Tip Getting Connected On The Road video

[CaptainGizmo]

@CaptainGizmo
That video is well done. Are you running off the antennas on the pepwave to get your signal or do you have antennas up on the roof?

Thank you. Yes using the STOCK antennas which are MORE than enough!

 

[CaptainGizmo]

@CaptainGizmo Thanks for the response to my last questions. I have one more. I'm not sure what the "SpeedFusion" subscription does for me or more to my concern to me if I don't maintain the subscription. Will I need to maintain the SpeedFusion subscription to have the router functionality you cover in the video, i.e. 2 modems operating at once, multi carrier, ability to have WIFI as WAN, etc. ?

No. You will have NO NEED to maintain the SF sub. It provides a level of redundancy and “Hot Failover” that most RV travelers will never need or use. It’s more for those who can’t ever tolerate any latency or interruptions in their service; like critical tasks, finance, public safety, trading, etc.

A PepWave Transit Duo will function with two modems, yet use just one carrier at a time when normally configured without SF. True “bonding” of both carriers and instant changeover is why you would sub to SF.

Bottom line is, if you don’t know what it is, I guarantee you don’t need it and why I didn’t talk about it in the video.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

And, further info, @Someday Came , I just verified with 5Gstore.com that in order for you to continue using the benefits of SpeedFusion, you must also maintain the PrimeCare warranty/license, which is another $200/yr.

 

[lemondrop9344]

FYI..... PrimerCare annual warranty/license varies by product. It is substantially less per year for my MAX Transit Cat-18.
I struggled on making a purchase decision between the MAX Transit DUO & the MAX Transit CAT-18. After a year and a half of usage, so far, I do not regret my purchase of the CAT-18.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

FYI..... PrimerCare annual warranty/license varies by product. It is substantially less per year for my MAX Transit Cat-18.
I struggled on making a purchase decision between the MAX Transit DUO & the MAX Transit CAT-18. After a year and a half of usage, so far, I do not regret my purchase of the CAT-18.

Thank you. I’m still attempting to keep my answers in line with my video to avoid confusing viewers. So I’m still referring to the TRANSIT DUO.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

We just recently purchased the transit duo and have it up and running with the first sim. Will be adding the 2nd sim this weekend.

The biggest downside I see to this router, which I knew before purchasing, was that I could not use a tethered hot spot with it.

Much better interior WiFi across the entire coach than what the single vendor hotspots gave us. Also better upload speeds. Look forward to continuing to use more of the functions once we add the sim to the 2nd radio.

 

[Just George]

We just recently purchased the transit duo and have it up and running with the first sim. Will be adding the 2nd sim this weekend.

The biggest downside I see to this router, which I knew before purchasing, was that I could not use a tethered hot spot with it.

Much better interior WiFi across the entire coach than what the single vendor hotspots gave us. Also better upload speeds. Look forward to continuing to use more of the functions once we add the sim to the 2nd radio.

@ MemoriesByTheMile Clarification please. Could you use you hotspot WIFI as a WAN connected to the Pepwave and still have the pepwave as your coach WIFI source?

 

[Just George]

And, further info, @Someday Came , I just verified with 5Gstore.com that in order for you to continue using the benefits of SpeedFusion, you must also maintain the PrimeCare warranty/license, which is another $200/yr.

@CaptainGizmo Thanks for the additional info. Yikes, $200 for SpeedFusion & another $200 for PrimeCare and both of those before there is any carrier service! I just don't like subscription services, much prefer to pay once and upgrade down the road if I need to. Per your previous input sounds like I don't need the subscriptions which is good since those costs would be a non starter for me. I've been following the forum dialog on Pepwave vs Cradlepoint, carriers, plans, and antennas for quite some time. Pepwave seemed to be the way to go. We are only casual users however not being able to deliver a reasonable internet connection tends to produce unfavorable comments for the IT department i.e. me. Thanks again for sharing your insight.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

We just recently purchased the transit duo and have it up and running with the first sim. Will be adding the 2nd sim this weekend.

The biggest downside I see to this router, which I knew before purchasing, was that I could not use a tethered hot spot with it.

Much better interior WiFi across the entire coach than what the single vendor hotspots gave us. Also better upload speeds. Look forward to continuing to use more of the functions once we add the sim to the 2nd radio.

WHOA WHOA WHOA!!
You absolutely CAN have a Pepwave use a HotSpot as your internet source, just as I mentioned in my video!!!!!!

Not sure where your problem is, but I’ll help you with these steps:

1. Get your Hotspot on and connected with a signal.

2. In the InControl2 portal, set your 2.4ghz and 5ghz WANs to Priority 1.

3. Depending on your HotSpot’s spectrum, tap on the 2.4 or 5 “Wireless Networks” button on that WAN’s line.

4. PepWave will search and find your HotSpot as well as others.

5. Tap Connect on the line of your hotspot.

6. Enter the password.

7. After a brief period, it will connect!

Be sure you Save and/or Apply Changes any tome you back out of the settings.

