Voice Over Artist Wanting to Do Live Recording While Boondocking

[ComplicatedVan]

I’ve done at least 35 hours of research on the topic of RV internet. I’ve watched and read a ton on this site and in other forums. That said, there are way too many terms, products and possible set-ups and frankly, this is something I don't want to spend the time to become an expert in. I still have no firm understanding of external antennas and which ones are best (or if I even need one...er a 7-in1, that is). So here comes a little bit of my needs and what I THINK I know so far. I greatly appreciate anyone’s help and recommendation of specific set-ups/products.

I am a voice over artist. The dream is to be boondocking and still able to do live jobs. The industry standard for remote live recording sessions is Source Connect. Source Connect only requires 3mbps up and down. I need a consistent ping and possibly port forwarding (although it seems as though they have created a fix for that called Source Stream). I did a little troubleshooting with a Source Connect rep and we tethered from my phone and there was no port mapping and it worked fine. She said there are less “firewalls” in phones and she never really had trouble with cellular (not sure if this translates to cellular modems).

I found these two links helpful as well as some posts in RVForums:
How we get Internet in our RV
https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/forum/show-off-your-setup/dual-4x4-mimo/

As far as I can tell, most people these days are using Pepwave/Peplink products. I would normally assume that I don’t need the Rolls Royce of these products, but from what I read, people who are in remote areas have found greater ability to get signal using 4x4 MIMO antennas. I thought these units all came with antennas and have read forums where it seems as though people do just fine with the units themselves. But it also seems like enough people use external roof mounted antennas. Can someone verify for me whether or not these products come with antennas and whether or not it is imperative that I have an external antenna? We are just finishing mock ups of the interior of my van and the sooner I can figure all of this out the better - for wiring purposes.

It would seem I want one of these Pep products and then possibly a hotspot like a Jetpack or Nighthawk. I wonder why I wouldn’t just get SIM cards for two carriers and put them in one of these Peps because everyone talks about the benefits of two carriers for redundancy. But then people also seem to say they have the ability to set up a hotspot so that the router communicates with it and their setup can then do the same carrier switching. Seems like choices like this (have a hotspot or not) are based on data deals associated with them or considerations of portability (I have no such concerns - just need internet in the van).

I saw one couple that bought an RF antenna. I see people talking about Poynting antennas and then they list off multiple options (2-in-1, 5-in-1, 7-in-one). I realize this correlates to the antenna options attached to the router with 7 in 1 meaning 4 cellular, 2 wifi and 1 gps (I think).

People talk about the Pepwave BR1 MK2 as well as the Max Transit Duo. I don’t know if either of those is 4x4 MIMO and, yes I have looked for that information. I assume I want a Cat-18 because it offers the most bands and thus would increase my ability of finding a signal.

I have sometimes thought, why don’t I just get a really good cell phone data tethering plan and then a separate hotspot.

Some days I’m totally sure what I’m going to do and then I read more and get more confused.

Like tonight when I became totally unsure while writing this if the products I’ve been looking at for a couple weeks even have antennas that come with them.

I often see people saying that they don’t even end up using their boosters or their external antennas because the antennas attached to the routers (especially 4x4 mimo) work great.

Please help and thank you very much.

 

[lemondrop9344]

I have a Pepwave CAT-18. I selected this unit because it has the capability to house 2 SIM cards & will connect to RV park wifi if available & of sufficient quality to use. Cellular data plans can be a hassle. I acquired a grandfathered AT&T Unlimited plan from a reseller. I also have multiple SIMs from Verizon (30 gbs/month data only) & I can tether my Verizon phone via USB or use it as a hotspot. Ethernet connectivity was important to me as I have a NAS. Would encourage you to think about other parts of your IT setup with regards to what you want to do.
The unit came with a total of 7 paddle antennas, one of which is for GPS. I have a 7-1 external antenna which I have yet to install on the roof of the RV. Paddle antennas have worked very well on both Verizon & AT&T.
From my perspective, it's a balancing act (dollar wise) between equipment capabilities (how much data can you use with your equipment), how much data you have available from your providers (WiFi & cellular carriers), along with the quality of the signal. You can have the best equipment in the world with unlimited data & if you can't get a signal, or, the source is overloaded.... you are dead in the water.
For this reason, people who are dependent on internet connectivity usually have some redundancy & backup alternatives to get at the internet (multiple SIMs, multiple carriers, external antennas for remote locations, etc.). I would encourage you to validate whatever equipment you choose to acquire is 'certified' by the cellular carrier(s) you choose. While there are most likely work arounds to get it working, it's a hassle I choose to avoid.
Peplink has a forum (can get sort of technical) which goes into a lot of 'how to' with their equipment. Might be worth taking a look to see if anyone on there is doing something similar to what you are doing.

 

[CaptainGizmo]

I’m laughing because you said there is too many terms and products and you don’t wanna become an expert in this. LOL...too late...you’ve already blurted out WAY more than I even choose to follow...and I’m a PepWave dude!

