Wifi / Cell Boosters

[stephen99]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

I prefer a permanently mounted antenna since i use it every day, sometimes while driving (I use WiFi to connect my AT&T iPhone to a Verizon jetpack for data when I'm driving in a non AT&T area). The real reason I switched to the WirEng antenna was that it didn't need a ground plane, and was smooth enough that I could leave it on the trailer when I covered it for the winter.

Jon,

I took a look at your blog to see where you placed your antenna. In the photo highlighting your new tow vehicle I see the WirEng antenna mount high up on the drivers side. My original intent was to pole mount the antenna and from the photos of the device online it appears that is the type of mount that is supplied. How did you attach it to the side of the trailer? Do you have any photos showing a closer view of the mounting? Thanks.

[nrthwds]

Okay I see what you did, sorry I misunderstood. Trying to visualize without seeing the camper.. Thanks for sending photo, makes it easier to understand!! Appreciate you help!

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by stephen99

Jon,

I took a look at your blog to see where you placed your antenna. In the photo highlighting your new tow vehicle I see the WirEng antenna mount high up on the drivers side. My original intent was to pole mount the antenna and from the photos of the device online it appears that is the type of mount that is supplied. How did you attach it to the side of the trailer? Do you have any photos showing a closer view of the mounting? Thanks.

The pole mount does have the advantage that it provides extra height, but unless it is permanently attached, makes it impossible to use while traveling.

The stock mounting bracket is stainless steel, and permanently attached to the base of the antenna. I left off the "U" bolt that comes with it (normally used to attach it to a mast, and bolted it to the side of the trailer. (Sorry Glenn - but I do make holes in the trailer!)

The fitting used as a feed through is a Nylon Cable Gland (although maybe not the same size as I linked to). In any case, I chose one large enough for the connector to fit through & filled the space around the coax with electrician's putty.

[stephen99]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

The pole mount does have the advantage that it provides extra height, but unless it is permanently attached, makes it impossible to use while traveling.

The stock mounting bracket is stainless steel, and permanently attached to the base of the antenna. I left off the "U" bolt that comes with it (normally used to attach it to a mast, and bolted it to the side of the trailer. (Sorry Glenn - but I do make holes in the trailer!)

The fitting used as a feed through is a Nylon Cable Gland (although maybe not the same size as I linked to). In any case, I chose one large enough for the connector to fit through & filled the space around the coax with electrician's putty.

Only attached to the fiberglass shell with some flat washers and nuts or is there some reinforcement added?

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by stephen99

Only attached to the fiberglass shell with some flat washers and nuts or is there some reinforcement added?

I used stainless steel fender washers inside the trailer to spread out the pressure on the fiberglass.

[nrthwds]

Did you use this cable from Amazon?
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=ATVPDKIKX0DER
I talked to Wilson and they said I would need an adapter to connect to the weboost cradle.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

[Vermilye]

While it appears that this is the correct cable, I used the one that came with the WirEng antenna. I don't remember if I needed an adapter at the Sleek, but mine may be different from the newer WeBoost. In any case, the adapters are available from Amazon or Wilson.

[nrthwds]

The listing from Amazon I sent you doesn't come with the cable and can't find any other listing on Amazon with one.
I found these at a different site. Which one do you have, the 50? It comes with the cable at this site.
Bta-50-ohm Wireng Boatant Marine Fully Enclosed Antenna Amplifiers Boosters Repeaters Modems 705688761792
this is the cable it comes with
https://www.amazon.com/ULL240-Coaxia...=1&*entries*=0

Does that mean you have to use with 12v electric only... was going to buy the 120v adapter

[stephen99]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

I used stainless steel fender washers inside the trailer to spread out the pressure on the fiberglass.

Thanks, Jon

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by nrthwds

The listing from Amazon I sent you doesn't come with the cable and can't find any other listing on Amazon with one.
I found these at a different site. Which one do you have, the 50? It comes with the cable at this site.
Bta-50-ohm Wireng Boatant Marine Fully Enclosed Antenna Amplifiers Boosters Repeaters Modems 705688761792
this is the cable it comes with
https://www.amazon.com/ULL240-Coaxia...=1&*entries*=0

Does that mean you have to use with 12v electric only... was going to buy the 120v adapter

Amazon must have changed suppliers since I bought mine. The cable you linked to has an N connector on both ends - not what you want. The cable you need is shown in the "Frequently bought together" section below the antenna image on the Amazon page for the antenna. Check this link for a cable with a N male connector (the antenna end) and a FME female connector (almost the Sleek end). You will need an adapter to make the final connection to the Sleek - a FME-Male to SMA-Male Connector. Of course this is what I have to connect the antenna to MY Sleek. I checked the connector that is on the Wilson supplied short antenna that comes with the WeBoost & it is a male SMA, so I believe that the linked adapter will do the trick. If you are concerned, I'd call Wilson & ask - while you may have a long wait to get through, their technical support is very good.

As to power, the WeBoost 4G-S comes with a 12V connector that converts the 12V to a USB connector (and voltage). If you want to run the WeBoost on 120v, Amazon sells a Wilson Home/Office Accessory kit that will provide a 120V to USB connector (and voltage).

[nrthwds]

Jon, Thanks for all the info I just got home and will have to read through it better tomorrow. From what I did understand, the Amazon boat antenna and the frequently bought items are correct, I think it is a RG-58U. The other site confused me as they said the other cable that they make is better ULL240 and comes with the boat antenna as you said yours did. See this: Boatantâ„¢ Marine Antenna for Modems Hotspots Routers Boosters Fully Enclosed Omni | eBay
I will read it again tomorrow, too much for my mind tonight.
Thanks for the help!

