wifi - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 12-16-2011, 08:30 AM   #1
Senior Member
 
Name: Bob Ruggles
Trailer: 2015 Escape
Michigan
Posts: 1,537
wifi

We currently in an RV park that has tengo internet wifi. It's poor. Every park we've been in that had tengo, it was poor. Bought a Verizon aircard yesterday. SO MUCH better. A bonus is that you can call Verizon and have the card turned off so you don't pay when you're not using it. We'll do that when we're home because we have dsl at home. The contract for the Verizon aircard is extended by the amount of the turned off period.
rgrugg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2011, 09:08 AM   #2
Senior Member
 
Trailer: 1996 Casita Freedom Deluxe 17 ft
Posts: 454
I'm thinking that very few RV parks are willing to buy the equipment or capacity necessary to cover all their spaces. I have a Virgin Mobile dongle for my laptop which allows me to buy anywhere from 10 days to a month of coverage at a time. There's no contract involved.
Terry G is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2011, 05:57 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Trailer: Escape 19 ft 2010
Posts: 258
Registry
Verizon USB

I just had an experience with Verizon wireless that I thought I would share. They do have one of the best coverage areas, offer great speeds and have had good reviews. However, if you are going to use their wireless service with one of their USB modems do your research before buying. My experience was with their Pantech line of USB modems.

The issue was speed. These are 4G cards that do not do well when 4G is not present. The speed came in a bit over dial up when not on 4G. It is a known problem.

That said, value my comments for about six months, a new USB modem will be introduced and the same issues will probably not apply.
Paul Braun is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-16-2011, 08:47 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
honda03842's Avatar
 
Name: Norm and Ginny
Trailer: Scamp 16
Florida
Posts: 7,517
We have stayed with our 3G Verizon wireless card until they complete their 4G network in a year or two. Though they have by far the fastest and biggest 4G network it is not yet in places where RVers typically go. On the other hand their 3G network is everywhere.
__________________
Norm and Ginny

2014 Honda Odyssey
1991 Scamp 16
honda03842 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-17-2011, 09:57 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Dan Meyer's Avatar
 
Trailer: 2000 Scamp 16 ft Side Dinette
Posts: 728
Sprint has a pretty good dual mode (3g/4g) USB dongle, and good service 'most everywhere.

-- Dan Meyer
Dan Meyer is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2011, 11:13 AM   #6
Senior Member
 
Chester Taje's Avatar
 
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 4,897
I found McDonalds to be reliable while travelling. It was better than most Campgrounds.I use it both in Canada and the USA and its free.
__________________
Retired Underground Coal Miner.
Served in Canadian Army (1PPCLI)
Chester Taje is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2011, 12:21 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Byron Kinnaman's Avatar
 
Trailer: Scamp
Posts: 7,056
Registry
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chester Taje View Post
I found McDonalds to be reliable while travelling. It was better than most Campgrounds.I use it both in Canada and the USA and its free.
Yup Yup Yup
__________________
Byron & Anne enjoying the everyday Saturday thing.
Byron Kinnaman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2011, 02:19 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Trailer: 1996 Casita Freedom Deluxe 17 ft
Posts: 454
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Meyer View Post
Sprint has a pretty good dual mode (3g/4g) USB dongle, and good service 'most everywhere.

-- Dan Meyer
Sprint allows a number of vendors to resell their services. Virgin Mobile is actually Sprint and uses their coverage maps. The difference is that they are willing to sell service without a contract.
Terry G is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-19-2011, 02:45 PM   #9
Senior Member
 
Mike Magee's Avatar
 
Name: Mike
Trailer: 2012 Escape 19
Oklahoma
Posts: 6,020
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chester Taje View Post
I found McDonalds to be reliable while travelling. It was better than most Campgrounds.I use it both in Canada and the USA and its free.
Reliable wifi? Eh. I stopped at a McD's this past summer, fired up the laptop... no signal. Went in and got my food and asked. "Wifi? Nope. Maybe in some big cities, but not out here." Reliable, when they have it!
Mike Magee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-20-2011, 04:53 PM   #10
Senior Member
 
Green Frog's Avatar
 
Name: Charlie
Trailer: '83 Burro
Virginia
Posts: 404
Registry
Speaking of WiFi, I'm considering going hybrid... Verizon (and perhaps others) offers a wireless broadband router that allows you to receive service wirelessly via broadband, then sends it out in a 30' radius to up to 5 Airport cards, i-Phones, etc... anything that can take a WiFi signal. Is anyone here using this type of arrangement so more than one person can be on at once?

Froggie
Green Frog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-20-2011, 04:57 PM   #11
Senior Member
 
honda03842's Avatar
 
Name: Norm and Ginny
Trailer: Scamp 16
Florida
Posts: 7,517
Verizon Router

We use one in our trailer. We use the router because we have two computers and a Nook. It's simply a local hotspot. We have camped with others and they have used our wireless also.

It's adequate to reach a rig or two away without further amplification. When home it services our entire house. We've had on for probably four years.
__________________
Norm and Ginny

2014 Honda Odyssey
1991 Scamp 16
honda03842 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-20-2011, 05:52 PM   #12
Raz
Senior Member
 
Raz's Avatar
 
Trailer: Trillium 2010
Posts: 5,185
Quote:
Originally Posted by Green Frog View Post
Speaking of WiFi, I'm considering going hybrid... Verizon (and perhaps others) offers a wireless broadband router that allows you to receive service wirelessly via broadband, then sends it out in a 30' radius to up to 5 Airport cards, i-Phones, etc... anything that can take a WiFi signal. Is anyone here using this type of arrangement so more than one person can be on at once?

