Poor 4G Mobile Signal and Non Existent WiFi.

Ian_Rob said:
We do that and it certainly improves the signal but it makes me think that there must be a bit of kit that would solve the problem more elegantly?
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The Teltonika inside a watertight quspot case up a mast does this well. Mine was powered by PoE so one cable to the box up the mast for power and networking.
 
The Yealm always provides a challenge for internet connection! A couple of years ago we had some success with a Fullband antenna connected to a Teltonika router, this year we were able to establish a reliable connection to the Harbour Office WiFi using a Ubiquity Bullet.
 
wayfarer8088 said:
The Yealm always provides a challenge for internet connection! A couple of years ago we had some success with a Fullband antenna connected to a Teltonika router, this year we were able to establish a reliable connection to the Harbour Office WiFi using a Ubiquity Bullet.
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That’s very interesting. The stated range is 50km which if true, is almost fifty times the distance I require. Not quite sure about the implications of the 24 volt power supply that it runs on but presumably a small inverter would solve that.
 
Ian_Rob said:
That’s very interesting. The stated range is 50km which if true, is almost fifty times the distance I require. Not quite sure about the implications of the 24 volt power supply that it runs on but presumably a small inverter would solve that.
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If you want to make a 50km wifi connection you'll need a high-gain antenna like this at each end of the link, and they'll each have to be at the top of a hill or mountain. Wifi is strictly line of sight - practically speaking, an antenna like this might allow you to connect to a hotspot a mile or two away,

I am convinced that marina wifi is killed by congestion / interference - the sheer number of people trying to connect to the marina's hotspots. I say this because I've used a number of marina wifi networks which were fine at 3am but not during the day. If this is the cause in your case then nothing you do will improve it.

Putting a cellular hotspot halfway up the mast is a happy solution for me.
 
KompetentKrew said:
If you want to make a 50km wifi connection you'll need a high-gain antenna like this at each end of the link, and they'll each have to be at the top of a hill or mountain. Wifi is strictly line of sight - practically speaking, an antenna like this might allow you to connect to a hotspot a mile or two away,
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The marinas WiFi is approx 1100 metres but because of the intervening trees, definitely not line of sight. Sort of hoping that the 50km range will compensate. I will give the manufacturers a call and discuss it with them.

‘At each end’ would be an issue.
KompetentKrew said:
I am convinced that marina wifi is killed by congestion / interference - the sheer number of people trying to connect to the marina's hotspots. I say this because I've used a number of marina wifi networks which were fine at 3am but not during the day. If this is the cause in your case then nothing you do will improve it.

Putting a cellular hotspot halfway up the mast is a happy solution for me.
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I need to check the frequency of the Marina’s WiFi. 5.0GHz would be better than 2.4GHz.
 
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@Ian_Rob heavy rain can affect a 4g signal, trees are going to screen you from the WiFi base station. No matter what antenna you have up the mast. As many posters above have said it is line if sight. With hard surfaces you might get a reflected signal, but trees are not considered as hard surfaces.

Back to the boatyard I over winter in, it is in a Cornish creek, the EE signal happily bounces over the top of the valley but not down into it.

I have some really geeky technical papers on this stuff at home, usually translated via Google that I can send you when I finally get back from my travels in mid August.

In a previous life I spent weeks trying to convince some very bright companies that 4g was not accessable all over the UK. They struggled with the concept that in rural areas masts are further apart and the world is not flat.
 
Thanks Sandy, I would be interested in reading them and will pm my e-mail address.

I am finding it difficult to separate suppliers who might be giving good technical advice from those who just want to sell their rather expensive kit.
 
Sandy said:
the EE signal happily bounces over the top of the valley but not down into it.
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Exactly this, very nicely put. Either your mast is high enough and you install at the top of it, or you need to switch to Starlink in such situations as there isn't a hardware solution for no signal unfortunately.
Wireless isn't magic, it works on the same principal as waves in the sea. If you're in a calm anchorage there's no way you can access those waves which are blocked by the harbour entrance. The trees and hills in this instance are acting like a harbour wall, giving you a lovely calm wifi free zone to stay in!
 
Ian_Rob said:
That’s very interesting. The stated range is 50km which if true, is almost fifty times the distance I require. Not quite sure about the implications of the 24 volt power supply that it runs on but presumably a small inverter would solve that.
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Our Bullet works fine on 12v using PoE but it's not the easiest device to configure!
 
lustyd said:
The Teltonika inside a watertight quspot case up a mast does this well. Mine was powered by PoE so one cable to the box up the mast for power and networking.
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I suspect that this is what Glomex supply as their Webboat antenna. Seemed to work well on a neighbouring boat in the Yealm!
 
Ian_Rob said:
I understand that EE has by far the best coverage in this area but as it is broadcast on Band 3 (1800Mhz), I am told that it has the least range. Vodafone on Band 20 800Mhz would evidently be better but there is much less coverage.
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I had this issue with mobile coverage recently, when O2 stopped providing a signal at my home. I set on a search for other providers.

I ended up using the EE network through 1P Mobile. BUT and here is the big BUT, on the EE network you only get access to their band 20 coverage if you have a package that also includes VOLTE and Wifi calling (the two tend to go together)

A contract with EE will normally give you that, but EE pay as you go will not, and many of the cheaper MVNO's that "use the EE network" don't include VOLTE or wifi calling so no band 20.

If you want to try it, order a PAYG sim from 1P mobile and try it. Even their cheapest PAYG sim will give you wifi calling and VOLTE and hence access to band 20
 
wayfarer8088 said:
I suspect that this is what Glomex supply as their Webboat antenna. Seemed to work well on a neighbouring boat in the Yealm!
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Yes most of the "marine" 4g solutions have a Teltonika RUT240 inside the housing. Some even use the QuSpot housing. The main difference is that they charge £1000 for the marine title! As Robbie said, the Teltonika is nothing special it's just a router running OpenWRT that's been customised a bit. It does support 9-48V as well as PoE though, which makes it possible to install up a mast without too much problem. Antenna cables for this application would make that difficult due tot he long runs.
 
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