Cellular & Wi-Fi Guidance Please

[ajshepherd]

OK, I'm not an IT guy, so go easy on me please!  I'm going to add in some Cellular and Wi-Fi extenders in our MH and needed input please.  The recommended solutions are as follows:

1. Wi-Fi (JEFA Tech)

2. Cell Boost (weBoost)  Not sure the best choice as I reviewed three choices; weBoost 470510 Drive 4G-X (Mobile); Wilson Signal Booster 4G Extreme RV kit (Mobile) & eqo RV signal Booster kit (When stopped only).  Thoughts please? 

[manholt]

Send an PM to BillAdam.  He would know!

[ajshepherd]

22 minutes ago, Manholt said:

Send an PM to BillAdam.  He would know!

Thanks!

[geeksontour]

I recommend checking with RVMobileInternet.com. 

You are the one who can determine how much you need boosting and how much you wish to spend.

[kaypsmith]

If you can afford $300. to 400. I would look into Mifi with a Cradlepoint mifi router, if you are looking for internet on the go. You can Google those names and get info.

[thestoloffs]

Quote

12 hours ago, ajshepherd said:

weBoost 470510 Drive 4G-X (Mobile); Wilson Signal Booster 4G Extreme RV kit (Mobile)

These 2 choices are actually the same thing, as Wilson Electronics has changed their product line name to weBoost. Only the eqo unit is a different product.

 

[moonwink]

You can't be too careful connecting to public WiFi networks.  I avoid them as much as I can.  My solution was to buy a phone on ebay with $15/month unlimited Verizon 3G service.  http://www.ebay.com/itm/321895421294  The seller is out of stock for this right now but he may be able to get more - keep watching the link.  I had mine for almost a year and remain very happy with the service.

[ajshepherd]

16 hours ago, GeeksOnTour said:

I recommend checking with RVMobileInternet.com. 

You are the one who can determine how much you need boosting and how much you wish to spend.

Will do, thanks.

[ajshepherd]

7 hours ago, thestoloffs said:

 

OK, thanks for the update.  I found both units were priced differently.  I will do more research.

[kaypsmith]

Cell phone boosters are not in my pay grade, wifi I will give my two cents worth. I have not found a wifi booster that is worth two cents. Now that said, wifi is what is usually available in the park, a restaurant, or other establishment. If you really are referencing "wifi" then an extender can be of real benefit by placing this unit between the closest acceptable signal and where you are parked, there are portable units available that can be powered by a battery. The other means that I referred to in an earlier post is cellular technology, which you pay a monthly charge, or can be purchased from Walmart and other stores, these of course go with you wherever you go and work reasonably well wherever your cell phone works ok. I use a package from Verizon called MiFi, this is the only service that I use either home or on the road, because only other broadband available is satellite company, I live too far away from other folks for cable or phone service broadband. The link RVMobileInternet.com is a good source for reference, but I thought it might be helpful to know the difference.

[ajshepherd]

39 minutes ago, kaypsmith said:

Cell phone boosters are not in my pay grade, wifi I will give my two cents worth. I have not found a wifi booster that is worth two cents. Now that said, wifi is what is usually available in the park, a restaurant, or other establishment. If you really are referencing "wifi" then an extender can be of real benefit by placing this unit between the closest acceptable signal and where you are parked, there are portable units available that can be powered by a battery. The other means that I referred to in an earlier post is cellular technology, which you pay a monthly charge, or can be purchased from Walmart and other stores, these of course go with you wherever you go and work reasonably well wherever your cell phone works ok. I use a package from Verizon called MiFi, this is the only service that I use either home or on the road, because only other broadband available is satellite company, I live too far away from other folks for cable or phone service broadband. The link RVMobileInternet.com is a good source for reference, but I thought it might be helpful to know the difference.

Thanks for the great advise.

