4G/5G Modem/Router/Antenna Setup

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DreJen

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Looking to install a basic network setup on the boat to achieve the following:

- Use a router as a wifi repeater for marina wifi
- Use local 4g/5g sim cards for data when marina wifi is not available or out at sea

I was originally planning to simply purchase a relatively cheap modem and router setup (netgear LM1200 & GL.inet beryl MT3000) and a 2x2 mimo 4g antenna to go alongside.

I'm now wondering whether it's worth going for a 4x4 mimo antenna which will obviously need a suitable modem which look quite pricey.

Does anyone have any recommendations on antenna/modems/routers and whether 4x4 is significantly better than 2x2 when at sea?
 
Bear in mind the polar of mobile phone antennas is geared only to land based clients so don't expect omni directional antennas along the coastline.

I have a Poynting pick antenna I hoist up the flag halyard when anchored in a bay. Works well most of the time.
 
wonkywinch said:
Bear in mind the polar of mobile phone antennas is geared only to land based clients so don't expect omni directional antennas along the coastline.

I have a Poynting pick antenna I hoist up the flag halyard when anchored in a bay. Works well most of the time.
Click to expand...
From experience, more true in the UK than other European countries
 
Personally, I wouldn't ?ugger around with marina WiFi.
Get a cheap 4G/5G contract and use it for everything.

I have an 4G Omni Directional antenna fitted on my flybridge.
I also help friends with these kinds of connections and it seems that my antenna isn't really that necessary.
It seems to me that a cheap 4G router with MIMO would be good enough.
5G routers are still a little expensive but second hand 4G ones are fairly common.
I bought one of these for a friend recently for about 40 quid on Ebay.
Worked here in the UK and, more importantly for my friend, it works in Spain.

Screenshot_2025-04-15_21-58-47.resized.png

It is a D-Link DWR-921
The antenna in this device are used for the 4G connection to the network.
You can unscrew them and connect it to an Onmi Directional antenna but, as I say, I don't think it is necessary.
This router only has a 2.4Ghz Wifi for connection to your devices.
You can get similar routers with 5Ghz WiFi but these Dlink ones work and are good prices at the moment.

My system uses a Teltonika RUT950 which a few posters on this forum use.
Many of them seem to like the product.
I have never REALLY liked it but it works reliably so I haven't changed it.
I also have a D-Link DWR-921 as a spare - both work reliably at sea - anything from 10 miles to 40 miles away from land.

We have a good 5G signal in our marina but our local (Lobster) provider doesn't offer 5G (yet).
Otherwise, I would upgrade my system to 5G.
My phone uses 5G out in Spain and it would be really good to upgrade.
However, 4G is adequate for most everyday use.
 
It becomes a personal choice about how much to spend and how good a connection you want.

Hard to find anyone who has done a clean comparison between 4x4 vs 2x2.

I have two 2x2 750mm antennae, so that's 4x4, and link them to a Peplink Max BR2 Pro router with 2 SIM cards working in parallel from 2 providers. All I can say is that the data speed and bandwidth are both incredible and I couldn't imagine needing more LTE/5G gear. It's so good that I think 2x2 might have been perfectly ok. The tall antennae seem to hang on till at least 10nm offshore but of course that depends on many factors and you occasionally get an ok connection at 25nm.

But a big question is why even bother? Why not use Starlink for everything? If you use a lot of data the LTE/5G helps you not to overdo your Starlink data volume, but with medium use the Starlink might do everything you want.

Finally the WiFi as WAN works very well if you have good marina WiFi.

My hardware is below FWIW

Network-drawing-v3-LR-redacted.jpg
 
Hurricane said:
Personally, I wouldn't ?ugger around with marina WiFi.
Get a cheap 4G/5G contract and use it for everything.

I have an 4G Omni Directional antenna fitted on my flybridge.
I also help friends with these kinds of connections and it seems that my antenna isn't really that necessary.
It seems to me that a cheap 4G router with MIMO would be good enough.
5G routers are still a little expensive but second hand 4G ones are fairly common.
I bought one of these for a friend recently for about 40 quid on Ebay.
Worked here in the UK and, more importantly for my friend, it works in Spain.

View attachment 192096

It is a D-Link DWR-921
The antenna in this device are used for the 4G connection to the network.
You can unscrew them and connect it to an Onmi Directional antenna but, as I say, I don't think it is necessary.
This router only has a 2.4Ghz Wifi for connection to your devices.
You can get similar routers with 5Ghz WiFi but these Dlink ones work and are good prices at the moment.

