docj

😂😂 Me too!

So now we'll have the battle of the billionaires--Bezos vs Musk to see who can be the fist to launch thousands of low altitude satellites and create a world-wide internet system. Maybe we'll even see space warfare between the competing satellites! https://www.cordcuttersnews.com/amazon-is-planing-to-launch-thousands-of-satellites-to-offer-high-speed-internet/

FWIW passports don't contain address information. The address to which a new passport is shipped is for delivery purposes only. The renewal application contains separate lines for "mailing address" and "permanent address". The permanent address entry states "no PO boxes" but doesn't have any other restrictions noted. Your friend's wife probably went to a Post Office for the renewal rather than having completed the online form and mailed it. And she probably encountered an employee who didn't know the rules. There's no one to ask you questions if you do it online. There's no indication that the law changed recently; I think that's a misunderstanding of the banking "know your customer" rules which aren't applicable to this. Here's a link to the online renewal information: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/forms.html

Here's the relevant plan info. There are two separate types of limits. One is the "high usage area" one under which you may have your speed limited. The other is a very simple if you exceed 15GB or 20GB (depending on your plan) you will be limited to 600kbps. Believe me it is automatic and does occur. Attached is the relevant section of the Verizon plan info.

As has been stated in many other threads, the number of bars displayed by your Jetpack (or phone) is only weakly correlated with its effective download and upload speeds. These are all digital devices; once they receive "enough" signal having a stronger signal doesn't buy you anything. When the signal is weak some data packets may get "lost" and have to be resent, but if the signal is strong enough to avoid packet loss then the speed is what the speed is going to be in any particular situation. Furthermore, the indicator bars on your device are only a relatively crude indicator of signal strength. The only way to know the actual signal your device is receiving is to obtain that data from the device's Settings menu or via an installed app. Signal strength is measured in negative dBm (decibels) with stronger signals having smaller negative numbers. A signal strength change of 10 dB is equal to a factor of ten change in strength. Most current generation devices can operate with signal strength on the order of -105 to -110 dBm without any noticeable loss of speed. By comparison, a very strong signal might have a strength of ~-85 dBm, a difference of 20-25 dBm which is a factor of >200 stronger. If Verizon engages in network management to slow your device down at times when the local tower is heavily loaded, it does not do so by reducing your signal strength. I'm pretty sure that Verizon literally has device by device control of the speed you measure when you use the internet. For example, I would guess that some (or all) of the lower speed you measure when you use your phone as a hotspot compared with the speed measured on the phone itself is due to the speed Verizon "allows" your phone to have rather than a limitation of the device itself.

My Jetpack 7730L had a "disconnect" this afternoon but it's the fist time in weeks that it has done this. We've suffered some network management over the past two weeks due to the Spring Break crowds on the TX coast. But, despite that, we've had no problems streaming video whenever we have desired.

I think my prepaid Jetpack is usually half to two-thirds the speed of our phones. But if you're doing a speedtest on the phone itself rather than on the phone's hotspot that's not a fair comparison. I've always found that the phone hotspot speed is significantly less than the download speed the phone measures on its own. But, despite that, I think it's only been twice in the past several months that I've had to use the phone's hotspot because the Jetpack's download speed wasn't enough for streaming. Usually, it's in the 2-5 Mbps range which is enough to support a 720p video signal. It's my understanding that the dropped connection issue is mostly a problem with the 8800. We have a 7730L and rarely have any such problems.

With all due respect, it's pennywise and pound foolish not to pay a cancellation fee if the levelized payments result in an overall savings. Sure, a cancellation fee is money spent without direct return, but in my case the overall savings were such that it made economic sense. To be very specific, I was paying AT&T ~$115/mo (with taxes) for 100 GB/mo. I was paying Verizon $20 (plus taxes) for my Jetpack on my Unlimited plan with the usual 15GB LTE hotspot cap. So, I was paying ~$135/mo for 120GB/mo. Currently I'm paying ~$70/mo (including taxes) for the prepaid unlimited plan so my rough savings is $65/mo and I get unlimited data service. The cancellation fees were roughly $200 which offset the savings for the first ~3.5 months. Now that I'm in my fifth month of the prepaid plan I'm now reaping the $65/mo savings. Alternatively, I could have continued to pay for the previous plans. If I did that I would be paying ~$65 more per month for about a year (until the end of both plans) which would have been a sum in excess of $700 which I would have been spending in order to have saved ~$200. In addition I would have had a 120GB/mo data budget instead of an unlimited one. To me that didn't make any sense. JMO

Pretty much all these plans have "early termination" clauses. In our case it made more economic sense to pay the penalty on our Jetpack to take it from a postpaid plan with 15GB of hotspot per month to the "new" unlimited prepaid plan. I think it cost me ~$100 to do that. At the same time I canceled an AT&T plan that was providing 100GB/mo. That cancellation cost me another ~$100. But in ~3 months the monthly savings offset the cancellation fees. Now, I'm ahead each month by $70/mo and have unlimited data.

