Budget build help

[websiteperson]

I'm considering building an LTE router, but would like to keep it under $250. I have 2 Proxicast yagi (or log per?) antennas already - the ones encased in a white triangular box.

My goal is to connect to 1 of 2 towers: A)5.4 & B)5.9mi away, instead of the one that is C)2.2mi away. Tower C only has bands 2 & 13, and is often congested.

Tower 'A', I can't get LoS due to trees in our backyard. However, it seems to connect to my phone easier than tower 'B' when I force band 66, outside (1-2 bars).

Outside our house, towards Tower 'B', there is a large field, and no trees for a quarter mile. I believe LoS is more possible here. We have a 2-story house, so I could mount antennas on the side facing that tower near the attic area. PS: I climbed on the roof and signal was hardly better than on the ground.

I can get a Nighthawk M1 for ~$150 used, but I need band 66 external antenna support. I'd rather not rig the M1, but hard to beat the price.

Looking on here, the popular router is the WE826, combined with the MC7455 modem. However, the router is out of stock on The Wireless Haven since I started looking a few days ago. Will it be in stock anytime soon?

I would like to aggregate bands 2 & 66, and maybe 13.

When near the 2 towers, I can easily get 80-120mbps most times of day, so I'd be happy to get 50+ from my house. I have seen 30 down with just my phone inside the back door.

Any help/advice is appreciated!

[gscheb]

What data plan are you going to use?

[toddw]

I'd go with a 826Q and EP06A from The Wireless Haven. I spoke with The Wireless Haven sales yesterday and they said a shipment should arrive within the next day or so.

[BDF1234]

Do you need an all in one WIFI router + modem? If not, you could build the modem in a USB 3 box and connect via USB to a router.

You could use a Raspberry Pi 3B+ as the router and repurpose an existing WIFI router as an Access Point. The RPi3B+ is only $40 and has far more processing power than the WE826 and has a gigabit ethernet port (technically limited to 240 Mbps, but still far better than the 826). The ethernet port on the 826 is limited to 100 Mbps. Then use the modem of your choice. Or you could even tether a phone with a decent cat modem.

Edit: Disregard the phone tethering since you want to hook up 2x2 external antennas.

[websiteperson]

I'd go with a 826Q and EP06A from The Wireless Haven. I spoke with The Wireless Haven sales yesterday and they said a shipment should arrive within the next day or so.

Looking at CA for the EP06A, it is limited to 2x CA, and doesn't seem to support B2+B66. Is this a technical impossibility? Or is there a modem that would allow those 2 at least? Otherwise, looks decent

[websiteperson]

Do you need an all in one WIFI router + modem? If not, you could build the modem in a USB 3 box and connect via USB to a router.

I suppose not, but I'm not sure what you mean by usb 3 box, as I'm new to this arena
Something like this?
https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/pcie-m-2/mini-p ... card-slot/

I currently have a Netgear N600 router with FreshTomato that seems to work pretty well. I don't know if it would work with the modem/enclosure, as I believe the USB port on the N600 is just for storage.

[websiteperson]

What data plan are you going to use?

Visible.
There's nothing else out here, unfortunately, except satellite, and that's a big fat no

[gscheb]

Visible.
There's nothing else out here, unfortunately, except satellite, and that's a big fat no

Hello,
Setup a few visible options around my area. When getting speeds under 100 down with Visible always use a WE826 with Quectel EM12 and lock it to bands 2, 4 & 5. And point the outside antenna to the best tower in the area. There is one tower that is necessarily the fastest but don't seem to ever slow you down.

[BDF1234]

I suppose not, but I'm not sure what you mean by usb 3 box, as I'm new to this arena
Something like this?
https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/pcie-m-2/mini-p ... card-slot/

Yes, exactly. Or this one if you are going with a higher Cat modem and will need an M.2 connection.

https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/pcie-m-2/m-2-ng ... card-slot/