Honestly? The Low Drag solution...or should I say suggestion...for you is to start with a SIMPLE hotspot from your carrier!! It is, BY FAR, the most straight-forward, easy to install/use, and CHEAPER than every other mobile router by a mile.

Your “voice audio” needs are a piece of cake, in terms of bandwidth and throughout speeds. Even a “tethered” phone or iPad would be sufficient. So, no worries there. I’m just not a fan of using my iPhone as a Personal Hotspot.

Lately, some guys have been nailing some pretty good deals on the hotspots. Like the offering from T-Mobile for $7/mo for the device and $50/mo for data. Frankly, YOU could do it even cheaper with a tablet add-on like I have; and that’s a mere $15/mo...that’s all!

So, I hope this helps you in a “non-complicated” answer.

 

[lemondrop9344]

I’m laughing because you said there is too many terms and products and you don’t wanna become an expert in this. LOL...too late...you’ve already blurted out WAY more than I even choose to follow...and I’m a PepWave dude!

Honestly? The Low Drag solution...or should I say suggestion...for you is to start with a SIMPLE hotspot from your carrier!! It is, BY FAR, the most straight-forward, easy to install/use, and CHEAPER than every other mobile router by a mile.

Your “voice audio” needs are a piece of cake, in terms of bandwidth and throughout speeds. Even a “tethered” phone or iPad would be sufficient. So, no worries there. I’m just not a fan of using my iPhone as a Personal Hotspot.

Lately, some guys have been nailing some pretty good deals on the hotspots. Like the offering from T-Mobile for $7/mo for the device and $50/mo for data. Frankly, YOU could do it even cheaper with a tablet add-on like I have; and that’s a mere $15/mo...that’s all!

So, I hope this helps you in a “non-complicated” answer.

 

[lemondrop9344]

Something to think about.
Cellular connectivity from outside your network (LAN) can get a little spooky if the application requires connecting to a device on your LAN. I took a brief look at the specs for the software you referenced. I get the impression, there are some servers somewhere which will need to communicate with the device(s) which will reside behind the connection to your cellular provider. That may or not be a correct assumption. I would assume you would know though.
I encountered this issue (IPV4 with CGNAT) while trying to establish NAS to NAS backups where the remote NAS could not access my local NAS. This is a function of how the majority of the cellular carriers allocate IPV4 addresses. See below for a more detailed explanation on CGNAT (copied from the web).
While a typical phone/table with a hotspot may be more than adequate (speed wise) for sending out your data, if the servers you are sending the data to require communications with your device, you need to make sure what ever device you are using for internet service affords you that flexibility. Typically it involves a 'software' work around vs. a 'hardware' solution.
I went full time a year ago & found out the hard way that if it (your set up with all components) works with a typical residential ISP, that is no guarantee it will work when you are connecting with a cellular connection.
I assume your intent is to earn income doing Voice Over. I would encourage you explore if the IPV4 addressing issues with CGNAT will impact your setup. If it does, you will need additional 'stuff' to supplement your cellular device.
Good luck!

CGNAT​

There is another thorny issue with LTE broadband that presented a much greater challenge…
CGNAT stands for Carrier-Grade NAT. It is a type of large-scale NAT (Network Address Translation) used by carriers to deliver Internet service to large numbers of users. One of the primary uses of CGNAT is to limit the number of public IPv4 addresses that are issued to subscribers. This has become a more pressing issue in recent years owing to the emergent IPv4 address exhaustion issue.
Most LTE broadband providers use CGNAT. The IP address subscribers receive is a “private” IP address (typically within 100.64.0.0/10, which is specifically designated by IANA for this purpose, however the 172.16.0.0/12 block is also sometimes used owing to it being uncommon in consumer private networks).

 

[ComplicatedVan]

Something to think about.
Cellular connectivity from outside your network (LAN) can get a little spooky if the application requires connecting to a device on your LAN. I took a brief look at the specs for the software you referenced. I get the impression, there are some servers somewhere which will need to communicate with the device(s) which will reside behind the connection to your cellular provider. That may or not be a correct assumption. I would assume you would know though.
I encountered this issue (IPV4 with CGNAT) while trying to establish NAS to NAS backups where the remote NAS could not access my local NAS. This is a function of how the majority of the cellular carriers allocate IPV4 addresses. See below for a more detailed explanation on CGNAT (copied from the web).
While a typical phone/table with a hotspot may be more than adequate (speed wise) for sending out your data, if the servers you are sending the data to require communications with your device, you need to make sure what ever device you are using for internet service affords you that flexibility. Typically it involves a 'software' work around vs. a 'hardware' solution.
I went full time a year ago & found out the hard way that if it (your set up with all components) works with a typical residential ISP, that is no guarantee it will work when you are connecting with a cellular connection.
I assume your intent is to earn income doing Voice Over. I would encourage you explore if the IPV4 addressing issues with CGNAT will impact your setup. If it does, you will need additional 'stuff' to supplement your cellular device.
Good luck!

