Installing Winegard Gateway GW-1000

[LovinTheJourney]

I really like the Posi Taps. Gotta get some of those. I used a “Y” connector that does a similar attachment. Worked like a charm for connection without cutting the wires. Your photos really helped - thanks.

[SanDog]

follow-up. I am sending it back. I tried hard to use it, but in the end, the 4G radio is just quite poor.

I ran some tests, while stationary in a location, the Winegard radio with the factory roof mounted antenna vs my 4 year old Peplink BR1-mini. Exact same location, exact same SIM, I just moved the SIM between the two units. I mounted the peplink indoors behind the TV, so it really wasn't fair to the Peplink. The Peplink was still 5x faster on the 4G radio, and was much more stable. There were times the Winegard would drop the ability to send data completely. It really is a shame, because the gateway and roof antenna is a great idea. It was a clean install, looked nice, etc. Now I have 4 extra screw holes in the ceiling instead

Jim

This is exactly what I was thinking. Guessing the mobilemusthave.com bundles are in my future. Has anyone tried to drop an improved antenna in place of the Winegard yet? Would be nice to be able to reuse the roof space and hole rather than run another, although would prefer to hide the router in a cabinet.

[JM0397]

Just found this today - install video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYhfu3qq22g

Also, after doing a bit of research you'll find the unit either is horrible and not worth it, or awesome. Configuration and data plan matters.
Throw out the Winegard simcard - it's overpriced and only used 2.5g so it totally blows.
You can swap out to an ATT or Verizon simcard for a true 4G system.
There is also some confusion from Winegard proper if this works as a simple boost antenna, for use with hot-spotting another device such as your phone or a Verizon Jetpack, for example. I spoke with a Winegard rep today who seemed a little confused, but she said the unit will not work as 4G boost without a simcard in it, which doesn't sound correct.

[JM0397]

Clarification on the above-mentioned question from DennisK:
You can leave the Wingard simcard in the unit with no data plan enabled. You'll get an error from time to time - just ignore it - and then the 4G antenna is functional, so free to use your phone or other device to hotspot within your rig.

[mavenius]

Our new rig came with a Winegard 360+ which by default works as an amplified TV and radio antenna, but with the Gateway (GW-1000) it is a 4G LTE access point (with corresponding plan) and WiFi range extender.

Great says I, hook me up. Well, it arrived today. At first, it seems simple enough. Pull the plate that was installed at the factory, tap into the power leads that are already there for the antenna, hook up the mini BNC connectors and away you go.

It came with a power switch, but the directions say if a switch is already installed, you won't need it. My hope at this point was the wire they ran to the hole was on the switched side of the antenna, and everything would turn on and off with the button
behind the TV. No such luck. It seems to be on the always hot side. I really don't want to pull the cap off the roof and go fishing, and I really don't want to install 2 switches on a single antenna.

Has anyone installed the GW-1000 gateway yet? What did you do or run into?

Jim

The wire the factory gives you. 3 antenna wires, 2 wifi, 1 4G if I understand correctly, and the DC loop that was tucked in with them.
Attachment 27171

I pulled the switch plate off to confirm my suspicions. Indeed, they are different wires Also, EVERY screw on RG-6 end was loose, one about ready to fall off, so at least those are tight now.
Attachment 27172

I'm considering using a combination of what you have; that is, my RV has a 360+ preinstalled, and I want to try using its antennas with a peplink. Do you know what type of connectors are in the ceiling for the 360+? I don't recognize them from the pictures, but they don't appear to be SMA or RP-SMA. Do they plug straight in?

Sorry for the random questions; I haven't yet taken delivery of the new trailer, but I'm trying to get my ducks in a row in case I need adapters of some sort that may have long shipping times.

Thanks in advance!

Mark

[JM0397]

I'm considering using a combination of what you have; that is, my RV has a 360+ preinstalled, and I want to try using its antennas with a peplink. Do you know what type of connectors are in the ceiling for the 360+? I don't recognize them from the pictures, but they don't appear to be SMA or RP-SMA. Do they plug straight in?

Sorry for the random questions; I haven't yet taken delivery of the new trailer, but I'm trying to get my ducks in a row in case I need adapters of some sort that may have long shipping times.

Thanks in advance!

Mark

In the Solitude 310, the wires are right behind the ceiling cover with plenty of extra length to pull out - didn't have to go fishing up in there. Wires found are (hot) power that you can splice into and then the 3 small antenna wires; two are interchangeable (4g MIMO connections) but one is a specific function (the Red WIFI connection). Just remember that Red wire is the one-off, and the two others work together.

