Briadband in remote areas in campervan

Catrincribb

I like to go for cheap getaways in my campervan and would like to get online sometimes. But my favourite place to go, in the Brecon Beacons, has zilch coverage and no 4g. I've done a bit of research and some say that there is a way round this by using a bit of kit with an external booster. The kit I'm thinking of buying is advertised as "Huawei E5885 CAT6/ 4G+ Portable Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot with HUGE 6400mAh Battery and Power Bank " but there are lots of seemingly similar ones all claiming to be able to connect to the internet in remote parts of the UK.

Does anyone have experience of using such devices.
Will it actually work? Any comments gratefully received. Thank you.

Gloomendoom

How do you know there is no 4G?

Catrincribb

wow - that's a quick response! Thank you. I know there's no 4g because I have been there many times and with friends - all of us have androids or similar with 4g enabled. No one has ever been able to get even a glimmer of a signal. Also I've checked on various websites, such as ee and 3, All say there is no 4g coverage,

onomatopoeia99

For areas with no mobile data or wifi you could try two way satellite internet. Not cheap though.

Catrincribb

Yeah I looked that up. It seems to be in the region of 3k. Gulp. I was hoping for a cheaper alternative. The kit I've been looking at it has an internal antenna which, apparently, you can boost with a portable external antenna with a suction mount on the outside of the van,
Normally I'm happy to switch my phone off for the duration and be totally intenet/phone free while I'm there but I'm thinking of doing some work for which I need quality internet access. Perhaps it's a pipedream. I just know I'd get loads done in that beauty and silence. Sigh

PasturesNew

Catrincribb wrote: »

I like to go for cheap getaways

It's not a getaway if you are connected

Just saying....

EveryWhere

Catrincribb wrote: »

I like to go for cheap getaways in my campervan and would like to get online sometimes. But my favourite place to go, in the Brecon Beacons, has zilch coverage and no 4g. I've done a bit of research and some say that there is a way round this by using a bit of kit with an external booster. The kit I'm thinking of buying is advertised as "Huawei E5885 CAT6/ 4G+ Portable Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot with HUGE 6400mAh Battery and Power Bank " but there are lots of seemingly similar ones all claiming to be able to connect to the internet in remote parts of the UK.

Does anyone have experience of using such devices.
Will it actually work? Any comments gratefully received. Thank you.

Forget about it. If a phone doesn't work, neither will that.

Catrincribb

Hmmm - yes, methinks you may be right. It's just that there's so much 'boasting' around from people claiming to be able to get online in rural areas. Worth checking though.

Andy_L

Catrincribb wrote: »

The kit I'm thinking of buying is advertised as "Huawei E5885 CAT6/ 4G+ Portable Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot with HUGE 6400mAh Battery and Power Bank " but there are lots of seemingly similar ones all claiming to be able to connect to the internet in remote parts of the UK.

Does anyone have experience of using such devices.
Will it actually work? Any comments gratefully received. Thank you.

As far as I can see that device doesn't boost the signal, it simply provides a wifi hotspot by using it's own sim card to connect to a 4g network and then letting you connect to it via wifi or cat5 cable.

It's possible it might have a better antenna than a phone and thus better connection but it if there is no coverage you can't amplify nothing into something.

If you are in line of sight of a phone tower then a very directional antenna (think something like a TV antenna in shape) might get you connected.

tacpot12

The Amazon Q&As say that one doesn't have an external aerial connection. Other Huawei mobile broadband routers do. You will need a very good external aerial to pull in any sort of usable signal in an area where your phone cannot receive a signal. And unfortunately no one will guarantee whether you will get a usable signal if you buy one of their products, you have to take the risk yourself.

If I was in your situation, I would get a second-hand 4G router with an external aerial connector, and buy one of these to try: https://www.3grouterstore.co.uk/3G/Fullband-FB4GMAG7-4G-Antenna---Mag-Mount-7dBi-Peak-Gain-4G-Antenna-with-5m-long-cable-SMA-M-FB4GMAG7.html#SID=123

It is an indoor aerial, but if you stand it on the van's roof on a large non-conducting structure, like a plastic coolbox, if reception is going to be possible at all, this aerial should work to prove that it is worth spending money on an external aerial. Alternatively, you could just bring it back inside when you have finished with the connection. As stated previously, there are no guarantees.

The alternative is to drive the campervan to the nearest town with an internet caf!.

Gloomendoom

Catrincribb wrote: »

wow - that's a quick response! Thank you. I know there's no 4g because I have been there many times and with friends - all of us have androids or similar with 4g enabled. No one has ever been able to get even a glimmer of a signal. Also I've checked on various websites, such as ee and 3, All say there is no 4g coverage,

What area are you looking at exactly? Given the terrain, Three 4G seems to have reasonable coverage in the Brecon Beacons area.

We have a place in Wales where no signal appears on phones Android or Apple but it is possible, depending on where you stand, to get a weak Three 4G 800 Mhz 4G data signal on an iPad.

We use a Huawei B310 on a pole outside to get connected. As I said in a recent similar thread, external aerials just didn't work... and I have tried several different types.