Cell booster cable- how to run it into RV

[SteveTheDog]

Hi Folks- We want to install a cell phone booster on our 2022 Solitude 345. I know we will have to install an antennae on the roof, and run the cable into the trailer. What is the best route for the cable? Can I connect to any of the factory installed wiring in our Winegard 360+ dome? We don't plan to install the Winegard router system. Our installation only supports 4G, and we want to connect to 5G. Does anyone have experience with this? I have read about running the cable down the fridge vent, however we have a residential unit which is un-vented. Thanks in advance!!!

[BillinTexas]

I ran mine out the back wall to where I have my antenna on a telescopic flag pole (not shown when installed). Instead of individual pics, I'll post the gallery link. I ran it to the TV area and the booster is on the panel behind the TV.

https://billmorris.smugmug.com/Priva...Swj/RV-photos/

[Yoda]

ncitro Neil is the expert on this. He did an excellent presentation at the national rally and it posted here somewhere.

I have not run a cell boaster yet, but on my trailer there was room beside the black tank vent stack to go from the pass through to the roof . Looking at you floor plan its somewhere in the bath wall behind the couch . You may also have a chase going to the roof for the solar.

Hope this helps
Keith

[ncitro]

SteveTheDog Hi Steve, I used to run a Weboost. You will not be able to use any of the factory coax for the booster, they're unfortunately not compatible. I installed my booster in my outdoor kitchen and mounted the antenna to my ladder and ran it down the ladder and into the compartment. This was the only way to get enough separation between the antennas for it to work properly, as my tech cabinet was located behind my tv near the ceiling. I velcroed my jetpack to the indoor antenna and then was able to pickup it's wifi from inside the rig.

I abandoned the booster several years ago, it only improved my signal in a limited set of circumstances mainly because boosters will disable the MIMO antennas in your devices since the one boosted antenna will be so strong. I eventually moved to a Peplink mobile router with its own antenna on the roof and get much better signal than I ever got with my booster. For that antenna I was able to fish through the ceiling into the air conditioner space and then go up through the AC plenum and mount that antenna on the AC shroud, no hole in the roof.

[Yoda]

SteveTheDog Hi Steve, I used to run a Weboost. You will not be able to use any of the factory coax for the booster, they're unfortunately not compatible. I installed my booster in my outdoor kitchen and mounted the antenna to my ladder and ran it down the ladder and into the compartment. This was the only way to get enough separation between the antennas for it to work properly, as my tech cabinet was located behind my tv near the ceiling. I velcroed my jetpack to the indoor antenna and then was able to pickup it's wifi from inside the rig.

I abandoned the booster several years ago, it only improved my signal in a limited set of circumstances mainly because boosters will disable the MIMO antennas in your devices since the one boosted antenna will be so strong. I eventually moved to a Peplink mobile router with its own antenna on the roof and get much better signal than I ever got with my booster. For that antenna I was able to fish through the ceiling into the air conditioner space and then go up through the AC plenum and mount that antenna on the AC shroud, no hole in the roof.

Not to side track this
Neil Is there a cell booster that has MIMO capability - several antennas? The reason I ask is no matter which new cell phone I get they are USB-C and can directly be attached to my computer and use thier hot spot feature for data communication. The other question is how much separation is needed between the outside booster antenna and the inside one.If I attach to the ladder will that be far enough away in my 220RK. My guess is my seating area and where the internal antenna will go is about 10' away from the ladder. Also can the cell boosters work of of 12V ?

[ncitro]

Not to side track this
Neil Is there a cell booster that has MIMO capability - several antennas? The reason I ask is no matter which new cell phone I get they are USB-C and can directly be attached to my computer and use thier hot spot feature for data communication. The other question is how much separation is needed between the outside booster antenna and the inside one.If I attach to the ladder will that be far enough away in my 220RK. My guess is my seating area and where the internal antenna will go is about 10' away from the ladder. Also can the cell boosters work of of 12V ?

It depends on your model, my WeBoost had a light that was red if they were too close or green if they were good. They recommend 20'vertical or 50 horizontal which is pretty much impossible in an RV. I think I was a combination of 6 foot vertical and 20 foot horizontal and it was occasionally flaky about it.

https://support.weboost.com/hc/en-us...nside-antenna-

My experience is a couple years old but I would doubt it. MIMO is complex technology and I think it's carrier specific. Your phone has multiple antennas in it that allows it to connect to either multiple towers or even multiple antennas on a tower and stitch together several weaker signals to make a faster stronger signal than the one strong signal you get through the booster. The only time I saw the booster improve performance was when I was in a very isolated location where my devices were only talking to one tower anyway, and that was rare. The single best thing you can do is get your antenna outside of the rig and higher up, which requires a device that supports an external antenna.

[Yoda]

It depends on your model, my WeBoost had a light that was red if they were too close or green if they were good. They recommend 20'vertical or 50 horizontal which is pretty much impossible in an RV. I think I was a combination of 6 foot vertical and 20 foot horizontal and it was occasionally flaky about it.

https://support.weboost.com/hc/en-us...nside-antenna-

My experience is a couple years old but I would doubt it. MIMO is complex technology and I think it's carrier specific. Your phone has multiple antennas in it that allows it to connect to either multiple towers or even multiple antennas on a tower and stitch together several weaker signals to make a faster stronger signal than the one strong signal you get through the booster. The only time I saw the booster improve performance was when I was in a very isolated location where my devices were only talking to one tower anyway, and that was rare. The single best thing you can do is get your antenna outside of the rig and higher up, which requires a device that supports an external antenna.

Thanks Neil
Keith

[SteveTheDog]

Thanks for all the comments! I will look into the Pepwave. Back to running the line into the rig- my rig has a satellite connection in the wet bay, which comes out by my TV, Could I connect the antenna there? Or do I need a continuous run of coax from the antenna to the router?

[ncitro]

Thanks for all the comments! I will look into the Pepwave. Back to running the line into the rig- my rig has a satellite connection in the wet bay, which comes out by my TV, Could I connect the antenna there? Or do I need a continuous run of coax from the antenna to the router?

The satellite run should be continuous, but it's RG-6, and I've yet to see a booster or modem that uses that, and I think the impedance is different.