WEBOOST SIGNAL BOOSTER INSTALL (start-to-finish)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ต.ค. 2022
- A cell signal booster is a must if you are working from the road or simply can't be without cell signal. This video shows a simple start-to-finish install of the WeBoost 4g/5g signal booster and brief startup testing.
WeBoost Drive Reach RV: amzn.to/3gYr83O
Get this Unaka mount for your 8020 roof rack instead of the way I did it: collabs.shop/6cqx1j
Seaview Cable Gland: amzn.to/3TXxrmQ
12V Hardwire Kit from Weboost: www.weboost.com/products/hard...
12V Hardwire Kit from Amazon (that 'should' fit): amzn.to/3gUUpwb
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I really appreciate how freakin' thorough you guys are with these videos. Super easy to follow and the production value is top notch.
I've seen all of your projects/videos and I'm guessing that may have been your easiest one to date : ) It's always encouraging to experience an easy one once in a while. Thanks again Nate & Steph : )
Great video as always! We installed the system in a larger Travel Trailer. Jayco 287BHSW. Because of the longer run I substituted the coax for LNR400 cable for both internal and external antennas paying attention to the ohm rating of the system and the cable. I use this for boosting a mifi and the puck is about 6 inches from the internal antenna. In this configuration I have seen around 35 db increase which is solid performance increase.
Thanks for the info!
11:20 - Looks super clean. I like having an adjustable height antenna. It makes a HUGE difference out in the boonies with lot of height.
I've installed that same Weboost booster but with a marine omni antenna in my small cabin cruiser boat that I use around the San Juan Island in Washington state. In some of the outer islands I will have only one bar of signal, but with the booster on I'll get 5 out of 5 bars. It does use a fair amount of energy, so we need to conscious about that. You might want to install a toggle switch so you don't have to plug and unplug the power connection all the time. For me, the device works as advertised and I have been very happy with it.
Yeah, same. This is our second one. The first one worked great (but went with the Sprinter when we sold it). We considered the toggle switch, but it was just much more clean to unplug it as desired.
Your van is coming on great guns guys, can't wait for the day it is out running.
We have the same weboost unit with a poynting marine antenna. Our tests have been the higher the outside antenna the better and our phones really see a increased signal strength when they are right beside the inside antenna.
I have had my WeBoost installed for almost 2 years. I have found there is a BIG difference based on how far your cell phone is from the interior antenna. In your video you can see that in the second test before mounting the interior antenna you are much closer and the results show. See what the results are when you actually put your phone right next to antenna, you might see even more of a difference than the ten inches or so you have it during your second test.
Wouldn’t a mesh system help with that?
I use a car weboost for our rv and tow vehicle. This way I can use it for both. Thanks Don
Awesome install vid! I would keep the long interior coax handy. I have found the closer you are to the interior antenna the better is works when going cell phone direct. I sometimes need to move the interior antenna around for use convince. (mounted in a 5/W) When I use it for WiFi I keep the MiFi close to the Boost Antenna. Very happy with the system.
That's pretty much exactly how we used our back in the older system in our Sprinter. Nice!
Great tip with the Rust-Oleum paint in all my ears that never occurred to me
Awesome! Glad it helped. Thanks for watching!
I have a hybrid weboost system with the Drive RV components and the weboost Destination RV directional antenna. I doubt it works as well as the entire Destination RV package but it is definitely better than using just the omni-antenna. You may want to try the Destination RV directional antenna as part of your test.
The big thing to watch out for with cellular boosters like this is that most of them only repeat a single channel, and speed over LTE comes from aggregating multiple channels. So, lots of times, if you just leave it on and forget about it, you may be getting a better signal but slower speeds overall.
It’s best to consider this as a specialized tool for when you have a basically unusable signal somewhere-when it’s the difference between making a connection and not. The rest of the time, you’ll find that a high quality external antenna for a dedicated cellular router (such as a Peplink) or hotspot will give you a much better experience.
But, that said… I’m always impressed by y’all’s attention to detail and build quality. 😁
So, for the test/review... the best way to show that would be to run a internet speed test in an area we already have good cell signal (in town). Yeah?
@@EXPLORISTlife Yes. That would be a good test. Speed with the booster and without in a strong signal area.
