In-vehicle router recommendations

Technical Support for Routers
1

Hi guys,

I was hoping you might be able to please help me decide on which router to use for an in-vehicle install?

My needs are as follows:

  • Low power consumption. This will be running 24/7 off an auxiliary battery that receives solar charge during the day and alternator charge any time I’m driving. 12V vehicle so I will need to run a 12V DC to 5V DC buck converter.
  • Able to cope with higher temperatures. This will be installed in the vehicle and here in Australia over summer it can reach 50-60 degrees Celsius during the day in a closed vehicle. I could perhaps add additional fans/heatsinks/etc to assist if necessary?
  • Able to use with a USB cellular modem
  • Decent wifi range, this will be used when camping regularly and will need to be reachable around the campsite etc. Would 50m radios in an open area be realistic?

I know that it is hard to have all these things at the same time but was hoping for some input from you seasoned experts :slight_smile:

I have been through the mini routers and travel routers, it appears the mango is likely the lowest power consumption model but might have some cooling issues in that form factor? Physical side isn’t too much of an issue for me, I’d rather have it cope with the heat better.

Cheers!

1 Like
2

I have the Mango. You could drill extra holes into the case for extra cooling flow.
You can reduce its transmission power for inside the vehicle. I am at the moment looking for an external USB antenna to increase the range. Ideally it should be dual frequency range and high power to have better chances finding a suitable WiFi.
Just the Mango fitted inside the vehicle is weaker than my WiFi on the cell phone. I guess a larger antenna mounted outside of the vehicle should be a huge advantage.

3

I’ve tested the AR750S Slate.

  • Power consumption is around 2.5 to 8 watts.
  • Wifi range, I get 3 out of 4 bars 5Ghz wifi signal through a 15 - 20cm concrete ceiling.
4

Usually the product is tested in 40 degrees Celsius environment to make sure it works OK.

For higher temperature environment we only can hope it works.

50 meters should be OK in open areas. But pls note, your cars windows can shield quite a lot of the wifi signal.

For USB modems, need to be a hostless one so that you do not need extra driver.

Maybe you can just try to find out.

5

Can we create a list here of the different chips + SW for each model of router that ppl report to work stable?

6

Hey Mate - did you ever decide on an in-vehicle router?

I am setting up a canopy that will have a few devices that work via WiFi, so am keen to see which direction you went in.

Cheers,

Nathan

7

Hey mate, yea I ended up going with the mango and have had no issues. I’m saying that though I haven’t had any hot summer days with it running in the car yet but have found it to work quite well so far.

Power consumption is quite good too. Running a raspberry Pi model 4, the mango, and fridge idling it sips about 0.45 amps.

What are you planning on running in your canopy?

8

I am setting up some ESP32 boards running momentary switches to drive relays for my accessories. Will allow them to be controlled via phone (bluetooth and/or wifi) as well as via the physical switches.

Have thought about making them run via LAN with a very small, simple switch. Am going to try the WiFi option first.

Thought about running a Pi 4, but the startup time was my issue if I wanted to go to the truck and switch something on quickly. Needs to run the entire time.

And Internet access isn’t really something I need. Purely local, and only 2.4Ghz.

Apart from that, will have fridge, LED lights, Travel Buddy oven, Inverter, etc. all running from a 200aH Lithium.

Fun Fun Fun