Wi-Fi

Paul Mckay 1965 · Jan 8, 2023

Hi has anyone got and advice on getting a Wi-Fi connection in our California

Californication69 · Jan 8, 2023

NETGEAR AirCard Mobile Hotspot 4G LTE Router(AC797), Mifi, Unlocked Portable Wifi, Connect up to 15 Devices with Download Speeds up to 400 Mbps https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07SHG6MDJ?tag=eliteelect-21

Californication69 · Jan 8, 2023

and a SIM card from EE costs £8 a month piggybacked on the wife’s 100GB of data. Can share and transfer data to the sim card

Azteccamper · Jan 8, 2023

Californication69 said:
and a SIM card from EE costs £8 a month piggybacked on the wife’s 100GB of data. Can share and transfer data to the sim card

Isn’t it easier to just tether your device to wife’s phone? Or do you use multiple devices similtanously? I have often thought about getting mobile Wi-Fi but just use my phone - it has 160gb p/m data.

Jester · Jan 9, 2023

Paul Mckay 1965 said:
Hi has anyone got and advice on getting a Wi-Fi connection in our California

For reliability a proper Wi-Fi router and antenna is the way to go, using a phone is great if you have a reasonable signal but a majority of the sites are in a poor reception area, so streaming is hit and miss. It’s obvious a dedicated router/antenna will outperform a phone. It all boils down to how important a strong reliable signal is to you.

Californication69 · Jan 9, 2023

Or you can go for
NETGEAR 4G Router With Sim Slot Unlocked MR1100 - Download Speeds of up to 1 Gbps | WiFi Connect Up to 20 Devices | Mobile wifi router | Mifi device https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079H2LX8X?tag=eliteelect-21
And antenna:
A1TECHSTORE 35DBI 3G 4G LTE TS9 Antenna fits HUAWEI Router Mobile Broadband https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00L57AL10?tag=eliteelect-21
Which I used to use and was really good. But expensive.

Californication69 · Jan 9, 2023

Azteccamper said:
Isn’t it easier to just tether your device to wife’s phone? Or do you use multiple devices similtanously? I have often thought about getting mobile Wi-Fi but just use my phone - it has 160gb p/m data.

If you want to download email and offline maps yes. And you have a wife

Horses for courses.
If you can afford a wifi dongal it’s reccomended to have one.
I find the tethering painful, and often disconnects.
And the wife complains if she’s scrolling scrolling scrolling. It stops.
Sometimes she has to reboot her phone as it gets too hot.

dspuk · Jan 9, 2023

Tethering is by far the quickest, easiest and cheapest solution. Like most things in life that alone will do you 80% of the time. We managed no issues. You could spend a couple of hundred on a antenna and dedicated router, which will also need a sim. Worth noting the signal cannot be made better, it is what it is, but in many cases can be “boosted” just by sheer fact of having a higher dedicated external antenna spot. We get a similar effect by just putting the phone higher in the van. A lot will also depend on whose sim you use and what masts they have in the area. Our current setup is via our dash-cam which has a dedicated windscreen mounted sim. This is primarily for cloud upload and connectivity to the cam but with the added bonus we can hotspot 4 devices to it. Came with a Vodafone unlimited sim for EU costing 4 quid a month. We now use that and while it’s akin to the phone for strength it’s worked perfectly for us.

Cali Phillip · Jan 9, 2023

dspuk said:
Tethering is by far the quickest, easiest and cheapest solution. Like most things in life that will do you 80% of the time. We managed no issues. You could spend a couple of hundred on a antenna and dedicated router, which will also need a sim. Worth noting the signal cannot be made better, it is what it is, but in many cases can be “boosted” just by sheer fact of having a higher dedicated external antenna spot. We get a similar effect by just putting the phone higher in the van. A lot will also depend on whose sim you use and what masts they have in the area. Our current setup is via our dash-cam which has a dedicated windscreen mounted sim. This is primarily for cloud upload and connectivity to the cam but with the added bonus we can hotspot 4 devices to it. Came with a Vodafone unlimited sim for EU costing 4 quid a month. We now use that and while it’s akin to the phone for strength it’s worked perfectly for us.

I looked into external antenna but keeping the 2 metre height. I enquired with our work antenna suppliers who do a range and import / test antenna for something suitable mostly for uk. EE best range for 4g is on 800mhz band, basically most small profile antennas were designed for min 900mhz so are poor at 800mhz, excepting for height and less obstruction and maybe dual polarisation if you opt for a larger antenna on top of the van.
Ended up not bothering as it would need to temporarily fixed antenna, possible but pain if wild camping.

dspuk · Jan 9, 2023

Phillip T said:
I looked into external antenna but keeping the 2 metre height. I enquired with our work antenna suppliers who do a range and import / test antenna for something suitable mostly for uk. EE best range for 4g is on 800mhz band, basically most small profile antennas were designed for min 900mhz so are poor at 800mhz, excepting for height and less obstruction and maybe dual polarisation if you opt for a larger antenna on top of the van.
Ended up not bothering as it would need to temporarily fixed antenna, possible but pain if wild camping.

Exactly that. As I say, reality is a hotspot from a phone, placed as high up in the van as you can if the signal is a bit iffy, works fine for most use cases.

We prop ours up on the front near the upper light switches if needed.

The unit we have on the top right of our windscreen with the sim in it from our dash-cam is effectively a hotspot which is the sim and antenna part of a mobile phone.

It’s no better than the phone in reality but gives us more mast options as my phone is EE and the dash unit is Vodafone. It’s also perm connected to the dash-cam so allows that to upload automatically and for me to connect to the cam over the cloud to watch people eyeing up the van!

Cali Phillip · Jan 9, 2023

dspuk said:
Exactly that. As I say, reality is a hotspot from a phone, placed as high up in the van as you can if the signal is a bit iffy, works fine for most use cases.

We prop ours up on the front near the upper light switches if needed.

The unit we have on the top right of our windscreen with the sim in it from our dash-cam is effectively a hotspot which is the sim and antenna part of a mobile phone.

It’s no better than the phone in reality but gives us more mast options as my phone is EE and the dash unit is Vodafone. It’s also perm connected to the dash-cam so allows that to upload automatically and for me to connect to the cam over the cloud to watch people eyeing up the van!

Yes EE have the ESN network contract to cover all the road network, even remote minor roads on the isle of Rum !
BT use the same EE network and often a deal with the sims and home BT packages like double data

Skylark2.0 · May 13, 2023

We have had many years of use from the VW router that was fitted in out van at purchase. The antenna on the roof provides a reasonable WiFi even when phones are limping. Several people can use it at once and it's easy. It has been amazing, I would not have picked it as an option at the time, but it has been amazing.
Annoyingly, it is 3G so will not work soon as it comes from a different world! I would like to replace it. Is there anyone else on here that has replaced their old glove box router and what Di you get?
All contributions welcome!