Froggie
We have it as well. Novatel mifi 2200. The good- it worked well every where we have been and is very portable The bad- it is the only way we can currently get high speed Internet in our rural location. At $60/mo. it's pricey. Our plan has a 5 gbyte data limit with the next 5 gbytes at $250. We avoid downloading anything, even YouTube stuff. Forget about movies, ect. My understanding is that even folks with unlimited data use are being throttled, that is , having their speed reduced after a certain amount of data has been used. Raz
Raz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-20-2011, 06:10 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
Trailer: Escape 19 ft 2010
Posts: 258
Registry
Verizon Mobile Broadband Router

I was curious what this product was, I looked at the Verizon version and WOW! is that expensive. Maybe I am finding the wrong product but Verizon wants $39/month for a paltry 50 MB of data a month. That is easily the worst price I have seen for data and such a small monthly allotment.

I have an AT&T plan with a data option, this is the smallest data plan they offer and is for 200 MB per month. It costs $15. Now this may not be an option for what you want to do. I am just trying to point out how little data that 50 MB represents.

I think there are a number of options out there from other carriers that may have data via a USB modem at a lower rate and a greater quantity.
Paul Braun is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-20-2011, 07:10 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
honda03842's Avatar
 
Name: Norm and Ginny
Trailer: Scamp 16
Florida
Posts: 7,517
Cost of Verizon plans

We have Verizon wireless broadband. They now have three plans.

2GB-$30
5GB-$50
10GB-$80

It's $10 per gigabyte if you go over.

Our plan is a 3G unlimited data plan, we've had it for four years and is no longer offered but it cost $60 a month. We typically use 5 gigabytes per month and there are two of us on the plan through our wireless router.

It's worked well for us. It's expensive but we use it at home and on the road and it's extremely rare when we can get it.

We did not buy our router through Verizon but from cradlepoint. At the time we bought it Verizon did not offer a router.
__________________
Norm and Ginny

2014 Honda Odyssey
1991 Scamp 16
honda03842 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-20-2011, 09:06 PM   #15
Senior Member
 
Green Frog's Avatar
 
Name: Charlie
Trailer: '83 Burro
Virginia
Posts: 404
Registry
Well, I'm sending this from a laptop using a PCI card as a "dongle" for Verizon broadband. I won't brag about the "plan" I'm on because it came with me from my old account on Alltel when it was bought out by the big V. I will say I have unlimited data, though. I am hoping that I can transfer this plan straight over onto one of the Novatel units that I buy from a third party. If I can (and initial examinations suggests it should work) I'll be good to go with my laptop and my iPhone and perhaps a Kindle as well. Stay tuned for further developments!

Froggie
Green Frog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-20-2011, 09:33 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
Trailer: Escape 19 ft 2010
Posts: 258
Registry
Old Plans

Those old plans are worth their weight in gold. After five years I finally had to abandon my Sprint plan. It gave me unlimited data, tethering and able to stay in a family plan. The data option was an extra $10/mo.
Paul Braun is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-21-2011, 07:49 AM   #17
Raz
Senior Member
 
Raz's Avatar
 
Trailer: Trillium 2010
Posts: 5,185
There was an interesting article in the paper, USA today I think, that unlimited data is a thing of the past and all those folks with unlimited plans are going to see throttling, again a reduction in speed, at about 2.5 gbyte data use point. The article said at about 5 gbytes of use you will think you are back on dial up. Remember these are the same folks that gave us the cell phone industry. They have rooms full of people trying to figure out how to get more of our money.

We go over 5 gbytes and we pay 5 cents/ Mbyte or $50 for each additional Gbyte. My understanding is that a typical movie download is about that size making for a very expensive nights entertainment. Raz
Raz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-21-2011, 09:25 AM   #18
Senior Member
 
honda03842's Avatar
 
Name: Norm and Ginny
Trailer: Scamp 16
Florida
Posts: 7,517
We have not seen any throttling on our unlimited account with Verizon. We rarely go over 5 gigs and typically don't download movies.
__________________
Norm and Ginny

2014 Honda Odyssey
1991 Scamp 16
honda03842 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-21-2011, 11:09 AM   #19
Senior Member
 
Jon Vermilye's Avatar
 
Name: Jon
Trailer: Escape 21C
New York
Posts: 2,387
Registry
Another option is to use a WiFi Ranger router. This router has inputs for an external WiFi network, a USB slot for a cell modem, and a RJ45 (Ethernet) connector that can be used with a WiFi amplifier system, or, if you are in an area long enough to purchase cable or DSL service.

The advantage is a stronger local WiFi signal than the typical Hot Spot, and, if you are in a campground (or parked outside the local McDonalds) you can pick up their WiFi & retransmit it on your own WiFi network. If you have a bunch of devices you only have to change the router connection rather than each device when connecting to the campground WiFi.
Jon Vermilye is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-28-2011, 12:12 PM   #20
Senior Member
 
LSChilders's Avatar
 
Trailer: Casita 17 ft Liberty Deluxe
Posts: 105
I installed a "Virgin Mobile - MiFi 2200" for my brother at his house. He had no other internet options that he could afford.

They have three laptops and an old desktop with a WiFi adapter.

He's been using this as his only internet source for over a year now, and his only complaint is that when his daughter downloads too much data in a given month, they exceed the 5GB cap and the speed slows down for the rest of the month.

But, he says it still beats Dial-up, even at the reduced speed.
LSChilders is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
WiFi Security -- Not Bruce H General Chat 9 07-14-2009 05:57 AM
Bandon WiFi Bill and Jacquie G. Oregon Gatherings 2 07-16-2007 10:27 PM
Piggybacking your WiFi? At least keep it clean... Pete Dumbleton General Chat 4 11-08-2006 04:32 PM
WIFI Ken James Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 19 08-03-2006 11:23 PM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:59 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.