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Old 12-09-2021, 02:26 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by vegas25.5 View Post
I believe it is 15 or 20g of 4G the reduced to 600k for remainder of month - unlimited. $20 a month - Verizon
Verizon has 50 and more hotspot now but more money

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Old 12-09-2021, 03:13 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by 16ACE27 View Post
The OP asked about a WIFI repeater. All the answers regarding cell data are off topic and confuse the issue.
Yeah... I posted an "off topic" comment, and I think it was deleted. WiFi is NOT broadcast from cellular towers...
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Old 12-09-2021, 04:46 PM   #23
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Where we've been travelling, I've been finding that the WiFi signal at campgrounds is usually sufficient, it's the ISP connection that's lacking. This usually manifests itself as a strong WiFi signal, but you can't get anywhere or struggle just to load a web page. As an aside, you can often see this with cell connections too - full cellular bars, but nothing loads or loads REALLLY slowly.

Many (Most?) campgrounds are in rural areas and options for high speed internet are frequently non-existent, so everyone is sharing an inadequate technology for this use like DSL, satellite or just slow links, none of which don't fare too well when many devices are using them due to the limited capacity.

Also keep in mind that WiFi in campgrounds, when set up properly, throttle your speed so one person can't overwhelm their (likely inadequate) internet connection. I've seen and confirmed it being throttled down to 1Mbit at some locations, which is adequate for checking mail and light web browsing, but not much else, especially streaming video.

I tried using a directional Ubiquiti NanoStation M2 to for the uplink to a campground WiFi and a Ubiquiti Airgateway LR (replaced by the airCube) for the in-rig WiFi. It's more of a DIY solution for those that have a good grasp of networking. Unfortunately, it rarely made a difference because even when I found the odd place the WiFi signal was weak enough to need it, the ISP connection was almost always a bottleneck as well.

Aggregating all your traffic onto a single WiFi uplink like my Ubiquiti solution, the Winegard, and others can make your problem worse vs. having each device use connect on its own, since now you're aggregating all your traffic into that one throttled connection as mentioned above.

I think in all the time I've been playing with this (2-3 years now), it helped at maybe 5 total campgrounds.

So, you're left with signal boosters or some cell solution (off-topic here) as options to get usable internet. Signal boosters/extenders are challenging to get set up properly as they can cause additional interference which can actually make the problem worse for both you and everyone around you.

I eventually landed on this solution, which is essentially a multi-carrier MiFi on steroids PLUS a "hotspot" feature which allows you to uplink to a campground WiFi in the same box. I think this is what many of the Winegard solutions offer as well.

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Old 12-09-2021, 06:57 PM   #24
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Winegard page...

"Winegard’s smart antenna technology intelligently manages signals through multiple pathways to ensure better range and performance. The ConnecT 2.0 4G2+ roof-mounted mobile hotspot/WiFi booster allows you to access WiFi signals in your RV from farther away!"

WiFi booster as OP noted and the Winegard ConnecT 2.0 folks happen to have a data option as well.
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Old 12-15-2021, 07:37 PM   #25
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WiFi booster

I recommend the ALFA Wifi Camp pro 2. It doubles the wifi signal for me. Reasonably priced as well. Great support when needed.
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Old 12-15-2021, 07:46 PM   #26
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I recommend the ALFA Wifi Camp pro 2. It doubles the wifi signal for me. Reasonably priced as well. Great support when needed.
That is only a 2.4 GHz solution. Not compatible with 5 GHz networks.
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Old 12-15-2021, 08:30 PM   #27
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I'm thinking about a wifi repeater for our rig and just curious if anyone has some experience with boosting weak wifi signals which I understand are common in campsites with wifi. I use a Netgear wifi extender around the house but not sure if it will perform well inside the Thor. Anyone?

Thanks
RS
Usually problem with signals in RV places is capacity. If there are too many users then repeater will not help you.
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Old 12-15-2021, 08:47 PM   #28
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^^^^^ What he/she said. If the backend is the bottleneck, none of this helps. Boosters only help if the signal origin is poorly placed or blocked by an obstruction (e.g. trees, buildings, etc).

I'm at a campground with a multitude of wifi antennas placed throughout the park. One is fairly close. No trees or buildings to contend with.