This routine has worked for me, as well as hundreds others. Unless you’ve got something strange or proprietary, it will work for you as well.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

@ MemoriesByTheMile Clarification please. Could you use you hotspot WIFI as a WAN connected to the Pepwave and still have the pepwave as your coach WIFI source?

Please don’t let him confuse you!!!

YES YES YES!!

The PepWave can RECEIVE any WiFi signal as it’s “source”, completely independent of broadcasting its own WiFi signal as an “AP” (access point, aka hotspot).

Again, as I described in my video, AP network (Coach) of a PepWave is a complete stand-alone network on its own. Feeding it a “source” is up to your choice between: wired (Ethernet), wifi 2.4/5ghz radio (hotpot), or wireless (cellular modems).

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

@ MemoriesByTheMile Clarification please. Could you use you hotspot WIFI as a WAN connected to the Pepwave and still have the pepwave as your coach WIFI source?

WHOA WHOA WHOA!!
You absolutely CAN have a Pepwave use a HotSpot as your internet source, just as I mentioned in my video!!!!!!

Not sure where your problem is, but I’ll help you with these steps:

1. Get your Hotspot on and connected with a signal.

2. In the InControl2 portal, set your 2.4ghz and 5ghz WANs to Priority 1.

3. Depending on your HotSpot’s spectrum, tap on the 2.4 or 5 “Wireless Networks” button on that WAN’s line.
View attachment 8221

4. PepWave will search and find your HotSpot as well as others.

5. Tap Connect on the line of your hotspot.
View attachment 8222

6. Enter the password.

7. After a brief period, it will connect!

Be sure you Save and/or Apply Changes any tome you back out of the settings.

This routine has worked for me, as well as hundreds others. Unless you’ve got something strange or proprietary, it will work for you as well.

Thank you for the suggestion. Yes, I was able to follow this and use the Sprint MiFi as a WiFi source in Pepwave.

I need to go back and watch CaptainGizmo video. Have lots to learn about routers and how to configure this router.

I tried adding the Sprint sim into the Pepwave and it won’t get an IP address. (This is from FMCA) Has anyone successfully moved the FMCA/Sprint sim from the FMCA supplied hotspot to the Pepwave router? Is there some setting that needs to be changed in Pepwave?

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

I am also trying to figure out how I can restrict a connected device to ONLY use a specific WAN connection. Any pointers on how to do that? (Or could go about it from the opposite direction - I want to keep ATT only for use on a work laptop and the other devices can use other WAN routes)

 

["EZ"]

I tried adding the Sprint sim into the Pepwave and it won’t get an IP address. (This is from FMCA) Has anyone successfully moved the FMCA/Sprint sim from the FMCA supplied hotspot to the Pepwave router? Is there some setting that needs to be changed in Pepwave?

I was hoping to get the FMCA Sprint unlimited hot spot and tether it to my Pepwave router via a cable to the WAN (?) port so I could use it to watch TV? Is this how you would do it? I don't think taking the SIM out of the hot spot and installing it into the router will work. Maybe I'm wrong?

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

I was hoping to get the FMCA Sprint unlimited hot spot and tether it to my Pepwave router via a cable to the WAN (?) port so I could use it to watch TV? Is this how you would do it? I don't think taking the SIM out of the hot spot and installing it into the router will work. Maybe I'm wrong?

Tethering by cable isn’t an option (that I can see) but what was suggested by Captain Gizmo and Someday Came (look in thread above) worked for me. “Tethering” using WiFi, the Pepwave can connect to the Sprint pack and then share that connection on the Pepwave’s much stronger WiFi signal. I do notice it is slightly slower than connecting directly to Sprint pack. Also have seen some unexplained stops in service from the Pepwave that I am trying to understand. Pepwave tells me that the Sprint connection has DNS error and I cannot yet determine why. But once I resolve this I will be a happy camper! Sprint as my primary and then ATT as my secondary (and where it is available I can add Canpground WiFi into the equation too).

 

[CaptainGizmo]

Tethering by cable isn’t an option (that I can see) but what was suggested by Captain Gizmo and Someday Came (look in thread above) worked for me. “Tethering” using WiFi, the Pepwave can connect to the Sprint pack and then share that connection on the Pepwave’s much stronger WiFi signal. I do notice it is slightly slower than connecting directly to Sprint pack. Also have seen some unexplained stops in service from the Pepwave that I am trying to understand. Pepwave tells me that the Sprint connection has DNS error and I cannot yet determine why. But once I resolve this I will be a happy camper! Sprint as my primary and then ATT as my secondary (and where it is available I can add Canpground WiFi into the equation too).

Keep both Services in Priority 1. Let the PepWave use them both. There are differing settings that can optimize connections, but likely to confuse you at this point.

With the FMCA card not working in another device, like the PepWave, my first thought is that the SIM is locked to that Sprint HotSpot. Without them giving you an unlock code, it would be the same as trying to take the SIM out of a phone that’s locked to Sprint or any other network. This is why an appropriate “internet” (unlocked) SIM card and plan is necessary for any standalone router.