Hi
I’m considering the above device for use in my motorhome. Three questions:
Is it worth the effort of placing an internal 5G antenna on the roof. If so, what specs?
For capturing a weak site wifi signal (assuming it’s not going to a single ADSL shared amongst 30+ users! 
) would an external rooftop antenna(e) be worth it. If so what type(s).
Would a cigar lighter - or Hella 5v (supposedly capable of delivering 3A) be sufficient to drive the device reliably?
Thanks in advance.
Ben
I am seeing quite a bit of seemingly AI generated answers from this user ...
I don't think so.
Powering
- Number of DC inputs1 (DC jack)
- DC jack input Voltage12-28 V
- Max power consumption27 W
- Max power consumption without attachments18 W
Apart from the needed voltage between 12-28V, a 5V/3A PSU gives you at most 15W, without any losses calculated that already brings you below the minimum of 18W which is needed for this device. During startup power draw will typically be a bit higher so definitely not ok.
What the motorhome is? Camper or anything else as English is not my native language. Assuming camper or any other "car based" thing.
Why are you considering 5V PSU from cigarette lighter? Dosn't these campers deliver 12V at least? How old is it? I have in my daily car a 220V converter available as a built-in device. Aren't the contemporary campers/trailers equipped with such a convenience? If yes you can use it to power not only router. You can even make simple cable with lighter connector and proper plug to power router directly from cigarette lighter socket. It's DC PSU.
Thanks, yes should have spotted 5vx3A doesn’t work! I think Hella outlets can go up to 20A - I’ll check the fuse in the distribution box. I was trying to avoid having to use the inverter, which I typically turn off when driving.
Motorhome=Campervan.
I do have a 240AC inverter which we connect when parked . I’d prefer to charge direct from the battery if possible.
I assume that an inverter is needed as a last resort when it comes to powering camper devices as they are/should be designed to be powerd with 12/24 DC. Moreover the internal camper installation is assumed to be able to deliver quite a lot of power that implies thick cables and a lot of different type of sockets and connection points where additional devices could be connected.
I would also like to know the antenna connector types - I’m assuming the Wifi ones are SMA, but the 4/5G ones.
Also, I guess both antennae would have to be dual chain?
I'm not sure if it has LTE external antenna connector.
Let's start with the best setup for an RV (or boat/bus/etc) is external antennas for LTE/5G and internal antennas for Wi-Fi. Reason being the cellular signal is going to be much stronger if it does not have metal between tower and antennas – which mean some sharkfin/etc on roof. Reverse is true for Wi-Fi since you'd likely want a strong signal in the cabin of RV/etc, which similar does not like to go through metal.
Now if one take MikroTik current offerings...none come plug-and-play for the RV/etc case. The CHATEAU 5G AX R17 comes close, however as @BartoszP correct notes the stock antenna connectors on back for Wi-Fi, not LTE/5G. So you cannot add cellular antenna on roof using them, and given you likely don't need external Wi-Fi antennas for the area of even larger RV.... this is problematic. Now, if you open the Chateau up, and buy 2 x SMA pigtails, you wire the antenna ports to the cell modem inside Chateau, but you'd lose 4x4 Wi-Fi MIMO since there aren't enough ports for it (and only 2 internal Wi-Fi antennas).
Another, cheaper, choice that allow external LTE (no 5G) and internal Wi-Fi is wAP LTE6. Again you'd still need open it up to add the 2 x SMA pigtails. Now you'd only get 2x2 Wi-Fi 5 and LTE Cat6 modem. But it's 150 less, and likely small/easier/cleaner to mount on wall inside RV than the tabletop Chateau. Now it also only has 16MB of flash, which is often problematic for upgrades. And there is also the LtAP, but this only has 2Ghz Wi-Fi and older LTE, but similar allows pigtails to be added.
On the power... the wAP LTE6 has max of 16W power so you'd at least be "closer" to watts from the cigarette DC jack. The Chateau claims a max of 27W which is pretty far from the 15W you got. Still you'd could blow a fuse even with wAP-LTE6, so cannot recommend that. And imagine there is some place in the RV to tap the 12V power tied to ignition switch (or perhaps some "house"/aux batteries). Also if planning to wire up a roof antenna, tapping power seems the easier of the tasks.
And if you're planning on using the RV in North America, the Chateau is not going to work at all. And the wAP-LTE6 be limited to only certain carriers and areas in North America.
So IMO there are not a lot of great choices here... Although with a little handy work, you cobble together a decent solution for RV...just not "plug-and-play".
Maybe also have a look at the bare bones RB boards or their AX counterparts ?
Some have required antenna connections I believe.
Just need custom enclosure then ( 3D printing ? ).
It is also worth to consider how to make holes to install antennas.
The main question is: Is this camper made from metal that makes it Faraday's cage or is it a plastic shell that is not going to be a problem for LTE/WiFI?
Yup. Figuring out how to tap DC bus seem an easier problems here...
If goal is easiest, I forgot about the hAP ax Lite LTE6... that work with the 5V power, tiny, and no drilling. Speed be lower, but geez drilling holes is a lot of work for a better speedtest result. Again, the hAP ax Lite LTE6 is not going to work in North America (why I forget about it)
But wasn't LtAP designed for vehicles?
Sure... but it's Wi-Fi 4 and 2Ghz only. Also only LTE6 (Cat6 speeds, no 5G).
Thanks for that… guess I hadn’t thought the Wifi use case - if my antennae are outside not so good for the signal inside - DOH!
But long story short, looks like device I was looking at probably isn’t optimal anyway.
Not a faraday cage by any means - not even sure you get much signal drop from outside to inside.
What I wanted was to a) have a Mifi device for sharing in van b) use height and higher gain to make marginal signal useable.
Maybe it is just me, but I am not understanding the requirements (or somehow they are mixed together).
Can you clarify them?
The source of internet connection is EITHER a LTE/4G/5G OR a local (van parking) WIFI (OR both, depending on where the VAN is)?
If the shell is plastic/fiberglass or similar the reception (inside vs. outside) won't be much different.
If the issue is low signal (as in long distance to the nearest telecom LTE/4G/5G tower or parking AP) the only thing that would help would (IMHO) be a directional antenna (that you can rotate, pointing it to the source) on the roof.
If the issue is low signal from the parking wifi, using (inside, no need for an external antenna) a Mikrotik CPE kind of device would probably help, without drilling/modifications are needed.
A common setup (for boats) is to have an external antenna/CPE on the top of the mast, then bring the signal inside through an ethernet cable and have inside a small AP with an "own" wifi, but in the case of a camper/van there is not that much of an advantage as an antenna placed on top of the roof would be some 50 cm-1 m higher than one inside, if the shell doesn't act as faraday cage the attenuation for this latter should be unnoticeable.
So you want to make kind of repater:
If you want to amplify weak singal and redistribute it then you definitely need en external directional antenna for WiFi
if you want to use another freq locally to amplify external WiFi then you have to be sure that local freq is different than external one (go back to 1.) and you definitely need en external directional antenna for WiFi (go back to 1.)
IMHO when it comes to directional antennas, you should have one that you can easy access to set it properly. Roof is not quite conviniet for that. It would be better to have any clamp(s)/hook(s)/hanger(s) to be used to attach it on the side that would be the best to point to the external AP. The best solution would be a magnetic hook.
To protect the antenna from being stolen you should use Kensington lock cable.
... though not very effective on plastic/fiberglass shell ... 