There's nothing wrong with using your phone as a hotspot, it's all about the plan you have to do it under. Most smartphone plans limit the amount of 4G/LTE data per month for hotspot usage. When that is exceeded the speed of the connection drops significantly. As for Consumer Cellular, it's primarily a service marketed to people who don't expect to use much data. It's largest monthly plan is 20GB and if you exceed that your speed drops and you are charged $5/GB for the excess. Furthermore, if you use more than 30GB in a month you may be shut down until the next billing period. The attached screenshot is from the Consumer Cellular website. IMHO if you're planning to use a significant amount of data you should change carriers.

Over eight years we've had two sets of Blue Ox locking pins. The first set used a "conventional" key and the ends snapped into place over the tip of the pin as you pushed them on. That was fine until one day one of the bases came off and left our toad dangling from one tow arm. The current set of pins uses rotary barrel keys and the ends lock very securely on the pins. Furthermore, the key can't be removed until the end is securely seated on the pin. A much better design IMO.

My statement referred to "currently available" AT&T plans. The Mobley plan came back for a couple of days this past month, but AFAIK it is, once again, no longer available. It's "available" only to those who already have it.

This is a proposal by the governor, not enacted law, and it looks as if it has quite a ways to go before it becomes law, if it ever does. https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Lamont-to-present-option-for-tolls-on-all-vehicles-13621840.php

Our DP exhibits similar behavior. The question I have is why do you care about taking the pressure below 40 psi? AFAIK the only reason to dump air is to take the strain off the airbags and bring the coach a bit lower to the ground for leveling purposes. I usually get the pressure down to around ~60 psi and don't even attempt to drop it any further.

I have one of these. Works quite well with WiFi and only $75: https://smile.amazon.com/MINGER-Temperature-Humidity-Hygrometer-Thermometer/dp/B07FBCTQ3L/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1551190514&sr=8-3&keywords=govee+thermometer%2Fhygrometer

I agree with the general thought that it's good to avoid heavy traffic, but IMO equating tolls to heavy traffic is overly simplistic. Not all toll roads are synonymous with heavy traffic---for example, toll roads in OK and KS aren't busy by absolute standards, but they sure are convenient. Or for an even more absurd example, try highway 104 in Nova Scotia; hardly any traffic at all. Frankly, when I'm choosing a route, my focus isn't on whether or not there's toll to pay, but is it the easiest way to get from one place to another?

I continue to be puzzled as to why people make such a big fuss about a few toll roads and/or bridges. When you're getting ~8mpg the cost of a trip is almost always dominated by the cost of fuel. At ~$3'gal for diesel it's costing us $0.375/mi. So our planned 2,700 mile trip to PEI this summer will cost ~$1k in fuel each way (and that's not counting the higher cost of fuel in Canada). The additional mileage of taking a detour to avoid a toll would, almost assuredly, result in spending much of the supposed savings. IMHO the cost of tolls is in the "roundoff error" for a trip like this.

My unlimited account was initiated on 11/8 only a couple of days after the plan was announced. I don't seem to have as many problems as some folks here, but I do consistently have some issues on the day before or the day of my renewal. So far I haven't done anything but reboot my 7730L when this happens. Joel (AKA docj)

Do mean 860MB from the start of a new monthly contract? Or, 860MB in any one "session"? We're definitely not having any such limit.

This is what I am using: WeBoost Sleek

That seemed to be the key issue with mine--when it worked; most of the time the red light indicating overload and feedback was on. Not worth the trouble IMO.

I'm curious as to why this even matters? Aren't most people just using the device to amplify the signal from a Jetpack or other hotspot device? In that case why can't you place the hotspot as close as possible to the indoor antenna? We hardly seem to make any voice calls anymore. We communicate with our kids and friend via text or online. Actually speak on a phone? How 20th century!

For my fluorescent conversions I used 19" strips of LEDs purchased from Superbright LEDs that already had wires attached to them. The strips were adhesive-backed and the "conversion process" took only a few minutes. I chose to remove the ballast and unneeded wires but you don't have to.

I hate to say it, but I had a MaximumSignal amplifier and finally gave up fooling with it. When it worked, it worked well, but it was very sensitive to feedback and going into oscillation no matter how I tried positioning the antennas. After I thought about it for a while I realized that I really had no need for an "amplified space" in my MH. Most of the time I use the booster just to amplify the cellular signal going to my Jetpack. If that's all you're doing, then you can do something simple (and cheap) like putting the Jetpack on the cradle of a WeBoost Sleek. If the Jetpack is on the cradle then you can access it from anywhere in your RV; no need for a "zone of amplification." This summer we used the Sleek in some areas with pretty weak Verizon signals. Although it doesn't have as much gain as its more expensive siblings, the Sleek worked well for us at half the price of the larger WeBoost systems. The one time I needed amplification to make a voice call, I just placed the phone on the Sleek (on top of the Jetpack) and used the phone in speakerphone mode for the call.

I hate to quote Wikipedia but it had the best summary: Following a lack of Congressional approval, parts of the Patriot Act expired on June 1, 2015. With passing the USA Freedom Act on June 2, 2015, the expired parts were restored and renewed through 2019. However, Section 215 of the law was amended to stop the NSA from continuing its mass phone data collection program. Instead, phone companies will retain the data and the NSA can obtain information about targeted individuals with permission from a federal court. And FWIW I never said that KYC was part of the Patriot Act, but much of the intent was the same.