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WIFI Ranger or ?


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Nanostation is an M2-HP. Router is the latest firmware (beta) on a Go2 and also on a Pepwave SOHO. Both work.

 

No Comcast in Woodland Park.

Thanks Jack!!!

The one that dies with the most toys is still dead!

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I am hearing you are most concerned with recurring cost vs one time investment. If I've heard correctly this would be how I would approace a solution.

  1. Determine if there are or will be any wired client devices in my unit. (Motorcoach or trailer?)
    • If wired Then a WFR GO2 or equivlent would be needed to wire those devices.
      • Printer
      • Home Theater
      • TV
      • Game Consoles etc.

I don't know that we will have any wired devices in the MH. Both of our laptops are wireless as is our printer and we both have smart phones.

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Now I'm confused. Evans answer is pretty much identical to the advice you have received here.

Perhaps it's just in the wording. I wanted to know if the "Elite" would work as my primary source of internet (free) and the reply from WFR leads me to believe that it will.

 

Also, regarding Xfinity. I downloaded their app to my phone so that I could look at their coverage map and it looks like their is coverage in just about all of the areas we will be in at one time or another. So, it looks like we'll be able to use Xfiinity quite a bit as we travel. They also allow access to those who do not have a Comcast account on a limited basis of two 60 minute periods per month.

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I am hearing you are most concerned with recurring cost vs one time investment. If I've heard correctly this would be how I would approace a solution...If you have a trailer/5th consider placing the Elite etc. in your TV so you could travel to the library, McD's, etc if camped out of range. or install in your Toad if that is your setup.. The beauty of this setup is you can have connectivity when you are day tripping & you can drive to a WiFi HotSpot if you need to without your house. The down side is appearance and leaving the spouse without connectivity if one of you runs to the store etc...

I am a little confused as to the benefits of this approach. If you have to drive to get to a hotspot, a computer or other wifi capable device will have to be taken along. I don't think I have ever been to a business with free wifi that I could not access their system from their premises with just my computer. I guess if you want to park across the street or down the block and not enter the businesses' property than you might need something like the Elite, Sky or other range extender.

 

When I look at costs, I like to look at more than just a single item if there is a potential impact on other related costs. In this case, how much fuel will be burned on trips solely for the purpose of accessing a Wifi hotspot versus the cost of extra cellular data that might negate the need for the fuel expenditure. If fuel prices continue to rise, the cost of a couple of gallons per trip to the hotspot might buy a fair amount of extra data.

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Perhaps it's just in the wording. I wanted to know if the "Elite" would work as my primary source of internet (free) and the reply from WFR leads me to believe that it will.

 

 

Here's a real world example that maybe will help clear up your confusion between what you think Evan told you and what you've been reading here.

 

I'm currently at a CG with free wifi. My WiFiRanger had no trouble connecting to it after I entered the correct passcode. However, after running a speedtest.net check on the wifi I found that it was running at a rate of <1Mbps download speed. As far as I'm concerned that is way too slow to be of interest, so my Ranger is now connected to my phone's hotspot.

 

In this case, my WiFiRanger could have provided me with free wifi at this location but I chose not to use it. Since I'm currently just north of the Franconia Notch in NH there are absolutely no other wifi signals showing on my Ranger's display.

 

This is a pretty common situation; CG's in rural areas often are located where there are no McDonalds or Starbucks to grab a signal from and the wifi quality at CG's varies widely. But Evan's statement is correct; I could have used my Ranger to get free wifi.

Sandie & Joel

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http://wifiranger.com/shop/product/49-elite-pack

 

Suggest getting the package that included the Go2, as it will provide future upgrade paths to support rebroadcasting your cellular data signal down the road. (Which I think your hear from some veteran full timers, that you will have a high probability of determining you need to add to your 'internet connecting tool kit'. Sorry you don't like cellular data plans, but it is your best way of getting connection to the internet on the road. That is current a fact, not just opinion.)

 

Get the Elite antenna that allows you to mount it to a say a raising crank up TV antenna, if your unit has one. If not, then get a painters pole, add some extra good quality wire, and get that Elite as high in the air as you can get it. (All of this, in Jack's great write ups, as the higher the antenna, the better the reception range.)

 

Best of luck to you,

Smitty

Be safe, have fun,

Smitty

04 CC Allure "RooII" - Our "E" ride for life!

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I'm currently at a CG with free wifi. My WiFiRanger had no trouble connecting to it after I entered the correct passcode. However, after running a speedtest.net check on the wifi I found that it was running at a rate of <1Mbps download speed. As far as I'm concerned that is way too slow to be of interest, so my Ranger is now connected to my phone's hotspot.