[Vermilye]

Since the link in the last post states the lower loss cable is included, complete with an adapter to the WeBoost, that is obviously the way to go. If you purchase the antenna from a supplier where the cable is not included, Amazon does offer a low loss N male to FME Female cable.

I can't find loss specifications for the low loss cable to compare it to RG58-U, but anything that provides a better signal to the amp is useful, and may be worth the extra cost. You will still need the FME male to SMA male adapter...

[nrthwds]

The ebay listing will cost less than Amazon as you have to pay for cable and adaptor.
With this cable instead of the 58 the total from either comes out about 150 ebay to canada, 152 amazon but still have to check on shipping from amazon to canada. Called Amazon, they will not ship to Canada, they would ship to me and then I would have to ship to Canada because of their Canada website that only sells them in the double format. I am going to email the ebay seller and see. According to their listing they ship to canada for $47. So $150 and then the adaptor for the sleek.
This is so much fun!

[nrthwds]

Jon, which weboost cradle model do you have? I read some older ones have a higher gain?
I think I am going to go with the cradle and no mounted antenna. I'll use the magnetic one it comes with and upgrade to a better antenna after pickup trip if needed and pole mount. That way I can use in car and trailer with same hook up. Have Escape put an electric access port on PS front cabinet and can use the 12v plug there to power it. Don't need to add one. I may get reading lites on all 4 positions so that if I need to add electric I will have a source. Are they 12 volt I would think. Do you have the extra reading lites.... do you need them to read or are the regular overhead lites okay. Don't know where I would add outlets really. Are the 120v single or double?

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by nrthwds

Jon, which weboost cradle model do you have? I read some older ones have a higher gain?
I think I am going to go with the cradle and no mounted antenna. I'll use the magnetic one it comes with and upgrade to a better antenna after pickup trip if needed and pole mount. That way I can use in car and trailer with same hook up. Have Escape put an electric access port on PS front cabinet and can use the 12v plug there to power it. Don't need to add one. I may get reading lites on all 4 positions so that if I need to add electric I will have a source. Are they 12 volt I would think. Do you have the extra reading lites.... do you need them to read or are the regular overhead lites okay. Don't know where I would add outlets really. Are the 120v single or double?

My cradle is an older Sleek (prior to the move to WeBoost). I don't have the model # handy, but it is the version that has a switch to go between AT&T & Verizon. The best measured gain I have had from it is 23db.

No reading lights, however due to "older eyes", I did change out the fixtures over the head of my bed (and the front table as well) to double fixtures. I can turn on one light for normal use & two for reading, eating, etc. I suspect the next trailer will have a pair of reading lights at the head end of the bed. All the lights in an Escape are 12V & all but the range vent are LED.

The 120v receptacles are duplex. I switched the single gang box for a double gang at the kitchen receptacle so I could use one side for hook up feed AC & the other for the output of my inverter.

Since I often charge a bunch of camera batteries, I added a 6 outlet tap to the duplex outlet in the front face of the closet to make it easier to plug in multiple chargers.

[stephen99]

My original intent was to have a mast mounted antenna as part of a wifi booster setup but then saw mention of the Ubiquiti products on this forum. That seemed like a better idea if it actually worked. I could move the system from trailer to tow vehicle easily. So if there's no wifi at the campground you can move the system to the tow and connect via hotspots while on a supply run into town. So I bought the NanoStation loco M2 and airGateway and sat down with some ethernet cables and the video mentioned by redtaco99 in post number 12.

I can't say I didn't have any problems but most of the issues I faced were caused by either not following the directions or by being impatient. I was able to connect to my home wifi network via the M2. Ok, now for the real test. Go to the local superstore area and see if I can connect to anybody's wifi while sitting in my car. The POE that comes with the M2 requires 120VAC. That's a bit of a bummer. Wish they made one that used 12VDC. To get around that problem while in the tow or while camping without hookups I bought a small Bestek 400 watt inverter.

Hooked everything up and fired up the laptop and entered the IP address of the M2. Went to the screen that shows the available SSIDs and there were many. Connected to a Applebees that was roughly 300 ft away, a Taco Bell maybe 400 ft away and a superstore wifi that the M2 screen said was .3 miles away. I was pretty happy. Looks like the Ubiquiti system will do the job.

I have a question for any tech gurus out there. Am I safe from prying eyes because I have my Ubiquiti network between me and the public wifi? Or would I still need to go through a VPN for safety?

[jxoco]

I found that a bazooka tube type of antenna worked best

http://www.terra-wave.com/shop/files...4150Y13620.pdf

and that the "usb amplifer on the antenna" would stop working in cold weather, around 0 degrees Celsius.

But now the cell phone data plan beats them all.

[bdornbush]

Originally Posted by stephen99

I have a question for any tech gurus out there. Am I safe from prying eyes because I have my Ubiquiti network between me and the public wifi? Or would I still need to go through a VPN for safety?

I always use a VPN when I am on wifi other than my own or family or close friend. Ubiquiti does not protect you against others using the same wifi as anyone on a wifi network can snoop on anyone else on the same network regardless of how they get to the network.

[stephen99]

Originally Posted by bdornbush

I always use a VPN when I am on wifi other than my own or family or close friend. Ubiquiti does not protect you against others using the same wifi as anyone on a wifi network can snoop on anyone else on the same network regardless of how they get to the network.

Thanks, Bill.

[stephen99]

I need to ship my BoatAnt antenna to Escape for installation on the trailer. I'm looking at two cables to choose from. Each is about $20. The first is a Wilson 20 ft RG58 Low Loss Foam. The second is a Times Microwave LMR-400. The LMR-400 is 7 ft and about twice the diameter of the RG58. Length isn't important. Seven ft would be plenty. I know little about the differences in cables and hope one of the wise souls on the board can guide me in my choice.