Falcon Technology 4G Combo 150 MBPS All In One Outdoor Router

[Nomad 8]

Hi everyone

 Does anyone use the Falcon Outdoor router or know about it.

I am looking to use my laptop and mobile phones in the UK while campervanning.

Also can you recommend a Network that would suit light internet usage?

Many thanks Nomad 8

[Deneb]

I've no knowledge of the Falcon kit, but I have a Huawei E5577C router and Panorama "Great White" LTE 4G/5G MiMo roof antenna, which I installed myself, although it is similar to the equipment that was being sold as a complete kit by Motorhome WiFi at the time I bought it. I am very happy with it, having been able to obtain internet connectivity almost anywhere including some very remote locations in the Scottish highlands. It cost me about half the price of buying the complete kit from Motorhome WiFi and was a fairly straightforward install in my PVC. If you have a coachbuilt van however, and want an external roof aerial (essential IMO if you want a connection in more remote areas) you may be better off speaking to MH WiFi because they supply a longer extension for the aerial mount to allow fitting to the thicker coachbuilt roof panel. The extension is difficult to obtain by itself, but not required for a PVC with a sheet metal roof.

If you are simply going to rely on a router inside the van, without a connection to a roof aerial, you may as well save some money and simply tether through your phone, as the reception through the router is unlikely to be much if any better.

Connectivity is also dependent on the phone network availability which varies in different locations. To that end I carry both a Three and a Popit data SIM. Both are quite reasonably priced. The data plane for each can be changed on renewal of each rolling monthly contract if desired, and they can also be paused when not needed. Three allow the subscription to be paused for up to 6 months without losing the SIM number, and a new monthly subscription can be started on any day of a month within that period. Popit are slightly less flexible, in that the monthly renewal date is fixed, but the SIM can be paused for a holding fee of £1 per month, but a bit of forward planning is needed when restarting it, as it needs to be taken off of pause on the fixed monthly day preceding the envisaged usage.

Three's network coverage can be poor in more remote areas, although it has improved a lot in the last few years. Popit piggyback on the EE network which I find generally has better coverage where Three fails. It's a fairly simple matter to swap the SIM in the router as and when required.

I tend to subscribe to Popits 100GB plan when required, and carry the Three SIM as a backup so that I can start a new monthly subscription "over the air" if I find myself somewhere that I have no coverage with Popit. Popit charge £25 per month for 100GB data, with the full allowance available when roaming. Three charge £20 per month for unlimited data, but if I recall correctly they restrict roaming to a maximum of 12GB per month. Both companies offer cheaper plans with lower allowances.

Popits phone app is pretty poor though, but I have received prompt replies from their customer support on the couple of times that I have contacted them.

[Nomad 8]

Thank you very much Deneb for such good infomation. Much appreciated.

[DickB]

Maybe a bit late, but I use my mobile as a hot spot everywhere, UK and abroad. I have iD Mobile as the provider, which uses 3 network. £10/Month for 80gB and I never get near that even when watching TV at length. Any unused at the end of the month is rolled over. Roaming in the EU up to 30gB is included. 

Dick 

[Nomad 8]

Many thanks @DickB

This is all great information which is useful to me and the community at large.👍

[Deneb]

As I indicated in my previous reply, tethering to your mobile phone (which if connecting by wi-fi is the same as a hot spot) is the cheapest option as long as you have a good signal. If you always go to places where a good mobile signal can be relied upon, and/or a mobile connection is nice to have but not necessarily critical, that will probably do you. If however, you go to remote places where a phone signal is not always available on your mobile, you wont't be able to tether anything. A Mi-Fi router connected to a 2x MiMo external antenna via dual antenna leads will in my experience be able to find a network signal almost anywhere, SIM operator dependant.

In Scotland a few years ago, we arrived at a croft off the beaten track, where we found on arrival that we needed to contact the owner by phone to turn up and allow us access. The notice explained that a mobile signal could be obtained by following the road back to the top of a hill, about a mile away. Neither of us had a signal on our phones, but after turning on the MiFi, we got a good connection on EE and used wifi calling to contact the owner from outside the site gate. We were also able to stream TV whilst we were there. 

[the clampits]

We went down the Falcon road recently. We got a new campervan a year ago, and decided not to fit a tv antenna or a satellite dome. We had both items on previous vans, and decided that the satellite dome in particular, was a waste of money.

We were due upgrades on our phones so after a bit of research went to EE and got a deal from them. In addition to the phones, we got an unlimited SIM for the Falcon.  Now this next bit may not be exactly accurate, as my wife dealt with the whole contract thing, but as far as I know, the Falcon SIM is on a  monthly contract. Connecting our tablet, we are able to cast the picture onto the tv through Google Chromecast and watch BBC Iplayer, Disney and Netflix by logging into our account. ITV is a bit difficult, and we haven't quite worked out how to do that.

