WiFi Antenna Installation - 2012 Discovery 36J

[pagosajoe]

Originally Posted by YC1

Been fighting wi fi issues in this rv park for three weeks. My Jefatech repeater will not repeat for some reason. Used outside antennas with usb device and can use it. I have a pc as well with a card with antennas. It seemed to work at first but then just would not work. Long story since the card is only 2.5 ghz band I decided to replace it in the pc. FRYS.com*|*Asus

Don’t you love typing for five minutes and then something goes in the ditch??
Adding on edit.
I am currently using the new pc card, bridging the connection to the RJ45 network jack on the back of the pc to a new dual band wi fi router. This allows my other wi fi devices to work now.
　
The new card rocks and I don't need my roof antenna.

Although we're using it in our home, not the RV, we have something similar and found it to be a super addition to the home network:

Amazon.com: ASUS (EA-N66) Dual Band N450 Ultra-Fast Wireless 3-In-1 (AP, Repeater, Ethernet Adapter) Adapter With High-Power: Computers & Accessories

Does a great job, VERY easy to set up, and now we have wireless internet coverage throughout the home.

[YC1]

Left this park for a week and after an e-mail to JefaTech I received a phone call. They asked me to try a couple of things. Without me asking they said they would send me a new one, no charge even though I am out of warranty. They scheduled the arrival for my return trip to the park it had failed in. It works great and I can say their service was equal that of the Fantastic Fan people and most people know what that means.

To be specific I have an outside antenna on my crank up antenna and am using the latest firmware version which is much easier than the original version.

This said hopefully they will come up with a 5GHZ version one of these days as some of the parks are upgrading.

[YC1]

Adding one other option for running coax along the roof. I ran a couple of runs beside the vent pipe for the tanks. Once on the roof I cleaned the path to the ladder and one to the crank up antenna. I used some seam sealing tape to cover the coax along the length. Not only for protection but to keep them in place the length of the run.
Take your time and even a few days to analyze how your rv is put together and how you can take things apart. It can be challenging but lots of fun too.

[pagosajoe]

Originally Posted by YC1

Left this park for a week and after an e-mail to JefaTech I received a phone call. They asked me to try a couple of things. Without me asking they said they would send me a new one, no charge even though I am out of warranty. They scheduled the arrival for my return trip to the park it had failed in. It works great and I can say their service was equal that of the Fantastic Fan people and most people know what that means.

To be specific I have an outside antenna on my crank up antenna and am using the latest firmware version which is much easier than the original version.

This said hopefully they will come up with a 5GHZ version one of these days as some of the parks are upgrading.

That's great to hear! I've used JefaTech in the past for LMR400 coaxial cable, and their service proved to be very good, with a quality product. Nice to see a manufacturer stepping up to make things right.

[YC1]

JefaTech went way above "right" for service. They even paid shipping both ways even though I offered to do so. They wanted the old one back to diagnose the issue. This thing was years out of warranty. I had done a firmware upgrade recently and that ultimately locked me out of it somehow even though I did factory resets etc. In any case, just very pleased with their support and the product is fun to use.

[Capn_Dave]

Being an EE, working with wifi systems for boats. I have found the Nano Station 2 to be about the best bang for the buck you can get. You have to keep in mind these are commercial units and therefore don't come with instructions. They use a cat5/6 instead of USB cables. This allows you to put your antenna just about anywhere. All this for about $80.00. They also use POE which is power over ethernet. This allows power to go to the antenna through the Cat5 cable.
I have received and used wifi at over a mile on the water. On land It will be a shorter distance. The antennas are directional.
If you want an omnidierctional wifi antenna use the bullet. Same cat5 cable and an omni-directional antenna screws into the top of it.
The units are made by Ubiquiti. Wiki has setup instructions to set them them up in just about any configuration you can imagine. They can be set up to be an access point, just a receiver, or a repeater.
Like I said before, being a boater and a sail boater who believes the wind is free, I am always looking for bang for the buck.
Amazon has them or here if you need more info Ubiquiti NanoStation2: 802.11b/g 400mW Indoor/Outdoor CPE @ Netgate
Fair winds
Dave

[pagosajoe]

Originally Posted by Capn_Dave

Being an EE, working with wifi systems for boats. I have found the Nano Station 2 to be about the best bang for the buck you can get. You have to keep in mind these are commercial units and therefore don't come with instructions. They use a cat5/6 instead of USB cables. This allows you to put your antenna just about anywhere. All this for about $80.00. They also use POE which is power over ethernet. This allows power to go to the antenna through the Cat5 cable.
I have received and used wifi at over a mile on the water. On land It will be a shorter distance. The antennas are directional.
If you want an omnidierctional wifi antenna use the bullet. Same cat5 cable and an omni-directional antenna screws into the top of it.
The units are made by Ubiquiti. Wiki has setup instructions to set them them up in just about any configuration you can imagine. They can be set up to be an access point, just a receiver, or a repeater.
Like I said before, being a boater and a sail boater who believes the wind is free, I am always looking for bang for the buck.
Amazon has them or here if you need more info Ubiquiti NanoStation2: 802.11b/g 400mW Indoor/Outdoor CPE @ Netgate
Fair winds
Dave

Thanks CapnDave - I'll check it out. Getting close to getting a system, so your timing is excellent.

Following seas!

