Computer Related > Mobile Router for Caravan Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Bromptonaut Replies: 25
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 Tue 16 May 23 11:56 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - Bromptonaut
The Caravan and Motorhome Club are currently upgrading the wi-fi offer on their sites to provide a 'basic' service for email etc and a premium one on for streaming films etc. All good.

What's less clear, unless you dig down on their website, is that at least on some sites the previous service, OK but could be slow/patchy is withdrawn long before the new version is available. While waiting there will be a 'hot spot' around reception but nothing at all at the pitch.

We found out about this at the New Forest Centenary site over the Coronation weekend where even the hotspot wasn't there. Messages on noticeboards said this had been the case since March. I asked the Manager who waved his hands in the air and blamed BT!!

We'd normally use our phone's hotspots as a back up. In this case though the site's in an area where mobile is very poor, at least on EE and 3 for which we have SIMS.

I understand others have some sort of router that uses a SIM to provide wifi and which has better reception than a phone including the possibility of an external antenna.

A quick look suggests a ball park of around £75 and perhaps as much again for the antenna but quite a few links on Amazon etc seem to be for wired domestic wifi kit rather than using a mobile network.

Can anyone provide any useful technical info as to what I should be looking for and/or experience with kit of their own.

TIA

Simon
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 Tue 16 May 23 12:15 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - R.P.
When we had trouble with BT, they sent us two (due to further mistakes by them) EE ones, they worked reasonably well., but no better than my iPhone to be honest. I'd get an alternative SIM to be honest and insert it in your phone when you want to use the one Wi-Fi. We used our phones as hotspots when we had the Motorhome, never had a real problem
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 Tue 16 May 23 13:08 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - neiltoo
With a Samsung phone, you can "tether" the tablet to the phone, and use it as a modem to access your Data, rather than wifi.

No cost except your data limit.

80)
Last edited by: neiltoo on Tue 16 May 23 at 13:09
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 Tue 16 May 23 13:15 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - T junction
Much debated on the canal forums.
Have a look here www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/topic/113469-internetdata-access-on-boats-some-tips/
and here www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/topic/67325-improving-onboard-mobile-communications/
That should keep you busy reading all that.
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 Tue 16 May 23 13:30 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - VxFan
>> With a Samsung phone, you can "tether" the tablet to the phone, and use it
>> as a modem to access your Data, rather than wifi.

Same with the iPhone, and pretty much any smart phone.
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 Tue 16 May 23 14:20 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - smokie
Some SIMS didn't used to allow tethering, especially on their cheaper deals.

Rather than swapping SIMS each time, have you got an old phone which you could use as a hot spot you could put a SIM into?

Or some newer phones have dual SIM slots, often at the expense of a microSD card slot though.

You also know you can get contractless SIMs, so just pay for one for a month when you are away then cancel. Or a one month rolling contract.

ID Mobile (Three network) have some of the keenest offers around for a sensible amount of data, but if you are going to get a contract SIM go through someone like mobiles.co.uk through whom I have 100Gb a month (which rolls over too!) for £8, and SWMBO has just switched to 60Gb for £6 - both by redemption. People may say doing redemption is a faff but it takes about 2 minutes max - usually have to download 4 specific months bills and mail them to the company and the money is paid in within a week or so.
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 Tue 16 May 23 22:31 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - Bromptonaut
>> With a Samsung phone, you can "tether" the tablet to the phone, and use it
>> as a modem to access your Data, rather than wifi.

That's exactly what we've done before when on sites or in hotels with no or poor/slow WiFi. As one poster said some mobile providers try to restrict tethering but it's not been a problem for us in the UK or EU for donkey's years.

The issue now is whether we can improve on the phone's receive capacity in areas where the mobile signal isn't that good. Might, for example, an additional external antenna or a device where reception etc is not constrained by size, and design/ergonomics of a handheld phone cope better.

Another network on a phone is definitely worth trying and, since I dropped my Moto G and badly cracked the screen over the weekend, I've even got a spare handset to experiment with...
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 Tue 16 May 23 14:18 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - tyrednemotional
...I use a Huawei 5577. It has the ability to add external antennae but frankly I've not really found it necessary in a good few years of use. Somewhere in the region of £60 now.

Add a data-only SIM for a different network to the phones to allow for better coverage, and one with a pre-paid bundle that can be stopped and started works well for us.

Phones are O2 network, so I've used both EE and 3 SIMS. (Both with nGB/12or 24 months expiry). The current EE one, having expired the original portion, allows me to add a month at a time (with gaps) for reasonable cost (e g. 30GB for a tenner).

Given your existing SIMS, O2 might be a good idea, with Giffgaff being easy and flexible.

There are more sophisticated devices, e.g. those by Teltonika but I'm doing ok with the Huawei.

