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Antony Perry

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Just now, blackrose said:

There's no way of using one's phone (with unlimited data) as a hotspot in conjunction with an antenna is there? Just wanted to check this before I sign up for another contract.

Not unless it has an antenna socket.

The Huawei you sent the picture of doesnt have antenna sickets so wont be much better.

I am up at the boat tomorrow  and going to waitrose in Oundle so am around if you want to talk it through.

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Ok, I'm free after midday so could come into Oundle. 

 

I'll send you a PM

 

What about one of these things to boost the phone signal instead of the router & antenna? It would save me getting another contract.

 

https://www.boostersdirect.com/product/voice-and-4g-lte-signal-booster-300-sqm/

Edited by blackrose
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I've tried various 4G router/antenna combinations, and have found on our recent trip (North Kilworth to Nantwich) that this device:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/KuWFi-300Mbps-Waterproof-Outdoor-Coverage/dp/B08BHWX3H2/ref=sr_1_13?dchild=1&keywords=kuwfi&qid=1623920357&sr=8-13

 

works very well. It is a weatherproof external router (with built-in antenna) about the same size as the popular Poynting antennae. I have it on top of the boat on a short magnetic base/pole.

Using a "3" simcard, we never experienced complete lack of internet signal, and 95% of the time it was fast enough for TV streaming.

I thought I would need a wifi repeater/access point, but the router's wifi signal reaches all of the (45') boat through the (steel) roof. The router can be powered with POE from the included 240v adapter, or from 12v direct. 

I didn't get my router from Amazon, it came direct from China, but with Amazon you could return it if it didn't suit.

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On 15/06/2021 at 15:48, Antony Perry said:

Hi boat is 58ft we have laptop tablet 1smart phone and smart TV. we will be continuous cruisers so will need strong Internet with unlimited data. we are reasonably capable and savie people. 

Strong internet does not go with canals. Many canals have cuttings or are in office block canyons, where signal may be non existent, rural areas often have weak signal, I have used 3 in most of the network lperformance ranging from HD streaming, to just about get e-mail not enough for browsing. Cities can suffer from too many users online clogging the local masts. It is only about 5% of mooring spots are below reasonable which will give SD streaming with the odd whirly wheel. The percentage of poorer places increases the further north and away from London you go until you get up to the Leeds Manchester area when it gets better again.  Get a good external aerial and an unlocked MiFi so you have a chance to try other networks, EE is better round Leicester than 3 for example.

 

 

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3 hours ago, Detling said:

 Get a good external aerial and an unlocked MiFi so you have a chance to try other networks, EE is better round Leicester than 3 for example.

 

 

What I don't really understand about people recommending switching sim cards for different areas, is that each different sim card will incur a new contract with that provider won't it? Unless you're using a provider without a contract, but as I understand it that won't cover many networks. Or unless your just trying it and returning it within 14 days which seems like a hassle.

Edited by blackrose
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Just now, blackrose said:

 

What I don't really understand about people recommending switching sim cards for different areas, is that each different sim card will incur a new contract with that provider won't it? Unless you're using a provider without a contract, but as I understand it that won't cover many mobile companies. Or unless your just trying it and returning it within 14 days

 

Some providers offer one month contracts, which means if you get stuck in a particular location with no reception from your usual supplier a second (normally dormant) SIM can be activated and used with only a minor financial commitment.

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Just now, alias said:

 

Some providers offer one month contracts, which means if you get stuck in a particular location with no reception from your usual supplier a second (normally dormant) SIM can be activated and used with only a minor financial commitment.

 

Ok I see, thanks

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3 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

What I don't really understand about people recommending switching sim cards for different areas, is that each different sim card will incur a new contract with that provider won't it? Unless you're using a provider without a contract, but as I understand it that won't cover many networks. Or unless your just trying it and returning it within 14 days which seems like a hassle.

Smarty and 1p mobile do single month contracts for data Smarty is on 3  and 1p on EE.

I have yet to need anything other than Smarty but that might change in the Fens.

6 hours ago, pig said:

I've tried various 4G router/antenna combinations, and have found on our recent trip (North Kilworth to Nantwich) that this device:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/KuWFi-300Mbps-Waterproof-Outdoor-Coverage/dp/B08BHWX3H2/ref=sr_1_13?dchild=1&keywords=kuwfi&qid=1623920357&sr=8-13

Looks interesting, might have to look at one for the caravan rather than moving my boat setup.