 

 

So how fast does it need to be in order to check email?

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... Sorry you don't like cellular data plans, but it is your best way of getting connection to the internet on the road. That is current a fact, not just opinion.)

 

 

It's an issue of what we can afford and right now spending more money on data won't work for us. We will have to plan our travels around where we can get free wifi. I don't think it will be that difficult and it looks like Xfinity is adding more hotspots all the time.

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Nanostation is an M2-HP. Router is the latest firmware (beta) on a Go2 and also on a Pepwave SOHO. Both work.

 

No Comcast in Woodland Park.

Is Comcast in that many places? I ask because I will be keeping my Comcast email addresses. And I called them and they stated that my user name and PW is what gains me access.

2015 Ram 3500 RC DRW CTD AISIN 410 rear

2016 Mobile Suites 38RSB3

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Is Comcast in that many places? I ask because I will be keeping my Comcast email addresses. And I called them and they stated that my user name and PW is what gains me access.

You can check their coverage map here and see for yourself if they are in places that will be useful to you. In the past three months of travel through Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee, the only place that I can recall seeing Xfinitywifi on the WFR Boost scans was in Chattanooga at the Camping World campground. As I said in my earlier post, many of their hotspots are home wifi modem/routers. These are located in the home or on the property where the home owner wants, not such that they will necessarily provide a good access point to those off the property. The comcast wifi modem/routers that I have seen do not even have an external antenna like some of the more powerful home and small business wifi router/hotspots. When parked in the driveway of a relative that has comcast, I have to place the Go or Go2 on the window sill facing the driveway. The house is of masonry and brick faced construction and without repeating the signal through the glass window, I can not get a usable connection inside the RV which is about 15' from the house.

So how fast does it need to be in order to check email?

Before the development of high speed internet, folks checked email with dialup service. For years DSL was 1mb/sec or less and folks used that to check email. If you are using a program like Outlook, that downloads the email to your computer, than it is simply a matter of how long it takes for the files to be transmitted back and forth. The slower the connection the longer you have to wait. I remember one time at work years ago, I clicked on download attachment in an email from the main office and a message popped up "downloading 1080 hours to go". They sent me a CD of the files by Fedex. So if you are emailing or being emailed large files a slow connection may be a problem.

 

If you are using email that is held on a server like at Comcast or others than the speed of the connection will affect how fast every action you request takes and how fast each email loads. Again if you are emailing or receiving large files, than a slow connection may be a problem. I have used connections of as low as .3mb/sec for email, but I usually only send text. At that speed you have to be patient for large emails to load.

The one that dies with the most toys is still dead!

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Is Comcast in that many places? I ask because I will be keeping my Comcast email addresses. And I called them and they stated that my user name and PW is what gains me access.

Their is an app that you can download to your smartphone to see where Xfinity is. And, they are adding more all of the time. When checking this on the internet the other night I was able to zoom in and find the name and location of the business, etc. where the signal was coming from.

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... The house is of masonry and brick faced construction and without repeating the signal through the glass window, I can not get a usable connection inside the RV which is about 15' from the house.

 

In the past month I parked in the street in front of two different homes (a friend and a relative) and was able to use their wifi on my laptop at 60-100 feet away with no antenna or anything else. The connection was 3 to 4 bars and worked fine for me.

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Their is an app that you can download to your smartphone to see where Xfinity is. And, they are adding more all of the time. When checking this on the internet the other night I was able to zoom in and find the name and location of the business, etc. where the signal was coming from.

 

Thanks I down loaded the app a couple of days ago.

2015 Ram 3500 RC DRW CTD AISIN 410 rear

2016 Mobile Suites 38RSB3

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Speaking of Apps WiFi Finder is pretty good at finding hot spots.

Dennis & Nancy
Tucson, AZ in winter, on the road in summer.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not to beat a dead horse but IF you are expecting free wifi to be your primary source of internet connection you are in for a great disappointment, as others have stated. The availability just isn't there, It has nothing to do with WFR, Ubiquiti, Cradlepoint, or any other wifi as wan equipment.

 

In 9 years of fulltiming I would guess that we have had RELIABLE free wifi no more than 1 - 2% of the time and that wasn't always exactly free as it was usually RV park wifi which isn't free it is included, unless you are sitting outside the park.