I’d also see if you can test the same in a moderate signal area. A place where the phone connects fine and seems fast enough. The thought would be to see if you gave the phone no choice to connect to the stronger signal. I’m not 100% sure on this, but I’d imagine that if you’re already in a strong signal area, it’s possible that the phone may just stay on the tower.
Looking forward to hearing the results!
Although, a benefit to the booster in theory is if you’re in a weak signal area, the booster making a stronger signal will allow the phone to not use as much power to lock on. I guess the question is, which uses less to power off the battery - the booster or the phones?
@@EXPLORISTlife That would be a good test. your phone has a MIMO antenna, where the WeBoost is an omnidirectional single antenna, so it will strengthen the signal but not necessarily increase any bandwidth. I have a toggle switch installed next to my interior antenna and only turn on the WeBoost when I am having difficulty connecting on my phone and then turn it back off when I am done.
Enjoying watching these videos and getting tips. Not sure how much I will have to change when I do my own van with differences in UK electronics. Do you know if most of the system would work only having to change the 120v parts of the electronics?
We use the WeBoost at our remote cabin. The cabin is surrounded by hills and trees, with the nearest cell tower is 14 miles away. Without the booster, cell signal is almost nil. Turn on the WeBoost, and we can stream Netflix. Granted, you need to be close, CLOSE to the interior antenna…you are not going to roam about the cabin but, at the table, with the antenna on it, you can be on the internet, even do video calls. We use tethering on one phone to share the wifi and can use the ipad about anywhere.
I like the install over all and thinks it's a great idea. One thing I have found with communication systems of any kind, the higher the antenna, the better the signal for both receiving and sending. You might want to test the taller antenna mount after you've done your initial testing and see if there is any difference with the taller mast. It might not be the look you are going for but sometimes function has to trump fashion. Keep up the good work!
We will definitely test a taller antenna for the sake of the testing video, but it's not really a 'fashion' kind of thing. The taller the van is, the fewer places we can get into. We start hitting tree branches, overpasses, and all kinds of other stuff. We have to balance between physical function and cell function.
@@EXPLORISTlife oh I completely understand. I have to worry about my 102" Whip antenna and my other antennas hitting things on and off road. So no misunderstanding at all. Thank you for the reply back.
Interested in if it actually did any good. Thanks for the video
Of course! It went from 600kbps to 12mbps in our test we did off camera. If you suggest some ways you'd like to see it tested, we'd like to do a follow up video showing those.
This is an excellent video. I've been looking at the weboost overland but really was not sure if it's worth it or not for all my backcountry trips here in CO. Thoughts from anyone that's been using one... thanks
Great tip about the network cell lite app!
Yeah, it's a pretty neat little app. I had never used it before.
Are you using android or apple with the app?
Looks like android only.
Android.
*WeBoost Drive Reach RV:* amzn.to/3gYr83O
*Get this Unaka mount for your 8020 roof rack instead of the way I did it:* collabs.shop/6cqx1j
*Seaview Cable Gland:* amzn.to/3TXxrmQ
*12V Hardwire Kit from Weboost:* www.weboost.com/products/hardwire-power-supply-950079
*12V Hardwire Kit from Amazon (that 'should' fit):* amzn.to/3gUUpwb
Great vid and thinking about installing the same.
Can you please provide a link to the Network Cell info lite app? I did not find it in the Apple app store.
It might not be an apple app, I don't know. Maybe somebody else has another comparable alternative.
NOT Feeling the Love for $520.
Is 20 db that big of gain when they say it will do -50 db gain.
20db got us from 600kbps to 12mbps; which is pretty huge. That's the difference between being able to barely send an email to being able to upload a video.
Great Video today! Thanks
You have thousands and thousands of dollars tied up in your build. Another nice video would be one on which security system to go with.
No problem! Thanks for watching! Good idea.
Just installed mine yesterday! Good timing, are you happy with the results of the boost? Thanks for your electrical guides as well! I watched them atleast 100 times to get mine system up this last week. Not one issue at first start following your guide
Nice! Yeah, I'm happy with it. This is actually our second one (first one was sold when we sold our last sprinter) and it was super nice to have and we've seen speed test results of up to x12 from non-boosted to boosted.
Thanks for the video. I hope you do a review after using the boost for a while.
