How to boost park wifi for less than $99?

[sirpurrcival]

Originally Posted by gemini5362

Not sure what your point is here. I think that I took great pains to make sure it was clear that it would not speed up the internet connection. Although technically it will speed it up due to a stronger connection you have fewer dropped packets and less repeats sends so you have a faster connection but not by enough to make a difference. Also the benefits can be tremendous. If you are in an area of a park where you have barely enough signal to lock into and keep drifting in and out of lock then a 15 dbm gain will allow you to get reception where you could not get it before

AND finally you might want to reread the original post in this thread. The OP wanted something that would increase the wifi signal and allow them to hook up multiple laptops, printers, tablets etc at the same time for under 99.00 I pointed out my system would allow that but it would not quite make the 99 dollar cutoff. Although in your expert opinion my expert opinion and two years of using this system disagree with you.

Finally I did not advocate using this system for streaming Netflix or any of that kind of stuff. I said the reason you get slow bandwidth in a lot of parks is because others are doing that. YOu are seriously hurting your fellow users by doing that.

Apologies, the streaming comment was not meant to be attributed to you. A thought spurred by earlier posts and not particularly relevant. As for the rest, basically a restatement of what others have said. Might help, might not in regards to situation. There are cheaper ways to deal with some parts of the original statement of need. It was not meant to criticize your suggestion. Just restating what many have said in this thread and other threads. What readers take away from it is up to them. I have just seen too many examples where boosters/repeaters especially at the consumer grade level just don't deliver on what they promise or at another level lead some to believe that signal strength will increase speed which as several have posted is not the case. As a solution, they are a definite "maybe" and often get misapplied to deal with situations where the problem is actually something different. If my comment promotes more examination of the problem or causes others who many have similar ideas to pursue it more, then great.

I have no agenda other than that.

[XBoater]

I had one of these units clamped to my TV antenna

Amazon.com: Engenius ENH200 Business Class Long Range Wireless N Outdoor Client Bridge/Access Point: Electronics

It was POE so 1 cable to get out there and plugged it into my AP/Router. The antenna is unidirectional so I just turned the antenna to aim at the campground wifi. Scan the area and log on.

The problem I found with campground wifi is that your outgoing signal is low power even with an external antenna you may receive the signal well enough but not have enough power to transmit back to the wifi AP.

[gemini5362]

Originally Posted by sirpurrcival

Apologies, the streaming comment was not meant to be attributed to you. A thought spurred by earlier posts and not particularly relevant. As for the rest, basically a restatement of what others have said. Might help, might not in regards to situation. There are cheaper ways to deal with some parts of the original statement of need. It was not meant to criticize your suggestion. Just restating what many have said in this thread and other threads. What readers take away from it is up to them. I have just seen too many examples where boosters/repeaters especially at the consumer grade level just don't deliver on what they promise or at another level lead some to believe that signal strength will increase speed which as several have posted is not the case. As a solution, they are a definite "maybe" and often get misapplied to deal with situations where the problem is actually something different. If my comment promotes more examination of the problem or causes others who many have similar ideas to pursue it more, then great.

I have no agenda other than that.

I was just probably being too sensitive. The system I use was out of an article by someone else. He talked about how he dealt with the problem of getting inexpensive reliable internet. Their are a lot of people that have multiple devices in this day and age. And want a way to connect them. The typical home routers that you buy and connect to your cable, dsl modems will work fine for connecting your laptops, printers, tablets, cell phones etc. But it will not connect to the campground wifi. A wisp router will do that and allow you to connect to the router in your camper. The router I use is at a price point where I would not consider it for commercial but mine has worked very well for the time I have had it and I heard about it from an article where someone has been using theirs for several years. We actually use three methods to get internet when my wife has to talk to clients. 1. If campground use the tp-link router and connect to it. 2. AT&T IPhone hotspot. 3. If no signal for either of the above get the laptops and drive somewhere that has either 1 or 2. Using those three methods we have been able to get internet anywhere we have been.

[David Bott]

Not sure if too late, but here is a tutorial I was asked to make for a high powered RV Wi-Fi solution that is under $100...

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f53/perso...al-229340.html

[Fredandfred]

[QUOTE=wfcentral;2320807]I'm thinking about buying this for our family RV (less than $50)

We want to be able to get a strong signal and connect using laptop, two ipads and several cellphones.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQ883T4/...I1U3POSIRXGCCI

NETGEAR Trek N300 Travel Router and Range Extender (PR2000)

• A portable N300 router that creates a private, secure network using any Ethernet connection or WiFi, at home or everywhere you go.
• No longer pay multiple access fees for each device on the road, on a plane, in a hotel, etc.
• Extend your existing WiFi coverage and eliminate dead zones throughout your home.
• Boost the signal of weak public WiFi hotspots.
• Connect wired only devices to the WiFi network.
• Convenient power options: wall-plug, power bank, or from a USB port on a laptop.
• Highperformance flipout antenna.

[LIST][*]NETGEAR genie AppDashboard to monitor, control & repair your network[*]USB

[spinn]

Like in David's message i use a ubiquity nanostation and love the range.

