ramblingshots
Long Bay Club
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At our S&B, we have a home network. My wife and I have separate PC's, we have a wireless Printer/Scanner/Copier, and of course a wireless router. This is then connected (via cable) to our service providers Modem. All of this is standard and works well.
What I want to do is go wireless in our RV, with a Router, and a wireless Printer/Scanner/Copier, and set the Router up to connect us to the outside WIFI world as we travel and stay at CGs. Has anyone done this, and what problems should I look for?
DOn
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dhamblet
Olympia, WA
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Just make sure your computers are behind a hardware of software firewall. Its always nice when one of my neighbors has an open Router so I can get online too.
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CA Traveler
Sun Lakes, AZ
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There are several threads on this subject. You should find them by searching including searching the archives. In addition there are a number of threads on the use of external WiFi antennas so that you get a stronger/longer range connection.
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Bob
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BillArf
New York & Florida
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Forget Wifi. Unless of course you are able to deal with the constant search for wifi you can connect to and then with decent speed.
I would go with wireless broadband from say Verizon. Get yourself a wireless broadband USB device that has an external antenna port and also get a top notch router like a Cradlepoint MBR1000. With a set-up like this you will be a real happy camper lets say. If you want info and the absolute best tech support, buy your router from this vendor.
Wifi while decent at times is a real pin in the a** to say the least when you are on the road. Wireless broadband on the other hand is most always a pleasure.
* This post was
edited 11/07/08 07:48am by BillArf *
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CA Traveler
Sun Lakes, AZ
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I use the Super USB WiFi Antenna. The Wi-Fire directional antenna has better gain and I may get it also and there are many others.
Since I have a air card and don't have a wireless printer I haven't tried to tried to maximize my WiFi connection but wireless would be a nice setup.
A friend has the Wilson dual band antenna, amplifier and inside antenna which works with multiple cell phones and air cards. He's gotten a cell tower from 50 miles distance. But you're looking at $400+ for the equipment plus air cards.
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CA Traveler
Sun Lakes, AZ
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I agree that the Verizon air card has great coverage but it also costs $60/mth plus the equipment with a 5GB/mth limit. Over 5GB/mth and it gets really expensive.
But the Verizon coverage is hardly perfect and certainly doesn't meet the expectations you would get from their TV ads, which are focused on cell phones.
Right here in Brisbane, CA just south of San Francisco along US 101 (major metropolitan area) the air card coverage is very marginal, at times down to 15Kbps (totally unusable). We ran into several areas along US 101 on the West coast with no coverage including cell phone in spite of their maps. The Verizon response is always the same - "We have no reports..." BTW Several times we got online with WiFI when we could not get online with Verizon.
Neither coverage is prefect, but the combination with a external WiFi antenna has gotten us through the summer.
BTW For $20/mth (just for 1 month) additional we had good Verizon cell phone coverage on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. I believe the provider was TELCO. No air card coverage. I had to get online to maintain 2 web sites. Yes several times I had to drive into town to a local coffee shop etc to get WiFi.
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SCVJeff
Santa Clarita, CA.
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What the OP is asking about is a WiFi LAN within the coach, to connect to local CG WiFi networks as they move around, not broadband cards.
About a year ago on this forum there was a really good write up on doing this, but it's not necessarily easy, and you need to understand IP infrastructure fairly well to pull it off (unless he's updated his post).
Jeff - WA6EQU
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lynndiwagon
Yukon, Oklahoma, USA
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Jeff, I re-read his post and I think he is talking about something like wireless broadband coverage. I'm using AT&T, a USB wireless card, and a Cradlepoint router. I've been very happy with the speed, even the slower Edge is OK. 3G is a rocket. Try the 3G store for wireless items....they're really good folks to work with. At $60.00 per month unlimited (grandfathered before 5G limit) it's pretty expensive but I just figure it is part of the cost of doing business.
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Gary Franks
Pacific Northwest
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A wireless router, such as you have at home, is generally intended to be hardwired to the “up leg” (the cable modem or DSL modem). It is possible to get a wireless router that acts as a “bridge” to another wireless router such as would be in an RV park. However, they generally need to be matched pairs and since you won’t know what routers to expect in an RV park, this wouldn’t work. And since some RV parks require that you “log in” to use their WiFi network, your router would not be able to do so. The bottom line is that is impractical, and generally not possible, to connect the wireless router in your RV to WiFi in an RV park.
The setup in my RV is similar to your home configuration (two PCs and a printer/scanner all connected to my WiFi router). In my case, my router’s up leg is hardwired to my satellite internet modem.
There have been times when my satellite internet dish is blocked by trees while I am in an RV park that has WiFi. So, in order to connect to the park’s WiFi I have disconnected from my “in-house” router and reconnected to the park’s WiFi router. The problem with this was that I couldn’t print while surfing the web. So I bought second WiFi network adapter for my PC. Now I can be connected to my printer and the park’s WiFi at the same time. Of course, if I wanted my second PC to be connected to both at the same time, I would have to get a second adapter for it also.
That is really the simplest way to accomplish what you originally asked for. There is one other way to accomplish it using Windows Internet Connection Sharing, but this approach is far from trivial (I have done it).
I suggest that your second WiFi network adapter be one that plugs into your USB port and can be located away from your PC. It’s not unusual to find that you have to stand on one foot and hold the WiFi adapter up to the window to get a good signal from the park’s WiFi (Where I’m located right now, I can get a good signal from the park’s WiFi until another motorhome parks in the next site; Then I have to tape my adapter up on the front windshield to get connected).
A side comment on using a wireless router inside your RV in a park with WiFi: you can sometimes run into a conflict with the park’s WiFi. You may occasionally need to change channels on your wireless router from park to park.
Another comment about trying to connect both PCs to the park’s WiFi network: Some parks require a login and they may only give you one login. That would mean that you could only connect one PC at a time. Not a big problem, just be aware of it.
Now, on to a different type of solution: Mobile broadband. You can get a wireless router that has a slot in it for a mobile broadband card from your cellular phone carrier. Using this approach, your RV network would function exactly the same as your network in your house. You may find that mobile broadband is preferable to many RV park’s WiFi service anyway.
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ramblingshots
Long Bay Club
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Thanks Everyone, and especially you Gary. Yeah, I have been dabbling with the Windows Internet Sharing options, and am set up on my home network to allow certain file and folder sharing between PCs (with passwords of course). It works OK.
I can even have my wife's PC have her home account on Outlook 2003, and a traveling account on Outlook Express to simplify file storage options with different pst folders.
The problem as you mentioned, is the commercial Wifi providers (like Tenxxxxxxxxxx) require the use of a Login/PW in combination with ID info on your PC. Thus we would need to pay their fees for 2 PCs at these CGs. I am a multiple times a day user of the web, while my wife is maybe twice a day if you don't count email.
We wold consider a system similar to yours and others DataStorm systems, but we are not Fulltimers, while at the same time we will be in one site this winter for over 3-months.
I am a EE and recently retired from the R-D center of a major cell-phone manufacturer, and basically from my experience, all of the PCMCIA cards are crap. There is just too much stuffed into a small package and they all have buggy software to one degree or another, and are susceptible to internal damage. Do not drop or flex these puppies! But, I am seeing myself being pushed in this direction or pay a double fee for what exists at the CG, as far as financial options go.
Thanks again to all.
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