Wife needs wifi

[johnnyv]

What equipment is need to get trustworthy internet in a campground with wifi ? I do have a connection at Winegard industries. Thanks in advance !

[Ron in BC]

Unfortunately some campgrounds have inadequate wifi and not too much can be done to improve it.

But in cases where a signals to be had but distance and signal strength are the issue I've had great success with my now dated JEFA Tech.

Kind of fun, somewhat like shortwave DXing, seeing how far away you can pull in a signal. Height of the external antenna helps.

Don't use it as much anymore as cell coverage and the ability to hotspot has increased.

Ron

[johnnyv]

Thx Ron

[LynnB]

I use my cell phone as a hotspot. T-Mobile has excellent 5G coverage in the west and it is FAST.

[Rossue]

Maybe west of I-5? Seriously, I really like the Un-Carrier, yet in the rural areas they aren't quite there yet. I could save a bit of money, yet I know from talking with people recently in Rio Grande Del Norte NM who have both T-Mo & VRZ they confirm the T-Mo isn't there much of the time while in rural areas.

It'll get there and I meant to get a pre-paid chip to test it myself, however didn't.

They're killing AT&T though- have you seen T's stock price lateley?

[johnnyv]

Ok thx, will be on Alabama gulf coast , 2 months this winter. Any takers ? Thx

[John in Santa Cruz]

I have toyed with getting a Netgear Cellular "Modem" that has ethernet output, and is powered with PoE (Power over Ethernet), putting it in a small weather box up on a pole, then inside the RV hooking that Ethernet up to a PoE injector to power the modem, and a wifi router to provide wifi for the house. Out west here, I would likely use Verizon, get a 'data only' SIM for it.

but thats around $1000 worth of stuff to make it work well, and 90% of the time my Pixel phone as a hotspot suffices.

[Treblemaker]

Originally Posted by johnnyv

What equipment is need to get trustworthy internet in a campground with wifi ? I do have a connection at Winegard industries. Thanks in advance !

We spend part of each winter in a campground with so-so wifi, and have good luck with this. We didn’t add the exterior antenna that comes with it, as so far it has done the job without needing the extra boost.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

[MrLynn]

I avoid using public wifi networks—too easily hacked—and state campgrounds don't usually have them anyway. I use my cell-phone hotspot instead, but AT&T has been spotty to nonexistent in the boonies, which is frustrating. and when I can get service, data is limited by our budget plans. I've heard that Starlink is becoming available in many locations, but is very pricey. So far, no good solution. :-(

[Tosh]

In the campsites we've visited on the Oregon coast (only 2 so far) there was no chance of getting internet service over cellular. In one case, we had decent cell tower signal but there were too many users on one tower and no data could pass. In the second instance, there was zero cell service at the individual sites (the ranger office had a repeater so when ever you were within 30 yards of it, you could send/receive).


My friends who have more RV experience that me have suggested Starlink. Personally, I choose not to use it.


We go camping to get away from silly-visation; we decided we don't require internet at the campsite.

[Rossue]

My two Ford vehicles- Expedition & Transit van both have built in AT&T hotspot. You can activate a free 90 day trial through the Ford Pass app; no credit card required.

What we've found is that this embedded hotspot can give better signal performance than our WeBoost Drive Reach in some locations. We now have Unlimited data plan for both @ $15/mo each. Also, most phones will make wifi calls so if our Verizon phones don't have signal and the AT&T hotspot does we can still make calls.

[cpaharley2008]

Rossue,
Do you have to leave the vehicles operating to use the hotspot?

[brroberts]

In my Ranger I get WiFi for 15 minutes after shutdown. Restarting, even for a few seconds, restarts the sequence.

[Ooshkaboo]

I also have weboost, Sania took over for Randy, same phone number-877-786-1105-way helpful. I made sure to purchase it thru her in case I ran into trouble, I did. One issue was my kit didn’t come with the 12v power source adapter, 110 only.
She went the extra mile, then some.

She mentioned the separate hotspot could be helpful, but to see if your phone can do the job first.
I really like that idea of having a different service provider for that hotspot than your phone provider.

Hard to tell what service works best, weboost works with all of them.

Starlink, Skynet, to me it’s like EV vehicles that are intended for towing, long trips or cold weather-not their time yet…soon I’m sure.

I will tell you as mentioned on here before the coaxial line installed by Escape isn’t compatible with the weboost RV system

[Vermilye]

One advantage of a cell modem (Jetpack, etc) over using the hotspot function of your phone is most modern cell modems have a pair of antenna inputs. With a pair of outside antennas, the cell modem will be wired in the MIMO configuration, providing the gain of the external antennas and a major increase in speed.

While I still carry a cell amplifier, I have not used it on the last two cross country trips - the external antennas have provided coverage on both AT&T and Verizon almost everywhere. In the few places where there was no cell signal (for example Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountain NP or Big Bend NP), adding the amplifier didn't help.

If you are looking to increase WiFi distance (not cell coverage) look at the Ubiquiti NanoStation as a possible solution. Combined with an AirCube, you can connect to a WiFi station as much as a mile away. While a bit complex for many,

here is a video

of how to put a system together.

[john o]

And you can get the wifi/router from T-mobile also. I use on for internet at home and take it with me when traveling.

[DT6]

Originally Posted by john o

And you can get the wifi/router from T-mobile also. I use on for internet at home and take it with me when traveling.

We just started with the T-Mobile tower for home WiFi and I had not thought of taking it with us. BUT - that makes perfect sense - thanks!

Also - I may be incorrect about this, but a previous post on this thread mentioned that WeBoost is not compatible with the TV cable that Escape Installs. I thought there was one WeBoost model that did fit those connectors, so it may be worth a call to WeBoost to confirm if you decide to go that route and have the Escape TV cable installed. I spoke with Angie and Rhonda (Adventures in NoMadness on YouTube) at the rally earlier this year and they have a WeBoost they attach to the TV cable, then use an aluminum extension pole with suction cups to elevate the WeBoost antenna and secure the pole to the side of the trailer. They do a lot of videos, but not sure if they did one on the WeBoost.

[kiekhaefer]

An expensive option but Starlink is now mobile. After equipment purchase you only pay for months you're actually using it.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Out west here, T-Mobile has pretty lousy rural coverage, especially in mountainous areas. AT&T and Verizon vie for the best coverage, depending on where you are.

[MrLynn]

Originally Posted by John in Santa Cruz

Out west here, T-Mobile has pretty lousy rural coverage, especially in mountainous areas. AT&T and Verizon vie for the best coverage, depending on where you are.

We had T-mobile for a couple of years. Great for unlimited data (using as hot spot), but terrible coverage: none in much of Powhatan County, VA; none even in my dentist's office in Weston, MA, right on busy Rt. 20 (for example). Switched to AT&T; no more unlimited data unless we pay a lot more.

Must say, though, that using AT&T for hot spots in various camping grounds in the South and Northeast has been less than satisfactory—weak coverage means impossibly slow Internet.