Community Forums

Island Nomads · 06-27-2007, 04:05 AM

About a month ago, I was doing research on how one might stay connected during our travels. I have posted more than once on my blog that the campground I find myself in advertises wifi connectivity but you have to be sitting beside the access point and the wind has to be blowing right and heaven forbid the wind should be blowing against you! By poking around on the RV user groups, I quickly found out that mine is not a unique problem.

I discovered many possible solutions. Some of these solutions were very low tech...a metal colander with a USB connector in the centre which gets attached to your computer through the other end of the USB port and voila! internet access? Wow.

Then I found my Wi-Fire. Here is a product whose time has definitely come! It is a directional antenna (rotates 360 degrees for best reception) that perches quietly on the top of your laptop monitor and plugs into your computer through, you guessed it, USB. It has its own software which manages the device giving you connection speeds and available networks in the area.

And it has quite the range! Last week, before my Wi-Fire arrived, I was only able to pick up the signal of the fella across the way. No other signals appeared on my ˜radar'. On a good day his signal showed low on my computer so I could do everything I needed to do (check email, do banking, upload pictures to the blog and download audio books) but the signal was very unreliable. This became a bigger problem when I started using Skype (an internet based solution to text based chat and outgoing phone calls to conventional phones) for a lot of my communication. Now. On Thursday afternoon, the antenna that was connecting my neighbour to the satelite internet signal and, by extension, me to the internet was removed. Voila! no internet!! Yuk!

Luckily, my Wi-Fire arrived Friday afternoon so I was only disconnected for less than 24 hours! Whew!! After a quick installation, the wifi signal put out by the campground suddenly appeared in my list! Imagine my surprise and delight. Was it magic?! No! It was Wi-Fire!

Our specific challenge has to do with an anti reflective coating on our RV windows which is intended to keep out harmful UV rays. My thinking is that it tends to keep out wifi rays as well! No matter, I'm back in business!

Here it is....ta da! http://www.hfield.com/wifire.htm. A small investment in my sanity (on the road internet connectivity)!!!

Island Nomads · 06-27-2007, 04:05 AM

About a month ago, I was doing research on how one might stay connected during our travels. I have posted more than once on my blog that the campground I find myself in advertises wifi connectivity but you have to be sitting beside the access point and the wind has to be blowing right and heaven forbid the wind should be blowing against you! By poking around on the RV user groups, I quickly found out that mine is not a unique problem.

I discovered many possible solutions. Some of these solutions were very low tech...a metal colander with a USB connector in the centre which gets attached to your computer through the other end of the USB port and voila! internet access? Wow.

Then I found my Wi-Fire. Here is a product whose time has definitely come! It is a directional antenna (rotates 360 degrees for best reception) that perches quietly on the top of your laptop monitor and plugs into your computer through, you guessed it, USB. It has its own software which manages the device giving you connection speeds and available networks in the area.

And it has quite the range! Last week, before my Wi-Fire arrived, I was only able to pick up the signal of the fella across the way. No other signals appeared on my ˜radar'. On a good day his signal showed low on my computer so I could do everything I needed to do (check email, do banking, upload pictures to the blog and download audio books) but the signal was very unreliable. This became a bigger problem when I started using Skype (an internet based solution to text based chat and outgoing phone calls to conventional phones) for a lot of my communication. Now. On Thursday afternoon, the antenna that was connecting my neighbour to the satelite internet signal and, by extension, me to the internet was removed. Voila! no internet!! Yuk!

Luckily, my Wi-Fire arrived Friday afternoon so I was only disconnected for less than 24 hours! Whew!! After a quick installation, the wifi signal put out by the campground suddenly appeared in my list! Imagine my surprise and delight. Was it magic?! No! It was Wi-Fire!

Our specific challenge has to do with an anti reflective coating on our RV windows which is intended to keep out harmful UV rays. My thinking is that it tends to keep out wifi rays as well! No matter, I'm back in business!

Here it is....ta da! http://www.hfield.com/wifire.htm. A small investment in my sanity (on the road internet connectivity)!!!

SeeTheUSA · 06-27-2007, 04:24 AM

Looks like a pretty handy product.