[blue lacy]

Originally Posted by Capn_Dave

Being an EE, working with wifi systems for boats. I have found the Nano Station 2 to be about the best bang for the buck you can get. You have to keep in mind these are commercial units and therefore don't come with instructions. They use a cat5/6 instead of USB cables. This allows you to put your antenna just about anywhere. All this for about $80.00. They also use POE which is power over ethernet. This allows power to go to the antenna through the Cat5 cable.
I have received and used wifi at over a mile on the water. On land It will be a shorter distance. The antennas are directional.
If you want an omnidierctional wifi antenna use the bullet. Same cat5 cable and an omni-directional antenna screws into the top of it.
The units are made by Ubiquiti. Wiki has setup instructions to set them them up in just about any configuration you can imagine. They can be set up to be an access point, just a receiver, or a repeater.
Like I said before, being a boater and a sail boater who believes the wind is free, I am always looking for bang for the buck.
Amazon has them or here if you need more info Ubiquiti NanoStation2: 802.11b/g 400mW Indoor/Outdoor CPE @ Netgate
Fair winds
Dave

I'm more than a little confused here. I'm wanting to better pick up weak RV Park WiFi signals with an external antenna for wireless access in the coach. I've been thinking what I needed was an external antenna connected to a repeater along the lines of the JefaTech antenna and Linksys WRT54GL setup.

Will the Bullet/Omni-antenna or Hawking setup serve the same purpose? In the case of the Bullet, would the Cat5 cable connect to a router in the coach? Also, the Bullet comes in two power levels, 100mw and 600mw. One reviewer said the 600mw was too powerful for close-in use. Any comments would be appreciated.

[Capn_Dave]

Hello Blue Lacy,

The cat5 cable can hook directly into your computer or a router. Cat 5/6 is a LAN cable and your computer has a port built in for it. It looks like a telephone jack only larger.
The 600mw version could be to strong if you are sitting on top of an access point, say 300 feet or less. In that instance you would not need the Bullet anyway your regular WIFI device would work. As in a laptop with a built in WIFI.

WIFI is 2 way, normally you can pick up a signal but you cant make a connection because you cannot transmit that far. Also when using an omni directional antenna the signal goes 360 degrees. It doesn't actually transmit/receive equal in all directions but for practical application say it does. So the range is lessened.
with a directional antenna like the Nano 2 the signal is concentrated more into a general direction so the effect is a stronger signal. As always there ain't no free ride so you have to aim the antenna.

I hope I completely confused you

Fair Winds

Dave

[blue lacy]

Thanks Capn_Dave:

I do want to hook it up to a router so my wife and I can use it at the same time, with both laptops and phones. I assumed it needed to be hooked up to an antenna input/output on the the router or the Cat5 WAN input, not one of the Cat5 LAN inputs. So, I figured at the least I needed an external antenna and a router with removal antenna connection(s) ala the JefaTech solution: JEFA Tech: Long Range WiFi Repeater Kit for RVs

Most of the time we provide our own WiFi via an aircard/Cradlepoint setup. I noticed you had some difficulty configuring your Bullet for ease of use in 2011. Did that get resolved? So far I was figuring I would need to set up the system to get RV Park WiFi with its own router, completely separate from the aircard wireless.

From your comments it sounds like you would choose the Nano 2 over the Bullet. I think we are almost always more than 300 feet from source. I find that my computer often finds the WiFi, but I have to go up to the office to connect.

[YC1]

Dave, maybe I didn't find the proper manual but do you have to set up a static ip in your computer for the intital setup?? I went through a lot of the information and most common folk would have no clue how to do that. If you do have to go through many pages to set it up this might not be ideal for a novice.

No stock in the JefaTech company but using the router with the new interface is a breeze. Plug it in to AC or cut the cord and wire it to vehicle 12 volts. Find the Jefatech wi-fi with your device (pc,smart phone, etc), connect, go to your internet explore page and type the ip address given in the two page manual and up it comes. Add you password and then have the device search for wi-fi signals. Pick the one you want and put their password in. In about 30 seconds off you go.

[Capn_Dave]

YC1;

I never said it was super easy. When I mentioned the Nano station I said it was professional equipment. What you are getting is bang for the buck.
O the initial setup you will have to set your computer to talk to the device. Using a static IP. After the set up put everything back to default. What you are doing is configuring the device for a specific task. You probably noticed you can configure the device for different operations. Here all we want is a simple WIFI receiver.
All of that being said, we (being a bunch of computer nerds) made sets of instructions in everyday language that even Penny would understand. I know if you look at the operating instructions from Ubiquity one would go, What?

So I have included in this post at no extra charge and free for 90 days, and if you act right now you will be able to share this goldmine of information with others of your choosing and they to will think, WOW he really knows his stuff.

Fair Winds
Dave

[njs42]

I'm not too squeamish about punching a hole in my RV for a good reason and the Marine industry has many methods of thru hull installations that are water tight easy to install and nice looking.

Our JEFA tech w/ the 15db antenna works great but none of these systems can improve a bad wifi set up in a CG. You get connectivity but if the system is overloaded then everything slows down. After setting ours up and using it for a week I decided to create a password when I did it was obvious a lot of people were logged onto my antenna which speaks for itself; they liked it too.

However if you have need of wifi (can't do without like us) and in particular if you need to do a lot of downloading, streaming etc; you are better off having a stand alone system through your phone or a system like Mellinicom offers and be your own hot spot.

It's the nature of the beast.

And hey for the record I am not at all adverse to punching a hole in someone else s RV.

[YC1]

Dave that is excellent. And I do agree the device is a bargain. I have seen devices like that (canopy) that were in the $600 range. With your instructions, (free for 90 days), even I could get it to work. Heck, I may just buy one for fun since I too am a techno geek. Yeah, certified ET, FCC 1st class, own a telecommunications company.

I was concerned a novice would buy one and then try to set it up without a real user manual for the everyday computer user. I love the screen prints. What program do you use to capture those? I use Snagit and have made operator manuals for many pieces of equipment using it.

Thanks again for the great pdf.