Being connected online seems to be the number one priority now with #vanlifers so that they can share their #digitalcontent whilst being a #digitalnomad. Vanlife is a strange word to use for a rich Zoomer who has been #vanlifing for a matter of minutes. But nevertheless we find it important also these days as nobody can wait for you to get home to share anything!
I have had many different attempts of getting internet into the van over the years. From the early days of WiFi having an external suction aerial trying (very badly) to pick up hotspots, to the first portable modem placed delicately in the roof vents. And with technology moving so fast in this field it’s almost impossible to keep up with everything and you need a bottomless pit of cash to keep connected when on the move.
The most recent attempt a couple of years ago when we changed vans was the best yet. An external roof mounted cellular antenna with a mobile hotspot connected via TS9 Connectors. This worked in almost all conditions and the only major downside being that the TS9 Connectors are very fragile whilst taking the hotspot in and out or to change SIM cards, as well as coming loose with bumpy driving. The modem, a Netgear Nighthawk M2, was also a little old technology with only 4G available and it didn’t like to have an empty battery, obviously, but it also didn’t like to have a full battery either! And the last downside was that the WiFi range whilst sitting outside the van was somewhat limited.
So time for an upgrade!
Currently we have a pointing MiMo-3-12 2×2 SMA Antenna on the roof of the van. This aerial I can 100% recommend and it has been perfect the last three years of use. The only problem would be that the new router can accommodate 4×4 MiMo giving 5GNR plus another 2×2 WiFi. But after testing the current antenna with the new router I have decided to keep with it for now and see how it performs after a period of time.
And on to the powerhouse.
After a lot of research I decided to go with the Spitz AX GL-X3000 router. I heard nothing but good reviews and positive feedback for a unit which is so powerful and nearly half the price of the new Netgear. Not to mention has twice as much configuration power and also external antenna connections. As I mentioned there is a MiMo 4×4 Cellular but, and this is important if you already have a 2×2 antenna as we do, you can use the 2×2 connections from the Main and Div/GNSS ports on the unit whilst connecting the two paddle antennas supplied to the other two ports on the router. This will maximise the connection on the primary bands and hopefully be able to supply a stable 4G+ connection if not the full 5G.
And as I don’t want to outlay for a new roof antenna at the moment I am willing to give this a try and will report back after some months of use. But with basic testing it is more than adequate holding high enough speeds.
There are also 2 more paddle aerials connected to the WiFi of the router which enhances the wifi range quite considerably whilst sitting outside the van with the doors open. Not forgetting our van is essentially just one giant faraday cage so with the sliding door dosed its a fight for any signal to get in or out.
If you are buying everything from scratch there is the option to go for the Poynting MiMo-3-V2-17 rooftop antenna that can provide cellular 4×4 plus 2×2 WiFi (just ignore the GPS connection). This will also aid in using the router as a repeater or give your WiFi a boost to your outdoor usage range.
The advantages of this router are quite significant with a host of extra features over the Netgear.
- Supports 5GNR
- Dual-Sim cards
- WiFi 6 Max 574 Mbps (2.4 GHz) + 2402 Mbps (5 GHz)
- Multi-WAN Enhanced Bandwidth and Network stability
- Load Balancing for optimal Bandwidth use
- Network failover for uninterrupted connection
- Pre-installed VPN
- Local network storage
And the list goes on… The only downside that I can see is that it requires a dedicated power supply to run, unlike the Netgear which is charged through USB and has quite a long life battery. I have it powered directly from the 12V power supply but be aware that if you don’t hard wire it in then you need a USB cable that can handle a DC range of between 9 and 36V where the maximum power consumption is around 20W 12V/2A. So not really a problem for off-grid living in your van.
For those that like their TV there is also an alternative to extra roof mounted antennas or satellite systems that can be used in parallel to the cellular roof antenna and router. I am a big sports fan and although don’t watch much random sport anymore, I do like to follow my local teams from back home as well as watching occasional movies and tv series together. The best way I have found for this is by adding an infomir MAG box to the system with a hard ethernet connection direct to the router.
Then with your iptv subscription from your preferred provider, you can watch perfect uninterrupted tv. Although when possible we do watch everything at the lowest resolution of between 480 and 720 dpi but with a strong signal or a 5k connection full HD is no problem. We just find that with the size of our tv there is no point in wasting bandwidth or data as the picture is more than good enough for us.
So in practical usage and after connecting it to the 2×2 MiMo Poynting external antenna and using the 2×2 cellular and 2×2 WiFi paddles supplied, we got a constant uninterrupted LTE 4G+ signal everywhere we have been in Europe all with the visiting countries PAYG data sims which are readily available. The WiFi reaches well outside the van for working/viewing on the laptop, iPads or mobiles and is also excellent with all our devices connected simultaneously. And the direct cable connection to the iptv box has also worked flawlessly.
In summary our set-up of a Poynting external antenna coupled with the Spitz AX router is a pretty powerful combination for motorhome connectivity and well worth the outlay compared to comparable devices on the market right now.
A big gold 5 stars from us.
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