Lippert OneControl Hotspot - alternatives/thoughts?

[lukasbernat]

so my wolf pup 18BHSBL came with the prep system.. working in tech i did a bit of digging. my conclusion is that the extension you can buy here is garbage. apart from the price, close to 500, is not even the main problem. it forces you into AT/T with a low data plan. being happy with verizon (had at/t in the past - awful coverage/reliability) and also having an high data hotspot, i thought I could just re-use the SIM with this system. Nope. even willing to spend the 500 dollars.
I did some research if you still could utilize the panel+antenna base, and the answer is sort of. the panel has standard coax connections. there is plenty of 4GE/5g LTE routers which do support this. in the ~100-200 range. the problem is the external antenna base. only lippert makes those, and you can NOT buy them separately. you could definitely hack something together and buy 3rd party antennas and glue them to the base.
anyone has better options here? (not buying the system)
for now, I went with this device.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
this should work better then the verizon jetpack which sucks as well. and it is cheap.

[phil435]

My Wolf Pup 17JGBL came with this same setup. The good news is that the black labels, or at least mine, is fiberglass instead of the aluminum faraday cages. I typically just use an iPAD or my phone and use the hotspot but your device should have better range that you purchased. The only issue that I run into is that my 25GB unlimited plan throttles to isdn like speeds after hitting the limit. I use mine for streaming tv while at the campground though. I did notice that verizon does have larger plans now but they are quiet expensive.

[lukasbernat]

i got a verizon hotspot with my phone plan, for 10usd/month.
it also says 'unlimited' but after you hit 15gb it is completely useless since it throttles. this can be circumvented by utilizing special software which you can run on your phone ( I know how to do this on android), but eventually they may noticed and kick you off

Originally Posted by phil435

My Wolf Pup 17JGBL came with this same setup. The good news is that the black labels, or at least mine, is fiberglass instead of the aluminum faraday cages. I typically just use an iPAD or my phone and use the hotspot but your device should have better range that you purchased. The only issue that I run into is that my 25GB unlimited plan throttles to isdn like speeds after hitting the limit. I use mine for streaming tv while at the campground though. I did notice that verizon does have larger plans now but they are quiet expensive.

[phil435]

Originally Posted by lukasbernat

i got a verizon hotspot with my phone plan, for 10usd/month.
it also says 'unlimited' but after you hit 15gb it is completely useless since it throttles. this can be circumvented by utilizing special software which you can run on your phone ( I know how to do this on android), but eventually they may noticed and kick you off

Sounds like they are not traffic shaping certain types of traffic then. I'm sure it won't be long until they de-prioritize all traffic except voip.

[lukasbernat]

Originally Posted by phil435

Sounds like they are not traffic shaping certain types of traffic then. I'm sure it won't be long until they de-prioritize all traffic except voip.

this will work only on your phone. most data plans are truly unlimited, except for tether data. the way they detect this is by checking the TTL of your packets and counting those against the tether (if packet is larger then 64).
you can read more here; https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/com...limited_plans/
it also gives you a way how to do it. it is easy to do on windows/mac/linux, but probably difficult on smart TV and ipad
I have not done this yet, but it should work. my guess they won't bother with you unless you go something like 10x over the regular usage (but that even maybe not)

[lukasbernat]

also a note, if anybody is interested. I just finished setting up the device from amazon (cudy) as above. it allows for custom TTL override. that means that you should have unlimited streaming(it will bypass tether limits) and don't have anything on device itself. do at your own risk
i can provide more details if anybody is interested. there is a bit of basic tech knowledge, but i think an average person can do this with instructions. probably not my father in law.

[apwelsh]

I have not worked out the details yet, but my plan is to use those antenna wires to run a King Falcon directional WiFi antenna (with King WiFi Max router), and a weBoost Drive Reach RV 5G cell booster. In this way, I get great wifi at parks that offer it (I have been using the wifi solution in my HotorHome, and it is great). And the 5G cell booster only needs a single antenna wire for exceptional signal boosting.

My plan is the drill two holes in the lippert antenna box, and feed the cables through using their supplied compression fittings made for this very thing. Then I will direct mount the antennas to the roof, the same as any other roof mounted solution, and bury the screws, and all seems under a mountain of lap seal.

Curious if anyone has done this yet. I will need to figure out the power issue, since the in-wall, pre-installed panel's power is a type of phono jack with 12V. Maybe I will install a power adaptor to convert 12VDC down to what I need for the different devices, and run separate wires into the wall from behind the devices.

[apwelsh]

Originally Posted by lukasbernat

I went with this device.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
this should work better then the verizon jetpack which sucks as well. and it is cheap.

Those antennas on the router likely have one for the cellular. If that is the case, you can run a cable from the antenna port of the router, to the in-wall jack, and then you can install a high-gain Cellular antenna on the roof, giving you better cell service.

Scratch that, those antenna are not removable. You may want to find one that has removable antennas, and supports an external cellular antenna option, that way you get better signal than the jetpack.

[lukasbernat]

not sure if a 5g booster for 500+ makes much sense. 5g is still pretty rare, especially outside of cities.
the Drive X RV seems like it supports both 4g/5g?
but i'm not even sure if you need to roof mount and go through the hassle.
a combination of the device you mentioned + the one from amazon I posted could work very well. but then this seems to be a bit of hassle, unless you camp a LOT.
just wish the lippert would be more universal, forcing people into at/t is just a bad idea.