Replacing the WiFiRanger Pro in the NA

[docj]

Originally Posted by turbopilot

The 5 GHZ capability is on the internal unit (GoAC) which owing to the characteristics of that frequency is near useless to use as a WiFi as WAN source in an RV. 5 GHz is generally shorter range and does not penetrate walls.

5GHz signals easily penetrate walls in RVs and can be used quite effectively for one's local network. I know because that's how I have my own network set up. In fact, the 5GHz signals from my GoAC are quite usable outside the MH up to a distance of ~30 feet.

As for the comment about the GoAC not being a long range solution, it should be noted that the GoAC has an 800mW transmitter making it far more powerful than the transmitters found in laptops, tablets, etc. WiFiRanger states that the device has a range of ~750 feet which is adequate for many circumstances; it's simply not as long a range as can be achieved with an outdoor device.

[NealC]

I use the WiFi ranger EliteAC. The external unit receives AC (5 Ghz) but only transmits 2.4. I am impressed with the system, I'm a beta tester for them, great people, great company, great device. I personally do not use the WiFi ranger for any transmitting, I only use the listen side of it. I have a google mesh network in my coach that is connected to the WFR via ethernet. In the end, the WFR transmitters are better than I first thought when I decided to use my own router(s) internally. For most it's sufficient, for more advanced networking you may want external routers and just use WFR as your source/aggregator.

[SteveUpp]

The Newmar New Aire's (like what OP has and what I am waiting on for delivery) come with a WiFi Ranger Core (ethernet ports are 100Mbps only) router for inside the RV and a WiFi Ranger Sky Pro mounted on the roof.

Because I want a 1Gbps LAN, the WiFi Ranger Core isn't the right choice for me, but I wasn't able to swap it out for a WiFi Ranger AC as part of the RV purchase. So I have decided to take a hybrid approach. I'm going to remove the WiFi Ranger Core router and instead use a CradlePoint IBR900-600M cellular modem as my core router. It has two 1Gbps ethernet interfaces (one LAN and one WAN). It is a dual SIM device, so I have a Verizon and AT&T sim currently in the device. It is also a Category 11 LTE modem capable of 3 carrier aggregation (theoretical 600mbps max download).

I will then use a 1Gbps switch to connect to a few wired LAN devices (NAS, HDHomeRun, and my solar system when that gets put together later). The WAN port will be connected to the WiFI Ranger Sky Pro on the roof of the RV. When I want to use campground WiFi, I'll enable the WAN port and directly connect to the WebUI of the Sky Pro to configure it for whatever the WiFi environment is. As you point out, with WiFi being marginal in many locations, I can easily disable the WAN port and then switch from one carrier to the other as needed.

My only complaint so far with the Pepwave router is the time it takes to switch between SIMs. It takes at least two minutes - sometimes longer to switch. But the performance has met my expectations so far, although I'm testing it from a fixed location now as I'm still waiting for my RV to be delivered.

LTE has made it possible for folks like me who need reliable and fast Internet to work from almost anywhere.

[turbopilot]

Originally Posted by NealC

I only use the listen side of it.

New for me. How do you make this work?

[ghaynes754]

Neal, the Elite AC external unit that you link to does TX/RX on both 2.4 and 5ghz.

[NealC]

Originally Posted by turbopilot

New for me. How do you make this work?

In the WiFi ranger admin UI you can turn the transmitters off. WiFi tab, turn broadcast off in Private Wireless Network section. So my WFR does no transmitting over its radios as my separate wifi system does that getting the network source from the WFR.

Again, hindsight, I over complicated my setup, the WFR by itself has good radios and works well. I put a Netgear R9000 in my coach under the dinette as I wanted more power and more networking control. Then I realized how good the WFR radios were. I later wanted a smaller wifi router so I am giving the Google WiFi a try at home and in the coach, so far it's solid. At home I have GiGe fiber and all wifi so I use a R9000 for my primary wifi, all home devices, etc. (30+) connect to the Google WiFi. I now have 1 x google wifi "puck" wall mounted under the dinette top, and one behind the bed so it's on the patio side at the outside edge of the slide, sharing the same outlet as the sleep number bed plugs into (not fun getting to that).

