The media could not be loaded.
This works. This made the difference between being able to work in remote and not. First I'll talk operation, then I'll discuss install so you can have the confidence to do it yourself.
Operation:
As observed from the video there is a noticeable increase in signal strength (indicated by RSRP) from walking from bathroom to indoor antenna. It works. If I were to continue filming the signal strength would eventually settle and increase from 4 to 5 bars. At the location of the recording I was already getting 2 bars, so the test was not as pronounced as it is in other places. Rest assured in 1bar zones it is much more noticeable.
You will appreciate the signal boost everywhere in the RV. I found in my testing that to get the biggest increase in speed you wanna be within about 5 feet of the indoor antenna. There is a 15ft cable for the indoor antenna which allows you to move it around. For example, if we are watching movie in bed we take antenna over to Apple TV. If we are working on laptop we place the antenna on desk next to phone (which is running hotspot). See the photo for an example. We put velcro on the bottom of indoor antenna and mount it to the ceiling. We can easily move it around the RV depending on scenario. The veclro comes with the unit by the way.
Power:
I also monitored the power consumption over 12-24hr. On overage it consumes 6W. That is nickels and dimes.
5G and wide band support:
Huge selling point is the wide number of bands this supports. I didn't realize this until later but not all cell towers support all bands. The options are quite limited in rural areas. This is why paying a little extra for something like this unit is a good call. It supports 4G LTE, 5G and many bands. Last week I was at a campsite where hundreds of other campers were sapping 4g strength during peak hours. This Signal Booster had the power to put me on 5g band and it definitely came in handy.
If you're living in a van or RV you want an omni directional antenna. Every time you park somewhere you don't want to have to step outside and set one more thing up. In my experience that is also not a perfect science. Better to get something like this that broadcasts intelligently at top FCC allowed power.
Lastly, something to keep in mind is that you don't want this plugged in all scenarios. The booster does not always improve signal strength - if you are in an urban environment with very good reception then the extra hop of going through this booster will reduce speed. You want to test speed before plugging this in. For example, I did a test with 90mbps and went down to 75mbps.
Install:
It is an easy diy install without drilling any holes in the roof. It took me an afternoon and I did a good job. Looks professional on outside. Inside the RV first challenge is the stringing the wire to the outside. My Winnebago Minnie Winnie has a refrigerator vent that works perfectly. I unscrewed my microwave and took it out. I also took off my refrigerator vent on the roof to let daylight in (see photos). I then walked back inside my RV and I saw what appeared to be daylight coming from refrigerator vent. I drilled a tiny 3/8" hole in thin plywood behind refrigerator to refrigerator vent. I put the wire through the hole. I retrieved wire from the top of rv and made a small hole in chicken wire to let wire pass through. The trick to getting the cable up through refrigerator vent is to take a shoelace, make a loop and droop it down through chicken wire. Have wife sneak wire around, eventually it will go into the loop. Once the wire goes through the loop pull shoelace up.
Next pull wire through to antenna. Give yourself some slack. You want to use EternaBond tape to secure the wire to the roof. You dont' want some branch lifting underneath and ripping it off. Get some rubbing alcohol, clean then tape down wire. Zip tire wire to ladder like observed in photos.
On the inside get the 3/8" waterproof gland, slice off the butt. Glue it to refrigerator vent with some superglue. Then tighten it down to create an air tight seal.
Rest is easy peasy and a matter of wiring. You don't have to go through refrigerator of the vent, you can do it how you want. This is what worked for me
Materials:
Electric drill
Phillips head
3/8" drill bit (to get into refrigerator vent)
EternaBond RoofSeal White 4" x50' MicroSealant UV Stable Roof Seam Repair Tape | 35 mil Total Thickness | EB-RW040-50R - One-Step Durable, Waterproof
IP68 Nylon Waterproof NPT Cable Glands Assortment 20pcs 1/4", 3/8'', 1/2'', 3/4'', 1'' UL Listed and RoHS Cord Grip Compliant Cable Strain Relief Black
