WiFi internet connection.

Hi All,
 
I am thinking of installing a Maxview Roam WiFi system. I would be grateful for advice from people who have a WiFi set up. The questions are, should I go for 150Mbps or 300Mbps, how much data should I need on the Sim card, and which type of Sim card should I be looking at? Also I see it does not support a Captive Portal. Does this mean that it will not enhance the campsite WiFi?
 
Bernie.

I don't know about the product you mention but these have a good reputation on this subject and I used their kit when I did the same.
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Rich..

Thank you Rich,
I have now looked at motorhomewifi. It is similar to the Maxview products. I am now thinking of the Maxview Roam Combo WiFi and Terrestial TV Aerial. This will replace my present aerial and I would not need to drill a hole in the roof. Also all the connections would be in the wardrobe.
Bernie

We have one of these, works anywhere with a phone signal.
Sim card is 25Gb and 2 yr life whichever is used up first.
Superb, and we take it on non Mh trips too as usually better than hotel or other free ones...

OK we don't stream movies etc, works great for email/surfing to find information etc...Google it..
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HUAWEI E5577 White 4G Low-cost Travel Wi-Fi, Super-Fast Portable Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot – Long-lasting Battery

Great little unit Ian. 
The only thing I would add is that it doesn’t have connections for an external/roof antenna if this is something that is required. I had to buy the E5577cs-321 which has external ports although I believe the cs-321 is not a current model.

Hi David

Mine is  an E33F no idea if still current.
But, it does have an ext aerial socket, see pic.
Indeed we also have the aerial in the van but never used it, mainly because we've never had to!
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Not being tech savvy I had a Huawei with a 3 SIM card we put credit on before we went away. It worked quite well just placed on top of dashboard in the van . Like Ian we used it for searches and e mails.
I inherited our daughters I phone some time ago and recently our son in law activated the WiFi on it with a 3 SIM card so we use that as a hot spot for WiFi now. I didn’t think having WiFi on a phone was worth bothering with but it’s been quite useful.

IanH wrote:Hi David

Mine is  an E33F no idea if still current.
But, it does have an ext aerial socket, see pic.
Indeed we also have the aerial in the van but never used it, mainly because we've never had to!
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Sorry Ian, thought you had the basic E5577, I nearly made the mistake of buying one before I realised that it didn’t have the external ports I wanted. 
Must admit, mine works really well when I remove it from the van and use it as a portable standalone unit, in my experience much better than when I used my phone as a hotspot. Connecting it to the external antenna in the van, I’ve found gives at least an extra bar on the signal and a much more reliable connection.

We go to some pretty remote places David and rarely have had problems, indeed it has never occurred to me to use the aerials I have.

Interestingly we took it on a cruise the whole length of Norway last year. It proved better than the ship free wifi by a long way, as I say as soon as it sees a phone signal we're in business!

All it gets used for, though (for others I know you already know) is daily emails, sending photos back to relatives etc and googling if we need more info as to where we are or are going. Certainly not streaming films etc that would use the sim data in no time. The data card is 24Gb and has a life of 2 calendar years from first activation in it. So far we have never run out of data, just date!!

We have just installed a teltonika rutx50 router and a poynting 7.1 mimo antenna on our Nuevo motor home, it my be a bit over the top but it certainly works great with the EE and the Three SIM cards we live in rural Lincolnshire and getting good 5g reception from the mast some 4 miles away. The antenna is very neat on top of the van and was very easy to fit. These units are very expensive but should be future proof.   The price of the router has dropped a lot over the past month and we purchased ours from Solwise and used EXPOREVAN for 10% discount on both items. The GPS is also very useful and the Wi-Fi signal goes a long way due to the external antennas on the 7.1 poynting.   If you do purchase the router I would advise you to get the 12 volt cigarette lead as normal type will not fit.   Hope this help.

IanH wrote:We go to some pretty remote places David and rarely have had problems, indeed it has never occurred to me to use the aerials I have.

Interestingly we took it on a cruise the whole length of Norway last year. It proved better than the ship free wifi by a long way, as I say as soon as it sees a phone signal we're in business!

All it gets used for, though (for others I know you already know) is daily emails, sending photos back to relatives etc and googling if we need more info as to where we are or are going. Certainly not streaming films etc that would use the sim data in no time. The data card is 24Gb and has a life of 2 calendar years from first activation in it. So far we have never run out of data, just date!!

Hurtigruten? We have just got back from one of their coastal express cruises. Very good! We too just used our phones. Much better than ship’s Wi-Fi and we never failed to have a signal, but we were on the top decks.

We find that our iphones with unlimited data cover most needs. We do have a BT Minihub which occasionally seems to be more sensitive, and seems happier feeding multiple devices, but most of the time the phones are OK, even streaming. Our barge’s mooring is right by the Belgian/French border so we sometimes have signal issues, but we have never felt the need to spend serious money on external antennae etc. We just hang the Minihub up in the wheelhouse window.

We did try various external antennae up the mast etc. some years ago when based and cruising in the wilds of France but did not find any tangible benefit, although things might have changed now in terms of equipment quality. At the time we felt ripped off!

I would not be buying Maxview.

I use a TPlink M7350 with a Lyca mobile sim (100gb for £6. / month) runs on EE.

No drilling, put it on the dash and charge by USB - easy and no problems. 

Currently on a site near Falkirk with 25gb download, more than enough for footy and films. My average use is about 7gb / day - it's on all the time

I just put my iPhone either on the backrest of the seating or the roof hatch 
and use the phone as a hotspot 

Terry

The best solution rather depends on whether the motorhome is a coachbuilt or a panel van. We are in the latter category and with the foil-backed blinds deployed after dark our van becomes a Faraday cage and attenuates a weak phone signal to the point where broadband is unusable. This is when the external roof antenna really earns its keep.

Tim

Kemerton-bath wrote:The best solution rather depends on whether the motorhome is a coachbuilt or a panel van. We are in the latter category and with the foil-backed blinds deployed after dark our van becomes a Faraday cage and attenuates a weak phone signal to the point where broadband is unusable. This is when the external roof antenna really earns its keep.

Tim

No offence to anyone else but nice to hear from someone who speaks my language.  I worked in a Farady cage to calibrate automatic direction receivers for aircraft

My foam insulated but al foil coated workshop is a near perfect Faraday Cage

Monocoques in GRP are theoretically radio transparent, my wee Mifi works fine in most places