Originally Posted by ghaynes754

Neal, the Elite AC external unit that you link to does TX/RX on both 2.4 and 5ghz.

Oops, sorry for the bad info. I thought with it "synced" with the internal it was 2.4 only, sharing the same SSID etc.

[docj]

Originally Posted by ghaynes754

Neal, the Elite AC external unit that you link to does TX/RX on both 2.4 and 5ghz.

However, the Elite is a single radio device and it can't receive at 5GHz and, at the same time, broadcast a local network at 2.4GHz. When it's used with a GoAC or a Core router, the Elite can connect to the backhaul at either 5GHz or 2.4GHz while the inside router can use both 2.4GHz and 5GHz to create an internal network. The Elite is controlled via Cat6 Ethernet by the inside router.

[Canuck53]

Originally Posted by NealC

In the WiFi ranger admin UI you can turn the transmitters off. WiFi tab, turn broadcast off in Private Wireless Network section. So my WFR does no transmitting over its radios as my separate wifi system does that getting the network source from the WFR.

Again, hindsight, I over complicated my setup, the WFR by itself has good radios and works well. I put a Netgear R9000 in my coach under the dinette as I wanted more power and more networking control. Then I realized how good the WFR radios were. I later wanted a smaller wifi router so I am giving the Google WiFi a try at home and in the coach, so far it's solid. At home I have GiGe fiber and all wifi so I use a R9000 for my primary wifi, all home devices, etc. (30+) connect to the Google WiFi. I now have 1 x google wifi "puck" wall mounted under the dinette top, and one behind the bed so it's on the patio side at the outside edge of the slide, sharing the same outlet as the sleep number bed plugs into (not fun getting to that).



Oops, sorry for the bad info. I thought with it "synced" with the internal it was 2.4 only, sharing the same SSID etc.

So a good solution for the average person is the FM Elite which has 2.4/5.8 RX/TX or something else?

[Newaire1]

So the WIFI Ranger Sky Pro and CORE units put in my New Aire built 4 months ago are outdated?
What is the matter here? What would it cost to get up to date equipment? Sounds like WiFi Ranger equipment is not working for some folks. Seems to work okay but it appears to not live up to its potential.

[docj]

Originally Posted by Newaire1

So the WIFI Ranger Sky Pro and CORE units put in my New Aire built 4 months ago are outdated?
What is the matter here? What would it cost to get up to date equipment? Sounds like WiFi Ranger equipment is not working for some folks. Seems to work okay but it appears to not live up to its potential.

I'm not sure why you think these units are outdated? They are part of the current WiFiRanger product line. The SkyPro doesn't have quite the capabilities of our Elite rooftop unit and the Core lacks a few features of the GoAC, but all of them are current models.

[Canuck53]

Originally Posted by docj

I'm not sure why you think these units are outdated? They are part of the current WiFiRanger product line. The SkyPro doesn't have quite the capabilities of our Elite rooftop unit and the Core lacks a few features of the GoAC, but all of them are current models.

Okay what is coming down the line seems like the models have been around for at least 2 years.

[docj]

Originally Posted by Canuck53

Okay what is coming down the line seems like the models have been around for at least 2 years.

Even though the hardware hasn't changed in the past two years, the firmware (the embedded software) has been updated several times. WiFiRanger uses some hardware platforms made by others and some custom circuitry, but the real value added is WiFiRanger's proprietary software that is embedded in all of them.

To use an analogy we're all familiar with, Windows 10 will run on many computers that are more than 5 years old, but you wouldn't claim that an older computer running Windows 10 performs the same as it did when it was, for example, running Windows 8 or even 7.

Similarly, a WiFiRanger GoAC running the most recent firmware release, version 7.0.7, has lots of attributes that it didn't have when it was first introduced using the 6th generation firmware.