For the past year, I've used a Linksys device -- although not directional, it does have an added benefit with it's network finder. I'm very satisfied with it. Can either be put into USB port directly or has a little platform with about 4 feet of cable to get a better signal.

See here:

http://tinyurl.com/8fwcs

Island Nomads · 06-27-2007, 04:57 AM

Excellent! The Wi-fire would boost the signal you get with your adapter to encompass a greater distance and get a stronger signal!

slabman · 06-28-2007, 02:54 PM

Sounds like a PITA! Why not just get an aircard and maybe even a mobile wireless router and be done with it? Then you can have internet even whilst traveling down the road.

Bill Davis · 06-29-2007, 05:32 AM

I think a lot of these decisions are based on cost. We finally got an air card, but it took a while to justify it.

Island Nomads · 06-29-2007, 05:39 PM

Because there is an ongoing cost associated with aircards, number one. And number two, it is not cost effective to get an aircard in Canada to use in the U.S.<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by slabman:
Sounds like a PITA! Why not just get an aircard and maybe even a mobile wireless router and be done with it? Then you can have internet even whilst traveling down the road. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

mrmrsbb · 06-29-2007, 07:29 PM

Wondering if an iPhone might not be a great solution for staying in touch - getting e mail browsing the net and yes getting maps while in route. They are expensive IMHO but the phone plan has free data use and roll over of time. It sounds like they automatically shift from cell signal to Wi Fi when a signal is avalable.

Any thoughts

BeenThere DoneThat · 07-03-2007, 11:28 AM

There is a company that has an antenna with wifi for mounting on the outside of the RV. It connects to a USB port on your computer. I have not personally tried it, but I have purchased other stuff from the company.
WaveRV

Mickey5 · 08-08-2007, 04:54 AM

I have a Wi-Fire and I love it. I am connected when I need to be and that is what matters. It is a great device an I highly recommend one.

Cost is an issue for me, so in the scheme of things, buying a Wi-Fire was well worth it. With Wi-Fire I paid one flat rate and I did not have to pay for an air car and then pay monthly rates on top of that.

SCVJeff · 08-10-2007, 11:25 PM

There are a few threads on rv.net that show mounting a Linksys type USB stick in a parabolic pie tray, or pasta strainer. They claim significant gain for really, minimal cost. If you have any assembly skills at all it's not complicated to build.

Roam America · 08-11-2007, 06:39 AM

I've been comparing the AT&T air card to the sprint air card. AT&T says it operates at 6 to 3.6M download speed. Spring says 600 to 1.4M downlaod speeds. Are they really that much different? Or am I missing something?

Also, I want to be able to sign on anywhere in the US as I travel. Neither AT&T nor Sprint provides a coverage map. Any comments?

FLYTYER · 08-15-2007, 07:17 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K-Star:
I've been comparing the AT&T air card to the sprint air card. AT&T says it operates at 6 to 3.6M download speed. Spring says 600 to 1.4M downlaod speeds. Are they really that much different? Or am I missing something?

Also, I want to be able to sign on anywhere in the US as I travel. Neither AT&T nor Sprint provides a coverage map. Any comments? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

John I asked ATT about their coverage and they said if I am within 5 miles of an Interstate Hwy I would have service. I did not buy theirs or Sprints service, so I do not know for sure.

It will be interesting to read of what others experience.

Bill Adams · 08-15-2007, 03:08 PM

I am sure a number of people will chime in here but since I don't own an air card I can't give you too many details.
I can tell you that you will NEVER see 3.6MB download speeds on a wireless card. The chances of you seeing 1.4MB are pretty slim and as far as I know this could only be possible in a couple of places around the US (San Diego and Washington, DC, I believe).
There are some test sites that will give you very good (but false) readings due to the acceleration software that they use. You can see download in excess of 1MB but if you do an actual download you will see the more realistic speeds of 400K or less.
This is still a very usable download speed so please do not get the impression that these things don't work. You just need to get your mind wrapped around the reality of a cellular connection. Get too far away from that signal and your speeds will be EXACTLY 0MB.