Van WIFI & Mobile Data -- How I Done It --

[Dellmassive]

Tell us about your CCTV please @Dellmassive

which one? . . . . the RING on the van?

 

[Chromedome]

Yeah, sounds interesting mate, thanks for the tips so far.

 

[Rids]

Thanks, I might give that one in the eBay link I posted a punt then. £200 on those Huawei ones is a bit expensive when Im just seeing how they work and if I will use it much

Did you try it?
How did it work out?

 

[Skyliner33]

Did you try it?
How did it work out?

Not got round to it yet :/

 

[TWB-Mark]

I’m assuming you can pick one up in a supermarket as you can here in the UK. But how do you go about topping it up etc?

I lived in Italy for a year and got a sim from the local hypermarket. Topping it up was done at the local cafe via a card. This was 2015 so maybe things have moved on.... Hope this helps

 

[josiechughes]

Tell us about your CCTV please @Dellmassive

Yes please @Dellmassive - all the dash cams i've seen, they want their own LTE SIM card... yet another subscription! Would much rather have choice on what i'm paying, and who with!
So, to be able to check in on a live video of the van - i'm keen to get one that is always on, and always connected to wifi. What model Dash have you got??

 

[Dellmassive]

I'm currently on a Three.co.uk plan.

£8 per month.

I have that SIM card in the travel router in the van.

That gives me van WiFi and internet 24/7.

....


Current van CCTV is two ring cams, one in the front cab, and the second in the rear...

Ring cams....






And also the Blackvue dashcam is now 24/7.



...

 

[Dellmassive]

As an example....

3UK Self Service

.

 

[Dellmassive]

as for the "CCTV" cams . . . .

i have this one in the front - magnet to the bulkhead, though im sure it could be Velcro anywhere.


rechargeable via USB. - lasts a week or so.





++++

https://amzn.to/400cRVj

 

[Dellmassive]

and one of these in the back. . . . .








....

https://amzn.to/3LgD0v8

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


these cams take the Ring rechargeable battery pack,

you get one with each camera. . .


so i just bought a couple of additional batterys and a desk charger . . ( as i have about 5 of these stick up cams)



+++

https://amzn.to/401KHcm

.....






and the charger . . .

https://amzn.to/423lvEe

 

[Dellmassive]

the dashcam . . . is a Blackvue DR900s. . . 1ch

which has been superseded to the DR900x 1/2ch.

https://amzn.to/3YEaRB4

++++++++++



then i just added my own SD Card:


128Gb is the max size for the DR900s.

https://amzn.to/3lbAift

 

[Dellmassive]

all of this is still running on the "HUAWEI Unlocked E8372h" USB travel router,

thats tucked above the roof lining, above the roof light switch panel. . .

with Three SIM card mentioned above. . .

https://amzn.to/3ZQh266

​

 

[Dellmassive]

super sweet cheap mobile WIFI, Internet, Security & Piece of mind.

Very ZEN

 

[willgr]

@Dellmassive great write-up... are you running your BlackVue from your lithium leisure battery, or the main battery? Not using mine as a daily driver, I've had issues with my Dashcam switching off when the voltage drop reaches a trigger value.

 

[Dellmassive]

when i first installed the dash cam it was running from the starter battery. . .


with parking mode enabled.

but i noticed it was too juicy and was running the starter battery to low for my liking. ( over a 3day weekend)

so,

i then moved it over to a switch feed that was only live from IGN when the engine was running.... so effectively no drain on the starter battery. . .




++++++++++++++++



I've now moved that feed over to the lithium leisure battery.



++++++++++++++++

i have the IGN feed and the Leisure feed up here above the centre light panel,




and run these meters . . .

Battery Monitoring -- How I Done It --

Battery Monitoring -- How I Done It -- Part #1 Battery monitoring is a very important part of your 12v system . . . . whether its just the vans starter battery or your leisure setup keeping an eye on the power in your battery bank will keep you from breaking down and make sure your weekends...

www.t6forum.com

,


so it was an easy job to switch over.



now the WIFI dongle and dash cam are 24/7 from leisure battery.

previously i was drawing around 400mA,

now with the dashcam added im drawing around 700mA (0.7A) (0.7Ah)


so that dash is drawing around 300mA.

.






+++++++


battery wise im running a Roamer 230ah Lifepo4. - Roamer - Premium LiFePO4 Leisure Batteries for off grid


so have ample power.

Roamer LiFePO4 Gen2 230Ah Seatbase battery -- "How I Done It" --

Roamer LiFePO4 Gen2 230Ah Seatbase battery -- "How I Done It" -- Its a Lithium LifePo4, its got massive capacity @ 230Ah, its got massive discharge performance 250A/500A, its Bluetooth, its a Roamer !!, its exciting . . . . . its coming soon - the full test . . . . ...

www.t6forum.com

+++++++++++


check em out:

@RoamerBatteries & @Dellmassive - T6Forum approved.

Roamer - Premium LiFePO4 Leisure Batteries for off grid

For continuous power for non-stop adventures, say hello to Roamer – the next generation in SMART 12v and 24V LiFePO4 leisure batteries for campervans, boats and off grid life. Equal parts power, intelligence and reliability - managed with a smartphone app that puts the power in your hands. 10...

roamer.com

++++++++++++

 

[True Romance]

Be interested to here what everyone's experience is with 4g dongles and which network is used. Seems some of the best sim data plans piggy back the three network which was awful for me some years back. So which networks works best when in more remote locations?

Thanks.

 

[Dellmassive]

fwiw. . .

Check your network coverage | Three

Check network coverage for 3G, 4G and 5G in your area. We reach 99% of the UK population for 3G and 4G, and we're building the UK's fastest 5G network.

www.three.co.uk

 

[Dellmassive]

i use EE for my phone. . . .

but three was cheaper for a data sim for the van

 

[willgr]

FWIW I use EE for my phone, and then have an EE data SIM (at minimum monthly price) and use their data sharing option to transfer data allowance from my phone to the data SIM when I need more.

 

[MyOtherCarIsA]

I use a Smarty SIM in a ZTE MU5001. It's not unusual to see several hundred Mb download speeds in major cities.

Currently £10 for 60GB of monthly 5G data: Simple, honest mobile

Smarty runs on Three, which was an absolutely dreadful network for years, but they seem to have sorted themselves out and I will get Smarty service where the Mrs has nothing from EE.