What kind of info would you like to see in that review?
@@EXPLORISTlife I think the two main use cases are 1) how consistently does the boost extent the range and clarity of voice calls, and 2) data throughput comparisons in different signal strength / range situations with and without the boost.
I have seen some stuff on how 4G works by allowing your phone to make multiple simultaneous connections to the cell tower to increase throughput, and I have seen conflicting claims about weboost supporting multiple or single connections. It seems like the weboost should be able to provide extended range for voice calls, but data throughput might be limited to a single channel (64k?)
Great vlog as always Nate. Had you thought of, or what are your thoughts of installing the Telsa Starlink system to an RV?
It's a great idea since it's starting to get significantly easier to acquire and such.
can you link to app store the app you used? Couldn't find it searching on the app store. We cut the cord on the Weboost and hooked it up to the 12V and it worked no problem.
You guys do a great job, always informative.
Question, what sidewall panel kit did you use and did it include the L track and mounting? Thanks.
We actually didn't use a kit. We did our walls completely from scratch. Here's the video for that: th-cam.com/video/cf2BjQxMKDI/w-d-xo.html
@@EXPLORISTlife I see it now Thanks again.
Great video Nate! Is there a particular reason you mounted the outside antenna at the back of the van? Are there any radiation (non-ionization EMF) concerns? Is there a minimum distance between the outside antenna and the inside placement? Thanks and keep up the great work!
1: Convenience
2: I'm not concerned, no.
3: 'as much as possible' is preferred as noted in the user manual.
How far can you be from the interior antenna? Will you get signal from the back or the vehicle?
Awesome
Thanks! 🙂🙌
would love to see if it just works where your phone says "no signal". Slow connections are boring, but no signal can be dangerous. simple as that. thanks again.
Great video! is $519.99 worth 30db of cell signal? How much of a difference does it make for the regular person that does not understand too much about tech cell signal language?
Well the db test is telling you that the on frequency carrier signal is more powerful when the weboost is on. It does not mean that you are receiving a fully error corrected signal from the cell carrier through the weboost.
Try a simple google speed test with and without and it should prove if the signal is usable or just amplified noise.
I would wait the outside antenna about 24”.
The item covered only works with a few frequencies. In your initial test your phone may have been locked on a band that the amplifier does not work with. This is the biggest issue I have had with it. It is something that might get you a stronger less noisy signal. It may also not do anything if the bands in the area are not useable by the product. In the Fort Collins area, aka Roosevelt National forest it works great (tmobile). When I am in Gunnison or Saguache county it is hit or miss. Most of the other camping areas I go to there is not a signal to amplify so I will be adding starlink to my available options. Hoping for the best.
Yeah, it doesn't work in 100% of areas, but we found that anywhere there was even a hint of signal, it would boost that non-usable signal to a usable signal to upload pictures/videos/make calls/etc (Note: this isn't based on our experience on this specific booster we just installed and only have 1 day of use with, but instead the old model we had in our old sprinter we lived in for 4+ years full time).
Satellite internet like Starlink is indeed the more consistent option, but I think that having both is the true answer here if going without signal is not an option as Starlink doesn't work (currently) above certain latitudes.
The Weboost generates a surprising amount of heat so you may want to put it on a switch. Also that power cable in not good enough for pulling and replacing. Unfortunately, I learned about the poor power cable the hard way. Not so happy with Weboost. Installing Starlink now.
It is on a 'switch', aka unplugging it.
Good video. Bit of a miss not to include the striped wiring with the packaging - this would seem to be the most used option for install in an RV?????
Agreed.
I'd lower that external antenna below the roof line, so it don't catch branches. Perhaps on the rear door somewhere?
Yeah, I mean... we are leaving ours where it is. Feel free to install yours wherever you like, though. The user manual says the higher you mount it the better.
Installation video is great but a couple questions about the product.I am not good with all the technology out there other than what I use in my house which gives me both wifi and internet. First, why is this one at a cost of $570 better than others that sell for under $200? Second, Does this help with wifi for internet? Are they the same/different? I can get a wifi booster for $225.
This is a cell phone booster, not wifi booster. This helps you to improve the range that you can receive a cell phone signal from cell phone towers. A wifi booster is used to strengthen and improve a internet signal
Thanks for the video. If 1 bar = -120, did -99 = 2/3 bars?
