WiFi
- Thread starter bishgeo
- Start date
wdk450
Well-known member
To me, this $349 device does no more than a WiFi hotspot device from one of the cellphone carriers does. The cellphone devices cost much less. Maybe the outside mounting has a little better cellphone signal reception, but all hotspots rebroadcast the signal to your digital devices. Also, I would guess that you are going to have to run a power source cable to the roof-mounted device.
danemayer
Well-known member
Note there are 2 models. One is WiFi only and the other can do both WiFi and 4G Cell Data. It looks like the dual model comes preconfigured to use a Winegard data plan. It also supports Verizon and AT&T.
It's pretty easy to go through quite a bit of cell data when using the cell network to watch cat videos or TV shows. If your intent is to use cell data as your primary way of connecting to the internet, depending on what you expect to do, you may need a large data plan.
You'd have to check with the carriers to find out how much they want to supply you with a SIM card and data plan. If you already have Verizon phones with their data plan, it may just be as simple as adding a device for $10 or $20/month and getting the SIM card. AT&T is probably similar. How much they charge for data depends on how much data you want. We spend most of the summer at a resort that has excellent WiFi with huge data allowances. So most of the year we have a 4GB data plan on our phones and MiFi device. When we head out to Elkhart next summer, I'll probably bump the data plan to 20GB for the month of June and ask DW to minimize watching videos on Facebook.
Looking at the operating manual, you have to have a bit of technical expertise to get it set up. If you're serious, you should call Winegard to see how much free support they'll provide over the phone.
It's pretty easy to go through quite a bit of cell data when using the cell network to watch cat videos or TV shows. If your intent is to use cell data as your primary way of connecting to the internet, depending on what you expect to do, you may need a large data plan.
You'd have to check with the carriers to find out how much they want to supply you with a SIM card and data plan. If you already have Verizon phones with their data plan, it may just be as simple as adding a device for $10 or $20/month and getting the SIM card. AT&T is probably similar. How much they charge for data depends on how much data you want. We spend most of the summer at a resort that has excellent WiFi with huge data allowances. So most of the year we have a 4GB data plan on our phones and MiFi device. When we head out to Elkhart next summer, I'll probably bump the data plan to 20GB for the month of June and ask DW to minimize watching videos on Facebook.
Looking at the operating manual, you have to have a bit of technical expertise to get it set up. If you're serious, you should call Winegard to see how much free support they'll provide over the phone.
Shortest Straw
Caught In A Mosh
We have been using this for 8 months and it works amazingly well. We have not had to use the 4g side yet as our phones always seem to get a usable signal. I do know from talking to support at At&t and Verizon that all I need to do is pull the sim card out of our jet packs to get the 4g to work in it. You do need a 12 volt supply to run it but I just used the 12 volt off of the stereo/radio to power ours. I had it installed in about three hours. It does get a better signal than our pepwave which is inside and it also allows for you to create your own secure network. I was using it on a campground wifi that went down and was able to tap into a McDonald's wifi about 3/4 of a mile away.
