CAT 6 versus CAT 18 LTE Modems

[Cinergi]

This is only my opinion and this is not science, the science is the modem capabilities, the antenna capabilities the wiring. @turbopilot can better speak on the science, I'll offer my opinions on real world experience instead, which all of us know, but this is my rationale for not throwing a gazillion dollars at cellular.
(snip)

Wow, thanks! A lot to digest. I have a few free days now that I'm full of Turkey LOL.

And you can bet I'll follow up with details and a new video to replace my old one which covers my Internet setup.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[VTPete]

Neal, where in your coach did you mount your Pepwave BR1 Mk2? where did you get the DC power? I can't use the front AV cabinet - it's stuffed after the Direct TV installation and too hot as it is. Do you have details on your installation somewhere to share?

 

[Neal]

Neal, where in your coach did you mount your Pepwave BR1 Mk2? where did you get the DC power? I can't use the front AV cabinet - it's stuffed after the Direct TV installation and too hot as it is. Do you have details on your installation somewhere to share?

I ceiling mounted the 2 pepwaves. I ran 12V up from under the steering wheel from a 12V plug up the left A pillar and into the AV cabinet on my coach. Not hard. Ran red and white.

 

[VTPete]

Thanks. I'm thinking of using the midship 1/2 bath. I have 12v on the fuse block there and it looks like i have access to the roof via cables leaving there. Anyone know if it's easy to pull something to the roof from there? If so it would be a pretty short run to one of the AC's for the antenna

 

[Neal]

I used the half bath and up to the roof for my first LED light install. Not hard but be careful of all the electrical coming together there. I had to carefully cut a hole with a hole saw to be able to fish a wire as the one hole Newmar used was jam packed. Measure 20 times and drill once. Yeah, I missed 1-2 times from being stupid. Nothing Dicor can’t handle. [emoji849]

 

[VTPete]

Rereading this thread today as I'm still figuring out what I want to buy. I'm getting a quote on the IBR900 + Dock + MC400 TurboPilot favors as it's a 4x4 MIMO solution.

I've recently been favoring the new Max Transit Duo (MAX Transit > Peplink) with 2 x Cat 18 modems but best I can tell it's only 2x2 MIMO. It doesn't really say in the specs if it supports 4x4 MIMO for the cellular and the 5G store answer wasn't really clear. So I'm still trying to sort this part out. Wouldn't Cat18 HAVE to be 4x4 if properly supported by the antenna?

I do like the Poynting 7 in 1 Solution Cinergi pointed out earlier, seems a better solution even if I choose the Max Transit as it's a single unit for all and has an integrated grounding plate like the Panorama.

I appreciate any input!

 

[Neal]

I don't think the DUO is CAT 18 yet, only the single modem version.

One big plus for Pepwave, to me, is the ability to set the TTL value to help prevent carriers from detecting hotspot vs. mobile phone which "may" give us better speeds. I use this valuable feature and have great speeds with my CAT 6 setup. I don't know if Cradlepoint offers this and to me this is a must have feature that keeps me with Pepwave.

I'm very happy with my Panorama antennas, I have not tried or compared to Poynting.

 

[VTPete]

Now that i look again on the Pepwave website, they show a Max Transit Duo Cat 12, but Cat 18 is only with the single modem. I guess it was 2 x CAT12 at $999 :-(
Yes, i love the fact they added the ability to configure TTL in the FW update last fall.

 

[webops]

Now that i look again on the Pepwave website, they show a Max Transit Duo Cat 12, but Cat 18 is only with the single modem. I guess it was 2 x CAT12 at $999 :-(
Yes, i love the fact they added the ability to configure TTL in the FW update last fall.

@VTPete Which system did you end up going with?

 

[Neal]

Beware of CAT 18. Last I heard T-Mobile was disallowing them.