The problem isn't signal distribution it's that the pipe is only so big. 170+ RVs, some with two or three winegards running, clogs the pipe. If the provider and back end equipment is shoddy (e.g. undersized), no amount of fancy equipment is going to help and effectively waste your money. You can see this with Wireshark.
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Old 12-15-2021, 10:41 PM   #29
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I use https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K6MHRJI ... small, open source, router/bridge ... I got it mainly so that I only had to set up 1 device and everything else in the rig (TVs, computers, gaming consoles, etc etc) were just on our local network and didn't need to be reconfigured.

It's pretty technical and sometimes a pain in tha arse but I can usually sign into and agree to whatever bull$hit agreements the wifi systems have on my cel phone, then clone the mac and make this device pretend to be my cel phone to access the wifi and repeat it onto our network.

Unless you are pretty technical, I would't recommend it but it is nice when it works.

I also agree that most places the wifi signal is fine .. it's the bandwidth to the internet that is lacking or gets squeezed when everyone tries to stream their netflix or porn or whetever else they are watching in their RVs

The other thing I have started using more since it's a lot easier is using my phone as wifi-repeater hot spot .... I walk around and find where the wifi is strong on my phone (galaxy s21 ulta) then do a hot spot with it for my own personal use if it's a safe place where I can leave the phone for a bit. I was actually surprised I could do a wifi to wifi hot spot (not using mobil data ... I disable mobile data just to make sure I don't accidentally start going on mobile cel data)
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Old 12-16-2021, 12:45 AM   #30
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Originally Posted by waynetaylor55 View Post
Our 28A came with the Winegard ConntecT 2.0 and since it sits on top of the RV, it works great!. WIFI Extender, Hotspot, HD OTA antenna.
Not much to add to the above statement. We use the same setup and the Winegard pulls WiFi sources in that aren't even visible on my laptop or phone.
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Old 12-16-2021, 01:32 AM   #31
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Originally Posted by The_Breeze View Post
^^^^^ What he/she said. If the backend is the bottleneck, none of this helps. Boosters only help if the signal origin is poorly placed or blocked by an obstruction (e.g. trees, buildings, etc).

I'm at a campground with a multitude of wifi antennas placed throughout the park. One is fairly close. No trees or buildings to contend with.

The problem isn't signal distribution it's that the pipe is only so big. 170+ RVs, some with two or three winegards running, clogs the pipe. If the provider and back end equipment is shoddy (e.g. undersized), no amount of fancy equipment is going to help and effectively waste your money. You can see this with Wireshark.
This clearly explains why "park WiFi" in a crowded area generally fails. It's not necessarily a weak signal, it's the number of concurrent users competing for bandwidth. You get a "data brownout" just like with electric.

This is same theory of "throttling" cell data. Although cheaper plans advertise unlimited data, your data faucet gets turned way down during high demand. But the park isn't throttling your data by choice... there's simply not enough bandwidth to go around.

No amount of "better antenna" or WiFi booster will improve that situation.
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Old 12-16-2021, 01:38 PM   #32
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I'm using a tp link ac1750 wifi extender, around $80.00.
Plugged it in to an outlet inside the coach closest to the parks wifi source.
So far it's worked great.
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Old 12-16-2021, 02:33 PM   #33
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I'm using a tp link ac1750 wifi extender, around $80.00.
Plugged it in to an outlet inside the coach closest to the parks wifi source.
So far it's worked great.
Do you find that you have 4g 5g mostly when traveling and can hotspot or been in areas with 1 bat or weak wifi and your device brings in stronger signal?
How does this advice handle logging in to campsite wifi which require account etc setup?

Trying to determine if good backup.
01 we use Verizon hot spot
02 have winegard at times 4g sim wifi does not detect campsite wifi or complex campsite legal login hard on winegard
03 just ordered t Mobile $50 unlimited 4g 5g home internet setup someone here posted today..and can use for all devices at home

Wonder if this is a good backup if no signal?
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Old 12-16-2021, 03:18 PM   #34
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Originally Posted by Scubawise View Post
Do you find that you have 4g 5g mostly when traveling and can hotspot or been in areas with 1 bat or weak wifi and your device brings in stronger signal?
How does this advice handle logging in to campsite wifi which require account etc setup?