[Ron_H]

Originally Posted by David Bott

Not sure if too late, but here is a tutorial I was asked to make for a high powered RV Wi-Fi solution that is under $100...

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f53/perso...al-229340.html

David,

I watched your video a few minutes ago and I must compliment you on a job well done. Your explanation was easy to follow.

One thing I did not note being mentioned if interior/exterior use. I am thinking it would be convenient to mount the antenna on the roof, attached to our crank-up TV antenna. This would allow for better height, aiming, and line of sight capabilities.

What components would you recommend if not limited to a $100 budget?

I would like to install a system similar to this and if spending a little more can provide better range and convenience, I'd prefer to spend the extra bucks.

[gemini5362]

Originally Posted by David Bott

Not sure if too late, but here is a tutorial I was asked to make for a high powered RV Wi-Fi solution that is under $100...

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f53/perso...al-229340.html

Nice tutorial. Can I add an idea that will raise the cost but increase signal strength. You can buy an telescoping flag pole at Harbor Freight for 55.00 or get one with a quick remove bracket for 100.00. The outdoor router can be attached to the top of the flag pole with Velcro cord holder strips. The lan router ( which interfaces with all of your computers, laptops, tablets etc. Can be put in an outside storage unit which has 115vac receptacles. The Ethernet cord between the two routers can run under the storage door ( Ethernet will press into rubber gasket and not be damaged. Point the outdoor router on the flag pole towards the campground antenna. The lan router will connect wirelessly through the floor of the camper. This will give you a router without any cords running around in the living space and you wont have to make a hole to run the Ethernet cord outside to the outside router.

[David Bott]

Originally Posted by Ron_H

David,

I watched your video a few minutes ago and I must compliment you on a job well done. Your explanation was easy to follow.

One thing I did not note being mentioned if interior/exterior use. I am thinking it would be convenient to mount the antenna on the roof, attached to our crank-up TV antenna. This would allow for better height, aiming, and line of sight capabilities.

What components would you recommend if not limited to a $100 budget?

I would like to install a system similar to this and if spending a little more can provide better range and convenience, I'd prefer to spend the extra bucks.

Outside for the antenna is alway better and getting it up in the air is even better. You could mount a NanoStation M2 (the full size one) on the crank up antenna but you want to be sure to place it in a way it is not laying on top of the roof directly when down. You would also want to leave enough cable slack so you can turn the mount without binding.

Note that the crank up antenna, for those that have one, has TWO bars that is used to raise the top TV antenna. Be sure to strap to only ONE of the bars. When the unit is down, you will want to use the top bar only and more than likely will need to put the NanoStation facing UP towards the sky. So be sure to strap it securely. Then when you raise it, it will be facing forward.

gemini5362 is right about getting it up if you do not have an crank up antenna. I use a 18 foot expandable painters poll and strap that to the power poll or use large strong squeeze hand clamps and clip it to one of the slide puts.

Hope this helps.

[DegoRed]

David, great job with that video. Ubiquiti stuff is the best stuff available, but the downside is that it is not very user friendly. You broke it down well for the average user to understand, nice work.

For those thinking of trying to get better reception by raising up your antenna, yes it will help, but certainly is not worth the trouble or hassel, certaainly not worth buying a pole or spending money on. These Ubiquiti radios are so vary powerful, that adding a pole to get better signal is like spitting in your pool to raise the water level. I normally just set mine up against the widow facing whichever way gives me best signal and call it done.

We have have several installs with Nano's where we have shot signal through trees, richochet signal off building, and other applications so bad we were surprised it even worked. The radio's are so powerful, they actually exceed the maximum power allowable by the FCC here in the USA, hence the choose country option when you first set it up. Ubiquiti equipment is "Carrier" grade equipment that is really not meant for consumers, and its awesome that consumers can get this stuff, because its so very powerful.

The Nano is capable of transmitting signal 3 miles+, so in the normal confines of an RV park under 1000ft, that is why a pole is unnecessary. Most of the problems we see often with installs is people have their radios turned up too much, assuming that more power means more signal. The way that it is explained by Ubiquiti is imagine to people standing face to face screaming at each other as loud as they can, neither person can hear each other. When both people lower their voice to a reasonable level, both can hear each other just fine.

Once again David, great job on the video, and nice job of showing people a very inexpensive solution. The only thing that I would possibly add, is this little gizmo Amazon.com: HooToo® TripMate Elite Versatile 6000mAh Battery Charger (Dual USB Wall Charger with Wireless N Travel Router, USB Storage Wi-Fi Media Sharing, Access Point, Wi-Fi Mini Router & Bridge): Computers & Accessories I have and sometimes use an airGateway, but this little deal does so much more, and is basically the same price. Only downside is that it does not have the broadcast power of an airGateway, but in the confines of a MH, so far it has not been a problem. If you are trying to provide a 50ft radius around your MH, an airGateway is better suited. You should try it out and let me know what you think.

[DegoRed]

Sorry Ron H, I forgot to throw my $.02 at your question. If you wanted to spend more than $100, there are several options that are not much more in terms of cost. Nano's are awesome for the price, nothing gives a better bang for you buck. However, if one wanted to spend some more, going to a Rocket or UniFi is the way to go.

