Yes, it’s a large, directional, antenna. It’s specifically designed for locations where a mobile phone doesn’t even pick up a signal.
It’s powered off PoE, 12V, 24 V or 48V from your vans electrical system.
So my thinking is you have a pole mounted on the van. When you park up, you slot the antenna over the pole, hook up the power and you’re away.
And it IS the router. You would want a wireless access point - something like a Ubiquiti UniFi UAP-AC-Mesh would be where I’d be looking.
If you want something smaller then there is the MikroTik SXT LTE CAT6 which has two SIM slots and is also the router.
Excellent, thank you. I wasn't aware these existed!
With the Ubiquiti UniFi UAP-AC-Mesh, could I get a more discreet alternative, such as the Google Wifi - Mesh Wifi Router (£68) which would do the same thing in a smaller package, or are there noticeable differences here?
Could I please ask how you think a setup like this compares to, for example, having a router - let's say the Cat7 Huawei B535-333 (£85) for example, along with a cheapish puck antenna?
Or, the ridiculously expensive (£280) Netgear M1, which seems to be the typical choice for campervans, along with an antenna?
I'm struggling to get my head around how everything compares for the money/convenience. Any advice would be very much appreciated!
Actually, thinking about this, a Uniquiti UniFi UAP-AC-IW would only need 1 PoE power source because the access point has a PoE pass-through port And you could power the LHG or SXT off the access point.
MikroTik also make a device called wAP LTE which has the AC access point built into the 4G modem, but it’s not a particularly sensitive antenna so I wouldn’t recommend it for remote locations.
Finally, MikroTik make a vehicle specific device - ltAP LTE6 which has a sensitive LTE antenna array, three SIM slots and 2.4GHz access point in one box. It’s also a vehicle tracker with GPS. Again, the antenna isn’t as good as the LHG, but it might be good enough.
I like the appeal of your first point here. Admittedly, that would be useful. I'd still prefer to have as few things attached to the outside of the van, in case someone decided to help themselves to them at some point!
The ItAP LTE6 sounds interesting. Which device(s) would I need to run alongside that for my needs? From what I can gather, that's a router, antenna, and access point all in one? But, admittedly, I'm getting a little lost/overwhelmed by it all now, haha!
With a directional antenna you would need to point it at the cell tower. These recommendations really depend on how remote you want to get.
I assume that these antennas will always have a much better chance of getting signal in challenging scenarios than a comparable 'puck' alternative, right?
Out of curiosity - in a situation where you have ZERO network, how would you know where to point the antenna?
It’s to do with carrier aggregation. Current basic modems deliver about 150Mbps download speed. That’s theoretical, you won’t ever see that. 150 down/50 up devices are termed CAT4.
Some carriers (EE definitely) allow you to aggregate streams so you can combine two 150Mbps streams to get a single (theoretical) 300Mbps stream and devices that do that are described as CAT6. Confusingly, there is another standard 300 down/75 up which is CAT5. Which makes zero sense.
This aggregation can get quite extreme - Mikrotik’s latest Chateau LTE is currently rated CAT24 so theoretically it is aggregating 8 data streams and if you are in the right place at the right time you can see gigabit download speeds on 4G with such equipment.
For what you want, CAT3, 4 or 6 will be fine. One nice feature of the Mikritik devices is the 4G modems are all mini-PCIe cards so if they release a CAT18 modem for the LHG you can swap them out. It’s a pain to do it because of the casing is put together, but it is possible.
Great advice, thank you.
I'm even more curious as to how a Cat 4 Mikritik (example) compares to the likes of a Cat7 "generic" device such as the Huawei I mentioned above with an external antenna? Also regarding the likes of the dual-sim Teletonika RUT950/955, etc.
The options are frying my brain!
Can't you simply pair to your phone's data while on the move? When driving around, you're more likely to find data signal, I'd imagine? (I'm sure not some locations, but generally yes).
Then you have starlink for when you're static/remote without access to cellular data...
Best of both worlds
I can, yes. This is what I've been doing up until now. However, being in a metal cage really doesn't help with getting decent signal, and sometimes I want to be able to use the phone inside. It also drains the battery having it on hotspot for long periods.
I figured having an external antenna and connecting to a router would likely be a more useful solution for being both static, and on the move, given that some can be had quite reasonably.
This would also help for those times when I don't want to go through the faff of setting up Starlink/worried about it getting stolen/getting frustrated with its power consumption.
I definitely hear what you're saying, though. Thank you. Hotspotting is just a PITA for long-periods.
We do this in our Campervan, very remote areas = no signal, live in rural Wales and have covered Scotland many times. (Never use campsites always wild camping)
For Scotland EE is the best all-rounder.
We use Teltonica router fixed permanently to the Van with a fixed roof antenna, also carry 2 other mobile MiFi routers on different carriers.
Carry EE, Three, and o2 sims with us and our mobiles.
You still have to move your chosen location sometimes to find a signal, many very mountainous/remote areas are just a NO go for any signal.
Starlink may work it those locations but the 100w power draw will kill your batteries even with solar unless it's the summer months.
The one thing that will help you is, be as high up as you can location wise and have a good antenna setup on the roof, inside is just a faraday cage.
Very interesting, and admittedly voids a couple of my previous points. Thank you for the insight.
I'm guessing that you don't feel your existing equipment is the limitation here, and that no router/antenna would've been able to source a usable signal in those areas? Upgraded equipment, raised antenna, etc?
Starlink as an occasional backup plan is definitely sounding like the answer now. They've also updated it with the power draw now being nearer 30W, from my understanding.
I'll have 280aH lithium setup with a B2B charger, so power is sourceable but admittedly a 4G setup is going to be much more ideal 24/7.
Correct. Cellular base stations are expensive, so they are placed in locations where they take enough traffic to pay their way.
If you need to guarantee your ability to make calls or send/receive data in remote rural locations, you need a satellite based system.
I can't blame them, in all fairness!