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2 hours ago, pig said:

£45 from AliExpress:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001163309572.html?spm=a2g0s.12269583.0.0.1f5f4c11hdnu7R

Version 3 is the one you want (Band 20 coverage)

On my local mast at home band 20 is mainly used for 3g band 1 & 3 are used for 4g. So much so I have turned off band 20 as it slows it down to 40-50mbs with 20 on, 90mbs using just 1&3

This is a very useful app

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.thecoder.huactrl

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3 hours ago, Loddon said:

Smarty and 1p mobile do single month contracts for data Smarty is on 3  and 1p on EE.

I have yet to need anything other than Smarty but that might change in the Fens.

Looks interesting, might have to look at one for the caravan rather than moving my boat setup.

I was going down the Little Ouse and the speed on three was fantastic, probably due to the lack of people all trying to get through one mast. Coventry basin in the evening was poor but in the day good. last night at the Blue Lias it was non existent.

 

6 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

What I don't really understand about people recommending switching sim cards for different areas, is that each different sim card will incur a new contract with that provider won't it? Unless you're using a provider without a contract, but as I understand it that won't cover many networks. Or unless your just trying it and returning it within 14 days which seems like a hassle.

I suppose it depends how critical your internet access is

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19 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

last night at the Blue Lias it was non existent.

I have found that if I hang my mifi device off a table umbrella at the blue lias then I can get enough reception there on 3 to check the weather, but not much more. For reception in that area on 3 the long straight stretch after the two bridges beyond the two boats is better. 

 

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4 minutes ago, alias said:

I have found that if I hang my mifi device off a table umbrella at the blue lias then I can get enough reception there on 3 to check the weather, but not much more. For reception in that area on 3 the long straight stretch after the two bridges beyond the two boats is better. 

 

Yes I have managed there but I was at the bottom of the moorings and zilch. EE is great there

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On 17/06/2021 at 20:48, ditchcrawler said:

 

I suppose it depends how critical your internet access is

 

I didn't really understand if your answer meant that having multiple sim cards for different networks would incur multiple monthly contracts or not? 

On 17/06/2021 at 19:50, Loddon said:

On my local mast at home band 20 is mainly used for 3g band 1 & 3 are used for 4g. So much so I have turned off band 20 as it slows it down to 40-50mbs with 20 on, 90mbs using just 1&3

This is a very useful app

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=pl.thecoder.huactrl

 

Ok I see, that makes more sense, thanks.

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On 17/06/2021 at 20:48, ditchcrawler said:

I suppose it depends how critical your internet access is

 

 

1 minute ago, blackrose said:

I didn't really understand if your answer meant that having multiple sim cards for different networks would incur multiple monthly contracts or not? 

 

 

I read it as suggesting "unless its life and death that you have internet access, why worry, just move on the next day and stop, if you have a signal great, if not does it matter ?"

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15 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

I read it as suggesting "unless its life and death that you have internet access, why worry, just move on the next day and stop, if you have a signal great, if not does it matter ?"

 

Ok, it's not life and death but it does matter because my job is dependent on internet access, hence the worry. I'm not a CCer so cannot just "move on". 

 

Looking for a Huawei B535-Router as suggested by Loddon. Has anyone seen them cheaper than £118 on Amazon? Saw one for about £79 on ebay but it was used so I'd rather not buy it.

 

Actually looking at reviews of the Huawei B535 it says "relies on good 4G coverage" which I don't have. I have a couple of bars which then disappear and I get cut off. If I had good 4G coverage I wouldn't need any of this additional kit! ? Or are we saying that with the high-gain external antenna I would have good 4G coverage?

 

Edited by blackrose
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1 hour ago, blackrose said:

 

Ok, it's not life and death but it does matter because my job is dependent on internet access, hence the worry. I'm not a CCer so cannot just "move on". 

 

Looking for a Huawei B535-Router as suggested by Loddon. Has anyone seen them cheaper than £118 on Amazon? Saw one for about £79 on ebay but it was used so I'd rather not buy it.

 

Actually looking at reviews of the Huawei B535 it says "relies on good 4G coverage" which I don't have. I have a couple of bars which then disappear and I get cut off. If I had good 4G coverage I wouldn't need any of this additional kit! ? Or are we saying that with the high-gain external antenna I would have good 4G coverage?

 

A high-gain antenna isn't a magic bullet; it gives better reception/higher data rates in marginal areas where the signal is weak, but there are still plenty of places with poor or no reception, just like there are with a cellphone. This is especially true if you moor somewhere in the middle of nowhere -- sorry, out in the pretty countryside ?

 

If your pockets are deep and you want to be a guinea-pig you could also consider Starlink, though it's big and expensive and power-hungry (~100W) this should work better than cellular out in the wilds, and coverage/reliability is getting better as more satellites are launched. You'd have to *really* need internet access to justify the cost (£439 for dish+£89/month) though ?

