Creating a personal network from campground wifi

I just looked over the manual and did not see this specifically addressed and wanted clarification on it. I have not purchased it yet but I am looking at Surf SOHO for mobile RV use and one feature I was interested in was the ability to take a wifi signal and create a local network with it.

I’m assuming that I will be able to take one of the antenna ports and have it as a receiving unit instead of broadcasting, take that signal and possibly create a VLAN so no one else on the free network can see attached devices but I’m not entirely sure how to accomplish this. I’m sure if I had the unit I would eventually figure it out, I just wanted to make sure it was possible before purchasing.

Also anyone have any experience with directional antennas? Was wondering if it needed to be plugged into an amplifier or not.

Thanks!

Hi @NeuroNerd411,

Yes, this is possible, the Surf SOHO supports WiFi WAN - basically, does exactly as you describe, uses an existing WiFi network for it’s internet connection. You can then create a different WiFi network for your devices to connect to. You can create a VLAN for this too.

Directional antenna might help, if you know where the mast is located that you are connecting to, but please do not use an amplifier as this will cause damage to the device. I would recommend testing with the supplied antenna first.

Thanks,

Steve

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Thanks for confirming this, based on how it was advertised I was sure it was possible, just not entirely sure how to execute the task.

I have read over several forums on directional antennas, several recommended amplifiers, however, I know quite a bit about antennas and amplification and if its done improperly you can fry things.

Thanks again Steve.

Hello @NeuroNerd411,
There is a very comprehensive “Antenna Selection Guide” for Peplink Partners that they can access in the Partner Section of this forum, your supplier (who we hope is an Peplink Certified Partner), will be able to help you with a copy of the guide.
Happy to Help,
Marcus :slight_smile:

Another question, I see that it has a USB support for cellular network but I was wondering if it supports information from something like the Alpha Adapter?

I’m trying to do the same on my boat with an external antenna. Any recommendations for a marine antenna that will connect directly to the Surf SoHo MK3, and which port it should be connected to?

Hi @Dean_Bennett,

I would recommend reaching out to a local partner for advice or perhaps ask them for a copy of the document which @mldowling has put together, this is definitely worth a read. Marcus provided a link to find a “Peplink Certified Partner” a couple of posts ago.

Thanks,

Steve

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Wanted to reply as a SoHo MK3 user in an RV.

Yes, this works well. Have used it dozens of times over the last year or so.

I will caution everyone that a lot of campground WiFi is extremely slow and over-burdened. I try the wifioutside with a cell phone before committing to it. Lots of times my phones with Speedtest shows hundreds of KPS during the afternoon. That’s barely worth using for email.

On the other hand, I’ve seen 10s of MPS in the house over my SoHo at a a few parks.