I have looked at RVMobileinternet.com and they are loaded with great guidance.  This worked well for us.  We do plan on using a Jet Pack/Hot Spot for our internet access, but if possible, we will use the park Wi-Fi as an alternative (Hence the two systems) for a back up option our to lower our monthly usage.  Using park Wi-Fi can be useless if the line of sight is hampered or the MH is (By its construction) hamstringing your reception.  An external antenna with a booster for the Wi-Fi should provide the best solution if this option is available or the (MiFi, Jet Pack or Hot Spot) with Cell Booster should be the other option as both antennas will be outside of the MH.

Were going to install both as they are reasonably priced and I want the factory to do the install so they run the wires and plug up the holes etc.!  Thanks again.

[BillAdams]

I am not the guy for this.  I look to others for similar support.  For Wi-Fi I suggest you go to the Tiffin RV Forum and look up the post about cheap wi-fi booster by David Bott.  It is on You Tube as well and I suspect if you go there and just search David Bott the instructional video will come up.  I used his setup and it is simple to follow as long as you do it step-by-step with the exact hardware he lists.  It took me maybe an hour but it make take a novice an hour and a half.  It really is very easy.  It also works VERY well.

I know a lot of folks use a cellular booster but I have never tried one.  We have a jetpack (mifi, same thing) using Sprint service and it is likely I could get somewhat faster speeds with a booster but I have no found it to be necessary.  If you are going to be far off the grid then it is likely mandatory but if you camp where voice cellular service is available you will likely also have data cellular service.  Check the coverage map of your provider (Verizon has the best data coverage) to see what kind of service will be available in the areas that you travel.

Good luck and safe travels.

[tbutler]

 

7 hours ago, kaypsmith said:

Cell phone boosters are not in my pay grade, wifi I will give my two cents worth. I have not found a wifi booster that is worth two cents.

I have to agree, I tried Wilson, several years ago but the difference was miniscule at the time.  I had an ALFA booster that plugged into the USB port and worked fairly well but it isn't compatible with Windows 10 so that is dead to me now.  Newer systems may be better but I would not count on much. 

I use several hot spot devices from the major phone companies.  The most useful is my iPad.  Linking to AT&T LTE service is the fastest thing and easiest to work with.  I also have a Verizon hot spot that is useful when the AT&T service isn't available or is too weak to be useful.  I've found that to be a rare occurrence but when you need a connection, you usually really need one.  I also have a T-Mobile hot spot which provides the last resort at times.  When I have used all available connect time on the other services, T-Mobile has unlimited service and even when the speed is limited at least I'm able to connect and get things done.  T-Mobile has the most limited service area especially in certain locations.  Verizon and AT&T both have pretty good coverage these days.  Traveling to RV destinations that are sometimes remote will eventually find the holes in any companies service areas.

The above is not a cheap solution, I wish that it were but it is the best I can find to get connected with secure service on a regular basis.

[BillAdams]

If you want a good, workable Wi-Fi booster, please re-read my post.  There is a good, inexpensive booster available for less than $100.  Even though I have an unlimited Sprint MiFi device, I still connect to campground Wi-Fi when available as the response times (ping times) can be lower creating a faster connection for routine surfing.  I always connect to my MiFi for banking and similar online activities that I want to add a layer of security to.  I know i ended that sentence with a preposition but I did not feel like going back and making the necessary correction.

[ajshepherd]

44 minutes ago, BillAdams said:

If you want a good, workable Wi-Fi booster, please re-read my post.  There is a good, inexpensive booster available for less than $100.  Even though I have an unlimited Sprint MiFi device, I still connect to campground Wi-Fi when available as the response times (ping times) can be lower creating a faster connection for routine surfing.  I always connect to my MiFi for banking and similar online activities that I want to add a layer of security to.  I know i ended that sentence with a preposition but I did not feel like going back and making the necessary correction.

Thanks Bill.  Appreciate your response and good guidance.

[ajshepherd]

I expect to be able to report our (Cell/Wi-Fi) success and failures as soon as we can get the MH back!  It maybe at least another two-three weeks before we go to JC, OR to collect it.  Getting the steering parts have been an issue.  I have never replaced a steering bell crank, but that's the hold up at this point.  Once that's done, we will then be able to try out all of the systems installed and hope that we have made some good choices.  More to report soon.  But thanks for all of the good advise along the way.