 

Before anyone says "Wow, that's *really* expensive -- the dishes cost more than double that to manufacture, and there's something over a billion dollars worth of satellites (almost 2000 of them) up there already...

 

 

Edited by IanD
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1 hour ago, blackrose said:

 

Looking for a Huawei B535-Router as suggested by Loddon. Has anyone seen them cheaper than £118 on Amazon? Saw one for about £79 on ebay but it was used so I'd rather not buy it

 

Actually looking at reviews of the Huawei B535 it says "relies on good 4G coverage"

 

I have a predecessor of the B535, (B322?), which works as well as it did the day I got it.

 

(As a matter of interest, if you bought it from me, it would be second hand, and would work as well for you as it does for me :)  it's not for sale!)

 

I have used it with a Poynting XPOL 1 aerial in a location with the worst 4G signal you could have*, without having NO 4G signal, and it made it much better.... Good enough to stream tv/video

 

* Hesfords yard at Agden on the Bridgewater Canal, Cheshire. 

 

So I would say that, with an aerial, it will make the worst 4G signal better, and doesn't necessarily need a good 4G signal.

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I have just done some tests with and without my poynting antenna

Without antenna 0 bars 

With antenna 3 bars

Signals displayed below the one with 2.8 speed is no antennas 

The other is with the antenna and I was seeing up to 10mbs.

As you can see the signal is pretty rubbish here but with the antenna I can stream television (got no tv signal here) and still use interweb for other things. I was sceptical that the antenna would make that much difference but it does ;)

 

 

Screenshot_20210621_164523_pl.thecoder.huactrl.jpg

Screenshot_20210621_164717_pl.thecoder.huactrl.jpg

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13 minutes ago, Loddon said:

I have just done some tests with and without my poynting antenna

Without antenna 0 bars 

With antenna 3 bars

Signals displayed below the one with 2.8 speed is no antennas 

The other is with the antenna and I was seeing up to 10mbs.

As you can see the signal is pretty rubbish here but with the antenna I can stream television (got no tv signal here) and still use interweb for other things. I was sceptical that the antenna would make that much difference but it does ;)

 

If you're comparing the external Poynting antenna with an internal antenna inside a steel tube, I'm not surprised there's a difference -- though 8dB signal level difference is not that big, it's enough to make a big difference in data rates when you're on the edge ?

 

I suspect a comparison with any router which can have cheap (or included) external antennas connected via cables (many of them) would show a much smaller difference -- that's what I meant when I said it wasn't a magic bullet.

 

Get the antennas outside, definitely. Spend 60 quid on an antenna, I remain to be convinced, I know how antenna physics works. But if somebody has a real apples-to-apples comparison, I'm willing to change my mind ?

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32 minutes ago, IanD said:

Get the antennas outside, definitely. Spend 60 quid on an antenna, I remain to be convinced, I know how antenna physics works. But if somebody has a real apples-to-apples comparison, I'm willing to change my mind ?

I was unconvinced until I went ahead with the antenna I thought a mifi in the window would work just as well, it doesn't.

If I was going to get really anal,  in my home marina  it would have been a pair of Yagi pointing at the transmitter mast ;)

Dont start me on diminishing returns from using longer cables.........

 

Still it all pales into insignificance compared to the 90+mbs I get on three at home with no extranal antenna.

Edited by Loddon
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You lot are live streaming TV and all I'm trying to do is attend Teams meetings without being disconnected in the middle of proceedings.

 

Amazingly Three have agreed to let me out of my mobile contract without penalty even though I'm over the 14 day period. So I've just got a mobile broadband contract. with them including a B353 router for £19/month (24 month contract). I tried haggling them down to £17/month but they weren't budging and after getting out of the phone contract without a penalty I think I've done quite well.

1 hour ago, Richard10002 said:

I have a predecessor of the B535, (B322?), which works as well as it did the day I got it.

 

 

Are you sure you're futureproofed? ?

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4 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

I didn't really understand if your answer meant that having multiple sim cards for different networks would incur multiple monthly contracts or not? 

 

 

If it is essential for you livelihood that you have internet access and you intend to travel around then IMO it is also essential that you have a backup plan. Last night in Lowsonford I had 2 bars  sometimes, the rest of the time was nothing. This forum would load when the 2 bars light up, but I couldn't post my blog. If my living depended on the internet I would also have a Vodafone (that didn't work ether) EE O2 and anything else that is available. Its not difficult is one is in the MiFi , one in your phone and a third in the wife's phone.

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