[openrangeowners]

Need assistance with Winegard Gateway install. I have a 2021 S-2930RL and retrieved the 3 antenna wires and the power wire. The power wire was caulked to the ceiling right next to the access hole and I was able to pull it through the access hole enough to connect to it.

Problem is the wiring is not powered ... it is color coded the same as the bathroom fan (brown/white). Checked it with my multimeter and no 12V is present.

I guess I need to find out why there is no power to the wiring intended for the gateway.

Anyone else install one in their 2930RL?

[JM0397]

Need assistance with Winegard Gateway install. I have a 2021 S-2930RL and retrieved the 3 antenna wires and the power wire. The power wire was caulked to the ceiling right next to the access hole and I was able to pull it through the access hole enough to connect to it.

Problem is the wiring is not powered ... it is color coded the same as the bathroom fan (brown/white). Checked it with my multimeter and no 12V is present.

I guess I need to find out why there is no power to the wiring intended for the gateway.

Anyone else install one in their 2930RL?

Mine was either hot or the button was already pushed. Check near the TV, there's the antenna connection on the wall plate.
Check pg 147 in your owner's manual - there's a small button on that wall plate for the TV - that should power up the Winegard anttena and that should, in theory, be the power to that line... I would hope they wired it that way!
If all else fails, call customer support at GD - they've been easy to get hold of and full of answers for me so far.

[AUImagine]

Clarification on the above-mentioned question from DennisK:
You can leave the Wingard simcard in the unit with no data plan enabled. You'll get an error from time to time - just ignore it - and then the 4G antenna is functional, so free to use your phone or other device to hotspot within your rig.

I’m on the fence purchasing the Winegard Gateway. It’d be so clean to use the Winegard 360 antenna, but I’ve seen some YouTubes that really dog both the WiFi and Mimo throughput. The OP sent his back.
Can you share a review of the speeds? Also, can you clarify how you might integrate an existing Jetpack or hotspot into the gateway? I’m unclear how the hotpot would use the Mimo antenna unless it was hardwired into the box in the ceiling. (Please excuse my ignorance!)

[JM0397]

I’m on the fence purchasing the Winegard Gateway. It’d be so clean to use the Winegard 360 antenna, but I’ve seen some YouTubes that really dog both the WiFi and Mimo throughput. The OP sent his back.
Can you share a review of the speeds? Also, can you clarify how you might integrate an existing Jetpack or hotspot into the gateway? I’m unclear how the hotpot would use the Mimo antenna unless it was hardwired into the box in the ceiling. (Please excuse my ignorance!)

This was very helpful for me - the video summarizes the article.

I have not tested the setup yet but I'm not expecting anything stellar. I also bought the $40 Mimo window-mounted antenna they mention in the video, as an alternate when I need a directional boost.

The gist is the Winegard setup will help in some situations, but will hinder in others so you'll need to get familiar with it and what's what with some trial and tinkering.

I suppose you could just plug your jetpack into the 360/360+ cell antenna (NOT the red one, use the other two), and then mount it somehow to the ceiling with no need of the Gateway (I'd run the wires out of the cap and then use Command Hooks to secure it up to the plate, if I was going to try this). Honestly, with what they discuss in the video, that would probably be just as good as the $200 more option of gateway installed, and then using jetpack normally... Again, you'll need to tinker and test.

If you install the Gateway, it IS a 4G booster, so then your jetpack works wireless as usual, just with, in theory, a boosted signal in the rig. You can run it without a sim card and with the jetpack, or you can cut out the jetpack middle-ware and install a sim card in the Gateway. I only did not do this because I might want to use the jetpack at home and get rid of my mediocre home AT&T service. If we were full-timing, a mounted in place device would be fine.

If you do install the Gateway, you'll need to follow the instructions for hitting the IP address and turning it on to 4G boost mode.

We're heading out for 4 days this weekend, so I hope to have some more what-ifs nailed down. The main thing with cell service to WIFI these days is the tech is still new and evolving; there is no simple plug and play option yet. The in-beta-testing Tesla satallite system MIGHT be the answer eventually, but we'll need to wait until they open up for mobile testing (it's static testing only right now - there's a thread on it if you search, I don't recall the official name of Skynet). For now you'll need to learn a bit about different tools and network engineering. The website I linked above is super helpful - that's their whole focus is mobile internet setup.

Good luck!