Hi,
Someone in another forum recommended I come here and see what people had to say. I am a voice over artist who is building out a Class B van with acoustics in mind so that I can continue to do my work while being in the middle of nowhere (but in range of cell signal, of course). I’m not a tech person by any stretch and I am bouncing around the internet trying to find the right setup for my needs. At times it seems like using a basic hotspot or even tethering to my phone will be fine. Other times I’m like, hmm, people are saying I should get dual modems so I can “load balance” or achieve “bonding.” I don’t think I require Speedfusion Cloud, if the session drops, it’s okay and I can reconnect and everyone will be okay with that. But what I’m hearing is that somehow a dual modem setup with 4x4 mimo antenna will allow the max transit duo to achieve more signal and better speeds.
I use Source Connect for work. Here is a page they have for requirements: https://support.source-elements.com/show/sourceconnect-and-mobile-connections-united-states
However the page is a little misleading. Most of the time I’m in a session the bottom of the program window reads, “ports not mapped.” They also have a new feature where, as long as both ends of the connection are using Apple products, you can select and option called Source Stream which eliminates the need for port mapping. Further, I troubleshot with a woman from Source Elements and she said, there’s never any need for port forwarding when someone is trying to connect more lo-fi, as in using a cell phone as a hotspot (as I did on my call with her). She said she guesses there are just fewer complicating elements and “firewalls” in cell phones. Essentially she told me as long as I’m getting 3mbps up and down and the ping/latency is ok, I’m golden.
It would be really cool to use your products and do voice overs from the road. A nice use case.
Any advice is extremely appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
Hi! Welcome to the forum!
The MAX Transit DUO CAT 12 is a very good box indeed for what you’re looking to do. That with a neat PUMA 401 antenna on your roof will give you the best possible chance of getting connected to a local cellular tower. Dual modems (with a SIM from two or more providers) helps improve the usable coverage area too.
Tethering to phones or using a dongle can be fine too, but a proper router and antenna setup will let you work farther away from civilisation and for longer since neither dongles / mifis nor tethering is designed to be used for extended periods.
If you do find you need forwarded ports - or you want to improve reliability with seamless failover then SpeedFusion VPN is a great way to achieve that later.
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Thanks for your reply. Does the Max Transit Cat 18 support Bridge (IP pass through) mode?
Thanks,
Brian
If you use your own FusionHub for SpeedFusion, you can port forward directly from the public IP address of the FusionHub to a device on the LAN of your Peplink Router.
I have read the article you posted above (https://support.source-elements.com/show/sourceconnect-and-mobile-connections-united-states)
-You do not need to request a static public IP address from your carrier, the static public IP address would be from your FusionHub. This means you can ultimately “bridge” from the public IP address of your FusionHub directly to your end device.
Please send me an email if you want to discuss this further as we would be interested in doing a case study of this setup [email protected]
Thank You
I’m about to purchase a Max Transit Cat 18, but I am seeing forum posts about lots of sim cards not working in the router. This is obviously extremely concerning. Does Peplink provide any help to customers as they navigate the fraught process of finding data plans that work for their product? The product doesn’t work for what it’s intended without a functioning sim data plan.
Hello
Please talk with your Peplink Partner about this, they have local knowledge and will be able to point you in the right direction.
Who is my Peplink Partner? The place I order the Max Transit from? I was planning on ordering through Mobile Must Have but the only plan they offer is ATT for $160 which is way too expensive and not my preferred carrier.
Local knowledge? I will be living in a van.
-Brian
Yes. To sell Peplink products you need to be a partner, and to be a partner you need to support your customers.
Local as in at a country level.
It sounds like you’re in the US. That means your options are frustratingly limited as a retail consumer trying to buy a data plan.
You might find some useful info on ltehacks.com and the associated Facebook group.
Edit : I think I just saw your post there. Complicated Van? 
Indeed, that is me. I guess I will just have to go the shady ebay route and hope they don’t brick my device at Verizon. Such a great option!
And Martin, sorry for my snarky attitude I’m just ticked off at the crappy situation I’ve gotten myself into after doing tons of research and thinking I’d found the solution. I want the capability of the equipment I’m purchasing but am hamstrung by this Wild West of data sims.
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Incidentally, would anyone be able to advise on my antenna situation? I am wanting to buy a Parsec for the gain specs. Unfortunately my ProMaster roof has limited space. So I will be forced to install it 12" away from a MaxxAir fan. The MMH guy told me it would cause electrical interference while running. The RV Mobile Internet guy says that’s probably not likely and nothing he’s every heard of.
Thanks for letting me hijack my own thread!
Coincidentally I’ve been looking at MaxxAir fans for our RV. Power wiring is the challenge there but that’s really going off topic.
I have my doubts that it would cause interference. It is admittedly a DC motor which I guess has carbon brushes which can spark but … cellular is not AM radio. I’d be more concerned about the fan motor simply being a metallic object in the way of the signal depending on how you’re parked. I guess if you have a weak signal you can always try turning the van around to see if it helps.
Yeah the data plan thing is a real pain. That one from Mobile Must Have has got to be one of the most expensive. I got a AT&T reseller plan at $79 for 400 GB but it seems to be unavailable now. I’ve been collecting a long list of reseller links. I can take a look later today to see what I can find and send you a private message if you like. I think you can still get something like that for $89 or $99 if you look around. Of course they’re all a little dubious. Nobody quite seems to know what these plans really are. Verizon seems to be the most expensive.
All our Authorised Partners for North America are listed here
Brian (voiceoverguy),
I believe I have communicated with you on other forums.
Depending on the carrier you select, you may encounter the carrier grade NAT issue I advised of some time ago with the software application you will be using.
I copied the following from one of your earlier posts:
I use Source Connect for work. Here is a page they have for requirements: https://support.source-elements.com/show/sourceconnect-and-mobile-connections-united-states
A reading of the above document indicates your SW application will most like not work on a Verizon or AT&T network unless you acquire a static IP address or you go down the path outlined by Sam Norris from the Peplink team.
Sam Norris from the Peplink team suggested you talk to your partner (in your case Mobile Must Have). I encountered this same issue & Mobile Must Have was of no help. However, in defense of Mobile Must Have, I may not have explained my issue correctly. If you do request their help, ask for assistance with Speed Fusion & Pep VPN. I would be most interested in knowing what help they will provide you.
Based on my experience with my NAS to NAS communication (I had the same carrier grade NAT issue), you should be able to get your application working with a little effort. The people on this forum can be very helpful.
Yeah, I know you dream of living & working in a van just became a little more complicated.
Good luck!
Is Mobile Must Have really an authorized partner? I don’t see them in the list that @Sam_Norris linked to.
There web site (somewhere) indicated they are. I do know when I filled out a support ticket on Peplink, it was directed to them. Could be that Peplink does not have their list of resellers updated.