[turbopilot]

Originally Posted by Newaire1

So the WIFI Ranger Sky Pro and CORE units put in my New Aire built 4 months ago are outdated?
What is the matter here? What would it cost to get up to date equipment? Sounds like WiFi Ranger equipment is not working for some folks. Seems to work okay but it appears to not live up to its potential.

It is important to look at the big picture. In the "early days" cellular data coverage was spotty and slow. Sharing a WiFi internet connection at a campground was clearly better than nothing. In the "early days" not as many people where using the internet so sharing the precious 3 clear channels of 2.4 GHz spectrum was tolerable.

Slowly over the last 10 years cellular internet coverage became more widespread and much faster, though not cheap. During the same time there was explosive growth of "shared WiFi" including solutions like WiFiRanger allowing WiFi as WAN. Only trouble is until just recently with the introduction of the 5 GHz WiFi band all the explosive growth in WiFi happened in the increasingly over subscribed 2.4 GHz WiFi band.

Today we have generally widespread availability of cellular data with the right equipment. I spent 6 weeks traveling across the country this Summer. At every stop I made I had internet coverage in coach from Verizon (I have a cellular router with external antennas). In no case was the campground WiFi using my WiFiRanger SkyPro better than my internet services using my cellular modem with Verizon. So my choice to use the WiFiRanger was made only to save data from my Verizon data plan. A choice I rarely made because campground WiFi was so poor at the locations I stopped.

So we are now moving into an era (with the right equipment) to always have some internet coverage enroute and at campgrounds with added consideration of economy in selecting the source to be used.

So the WiFiRanger Sky Pro is not obsolete if you make the choice to find and use the cheapest internet available without consideration for the quality of that service.

If you demand the best internet service possible in a mobile environment and you are wiling to pay the price, the WiFi RangerPro or any option sharing a 3rd party internet via WiFi, is a poor choice given the other options available. For just a few hundred dollars more than a WiFiRanger you can have a high quality cellular router, including WiFi as WAN, from companies like Cradlepoint or Pepwave and have the added bonus of high quality broadband internet while you are on the move in the coach.

I have found the 3G Store to be a good source of equipment and support for those interested in getting a mobile cellular router.

[Canuck53]

Originally Posted by turbopilot

It is important to look at the big picture. In the "early days" cellular data coverage was spotty and slow. Sharing a WiFi internet connection at a campground was clearly better than nothing. In the "early days" not as many people where using the internet so sharing the precious 3 clear channels of 2.4 GHz spectrum was tolerable.

Slowly over the last 10 years cellular internet coverage became more widespread and much faster, though not cheap. During the same time there was explosive growth of "shared WiFi" including solutions like WiFiRanger allowing WiFi as WAN. Only trouble is until just recently with the introduction of the 5 GHz WiFi band all the explosive growth in WiFi happened in the increasingly over subscribed 2.4 GHz WiFi band.

Today we have generally widespread availability of cellular data with the right equipment. I spent 6 weeks traveling across the country this Summer. At every stop I made I had internet coverage in coach from Verizon (I have a cellular router with external antennas). In no case was the campground WiFi using my WiFiRanger SkyPro better than my internet services using my cellular modem with Verizon. So my choice to use the WiFiRanger was made only to save data from my Verizon data plan. A choice I rarely made because campground WiFi was so poor at the locations I stopped.

So we are now moving into an era (with the right equipment) to always have some internet coverage enroute and at campgrounds with added consideration of economy in selecting the source to be used.

So the WiFiRanger Sky Pro is not obsolete if you make the choice to find and use the cheapest internet available without consideration for the quality of that service.

If you demand the best internet service possible in a mobile environment and you are wiling to pay the price, the WiFi RangerPro or any option sharing a 3rd party internet via WiFi, is a poor choice given the other options available. For just a few hundred dollars more than a WiFiRanger you can have a high quality cellular router, including WiFi as WAN, from companies like Cradlepoint or Pepwave and have the added bonus of high quality broadband internet while you are on the move in the coach.

I have found the 3G Store to be a good source of equipment and support for those interested in getting a mobile cellular router.

So which cellar router do you have? Thanks