What's your ideal OVERKILL setup?

[vectorized]

Subjective Question Time™:

What would be your ideal OVERKILL setup for fastest, most reliable data in the most places in the US while mobile?

What modems, routers, plans, software, antennas, cables? Pls share details.

*I'm not asking for suggestions. I want to know YOUR ideal, perfect world, I had all the money, setups.

[Didneywhorl]

Quad Bonded 5G modems with all major carrier SIMs and mmWave support. Gigabit ethernet, no wifi. Directional antennas that can be articulated via remote and signal scan software.

Oh you meant a real existing setup?

[vectorized]

Quad Bonded 5G modems with all major carrier SIMs and mmWave support. Gigabit ethernet, no wifi. Directional antennas that can be articulated via remote and signal scan software.

Oh you meant a real existing setup?

Nope, I literally wanted your ideal overkill fantasy setup. (but with real world parts. I think the remote directional antenna can totally be done, just probably more tedious than it's worth. First person to make it a service will make some big $$$).

What would you use for bonding. And what would be between the modems & the ethernet? What is your router of choice? I assume usb enclosures for the modems?

Thank you didneywhorl for single handedly keeping this forum active.

[mtl26637]

As far as bonding goes, I'm fond of the Protectli Vault 4 running OMR. As far as modem setups, a modem in the usb 3 enclosure plugged into a WRT32X running rooter/goldenorb is by far the fastest/snappiest I've tested. I've not tested all of the different routers for rooter/GO but I've dabbled in my fair share and I LOVE how fast and snappy the WRT32X is. It's the fastest I've found so far.

[vectorized]

As far as bonding goes, I'm fond of the Protectli Vault 4 running OMR. As far as modem setups, a modem in the usb 3 enclosure plugged into a WRT32X running rooter/goldenorb is by far the fastest/snappiest I've tested. I've not tested all of the different routers for rooter/GO but I've dabbled in my fair share and I LOVE how fast and snappy the WRT32X is. It's the fastest I've found so far.

awesome info! I am loathe to spend that much on a device for OMR, but hey, if it's the most stable, that's good to know.

I doubt anyone has tested all the different routers, but if you had a resource with your opinions on the ones you have tested, that would be SUPER useful. Could you share any highlights from your experience so far, good and bad?

[Didneywhorl]

I've yet to find a cellular modem interface "gateway" router that is more popular for just plain working than the WG3526-P/NEXP1GO. It isn't a great "WiFi" router, but it does dang well with serving the cell modems internet connection.

The Multi-5G modem bonded setup in a dome does exist for super Yachts. I've spoken with the owner of the company, cool stuff they do. Money money. They use a proprietary system they designed from much trial and error. They are in France though they will sell their systems worldwide. The four modems and their 4 antennas each are in a 90-90-90-90 configuration so that you have coverage in all 360 degrees.

[vectorized]

I've yet to find a cellular modem interface "gateway" router that is more popular for just plain working than the WG3526-P/NEXP1GO. It isn't a great "WiFi" router, but it does dang well with serving the cell modems internet connection.

The Multi-5G modem bonded setup in a dome does exist for super Yachts. I've spoken with the owner of the company, cool stuff they do. Money money. They use a proprietary system they designed from much trial and error. They are in France though they will sell their systems worldwide. The four modems and their 4 antennas each are in a 90-90-90-90 configuration so that you have coverage in all 360 degrees.

nice. wish i had money

[mtl26637]

I doubt anyone has tested all the different routers, but if you had a resource with your opinions on the ones you have tested, that would be SUPER useful. Could you share any highlights from your experience so far, good and bad?

Uh lets see. My first was the WE1326. She's still in use with an EM7565 with ATT sim. Pretty solid all around but didn't like the 100MB LAN limitation. Second round was the WE826-T2 running with a Dell DW5821e. Again, no gigabit lan but the modem is a screamer that most don't realize. IMO its the best bang for the buck out there but we warned it can be tricky to get going if you don't have a dell laptop to play with the different firmware versions needed and some seem to be passed around with locked comm. ports. I've now migrated it to an RBM33G which I also love if you are going for an external build. It has gigabit lan and 2 onboard mpcie ports and also usb3 port and also a wide range for external power sources. Next up is a recently purchased WG3526 which also has gigabit lan and internal mpcie but pretty sure limited to usb2 speeds but still is a great router and its running an EM20G. I also have an MR1100 running an ATT sim which is great but don't have quite the diversity as a rooter/GO setup has. Plus its tricky if you want to do with an external setup and I'm not fond of the external antenna setups on it either. Its good if you live close to the tower I suppose. But lastly is my WRT32X running rooter/GO with an RM502Q-AE and Tmo sim. in an external enclosure. That thing blows all of the above away when it comes to quickness and its not due to the modem. I've swapped everything around in almost every provider/combination possible and its just 'snappy'. All of the above feeding the Protectli Vault 4 running OMR and I have no worries about 'slow internet' to say the least. The WRT32X was originally purchased for my main OMR router but it maxed out around the 200-250MB DL range so I went to the protectli for OMR and retired the WRT32X to run GO and its worked great.

