Mobile Wifi / Mifi - not cheap - but works !

Now we can finally take a caravan holiday, I have finally been able to test out the Mobile Wifi set up I bought last year. I researched on numerous forums and didn't find much that provided the answers I was interested in so thought I'd add a write up here.

Our caravan visits are a fairly even split between club sites and CLs. But are frequently in the more rural areas such as Lake District, Snowdonia, New Forest, Norfolk Broads etc.

On some club sites I have tried the club WiFi with generally underwhelming results, either weak signal because it varies across the site; or slow. And when staying in CLs in the Lakes, New Forest and Broads and trying I found data signal strength on my smartphone to poor to non-existent.

So I wanted to invest in some kit that can make the most of whatever 3G / 4G data signal is available in areas where coverage is often some of the worst.

And I was already aware that the antenna built in to the average smartphone is tiny; and although there are numerous "MiFi" type dongles and routers (with built in and only marginally bigger antennas) they enable sharing of a single SIM data add-on across multiple devices via the WiFi but the are unlikely to make much of an improvement in receiving the available signal.

This article was a big help https://www.solwise.co.uk/4g-lte-antenna-considerations.html  because you learn that an solid multi directional antenna installed outside and reasonably high is more important that a high-gain directional antenna.

The set up I invested in is

• Teltonika RUT950 which is a dual sim 3G/4G router https://www.netxl.com/3g-4g-routers/teltonika-rut950-compact-highly-reliable-4g-router-for-professionals/
• Poynting XPOL1 Omni Antenna which is two antennas in one housing/twin cable antenna which comes with  5, long cables that can be screwed directly to the ariel sockets on the RUT950
• I didn't fancy screwing or suctioning the antenna on to the van, so it is mounted on a 4m tall mast https://www.visionplus.co.uk/shop/telescopic-4-section-mast.html  which uses 2 brackets to clamp on to the jockey wheel top and bottom https://www.visionplus.co.uk/shop/jockey-wheel-bracket.html 

Just returned from 2 weeks on a CL in the Lake District - works brilliantly, I was able to do a number of Zoom conference video calls; watch various streaming sources including Netflix, iPlayer and SkyGo.  All played perfectly, used about 30Gb over 2 weeks.

Set up is extremely easy - insert the SIM, change the SSID and WiFi password, change the Admin password; and select the appropriate APN - it connected instantly and remained stable; fast connection and hassle free.

Some stats for comparison

• according to a signal finder App on my smartphone, signal strength outdoors for the smartphone averaged around -117dBm 4G LTE which it categorised as "low", and equates to an occasionally slowish/painful for simple website browsing.
• Whereas the RUT950/APOL1 on a tall mast delivered approx -67dBm and I did a few video calls or streamed movies etc perfectly

• The 5m cable/4m mast allows the antenna to be at the top of the mast when it is on full extension well above the caravan, with enough cable to route under the caravan and in to the side pod where there is a mains socket - which effectively puts the routers WiFi under my bench-sofa so a great WiFi signal everywhere within the van, outside in the awning or when sitting outside the awning enjoying the sunshine.

So it works great - I do not deny it is not cheap. The complete set up doesn't give much change from £300, but to put that in to context a 50Gb add on costs £30 (which Ive bought before and then had no signal) and a 2 week CL is £200 - so over a 3-5 life span I am happy with my investment. As they say "You get what you pay for"; buy cheap-buy twice;  buy-once-cry-once ! LOL

Hope this helps others that want to get the best mobile data connection in the some of this country's most scenic but worst 3G/4G coverage areas.