The cool thing about Ubiquiti is, all their software is esentially the same in terms of its interface. So if you can navigate the set up of a Nano, its pretty much the same for all of their stuff. Both the Rocket & UniFi Outdoor is top of line equipment, that will exceed any condition you would ever enounter.

[David Bott]

DegoRed...

You are so right about being able to use it inside, that is why I did not get into mounting or talk about outside setups. I did have a link to the window mount which is real nice to use. The NanoStaion Loco M2 or the full size NanoStaion M2 are much more powerful than any Wi-Fi device used in a coach and that is the intent. (Other than also being on your own private network.)

The reason I use one outside, as needed, is I like to try to connect and lock onto the main AP vs connecting to a repeated AP based on the 50% speed loss for each hop. So if I can reach the main office AP, I want to, thus the outside mount can help with that.

IMHO a Rocket would be total overkill and the antenna selection you need to use with it are much to large to deal with in an RV. UniFi really would not be the right choice either base on the setup and how it is "really" made for multi AP installs in an enterprise setup and again the antenna selection. (Even with the smallest antenna it is larger than the full size NanoStation M2.)

Oh, the part you listed. Interesting unit as it does things I would not expect. A battery charger and it's also a router. Who would expect that combo?

The idea with what I put together is it is an all in one solution when done. Just plug in one power cord and connect. It is a nice little clean package. Lots of other ways to do it as you know.

Happy Surfing.

Oh! I felt bad for one person who contacted me about the setup as they got all the parts and got it all setup. They were writing as they could hardly see any AP when they ran a scan on their NanoStation M5. Yup, M5, they bought the wrong unit. (Note to others...M5 does not mean it is more powerful or a newer model, it means it is a 5Ghz radio and not a 2.4Ghz that the M2 is.)

[MSHappyCampers]

Originally Posted by David Bott

DegoRed...

You are so right about being able to use it inside, that is why I did not get into mounting or talk about outside setups. I did have a link to the window mount which is real nice to use. The NanoStaion Loco M2 or the full size NanoStaion M2 are much more powerful than any Wi-Fi device used in a coach and that is the intent. (Other than also being on your own private network.)

.

IMHO a Rocket would be total overkill and the antenna selection you need to use with it are much to large to deal with in an RV. UniFi really would not be the right choice either base on the setup and how it is "really" made for multi AP installs in an enterprise setup and again the antenna selection. (Even with the smallest antenna it is larger than the full size NanoStation M2.)

Oh, the part you listed. Interesting unit as it does things I would not expect. A battery charger and it's also a router. Who would expect that combo?

The idea with what I put together is it is an all in one solution when done. Just plug in one power cord and connect. It is a nice little clean package. Lots of other ways to do it as you know.

Happy Surfing.

Oh! I felt bad for one person who contacted me about the setup as they got all the parts and got it all setup. They were writing as they could hardly see any AP when they ran a scan on their NanoStation M5. Yup, M5, they bought the wrong unit. (Note to others...M5 does not mean it is more powerful or a newer model, it means it is a 5Ghz radio and not a 2.4Ghz that the M2 is.)

David, how can you tell that you're on the main AP?

[David Bott]

Good question. I usually look for a larger antenna by the main office or an array. If I see one, I point at it as that would be my best guess. Or if they are using directional ones around to spread the signal, they usually would point back towards the same place, so I point the same way.

Short of that, I point towards the office first, lock on and run a speed test. (Speedtest.net by Ookla - The Global Broadband Speed Test) Then I would try another AP and do the same test and then another and then stay on the one that seems to give me the best down speed. (I will only do this if I will be there for some time of if I am board. Otherwise I pick one and hope for the best.)

When a park is repeating the signal to get it out further, with each HOP from antenna to antenna it is about a 50% speed drop. Just using numbers, say main AP that is hardwired to the Internet connection is 100Mbps at that antenna. When they then have another antenna repeating that one, then the speed drops to 50Mpbs at that point. If then yet another off that one, you are down 25Mbps. Now add all the others that may be connected to a repeated antenna and you start to see the issue as they are all sharing data that is already at reduced 1/2. As such you are better off trying to connect to the main AP, or any AP, that is hardwired to the switch or router. (Hope that makes sense.)

Or heck, just ask when you go in. You never know, they may know just what you are asking.

Here is a blog post on Southwoods RV Park where I redid the entire Wi-Fi system for them for the park. If you click on the images, they will enlarge. Note the antenna array on the main building. They all link out in different directions. (Yep, they are all Nanostations) You can also click on the map and see the setup and the speed tests from the each area back to the main switch in the main building right before it gets the to Internet. I have more speed in the air then the park actually has coming in. The # inside each circle is the number of people on that antenna. (the 1's are point to point links known as back-hauls used to connect arrays at high speed.) I will finish this install when we get back there next year.

Our Summer Visit With Family, Friends And The New Bott Plot | Outside Our Bubble

Here is a speed test of the park I am at now that has great data (100Mbps coming in) and I am hitting a main AP...



If hitting one of the other AP's, I am at 9Mpbs (which is still great for a park!)