RUT950 - please - has any feedback on using it as a client to a site WIFI and hotspot for your devices?

[dna]

My use of the motorhome is heavily constrained by running a guest house which means its only practical to go away if the guest house is closed. That does mean that monthly payment Sim Cards are not good value for me. Currently I use a motorhomewifi directional antenna to connect to public Wi-Fi, and a Huawei router with a prepay sim elsewhere.

Reading the manuals for this router it looks as though it can be set to use a public Wifi service as it's link to the internet whilst also providing the local wifi for clients.
Has anyone done this and got any feedback on how well it works? I'm asking as I'm considering moving up to using one of these with a poynting roof aerial.

 

[Raul]

I dot know for sure about the 950, but I know for sure rutx11 and 12 does exactly that. You need to configure it in interface browser, typing the ip on the box.

 

[Lee Rasberry]

Hi dna,

Yes you can do this with the RUT950 (and the RUT240 and RUTX11 which is what we use at Maxview). The Teltonika wiki is great for detailed information on how to use the WebUI and set things up:

RUT950 Wireless - Teltonika Networks Wiki

wiki.teltonika-networks.com

I personally don't think the RUT950 is a great option however. Either save a few quid and go for a RUT240 (unless you really need 2 SIM slots), or spend a little more and get the RUTX11 if you want faster 4G (CAT 6 instead of CAT 4).

If you think you'll be connecting the router to another WiFi hotspot a lot, you could also go for a roof mount antenna with built in WiFi antennas, although this can then give you worse WiFi inside the van. The thing to be wary of when connecting to site WiFi though is captive portals, these can be a real pain to get around sometimes when using a router.

Lee

 

[dna]

thank you both - i have the option of getting the roof antenna with the Wifi aerials if I go for a router with the wifi capability or sticking to just a 4G router and the simpler poynting antenna. In that case I would probably keep the motorhomewifi directional antenna & router in the van as a back up. Decisions to make

 

[autorouter]

That does mean that monthly payment Sim Cards are not good value for me.

You could try a GiffGaff SIM. You can buy a one-month package of data of various sizes. They call it a 'Goodybag'. When it expires you don't have to buy another, you can wait a few months and buy one when you need it.

If you don't know how much data you're likely to use, you can buy a small data package, and if for example you use it all in a few days you can buy another, possibly bigger, package. Very flexible.

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[Killy]

Following this with interest as you can load balance with RUTX11 and other Teltonika routers is it possible to load balance from the 4G SIM card in the router and a iPhone with perhaps 5G signal? I can see the rabbit hole I'm descending into!

 

[Lee Rasberry]

Following this with interest as you can load balance with RUTX11 and other Teltonika routers is it possible to load balance from the 4G SIM card in the router and a iPhone with perhaps 5G signal? I can see the rabbit hole I'm descending into!

Possibly, but I've not tried it. I would think you could set the iPhone up as a WiFi hotspot, then connect the RUTX11 to it. Then you can load balance between WAN# (iPhone), and MOB1S1A1 (4G SIM). I'm not sure how complex the load balancing rules can get though, so in practice it might not be overly useful trying to balance between two significantly different speed connections.

RUTX11 Failover - Teltonika Networks Wiki

wiki.teltonika-networks.com

It might be worth asking on the Teltonika forum: https://community.teltonika-networks.com/

Lee

 

[Killy]

Thanks Lee

I suspect I'm making things too complex. I only really want the router as the iPhone and fire stick often go walk about after connection and its a right faf getting them connected again.

Kevin