Edit: The above reference to 200-250MB should actually read 200-250 Mbps.

[vectorized]

Uh lets see....

One click of the thanks button is not nearly enough. holy sh*t. This comment is going to make so many people who use the search feature happy. Wow. Seriously. Thank you. Lemme know where to send compensation.

I love the idea of the RBM33G, but I've heard people have SO MUCH trouble w/ getting either ROOTer or OpenWRT on it. Same for you?

I've been thinking of getting a GL.iNet router, running rooter/GO w/ a 502Q-AE via USB enclosure. Ideally didnt wanna pay for 5g since idk if i'll be able to use it much, but might as well plan ahead. Just had Dairyman whip up a firmware for the GL-S1300. (and i wanna pair it with a cat 16 or cat 12 card too)

You're making me rethink the outdoor enclosure, but I will be in an RV, w/ a rooftop antenna directly connected to the modems. I should be ok i think.

Dang. WRT32X is def more than I wanted to spend on router, but my gf wants me to make this as bulletproof as possible... I might have to. We will both be working remotely and I'll be gaming.

[mtl26637]

I love the idea of the RBM33G, but I've heard people have SO MUCH trouble w/ getting either ROOTer or OpenWRT on it. Same for you?

No trouble here after figuring out what is trying to get accomplished. If you know how to use ssh and have a spare router around with rooter/GO installed you should be good to go. I also used a program called WinSCP to upload the firmware. If you have a decent knowledge of networking you should be fine. There is a post around here where I linked to some posts from 'BNHF' on the process. The RBM33G is just a router board so you would need to throw it inside some type of enclosure but it's probably my fav all around. The WRT32X is probably just overkill, I mentioned it cause I couldn't believe how quick it seemed compared to everything I'd previously used.

I've been thinking of getting a GL.iNet router, running rooter/GO w/ a 502Q-AE via USB enclosure. Ideally didnt wanna pay for 5g since idk if i'll be able to use it much, but might as well plan ahead. Just had Dairyman whip up a firmware for the GL-S1300. (and i wanna pair it with a cat 16 or cat 12 card too)

The only GL-iNet device I've tested is the MT300N-V2 which is perfect for those small setups. Very compact and handy to have as a spare. I don't know much about any of their other products. Be aware that if your going all out with the modem (RM50xQ-AE) then you might make sure your device is capable of USB3. I don't know of any routers that are capable of USB3 on the internal modem slots. Maybe the WG1608 but that is one device i've not tested. I like to use the external usb3 enclosure from this site and plug into the routers usb3 port. Yes USB2 is capable of 480mbps theoretically but meh, I still see it as a potential limitation for the RM50xQ-AE. Plus the newer style usb3 enclosure from this site fits the longer modems and has options for even additional external power supplies ranging from 5v-27v or thereabouts. That way you can just tap into your router's supply and have one large supply to run it all.

Dang. WRT32X is def more than I wanted to spend on router, but my gf wants me to make this as bulletproof as possible... I might have to. We will both be working remotely and I'll be gaming.

I got lucky, I found mine through an online walmart retailer for $150 new. At the time I had to have something to replace my rpi4 OMR rig so thats how it started. It since was reflashed with rooter/GO and I've been very happy with it. I've seemed to always have issues with power related dropouts on about all the devices for some reason or the other but those issues seemed to have disappeared with the WRT32X for whatever reason. Doesn't make a bit of sense but it is what it is, LOL.

[Dr-BroadBand]

Subjective Question Time™:

*I'm not asking for suggestions. I want to know YOUR ideal, perfect world, I had all the money, setups.

I like the way you think

Can you tell the group more about your setting, Location from towers how many towers. Are you looking to build your system or buy it off the shelf?

What carriers Are available at your location?

Do you have Line of site to the tower?

[vectorized]

I like the way you think

Can you tell the group more about your setting, Location from towers how many towers. Are you looking to build your system or buy it off the shelf?

What carriers Are available at your location?

Do you have Line of site to the tower?

Dude, you quoted me saying I'm not asking for suggestions for my situation, and then asked me questions to give me suggestions about my situation. wut?

That's not the point. What's your ideal?

[vectorized]

If you have a decent knowledge of networking you should be fine.