🤷🤷🤷
New to van building, how much signal loss is just because you are sitting in a metal can? If the outdoor signal is decent, does the booster still offer something. Does Fords cell hotspot with a roof antenna offer some signal boost capabilities also.
I'm sure there is indeed a significant amount of signal loss because of being inside of a metal van. I'm not sure if ford's cell hotspot gives any kind of cell signal boosting.
Does the location of the exterior antenna matter? Yours was installed on the edge of the roof. Would placing the exterior antenna in the middle of the roof reduce or increase signal reception? Maybe the roof can act as a 'ground plane'.
Per the instructions, the interior and exterior antenna should be as far apart as possible.
it is a good idea to utilize the metal roof as a ground plane for these antennas. To be clear, they have a ground plane built into them, hence the fat enclosure. That is great for the smaller wavelengths of the higher MHZ bands, but that ground plane is really not big enough to reflect the larger wavelengths of the 700MHZ bands we are wanting to capture when we are in remote areas. You want the ground plane to be at least a quarter of the wavelength in radius. A good general rule is to mount the antenna at least 8 inches from the edge of the grounding plane. For the short term, we should target wavelengths in the 700MHZ range. The longer wavelength frequencies to to travel farther and it was the intent with 4G LTE to utilize these wavelengths for rural and remote locations. A grounding plane is only effective if it is larger than a quarter of the wavelength in radius. 700MHZ waves are just under 17 inches long, so the minimum radius of the grounding plane should be a quarter of that , or 4.25 give or take. This is still much larger than the grounding plane built into our Weboost antennas. I expect in the future as 5G is adopted in more rural areas that we will be seeing some robust, long distance bands in the upper 500MHZ range and definitely in the 600MHZ range. A 500MHZ wavelength is just under 24 inches long. A quarter of which is 6inches for a grounding plane radius, still within the 8inch recommendation. So I would expect Nate to see an improvement if he were to move the antenna further inboard, but with everything on our vans, there is always a compromise and he put it where it best addresses the other issues and everything else having an obnoxious antenna on your roofs bring up.
When would a ferrule tip work in this situation or is it not necessary? I think it is important to keep the spring on the mast, use it. If you should hit an unexpected tree branch it will flex and not break. Also, when we put on ham radio antenna's we will loop the wire down then up sort of making the letter J ... then when the rain and water come onto the unit, it will run off or drip off at the bottom of the J ... Antenna at the top of the J and where it comes back up it
goes into the breach. Less chance of water coming in .. though they say "waterproof". Again consider putting the spring back on.
It's more important for me to avoid hitting trees than it is for installing an antenna that doesn't break when I hit trees. Feel free to do whatever you like in your own install, though. The antenna added too much height for me, personally.
@@EXPLORISTlife I see your point. I am restoring a true 2' high-top chinook G20 and look or avoiding for sure. If you see something along that side ... one could stop and as you say, find a way to avoid hitting anything. I just ordered in the cerbo gx and hope to use an ipad or such (funds are from a different side of the tracks) ... I have the multi plus II and solar ... all still to be installed. It may be nice to see how to side step the wall touch screen, for sure which is really nice ... but upgradable too. Thanks for your reply and good sense.
In the video which DC fuse box is that? And where can I get it?
shop.explorist.life/shop/all-products/distribution-panels/12v-dc-fuse-panel/
I don't know for sure, but I thought I had read coiling wire like that will degrade the antenna's effectiveness?
It didn't make any mention of that in the installation instructions.
@@EXPLORISTlife Could be old man BS. My dad always told me coiling antenna wire in less than 12" coils creates inductance that can degrade signal. That is how inductance is created obviously, but how it hinders gain I don't know.
The AC power adaptor says the DC output is 5v, so if you directly cut off the wire and spliced it into your 12v fuse box, do you need to convert the 12v into 5v first?
Ours was 12V. If you've got a 5V model you would indeed need an adapter.
@@EXPLORISTlife I have the exact same Weboost as you. Your AC power brick said the DC output was 12v?
By any chance are you guys in Fort Lauderdale? I thought I saw that van by the Boat show. Range extender and everything.
Nope! Not us.
