RV product reviews
Winegard Satellite System for your RV
So, yeah, actually I just picked this up the other day. It’s a Winegard ConnecT 2.0, it’s a Wi-Fi extender and 4G device, so I’m actually really super excited about it. Ready to get it up on the roof and get it installed, ready to get going.
One of the main things I really loved about it, and why I really wanted to get it on my coach was, you know, with the Wi-Fi extenders, sometimes on certain internet. connections, they just don’t work as well. You’re reliant on a remote point to pull from.
So, I did my research and found out that, with the Winegard ConnecT 2.0 there are three massive Wi-Fi extenders in this device. Have you guys, you know, been at a campground and there comes a time where the Wi-Fi is just not really working that well on a busy weekend?
What this does is it gives me the advantage to really stretch out farther. It’s been tested up to a mile, so I can reach out a mile, which is awesome. In some cases, actually, I’ve read that they can reach up to two miles, which is even better. So, you’re not reliant on the actual campground Wi-Fi.
So, we could actually reach out and get Wi-Fi from like a business nearby, not just the campground! If you have that password to their access point, you’re good to go.
This has its own password so you’re protected. Every unit comes with its own SSID number and password. Once I get this set up, I can go in and I can make it my own password as well. If I want to give my friends or family this password, you know, my password, we can get their devices connected to it as well.
I have a lot of kids, a lot of devices, phones, tablets. I wanted to make sure that everyone could be connected without any signal loss. And from what I read, Winegard actually tested this device with 250 devices connected to it without any signal loss, which is incredible. I don’t think I would ever have 250!
The 4G is really what really excited me about it. Now I’m not reliant on the campground Wi-Fi or having to extend out and use their Wi-Fi. It has two massive 4G antennas. From the picture I’ve seen, they’re roughly about the size of my cell phone, two of these in here.
So, the bigger the antenna on the 4G, the more strength and more you’re going to get. But what really enticed me about it was as of right now, me and my family, we’re not every weekend campers. You know, we’re not full time or anything like that. However, eventually we do plan to go there.
So, as of right now, Winegard offers a data package that I can buy through them, and it’s a month to month data. So, if we go out camping, I can go that day, buy the data, and that data is going to last until it runs out or 30 days, whichever comes first. Another reason why I really love this product was because you can actually go into your cell phone provider, whether it’s AT&T or Verizon. From what I read, Winegard is working on certifications with T-Mobile as well, okay.
And it’s as simple as adding another iPad or another phone to your line. You tell them you want to add the Winegard ConnecT 2.0. It’s a simple dropdown menu, and they add another line, give me its own SIM card. I actually have an access point on the back that I can put that SIM card in. And anytime I’m running the 4G, my kids are watching Netflix on their tablets, it’s going to be running off the unlimited data that I already have through my cell provider.
It’s very similar to your home. So, on your home router, you get your new home router set up, you have to connect every device to that, your phone, your laptop, whatnot. But then every time you come home, our phone auto connects to your Wi-Fi or 4G signal, which is the exact same way this is set up. It’s a one-time login, it will auto connect every time after that.
This does come with an over the air antenna. Another reason–another factor that I really loved it was because it has the longest reach for an omnidirectional antenna in the entire RV industry. And actually, this antenna will reach up to 55 miles and pull signals from a 360 degree angle. So, another thing that I read up on with this Winegard product is that Winegard puts extra time and effort into the booster systems, into their antenna elements to add filters.
So, I’m not going to be scrolling through channels and getting a bunch of static. Any channel that’s going to pull up is going to be a high def, visible channel for me. How many times have you been camping and you go scrolling through, and you pull 22 channels on your channel screen, but only 3 of them come in?
This will be mounted on the roof for optimal strength. Obviously, you want that– you don’t want the obstruction to get to the towers, to get the cell signals and whatnot too. But it’s a very simple install. It’s literally–it has four legs to it. These four legs get screwed down into the coach, get sealed up. And there will be a 12-volt power that has to be ran to it as well. It’s a great device.