LOL (used to be a web programmer, so I know some linux/terminal, i'll be ok, but still LOL)

I don't know of any routers that are capable of USB3 on the internal modem slots.

I think the H721 can on ONE slot, and it's m.2, but the 2nd slot is PCIE USB2.0. Board looks a bit too buggy to trust right now. but i want to.

Yes USB2 is capable of 480mbps theoretically but meh, I still see it as a potential limitation for the RM50xQ-AE.

Yeah if you also include upload you can reach the limit.

at the time I had to have something to replace my rpi4 OMR rig so that's how it started.

What happened, cause i was gonna get an RPi? (I feel like we should be DMing: discord: IAwooodMyPants#6969 tho someone else wants to know im sure)


thanks again! This is so helpful.

[mtl26637]

The H721 may have a capable internal slot as that is one of the few I've not tested. I will say this however, these new modems are power hungry lil turds and in my personal experience, I've had trouble with about every setup with the random disconnects and such. Most of the time these modems are designed to set at idle to save on power since most LTE devices are powered through batteries (phones) but once an upload/download starts they instantly start sucking up the juice. I would hope the designers of the routers/devices know this and have a decent size cap on the power rails for that instant power surge but who knows. What I do know is I've always seemed to have those annoying dropouts and have basically concluded its more than likely power related issues and to add to the problem is normal usb ports are only designed to apply a fraction of what these greedy modems actually need to operate at full capacity. This is why I like the external usb3 enclosure from The Wireless Haven so much. The newest design allows for the normal usb port hookup but also has a secondary power source that ranges from 5v-27v I think and can apply that extra needed power and also the newest design does not 'backfeed' power back through the usb3 port to the router/device. On older setups this would backfeed power back to the device and cause issues such as not actually being able to 'hard reset' the modem when the router asked for it cause of the secondary power source.

I started out with the rpi4 and it was great at first but once again I ran into the above problems with the needed power. Also, the rpi4 running OMR becomes a bottleneck at around 200mbps so if you are going to have speeds higher than that you will need something beefier. The WRT32X took its place but it even became a bottleneck hence the switch to the Protectli. I also had several issues with the rpi4's sdcard becoming corrupt for whatever reason. Tried several, but in all I bet I reflashed the rpi4 image 50 times before moving on.

These are all just my personal opinions and experiences and could have easy solutions that I've missed so I wouldn't put all of my weight on it for a decision. They are cheap enough to start out with the pi and see how things go and once your ready just upgrade and use the pi for something else. They are great for many projects. Right now I'm using one as my backdoor into my home network as its running reverse ssh tunnel to my OMR vps.

[vectorized]

I also had several issues with the rpi4's sdcard becoming corrupt for whatever reason.

This generally happens when the system gets unplugged w/o shutting down. Frequently corrupts the card.

thanks again for all the info. i am sure i wont be the only one to appreciate it.

[vectorized]

...

ok @mtl26637 I have one more question. Do you use both a GO router (ie. the Linksys) AND the Protectli w/ OMR, at the same time? or just one or the other. IDK how I haven't figured this out already. But I am slightly confused still.

[mtl26637]

I have between 4 to 5 LTE modems running at any given time. They all plug into the Protectli running OMR.

Example Modem/router setup:
WE1326 router with internal EM7565 modem
RBM33G router with internal EM20G modem
WRT32X router connected to RBM502Q-AE modem in USB3 enclosure connected to WRT32X usb port

All of the router modem setups are then connected to the lan ports of the Protectli running OMR. The Protectli/OMR router acts as the main router gateway for your home lan setup. This will then connect through the various LTE internet connections to an external VPS server such as Vultr.

[vectorized]

All of the router modem setups are then connected to the lan ports of the Protectli running OMR. The Protectli/OMR router acts as the main router gateway for your home lan setup. This will then connect through the various LTE internet connections to an external VPS server such as Vultr.

Ok, so one doesnt connect a modem directly to OMR, it needs a router box to go through first. I was going to connect 2 modems to a WRT3200ACM via USB, and then plug them into the OMR/Protectli, I wonder if i can use GO to push out a different AP from different LAN ports?

[mtl26637]

I believe OMR does support direct connections, however, I'm not sure if it can handle multiple as i've never tried. Also the OMR box is already extremely busy with everything else so I'd recommend keeping the modems separate. It all depends on how fast you want your setup to go really. LTE equipment definitely follows the adage 'you get what you pay for'.

Hooking 2 modems to a single box can be done, but again the router would need enough headroom to run both. I've seen several issues with different boxes and modems and versions of firmware trying to run 2 modems. I would avoid the headache and keep a 1/1 ratio.

[albert90]

The ideal setup for me at this point would be 5G availability in my area for starters