In fact, if I didn't have WiFi here (Stellplatz in Germany) this would be winging it's way to you via the Huawei. (3 have a reasonable roaming allowance on paygo).

I do sometimes have to manually select the best network when roaming abroad, but it's easy via the app.
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 Tue 16 May 23 22:32 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - Bromptonaut
Thanks TnE.

That's the sort of experience/recommendation I was after.
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 Mon 22 May 23 23:57 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - smokie
Probably not of interest but here's a Lycra SIM for £0.49p per month, no contract, 3Gb for 6 months.

www.lycamobile.co.uk/ucustomer/mse-3gb/?tduid=1e5d8ce1a0252a318f1460f98b835d11&utm_source=TDD&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=TDD
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 Tue 23 May 23 07:06 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - Falkirk Bairn
>>but here's a Lycra SIM

Predictive Text strikes again?

Lycra = Spandex or elastane is a synthetic fibre known for its exceptional elasticity.

Lyca = Lycamobile is a British mobile virtual network operator
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 Tue 23 May 23 08:17 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - smokie
Ha, I'd never noticed that, always read it as Lycra LOL
Last edited by: smokie on Tue 23 May 23 at 08:18
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 Tue 23 May 23 10:36 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - VxFan
>> always read it as Lycra

Me too.
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 Tue 23 May 23 10:47 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - Bromptonaut
I even write it that way if I'm noting where I left a voicemail message.
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 Tue 23 May 23 11:56 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - Zero
We have two phones with big data plans. Mine is on O2 (tesco) and hers is on EE

We set a phone as a hot spot, depending on who has best coverage, and it works well for us. Fire TV stick on the tele. Never use site wifi.
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 Tue 23 May 23 12:55 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - VxFan
One thing I've never understood. If you're going on holiday and end up watching TV, why not just do it at home?

You also spare other motorists being held up by your house on wheels too :)
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 Tue 23 May 23 13:03 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - Bromptonaut
No TV in my caravan. Might watch Machair on the laptop occasionally.
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 Tue 23 May 23 13:09 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - BiggerBadderDave
I enjoy my holidays in Europe mostly so I can chat with Brits at the bars and eat an English breakfast in the morning.
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 Sat 27 May 23 21:17 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - CGNorwich
"One thing I've never understood. If you're going on holiday and end up watching TV, why not just do it at home?"

What an odd point of view.

Why if you feel that way why would you, whilst on holiday, read a book, listen to music, the radio or go to a restaurant or have a drink in a bar. You could do all those things at home

If you are holiday or have been out all day sightseeing on on the beach or whatever you do on holiday and are tired after a long day sometimes it nice to get back to your apartment, for which you will have paid a substantial sum , relax and enjoy its facilites including perhaps watching a Netflix film or an hour or two of television.

Failrly easy to understand I would have thought


Last edited by: CGNorwich on Sat 27 May 23 at 21:18
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 Sun 28 May 23 09:20 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - Clk Sec
>> One thing I've never understood. If you're going on holiday and end up watching TV,

Me neither. A week away from the box is a holiday in itself.
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 Sun 28 May 23 09:47 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - CGNorwich
You can easily partake of such a holiday by switching your TV off at home. Watching it is not compulsory either here or abroad.
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 Sun 28 May 23 11:33 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - Kevin
I watch hours and hours of TV when we're on holiday. I watch it while Mrs K is deciding what to wear before we go out for dinner.
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 Sun 28 May 23 12:06 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - smokie
Do KFC have a dress code abroad? :-)
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 Sun 28 May 23 12:30 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - tyrednemotional
...going FKK would resolve that issue...
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 Sun 28 May 23 23:31 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - Kevin
>...going FKK would resolve that issue...

Ages ago when I was at head office in Germany, a colleague came over on a training course. After work one day we arranged to play squash and then go swimming.
When we got to the pool in Bad Lippspringe it was the family textile free evening so we decided we were too hungry and went for a beer and a nosebag.
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 Tue 4 Jul 23 10:07 
 Mobile Router for Caravan - zippy
Sorry for the late response to this...

When we moved in to our current house fibre (FTTC) wasn't available so I purchased a MIFI device and added an unlimited data sim.

This one is currently on offer...
www.hotukdeals.com/deals/unlocked-4g-mobile-wifi-router-e6-series-150-mbps-white-ps25-delivered-at-mymemory-4159158

It worked OK for 3/4 users and streaming.

I upgraded to a full router with a SIM socket and the data from the network didn't improve but the range around the house did.

As the maximum speed I was getting from the networks (tried several) was never over 7Mb/s, I doubt either device was really stretched.

The advantage the MIFI device had was that it had its own battery so could be truly portable.

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