Briadband in remote areas in campervan

RumRat

Capel-y-ffin??? Forget it and enjoy the views....The chance of doing what you want with your laptop is slim to none.
However, good luck with your endeavours.

Gloomendoom

Tarambor wrote: »

Those coverage maps are generated using software which analyses the terrain and the coverage provided by transmitters at the sites and height they're installed at, making assumptions about the transmitting and receiving ability of the devices communicating with the cell towers. It is similar to what I've used for amateur radio in the past when calculating coverage for repeaters. Whilst they're good for a general idea they are in no way accurate and you can find lots of black spots that exist which show as coverage on the map and conversely you can find coverage where it says there should be none.

At the frequencies mobile phones use foliage on trees can dramatically attenuate a signal, even more so when they're wet so whilst the coverage maps may say there is coverage there they don't take into account things like woods and forests and you may find coverage you expect to be there isn't, especially when it rains.

I think I said as much in subsequent posts. They are guide only but useful none-the-less. Summer reception definitely suffers, particularly after rain, but have found load on the mast to be a bigger factor.

Gloomendoom

d123 wrote: »

And it also needs to be on the Three “Supervoice” approved list, there are many devices that have Band 20 that still won’t work as Three don’t allow them to connect.

Not entirely correct. Band 20 capable Apple will work regardless. I use an iPad and a Huawei B310 4G router bought secondhand from Romania.

Catrincribb

Thanks Rumrat. That's what I initially thought but there are some very interesting responses on this thread which I'm mulling over. Llanthony may be slightly more realistic and then there's Cwmyoy - all these are nearer to 'civilisation' than Capel-y-ffin. I think I may plan a road trip working my way up the valley to see how far I can get. Once I have decided which bit of kit to go for I'll give it a try and feedback to everyone. I'm not going to plan any work trips until I know for sure where/if I can get online at all.

Gloomendoom

What I did was check the coverage map and then wandered around with an iPad looking for a place with an actual signal. In a field with a theoretically good 3 4G outdoor signal, I found about half a dozen places where it actually existed. Moving higher up the valley sides helped considerably.

My needs are essentially the same as yours, work email, Wi-fi calls and download the odd file.

Catrincribb

AAh Gloomendoom, I was hoping someone would say something like that. I'm getting excited and won't be able to do the 'test trip' for a few weeks but I will definitely feedback.
BTW your name is a bit of a misnomer - should be 'enouragementenhope' - or something.

A big thank you! And to everyone else who's contributed - I've been really impressed with the way people are so willing to take the time to share their experience and knowledge.

BooJewels

I was dipping in to this thread yesterday, but didn't have anything technical to contribute, but to add to what Gloomendom has said, we stay in a remote spot in the Lake District - same sort of issues.

I have a Three wifi mobile router thingy and the distance between not getting signal and full broadband service is a matter of feet. I'd looked at coverage maps - some years ago when these mobile broadband devices first came out and the only network with anything like coverage in the area was Three - the rest have since caught up with new local masts.

We could see we were right on the tip of coverage. We stay in a static caravan and we have full signal at one end, dubious erratic coverage in the middle and none at the other end. It's also better when plugged in to the mains as opposed to running on its own battery - less so with my current one than earlier models. I plug the unit in to the mains in one corner and stick it on the inside of the window with blutak. I've also found that once it has signal, I don't mess with it. If it drops out, it might not get it back.

There are maps online of where the masts are located, so also look at these to see where line of sight would be for your chosen location - used in conjunction with your local knowledge, an OS map and coverage maps, you an perhaps work out likely spots in advance. That's how we found we could get Vodafone coverage for phones when our O2 ones had no signal.

Gloomendoom

The 800 MHz signal will actually work without line of sight. You also get the signal reflected from all over the place. I found high gain directional yagi type aerials pointing directly at the mast 7 miles distant on the other side of the hill slightly less effective than the B310's internal omni-directional ones. That said, turning the router on its vertical axis does make the difference between a signal and no signal at all so there may be other factors present.

I use this app on my phone to get the best alignment with the B310...

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vxlabs.huaweiltestats&hl=en

d123

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Not entirely correct. Band 20 capable Apple will work regardless. I use an iPad and a Huawei B310 4G router bought secondhand from Romania.

So what isn’t “entirely correct” in my post?

The devices you mention are on Three’s approved list, so they work. Try and use a non-approved device and you’ll discover even though it has band 20 capability it won’t connect to Band 20 on Three. An example would be the onePlus 6 phone, completely capable (works on Band 20 for EE) but will not connect to Band 20 on Three because they won’t allow it to connect.

There are probably tens (maybe even hundreds) of phone models with band 20 capability that won’t connect to it on Three.

Gloomendoom

d123 wrote: »

So what isn’t “entirely correct” in my post?

The devices you mention are on Three’s approved list, so they work.

I can't see the iPad or the Huawei B310 on Three’s approved list. Is there more than one list?

http://www.three.co.uk/Discover/network/4G-Supervoice

As far as I am aware, any unlocked 4G band 20 capable router will connect. Unsurprisingly, they don't need to be Three Supervoice compatible.

Compatible iPads also connect fine without needing the Three Supervoice software installed.