one to review pro-bono so that's nice. The WiFi has been great. We left the UK 6 weeks ago and I haven't tested the 4g as we've been super busy but next week I'm going to work on setting it up with a new SIM and seeing how it fairs.. but generally in the UK it was faultless. I'll do a side by side with new and old and we'll see where we get to.
Look forward to your new review, as we would like to install one as it looks to be the best solution for us. Will the company supply a 12 Volt power lead so that the router can be connected up to the ship’s 12 volt supply? Finally what is their “new version” compared to what you fitted originally? Is it just more stainless steel parts for corrosion resistance in harsh environments or a real upgrade of the router? Look forward to getting your help on this.
Hi again, Sophie Tong has been helpful at Outdoor Router and checking how we wire up the router directly to the ship’s DC supply and if they can provide us with a simple twin DC cable with the appropriate connector to go into the router. Is this how you did it to power the router when away from shore power? The plug and connector they supply is an AC to DC converter by the looks of it, so ok when plugged into shore power but not when at sea..Thanks
@@simonstell8018 There's a DC connector on the router it takes 9-48V so fine for the variance you get on most boats... They supply an optional DC connector or you can buy/reuse a connector from a 12v supply you have lying around and wire it in that way.
I think it was in an earlier video but we've rehomed the amazing Waffles. She didn't like sailing or water, swimming etc. and wasn't enjoying coastal/offshore passages. So instead of putting her through the trauma of the next few years of quite serious offshore sailing we decided that it would be more fair on her to find someone who was looking for a dog. In the end we rehomed her with a colleage's mum of Camilla's who had a 1yr younger cockapoo who was lonely. They're now best buddies and sleep in the same bed hugging each other in a house with a nice big garden. We're obviously very sad to not have her around as she was a joy but we had to do what was best for her in the end....we miss her a lot but it was the right decision for her.
Hello, just got the 2021 model. All working but no I internet connection, sim card is showing connected, did you gave to do any other settings to get fully up and running. Ta Simon
I just got the new one to do a test for and set it up yesterday. I didn't do anything other than popping the sim in. If it's showing as connected and there's some KB/MBs in both TX/RX it should be working. First thing to do is do a hard power reset. I've found that has worked in the past. If you're not seeing and traffic up/down it's possible that you might need to set some network settings. If you google APN + your network name you should find something.
@@ChasingMermaids Thanks for the info. I contacted Vodafone, which was a painful experience as so off script for them. Finally got the unit working and very impressed, will be putting at the top of the mast on our Dutch steel cruiser and time will tell
@@simonellis1131 Good stuff. I'm not sure that the top of the mast is a sensible place to put it, quite exposed. We also often find that we have to change SIM cards so somewhere a little more accessible might make sense. I guess it depends on circumstances
Good review. I'm about to press the button on their 5G indoor unit. I can say pre sale Sophie has answered my questions. They do have a new mobo coming out but she said that's next year. Found the specs on their website and its a Quad core unit with 512mb. Juicy.
I agree with you re speed shaping etc. I was with Telstra in AUS and have switched to Optus 100GB more for $15 less, but it's not as fast even though signal strength is the same as they use the same tower.
So I'll see how I go.
An outdoor rOOter means something completely different in Australia. You could go to jail for it ;)
Hello, I was very impressed with your review of the 4G router you made some time ago now, particularly the way you tested it at sea, under real offshore conditions.
Have looked at the Mi Fi Netgear Hawk M1 and possibly M2 as options for their portability and battery powering method, but for a similar cost, your system, although fixed, looks to be a serious option for us for coastal sailing in the UK and over to France etc in due course.
If you have a contact to the company that supplied your unit, could you share this with us? I tried calling them but so far haven’t been able to connect. Many thanks. We will be cruising down to the West Country next spring and hope to reach Plymouth like you did!
We did use a similar MiFi but it wasn't very good. I generally try to go for prosumer / enterprise gear as we need a good connection for work. The issue with that MiFi is it doesn't appear to have any antennas so I'd guess that there are some signal strength compromises.
You can email outdoor router and they're pretty responsive. I'm also testing a RUTX11 at the moment, slightly different as it's more of an indoor unit but there are pros/cons to each option.
Upside of something mounted outside is you can sometimes get signal in some unusual/unexpexted places.