My system uses a Teltonika RUT950 which a few posters on this forum use.
Many of them seem to like the product.
I have never REALLY liked it but it works reliably so I haven't changed it.
I also have a D-Link DWR-921 as a spare - both work reliably at sea - anything from 10 miles to 40 miles away from land.

We have a good 5G signal in our marina but our local (Lobster) provider doesn't offer 5G (yet).
Otherwise, I would upgrade my system to 5G.
My phone uses 5G out in Spain and it would be really good to upgrade.
However, 4G is adequate for most everyday use.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the write-up - that's really helpful. Inferesting that you think the antenna doesn't make much of a difference. What antenna are you using?
 
jfm said:
It becomes a personal choice about how much to spend and how good a connection you want.

Hard to find anyone who has done a clean comparison between 4x4 vs 2x2.

I have two 2x2 750mm antennae, so that's 4x4, and link them to a Peplink Max BR2 Pro router with 2 SIM cards working in parallel from 2 providers. All I can say is that the data speed and bandwidth are both incredible and I couldn't imagine needing more LTE/5G gear. It's so good that I think 2x2 might have been perfectly ok. The tall antennae seem to hang on till at least 10nm offshore but of course that depends on many factors and you occasionally get an ok connection at 25nm.

But a big question is why even bother? Why not use Starlink for everything? If you use a lot of data the LTE/5G helps you not to overdo your Starlink data volume, but with medium use the Starlink might do everything you want.

Finally the WiFi as WAN works very well if you have good marina WiFi.

My hardware is below FWIW

Network-drawing-v3-LR-redacted.jpg
Click to expand...
Looks like a great set-up. I don't have Starlink at the moment and also am not considering it, hence the 4G/5G solution.

What is the Peplink antenna doing differently to the Poyn tings?

Would be very happy with a setup like this but not sure I can justify the cost of the peplink equipment compared to a cheap and cheerful 4g modem and router in terms of how much benefit they provide.
 
jfm said:
It becomes a personal choice about how much to spend and how good a connection you want.


Network-drawing-v3-LR-redacted.jpg
Click to expand...
wow! Save some internet for the rest of us.

I was looking at getting a 12V powered router to use underway. Do people just use inverters to power normal routers or is 12V the way to go?
 
NC11 said:
wow! Save some internet for the rest of us.

I was looking at getting a 12V powered router to use underway. Do people just use inverters to power normal routers or is 12V the way to go?
Click to expand...
Most routers are not 230 volt so look what it’s voltage is which might be 12 volt dc
 
rafiki_ said:
Many thanks. My challenge is finding a router that will run off the 12v side, so I don’t need to run the generator or be on shore power. Currently there is no inverter fitted, and I have no plans to do so, as I have the genie when I need 240v.
Any suggestions gratefully received.
Click to expand...

The GL-iNet GL-X2000 I linked in #9 powers off 12v.
 
rafiki_ said:
Many thanks. My challenge is finding a router that will run off the 12v side, so I don’t need to run the generator or be on shore power. Currently there is no inverter fitted, and I have no plans to do so, as I have the genie when I need 240v.
Any suggestions gratefully received.
Click to expand...
I use a "pepwave br1 max 5g pro" router connected to DC power. Apparently this can be between 10v and 30v. Pretty sure mine is on 24v but cannot remember.
 
I looked at all sorts of built in routers and fancy antennas but in the end I opted for a Huawei B818 4G router. It runs off 12v and has excellent reception. I stream Netflix and YouTube and often do MS Teams meetings for work with no issues. I have it connected to a 12v regulated supply and it’s connected to a Walker 12v Smart TV.
 
fwiw, the TELTONIKA series have a fancy 4pole plug and a 12V power brick, BUT if you read the documentation that comes with it, will work from anything from 9-30VDC.
Hence I scrapped the brick and wired straight into my 24V system.
Works fine 24/7 for the last 3yrs so definitely wouldn't bother with power bricks/droppers and all that!
Would expect Mike to have done so as well :)

cheers

V.
 
Last edited:
vas said:
fwiw, the TELTONIKA series have a fancy 4pole plug and a 12V power brick, BUT if the read the documentation that comes with it, will work from anything from 9-30VDC.
Hence I scrapped the brick and wired straight into my 24V system.
Works fine 24/7 for the last 3yrs so definitely wouldn't bother with power bricks/droppers and all that!
Would expect Mike to have done so as well :)

cheers

V.
Click to expand...
I think I will go that route with Teltonika. What sort of antennae do you use?
 
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