12v supply for my mifi (wifi). (1 Viewer)

[GMLS]

Still, when you consider where we are from 10 years ago... what is there to complain about!

Tell that to my teenage son ! lol

 

[ambulancekidd]

I was told, but I cannot prove, that EE is supposed to have the best coverage in Scotland as they were the chosen provider for the emergency services, and are therefore contracted to provide a minimum level of cover for the whole of the country.

The emergency services have the ability & do roam from provider to provider where neccessary.
My ears pricked up when I read you OP as mifi should be my next motorhome modification.
Its been a while since I was on Arran (too long, beautiful island) & can't remember what the signal was like.

Please keep us posted with your results on MiFi, I'm really curious.

 

[TinTentTourist]

Please keep us posted with your results on MiFi, I'm really curious.

I'll try and do that. I have had a lot of help of this site, I'll see if I can give a little back.

OMG it's just arrived! It's so small, and the aerial ports are tiny!!

I'll see if I can post some pics as I had no idea really of it's actual size!

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[TinTentTourist]

 

[TinTentTourist]

Well, the Mimo aerial has now arrived... bit of a brute.. but it will be out of sight and it is certainly a more robust design than the other. It will withstand any wind and will not cause wind noise when travelling or parked up. Since it will fit flat to the roof, there will be no mounting to be worried about. I like this recommendation, thanks.

And I am sure you will have the answer to this bit too.... It's too big... it will never fit in there!

 

[Lenny HB]

I took the sticky pad off the MIMO and mounted it with Sikaflex.
I had to buy 2 pairs of cables to end up with the right connector cost about £25 for the 4. need to keep them as short as possible to minimise losses.

I used a 300mm SMA Male /Female lead and a 200mm SMA Female to TS9 lead.
You need to be careful with the TS9 connector as the spacing between the sockets is tight, I bought ones with plastic R/A connectors and had to cut them down.

This is the SMA lead
Here are some TS9 leads (the one I bought no longer listed).

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[TinTentTourist]

The cables have arrived, I went for the 30cm ones at £6 each, and took only two days to arrive. I hope to find a location that will not require any longer cables. Seem well made, metal 90 degree plugs are a snug fit, but there is plenty of room for both of them next to each other.
cables... click to see the ebay cables I bought.

I just need a chance to fit it all now, a bit of sunlight, no rain or howling gales would be nice!

 

[Phill D]

hi TinTentTourist looks good. and i am very interested. do you have a photo og the underside of the antenna unit please? so i have a reasonable idea of the protrusion on the underside.

 

[Lenny HB]

View attachment 357204
The cables have arrived, I went for the 30cm ones at £6 each, and took only two days to arrive. I hope to find a location that will not require any longer cables. Seem well made, metal 90 degree plugs are a snug fit, but there is plenty of room for both of them next to each other.
cables... click to see the ebay cables I bought.

I just need a chance to fit it all now, a bit of sunlight, no rain or howling gales would be nice!

You are still going to need an adaptor or an sma female to female cable.

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[Otter Spotter]

Sorry late to this thread,
I have a Huawe E5577c kit with the boaster and aerial from mifi works very well with an EE SIM card. I have used on Shetland and on the roads up to Aberdeen and back with no problem. EE have the best coverage in Scotland.

 

[Phill D]

any one have a view on this antenna it seems reasonably priced;

Solwise - Poynting 2-IN-1 High Performance, small size antenna; 2×2 MIMO LTE: 690 MHz – 3800 MHz PUCK-2 | Solwise Ltd

www.solwise.co.uk

 

[TinTentTourist]

Lanny HB - Damn!!! I thought the two adaptors that came with the aerial would do the job, I now realise they are all the same, so yes I do need more connectors! A male to male or a male to female if I use the supplied adaptors...

Edit to correct a misconception by me... it would appear that the pin inside the sma connections denotes the gender not the fact one screws into the other.. so pin in the middle, male (Please correct me if I am getting this wrong, and if anyone has a link to the recommended item that would be great!)

Phill D I hope this pic helps, with a £ coin for scale

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[Manic]

Smarty sim seem expensive for 2gb at £7.50

 

[DBK]

I would avoid adding unnecessary adaptors, every joint reduces the signal. These leads should have the right ends to connect to the antenna.

Amazon product ASIN B07D6LNBXR
Link Removed

 

[Otter Spotter]

Smarty sim seem expensive for 2gb at £7.50

Agreed £20 per month for 20gb, from EE but I know there have recently been better deals than that.

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[Lenny HB]

I would avoid adding unnecessary adaptors, every joint reduces the signal. These leads should have the right ends to connect to the antenna.

Amazon product ASIN B07D6LNBXR
Link Removed

They are only 150mm I think he needs 300 mm, that's why I ended up using 2 leads couldn't get the length with the right fittings.

 

[Lenny HB]

Agreed £20 per month for 20gb, from EE but I know there have recently been better deals than that.

Addi of Motorhome wifi said he could do a Vodafone one 110GB for £18, 12 month contract.