Coming down past Portgual this summer we randomly got service for a few minutes ±36mn from shore on the outside of the SW TSS which was enough to get a grib file for the rest of our trip into the med as well as fire off a few whatsapp messages, golden.
Looks pretty cool. Wouldn't survive living on our railing though. My main criteria is that there are antenna and that those antenna are wired directly to the modem chip which reduces noise/improves signal quality. The problem with MiFi's is they have inbuilt antennas that are quite small.
It's whatever works for you. If you phone works in your boat everywhere you go then a MiFi will. If you're going offshore and really need range ext. antennas will do better. The router had signal when my phone didn't.
My backup solution is as good as a MiFi which is to put my a spare phone in a dry bag and pull it up the mast with a halyard (make sure to have a line to pull down).
would you consider mounting this on a gimbal?
I don't think that would be worth it. I have seen someone mount it top of mast which I'm not sure is the best idea as sometimes you need to change SIM etc. Just anywhere on the back of the boat clear of things that will knock it is generally good.
I wonder how far you'd increase the range by mounting at the top of the mast vs. the antenna mast on the stern
Not sure but would make swapping the SIM card or resetting it when you mess up the settings a lot trickier.
So 6 months has passed can you tell me how you getting on with the router and has it held up to task?
For sure! I am actually about to review the new version. After this video they said they would send me the next one to review pro-bono so that's nice. The WiFi has been great. We left the UK 6 weeks ago and I haven't tested the 4g as we've been super busy but next week I'm going to work on setting it up with a new SIM and seeing how it fairs.. but generally in the UK it was faultless. I'll do a side by side with new and old and we'll see where we get to.
Look forward to your new review, as we would like to install one as it looks to be the best solution for us. Will the company supply a 12 Volt power lead so that the router can be connected up to the ship’s 12 volt supply?
Finally what is their “new version” compared to what you fitted originally? Is it just more stainless steel parts for corrosion resistance in harsh environments or a real upgrade of the router? Look forward to getting your help on this.
Hi again, Sophie Tong has been helpful at Outdoor Router and checking how we wire up the router directly to the ship’s DC supply and if they can provide us with a simple twin DC cable with the appropriate connector to go into the router. Is this how you did it to power the router when away from shore power? The plug and connector they supply is an AC to DC converter by the looks of it, so ok when plugged into shore power but not when at sea..Thanks
@@simonstell8018 There's a DC connector on the router it takes 9-48V so fine for the variance you get on most boats... They supply an optional DC connector or you can buy/reuse a connector from a 12v supply you have lying around and wire it in that way.
update on waffles??
I think it was in an earlier video but we've rehomed the amazing Waffles. She didn't like sailing or water, swimming etc. and wasn't enjoying coastal/offshore passages. So instead of putting her through the trauma of the next few years of quite serious offshore sailing we decided that it would be more fair on her to find someone who was looking for a dog.
In the end we rehomed her with a colleage's mum of Camilla's who had a 1yr younger cockapoo who was lonely. They're now best buddies and sleep in the same bed hugging each other in a house with a nice big garden. We're obviously very sad to not have her around as she was a joy but we had to do what was best for her in the end....we miss her a lot but it was the right decision for her.
Hi,where did you buy??
Pleace contact
Hello, just got the 2021 model. All working but no I internet connection, sim card is showing connected, did you gave to do any other settings to get fully up and running.
Ta Simon
I just got the new one to do a test for and set it up yesterday. I didn't do anything other than popping the sim in. If it's showing as connected and there's some KB/MBs in both TX/RX it should be working. First thing to do is do a hard power reset. I've found that has worked in the past.
If you're not seeing and traffic up/down it's possible that you might need to set some network settings. If you google APN + your network name you should find something.
@@ChasingMermaids Thanks for the info. I contacted Vodafone, which was a painful experience as so off script for them. Finally got the unit working and very impressed, will be putting at the top of the mast on our Dutch steel cruiser and time will tell
@@simonellis1131 Good stuff. I'm not sure that the top of the mast is a sensible place to put it, quite exposed. We also often find that we have to change SIM cards so somewhere a little more accessible might make sense. I guess it depends on circumstances
👍
Why bother with a vpn always made me laugh