@@EXPLORISTlife Funny, I had just mentioned you guys and your video to the guys at the Boat show that make the gland you used so the antennae was fresh in my mind, then I saw a very similar van right by the show with the same amplifier sticking from the top and thought you guys might be guests of Victron.
what is the effect of significantly increasing the height of the exterior antenna have on the cell signal strength? demo on rabbit ears does not seem to be much of a boost.
WeBoost says that, essentially, higher is better; but we are trying to keep our build height under 10ft; so installing the antenna 6ft in the air or whatever is unreasonable. The boosted vs non-boosted speed test was 12mbps vs 600kbps; so it was pretty substantial.
is a differential of 11 dBm really that significant? what about testing a higher position of external antenna when not driving?
dBm doesn't mean much to me, but the difference between 600kbps vs 12mbps is huge.
Hi Nate. Noticed your fire helmet collection. Are you a fire fighter or just collect helmets ?
Good catch! I am indeed a firefighter (retired) and the furthest right helmet is mine. The others are my dads.
@@EXPLORISTlife very sweet, thanks to you and your dad.
How is AT&T working for you? Is it reliable in remote areas?
Yeah, good enough in our experience.
@@EXPLORISTlife thank you
Recent Sub here. Great stuff. Great channel. 😊
Awesome, thank you!
I am not convinced of this solution. I would go with an industrial router such as the teltonika RUT X14 and a good antenna on the roof. Also I don't like to bring in more cellular radiation into the van. And all your videos are great but why didn't you mount it behind the panel so it is more stealth?
What do you mean 'stealth'?
...and perhaps you could give some good tests you would like to see us do. We haven't shot that video yet (as of 11/2/22).
@@EXPLORISTlife Hidden behind a panel
@@EXPLORISTlife Don't understand the benefit of that webooster. Always thought you would bring a LTE Router for your devices, the cerbo etc.?
To be honest for the amount of money one pays for this setup, these results are absolutely ridiculous. I have the exact same product and have had the exact same issues. I wonder what app can be used for iPhones since their app itself is faulty. Thanks for posting this, I feel a lot better it wasn’t something I did wrong.
Well, you don't really 'need' an app, as there is nothing to configure, just to monitor, and you could do that with a speed test if you were looking for faster data speeds.
@@EXPLORISTlife yes, but you knew the majority of this after the support call. The entire time I thought an app was needed. I alsowas expecting at least 2 bars but got nothing. If you look on TH-cam there's not that many current setup vids about this product except yours. I was kinda shocked seeing their video on their channel were years old. Also couldn't find a video on how to setup multiple devices such as an iPad. Maybe that could be a next vid?
50watt....!!! 50watt just to get better signal...?
I would like for you to watch a movie or attempt to watch a movie in your remote location and then plug it in and attempt to watch that same movie time lapse of course
Great! Good suggestion.
I don't understand why they supply so many of these wifi boosters and 3G/4G/5G routers with such long coax cables. The losses in the antenna coax cable, counter acts the majority if not more than the antenna and booster gains. Which makes me question do these manufactures even know what they are doing? Or is it the case they simply don't care? So long as the make a profit. The best SIM based routers and booster mount their units outside the vehicle and use the shortest coax run possible.
I would suspect that the weboost for RV's is just sized for the largest RV's on the road and the maximum chance of a successful install for 99% of use cases.
I would still use the spring a strong tree branch will rip that sucker right off instead of just bending it over and letting it snap back in place just my opinion
It's pretty important to me to avoid running our van into tree branches. 🤣👍 If I decide to run our van into a 'strong tree branch', I know that damage is inevitable. But yeah... if you want to use the spring in your own install, go for it. The rest of the install process shown in this video would be the same.
FYI, the dedicated 12V dc to dc hard wire kit has the same wires! Not two wires, but one wire in a red casing and an exposed power wire in the black bigger casing. Horrible design! I just hardwired the WeBoost to the factory Jeep Aux switches.
I spent an exorbitant price for one of these, I didn’t seem to get a better signal at all. Talk about feeling like you have been robbed! I tried multiple places, and not that far out.
I still have it in the box in my bedroom, maybe someday I can use it. Complete Garbage!!
What were your download and upload speeds before and after plugging it in?
Sorry I only have two ears I meant to say years lol
🤣😂