The real bonus is logging into IPlayer for the weather forecast when in UK. We live in Scotland and do most of our trips here, especially up northwest and so far its working well.  I think we've only had one site where we couldn't get a signal to connect onto.

We toured Europe earlier this year and used the Falcon there. You have to log into your EE account and enable roaming, and pay slightly more.  We had a few probs doing this the first time, which involved calls to Falcon, but they were helpful and sorted it out. Important to remember to notify them when we returned to the UK.

So far,  it is working well and we've enjoyed using it all through the UK. We just stick it on the outside of the window where it always seems to get a signal. You can connect several devices, I think four or five, meaning the phones always get a 4g signal. We even use it in preference to using free WIFI on sites, it works so much better.

[Deneb]

ITVx is available on Amazon firestick, Roku and NowTV stick and similar streaming devices, along with many other channels. I haven't bothered with a separate TV aerial for several years. EE can be quite expensive for mobile data. Popit (EE network) is cheaper and can be paused when not used. Ditto Smarty (Three network) although signal coverage is not  as extensive.

[Steve928]

Regarding the Falcon Outdoor Router, before going ahead I would ask them to confirm which LTE bands it supports as their documentation is lacking in this respect. Looking around their site I can't  find many specs. but for example their '4G Rural Broadband' product omits supports for Band 20, a very common UK LTE band, as the attached picture of the masts in my rural area hopefully illustrates.

Edited November 23, 2023 by Steve928

[Nomad 8]

Thank you Steve. I must admit I find all things tech related above me so thanks for the advise,

[Nomad 8]

On 23/11/2023 at 09:59, Deneb said:

ITVx is available on Amazon firestick, Roku and NowTV stick and similar streaming devices, along with many other channels. I haven't bothered with a separate TV aerial for several years. EE can be quite expensive for mobile data. Popit (EE network) is cheaper and can be paused when not used. Ditto Smarty (Three network) although signal coverage is not  as extensive.

 

On 22/11/2023 at 17:22, Deneb said:

As I indicated in my previous reply, tethering to your mobile phone (which if connecting by wi-fi is the same as a hot spot) is the cheapest option as long as you have a good signal. If you always go to places where a good mobile signal can be relied upon, and/or a mobile connection is nice to have but not necessarily critical, that will probably do you. If however, you go to remote places where a phone signal is not always available on your mobile, you wont't be able to tether anything. A Mi-Fi router connected to a 2x MiMo external antenna via dual antenna leads will in my experience be able to find a network signal almost anywhere, SIM operator dependant.

In Scotland a few years ago, we arrived at a croft off the beaten track, where we found on arrival that we needed to contact the owner by phone to turn up and allow us access. The notice explained that a mobile signal could be obtained by following the road back to the top of a hill, about a mile away. Neither of us had a signal on our phones, but after turning on the MiFi, we got a good connection on EE and used wifi calling to contact the owner from outside the site gate. We were also able to stream TV whilst we were there. 

Great Deneb that sounds like the setup I would like.!

[Nomad 8]

On 20/11/2023 at 22:19, DickB said:

Maybe a bit late, but I use my mobile as a hot spot everywhere, UK and abroad. I have iD Mobile as the provider, which uses 3 network. £10/Month for 80gB and I never get near that even when watching TV at length. Any unused at the end of the month is rolled over. Roaming in the EU up to 30gB is included. 

Dick 

Thank you for the information Dick B much appreciated.

[Nomad 8]

On 22/11/2023 at 22:14, the clampits said:

We went down the Falcon road recently. We got a new campervan a year ago, and decided not to fit a tv antenna or a satellite dome. We had both items on previous vans, and decided that the satellite dome in particular, was a waste of money.

We were due upgrades on our phones so after a bit of research went to EE and got a deal from them. In addition to the phones, we got an unlimited SIM for the Falcon.  Now this next bit may not be exactly accurate, as my wife dealt with the whole contract thing, but as far as I know, the Falcon SIM is on a  monthly contract. Connecting our tablet, we are able to cast the picture onto the tv through Google Chromecast and watch BBC Iplayer, Disney and Netflix by logging into our account. ITV is a bit difficult, and we haven't quite worked out how to do that.

The real bonus is logging into IPlayer for the weather forecast when in UK. We live in Scotland and do most of our trips here, especially up northwest and so far its working well.  I think we've only had one site where we couldn't get a signal to connect onto.

We toured Europe earlier this year and used the Falcon there. You have to log into your EE account and enable roaming, and pay slightly more.  We had a few probs doing this the first time, which involved calls to Falcon, but they were helpful and sorted it out. Important to remember to notify them when we returned to the UK.

So far,  it is working well and we've enjoyed using it all through the UK. We just stick it on the outside of the window where it always seems to get a signal. You can connect several devices, I think four or five, meaning the phones always get a 4g signal. We even use it in preference to using free WIFI on sites, it works so much better.

Thanks a lot for the info The Clampits much appreciated.