CGNAT​

There is another thorny issue with LTE broadband that presented a much greater challenge…
CGNAT stands for Carrier-Grade NAT. It is a type of large-scale NAT (Network Address Translation) used by carriers to deliver Internet service to large numbers of users. One of the primary uses of CGNAT is to limit the number of public IPv4 addresses that are issued to subscribers. This has become a more pressing issue in recent years owing to the emergent IPv4 address exhaustion issue.
Most LTE broadband providers use CGNAT. The IP address subscribers receive is a “private” IP address (typically within 100.64.0.0/10, which is specifically designated by IANA for this purpose, however the 172.16.0.0/12 block is also sometimes used owing to it being uncommon in consumer private networks).

I truly and deeply appreciate you for going so far as to look up Source Connect and its requirements. And I am very grateful for your detailed response. Unfortunately, I am a history major and a professional actor and I really just have no idea what you are saying other than the Source Connect software may experience a problem when I am trying to transmit my voice from my microphone, through my computer, into the air, then back to the engineer's rig on the other end of Source Connect. As I said, I used my phone as a hotspot (untethered, actually) with a rep from Source Connect and it all worked out fine. I'm not asking you to translate what you wrote, I just want you to know I appreciate the effort.

When you say you have a Pepwave Cat-18, is that the Max Transit Duo? I think if I don't just go the Hotspot connected to external, roof-mounted antenna route, I will be looking for a cellular router that has the ability to instantaneously switch between carriers. Which I think is called a bonded connection. As far as I understand, that would require me having a dual modem unit.

 

[ComplicatedVan]

I’m laughing because you said there is too many terms and products and you don’t wanna become an expert in this. LOL...too late...you’ve already blurted out WAY more than I even choose to follow...and I’m a PepWave dude!

Honestly? The Low Drag solution...or should I say suggestion...for you is to start with a SIMPLE hotspot from your carrier!! It is, BY FAR, the most straight-forward, easy to install/use, and CHEAPER than every other mobile router by a mile.

Your “voice audio” needs are a piece of cake, in terms of bandwidth and throughout speeds. Even a “tethered” phone or iPad would be sufficient. So, no worries there. I’m just not a fan of using my iPhone as a Personal Hotspot.

Lately, some guys have been nailing some pretty good deals on the hotspots. Like the offering from T-Mobile for $7/mo for the device and $50/mo for data. Frankly, YOU could do it even cheaper with a tablet add-on like I have; and that’s a mere $15/mo...that’s all!

So, I hope this helps you in a “non-complicated” answer.

What Pepwave product do you have? What carriers do you use? If you have a dual modem Pepwave do you do that thing called bonding? My understanding of bonding is that it allows the modem to switch carriers seamlessly with no signal loss if one carrier becomes non-viable. Thanks so much!

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Let's talk about the dream. First off no equipment works when there is no signal. For this reason people have more than one provider. One service will not cover all locations. I have one of the better plans that verizon has and on the weekends where I summer the service will be over burdened. Where I winter verizon is the only carrier.

I use a samsung phone and seldom have problems with the speed you need, and if a phone works for your needs That should work for you. The advantage of using the phone is of course one carrier bill. You still get your calls. Two phones on different carriers give you more locations you can operate but not all areas have any airwaves.

In my opinion start with the phone with hot spot and move up from there if needed.

 

[lemondrop9344]

I have a Pepwave Max Transit CAT-18. It is a single modem router dual SIM device. In it's present configuration, it will only connect to one cellular service at a time. I use AT&T & Verizon. Switch over from one cellular carrier to another is not seamless without additional hardware or software. However, if you have decent WiFi available, the switch over to WiFi is instantaneous if your cellular coverage goes down.

Network Guides

This page explains what port forwarding is, why you need it, and how to do it. Source-Connect needs two UDP ports forwarded to the computer you are running

support.source-elements.com

ComplicatedVan, at the risk of offending you, have your read the information available from the web site for the software you plan on using (see link above)? If none of what is in the link above makes any sense to you, I would submit you have a steep learning curve ahead of you. There appears to be more involved (based on what I read) than just sending a processed file somewhere.

Out of curiosity, have you acquired the software and used it on your computer yet?

 

[CaptainGizmo]

What Pepwave product do you have? What carriers do you use? If you have a dual modem Pepwave do you do that thing called bonding? My understanding of bonding is that it allows the modem to switch carriers seamlessly with no signal loss if one carrier becomes non-viable. Thanks so much!

Ok. So...

I’ve got the new Transit DUO with Dual modems. It’s their most expensive offering for that model but allows me full time dual carriers.

I’d forget about true bonding, per se, because it’s gonna take more money thrown at PepWave via their SpeedFusion service. As it is, the Duo allows me to “Load Balance” if I wish. Not the same, but fine. Once again, your needs are very, VERY light so either of these will be fine on a good Carrier.

I also had the Max BR1 MkII which is a SINGLE modem with 2 SIM slots. It’s fine, but takes 2 minutes for a switchover; something that was too long for my patient-pants.