 

I don't think I have even looked for free/open wifi in over six months because trying to get a reliable signal isn't worth the trouble. When I do hook up to RV park wifi it usually lasts maybe a couple of hours until everyone starts streaming video and the connection drops to a snails pace, IF the connection was any good to begin with.

 

If you plan on 'boondocking' in big cities you may pull it off, if you plan on traveling and being in small towns forget it.

 

Your example of using wifi in front of friends and relatives houses is irrelevant to the discussion because they gave you access OR they are running open connections which are getting to be as rare as hens teeth.

 

Dave

Dave, Renee & furkids Casey & Miss Kitty
1998 Volvo 610 Straight 10 "Leather n' Lace"; Herrin bed w/Rampage motorcycle lift; 2010 40' New Horizons Majestic; 2008 Harley FLSTC; 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited; 1999 Yamaha 4X4 Kodiak (that is NOT with us!)

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For the same reason they would buy ANY wifi as wan and cell capable routing equipment, as Jack stated to have multiple device connection capabilities. I and many others use the equipment also to set up multiple AP's.

 

I own WFR equipment but rarely use it, don't want to dedicate the time it requires to keep it working reliably. That said I do use other equipment that does the same things. BUT have never used any to depend on so called 'free' wifi because I am not interested in spending the time required searching for that elusive critter.

 

We do spend most of our time traveling around to remote areas though, there are sometimes month's where the ONLY wifi signal available for miles is that provided by our AP's

 

Dave

Dave, Renee & furkids Casey & Miss Kitty
1998 Volvo 610 Straight 10 "Leather n' Lace"; Herrin bed w/Rampage motorcycle lift; 2010 40' New Horizons Majestic; 2008 Harley FLSTC; 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited; 1999 Yamaha 4X4 Kodiak (that is NOT with us!)

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Thank you for the reply. Being a poor man I find that free is all I can afford most of the time.

No problem with that as long as you are aware of the limitations that presents.

 

We require reliable connections and sadly that is expensive. As an example if our son in law is racing in pro drag races as he is doing this weekend Renee WILL be streaming video of the race or I will be stuck up on the highest point around setting up parabolic antennas getting a signal and stringing AP,s togeather until she is happy.

 

I have often thought it was funny watching her run between two or three different computers trying to get the same stream working when the WFR dropped it's signal. She never listens when I try to explain that she can hook as many computers as she wants to the router but if there is no signal then none of them will work.

 

Of course ANY signal loss will occur during that six second period the son in law is smoking the quarter mile at 200+ miles an hour.

 

Dave

Dave, Renee & furkids Casey & Miss Kitty
1998 Volvo 610 Straight 10 "Leather n' Lace"; Herrin bed w/Rampage motorcycle lift; 2010 40' New Horizons Majestic; 2008 Harley FLSTC; 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited; 1999 Yamaha 4X4 Kodiak (that is NOT with us!)

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Please believe me when I say that I understand the limitations of being poor.

 

 

Whoops..... My Bad.... I was referring to the limitations to the availability and usability of free/open wifi. Especially with things like Skype where dropouts pretty much ruin the experience.

 

Dave

Dave, Renee & furkids Casey & Miss Kitty
1998 Volvo 610 Straight 10 "Leather n' Lace"; Herrin bed w/Rampage motorcycle lift; 2010 40' New Horizons Majestic; 2008 Harley FLSTC; 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited; 1999 Yamaha 4X4 Kodiak (that is NOT with us!)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update:

After spending some time on the tiffin rv network I found a solution to my internet problem. A fine gentlemen by the name of David Bott posted an instructional video on how to hook up a wifi antenna and router using components found on Amazon and do the whole thing for under a $100.00

 

I received the last component in the mail today and without hesitation I started hooking everything up to my laptop while sitting in the den at my S&B. David has an excellent video on his web-site that goes through every step of setting it up.

 

It worked perfectly the first time through... outstanding video, David!!
I was anxious to take this git-up for a test drive so I took a peak at what was floating around in the air space of my neighborhood. I found an xfinity wifi signal about a 1/4 mile from my house and decided to see if I could hook in to it. The system hooked up with no problems and that was with the antenna laying on my desk. I was able to watch a youtube video while hooked up to the xfinity wifii so I believe this is a resounding success.
I need to figure out how to seal the antenna against the elements when I mount it to my OTA antenna but I expect that will be easy to figure out.
So... to those of you interested in wifi while on the road, there are good solutions out there and at a very affordable price.
Phil
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