 

[Lenny HB]

any one have a view on this antenna it seems reasonably priced;

Solwise - Poynting 2-IN-1 High Performance, small size antenna; 2×2 MIMO LTE: 690 MHz – 3800 MHz PUCK-2 | Solwise Ltd

www.solwise.co.uk

Here are the spect sheets.

Puck
<Broken link removed>

MIMO
<Broken link removed>

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[TinTentTourist]

I would avoid adding unnecessary adaptors, every joint reduces the signal. These leads should have the right ends to connect to the antenna.

That is what I was trying to do it is the naming convention of the plugs confusing me! On the TS9 the plug is male even though the pin penetrated it when plugged in. On the SMA the plug that is penetrated by the pin is female...

 

[DBK]

That is what I was trying to do it is the naming convention of the plugs confusing me! On the TS9 the plug is male even though the pin penetrated it when plugged in. On the SMA the plug that is penetrated by the pin is female...

There are four different types I think, SMA and SMA-RP, both available in male and female flavours. It's a minefield not helped by poor descriptions and photos from the retailers.

 

[TinTentTourist]

Smarty is unlimited for £20 and is unlimited voice and text too! Before Christmas their unlimited was £18, and I spoke to 3 (parent company) as I am already a customer and they beat the Smarty price for a sim only unlimited everything

Smarty link

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[Addie]

SMA genders are a nightmare to remember and catch everyone out:

Two considerations when looking at the specifications of the Poynting antennas mentioned;

The first is Peak Gain on Band 20 (800Mhz) is important as in rural or remote locations this is the band that is utilized since the lower the frequency the further the range. Most network masts in Scotland (EE particularly) will have Band 20 for far range and Band 3 (1800Mhz) for near range. This is why you should avoid Australia Telstra (T) branded Netgear MiFi devices which have no Band 20!

The puck registers a minus 1 gain figure for Band 20, so that means it's potentially not the best choice for use in remote places.

The second is that for the 'MIMO' antenna specifications are given using a 40cm x 40cm metal ground plane which means for a coach-built motorhome it will underperform up to ~30% vs the specifications, more so at the lower end of the spectrum (Band 20 again). DBK will get great results on his panel van conversion for this reason as its likely well-grounded on the metal roof.

That's not to say they're not good antennas for the price point, they certainly are but have recently upgraded a customer from a 'Puck' that simply didn't work at all on the driveway of his Scottish home the difference can be significant depending on the installation and intended usage.

You can ignore the packaging on the Smarty SIM, these are the prices from Jan 2020 (20GB EU Fair Usage, Max 2 months seems to be enforced):

If you have more than one Smarty SIM you can save 10% in a group and if recommending to others on Fun, sign up for the refer a friend link to earn a free month: https://smarty.co.uk/refer-a-friend (note this is a link to the referral page for you to sign up, this is not a referral link for me to benefit from)

Do note that the Smarty SIM is 'dead' when inserted until activated online via an alternative internet connection so it will display 'No Service'.

 

[Lenny HB]

The second is that for the 'MIMO' antenna specifications are given using a 40cm x 40cm metal ground plane which means for a coach-built motorhome it will underperform up to ~30% vs the specifications, more so at the lower end of the spectrum (Band 20 again).

I checked with Poynting before fitting my MIMO and they said a ground plane wasn't necessary so I didn't fit one. My van roof, outer and inner skins are aluminium with a grp cap, so probably acts as a bit of a ground plane.
I've been very impressed with it, lots of times we have been in rural locations often up in the mountains in Spain & Portugal where our phones can't get any signal on any network but the mifi with the MIMO pulls in a 3G or 4G signal. Only twice has it let us down in over 300 nights of using it.

 

[Addie]

I checked with Poynting before fitting my MIMO and they said a ground plane wasn't necessary so I didn't fit one. My van roof, outer and inner skins are aluminium with a grp cap, so probably acts as a bit of a ground plane.
I've been very impressed with it, lots of times we have been in rural locations often up in the mountains in Spain & Portugal where our phones can't get any signal on any network but the mifi with the MIMO pulls in a 3G or 4G signal. Only twice has it let us down in over 300 nights of using it.

You really can't argue with results like that and indeed I'm not, just pointing out the pitfalls (mainly with the PUCK) and what to look for when comparing specifications. Don't get me started on eBay sellers and their 38dBi antennas without a specification sheet in sight...

Poynting is often keen to point out their performance at Band 20 compared to alternatives, but neglect to mention the effect of their ground plane which may not always be available as it sounds to be in your case.

The MIMO will be discontinued in Q2, I expect there to be a 'MIMO-2' to fill the gap given there is already a MIMO-3 the huge white beast that it is namely thanks to its Band 31 450Mhz element presently only used in Scandinavia if your router and data plan support it.

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[TinTentTourist]

Well the chap I bought the cables off, exchanged them for the correct connectors. Now I just need my MH back from the dealers where they are trying again to put right some snags, and Bailey failed for a second time to send the correct drawer runners!
Then a bit of nice weather to do the install.