[hermanmullins]

Bill I'm impressed. Most people have no idea what a Preposition is let alone how to spell it.

We live in an area where the only land line phone service is Verizon and no fiber-optic cable available, so the only service we could get would be dial up. We could get WiFi from one of the satellite services but would need to install a dish at our expense and pay a fairly high monthly service fee. Therefore we use the hot spots on our phones and have a large data plan. The down side of that is that we live in a metal home. Wall, roof, the whole package, which creates very low signals. I am considering some sort of booster but haven't looked into it very much yet. I do follow what is written here and am trying to keep it in the old, but deterating gray matter.    

Herman

[BillAdams]

Herman, satellite internet is not Wi-Fi.  Satellite internet service is the actual internet service.  You use Wi-Fi to repeat existing internet services no matter where the service originated.  As an example, when you share the data plan on your phone with your computer this is done by WiFi.  If you had cable/DSL based service coming into your house (or an RV Park), it would connect to a router and then be broadcast to all wireless devices in your home/park using WiFi.

I apologize in advance if you already knew that but it might be a point of clarification for others visiting this topic.

[thestoloffs]

13 hours ago, BillAdams said:

Herman, satellite internet is not Wi-Fi.  Satellite internet service is the actual internet service.  You use Wi-Fi to repeat existing internet services no matter where the service originated.  As an example, when you share the data plan on your phone with your computer this is done by WiFi.  If you had cable/DSL based service coming into your house (or an RV Park), it would connect to a router and then be broadcast to all wireless devices in your home/park using Wi-Fi.

Bill, I beg to differ slightly. Now that cable ISPs like Comcast Xfinity & T-Mobile are offering national Wi-Fi hotspot networks, they are in fact making Wi-Fi into a service equivalent to satellite Internet.

[BillAdams]

You disagree that satellite internet is not wi-fi or you disagree that wi-fi is not an internet service?  Never mind, you are welcome to disagree.  This is how I usually get in trouble so I will leave it alone.

[kaypsmith]

Some of the national companies are in fact offering wifi service, but it is being paid for either by you as a subscription, or some local municipalities are paying for it and using of your tax money to pay for it. Seldom or probably never is it offered in a location such as Herman's or mine, the areas are too sparsely populated. Now many cellular companies sell a hotspot service, called by many names, Verizon MiFi etc.. Therefore national wifi is still wifi, and hotspot is still hotspot. Even onstar uses the cellular service to receive transmissions from your vehicle, only have contract with many cellular services so that when one does not work hopefully another will. The requirement to transmit from the earth through the ionosphere is very challenging, therefore requiring too many watts to make that happen, while from outerspace to your vehicle is very miniscule, thereby allowing transmissions to your location as long as your antenna is not shielded. Yes trucking companies do receive and transmit directly to the satellite because there is a satellite dish mounted to the tractor and it is self positioning, only way currently to transmit to a satellite, plus the battery supply is large enough to push the necessary wattage to the satellite.

As a Limey would say, Bill, you are "SPOT ON".

[manholt]

Here I thought I would get "a free lunch'!  Glad to see that no one can call me a liar...

BillA. 

Herman.  Do you live in a Barnominium?  I know your out in the country!  Way out..

[pflaumek]

We use ATT service, and have added a hotspot line.  We use a Netgear LB2120 Modem for the 4G LTE signal, and pass it through a Netgear AC1750 router.  This makes our MH wireless throughout, and we can easily access our wifi with up to three (3) laptops without seeing slowdown in traffic.  However, we're not streaming TV, but I suspect it would handle TV and at least one Laptop.  For extended range, I use a Proxicast Omni directional antennae, and mount it on the rear ladder of the MH at the highest rail.  While it does not provide a great deal of additional range, we do pick up at least one or more bars, but more importantly it appears to stabilize the signal, and I consider that important.  This is a simple setup that I can set-up and take down in a matter of minutes, and has been very reliable so far (traveling the east coast).  We've spent approximately $300.00 on the entire setup, and $40.00 monthly for the hot spot.  We plan to test how reliable the set up will be as we head out west in 2019.