Trying to determine if good backup.
01 we use Verizon hot spot
02 have winegard at times 4g sim wifi does not detect campsite wifi or complex campsite legal login hard on winegard
03 just ordered t Mobile $50 unlimited 4g 5g home internet setup someone here posted today..and can use for all devices at home

Wonder if this is a good backup if no signal?

What's 4G/5G got to do with the AC1750 or any WIFI extenders/repeaters?
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Old 12-16-2021, 03:27 PM   #35
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Usually have 4g when traveling, unless really out in the boonies, using Verizon.
Had no problem logging into the campground wifi with it here.
Able to stream video on our tv.
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Old 12-16-2021, 03:43 PM   #36
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Originally Posted by 16ACE27 View Post
What's 4G/5G got to do with the AC1750 or any WIFI extenders/repeaters?

They're on an entirely wrong vector here and the mixed use of 'g'and 'ghz' and the all but useless 5, both 5g and 5ghz, is not ok. They're not getting anywhere anyway.

I have that exact same extender.
It requires an admin password to attach to the sending router.

I'll need to see some real life numbers.
I think they've applied
just a placebo.

Mine, all of mine, require an admin password and a unique name .
Maybe, potentially, possibly, doubtfully, the admin password is the same as the riffraff password and owners of these extenders are going through all the setup steps without knowing theyre going through all the setup steps.

Or I've installed all of mine incorrectly.

Picture later today of my Wi-Fi screen and the many extenders.
For now, here's a picture with 5 or so of them.
The signal goes from the router,through a wall, 300ft through trees to the shop, through a wall with a 100amp panel attached to it, through another wall, to the extender and back through the same. The attached pic is some which make it back the 300ft for a total if 600ft of usable circle through dozens of pine and cedar trees. The others are pointed elswhere .

Life says:
I'm doing the 8 or 10 extensions wrong, or I was right in showing this thread what WILL work, the cell boosters so they they can hotspot.
Personally I hope it's me who is wrong. I'd love to skip the awful setup and just slap these into a outlet.


I'll accept either, but we can't except the BOTH many here are intertwining.
Many are just ignoring the excellent advice about the:
Clogged artery
of so many tadpoles in such a small milkshake, all trying to swim up the same straw which leads right back to the milkshake.

But my spousal unit has same confusion and it can't be fixed.
We have wireless internet coming through on a ubiquity setup.

'The internet is slow, it must be cell tower's
Me 'they have nothing to do with each other'
'But I heard they're working on the tower's
Me 'they dont even know each exist'
'Yeh, but the internet is slow'
'

Lord, I hope I've been doing it wrong.
Setting up an extender just to have it a week later say:
'What? You did the 20 minute setup they swear is a two minute click? No Way!'
Sucks.
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Old 12-16-2021, 04:44 PM   #37
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Regardless of how you receive the signal (WiFi, 4G, 5G carrier pigeon), ALL your options are severely limited by geographic location... PERIOD.

WiFi:
You are limited to (2.4 GHz band) up to 150 feet indoors and 300 feet outdoors. That means unsecured WiFi hotspots. Which means a metropolitan area (that's fun "camping"), or a campground close to a repeater. The quality of your data in ANY WiFi situation is dependent on the original data speed, concurrent users and distance from the transmitting antenna. Boosters and extenders might improve the SIGNAL, but will do NOTHING about the data transmission volume/speed... which accounts for 95% of the "slow internet" issue. Notice when your internet goes down at home, you're STILL receiving a nice, strong WiFi signal... the carrier wave just doesn't contain any data.

4G/5G:
You are limited to where the telcomm companies decide to create coverage areas.

The HARD TRUTH is that there are VAST areas in the U.S. with NO COVERAGE AT ALL, and with the current tower based infrastructure, no amount of hoping and wishing will change that. You can throw endless amounts of money at your "reception problem" buying extenders, repeaters, signal boosters, etc. But NOTHING will make a non existent signal appear from thin air!

Boosters are more effective with 4G telcomm tower signals - at least you're boosting a mostly homogenous received signal with 4G. However, with WiFi, you're trying to boost/amplify a typically heterogeneous signal - similar to magnifying a very blurry photo. It's STILL blurry!

So... if your travel/camping style is "must have internet", you are limited to areas where QUALITY DATA SIGNALS exist.
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Old 12-16-2021, 04:56 PM   #38
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Not to poo-poo the 300ft rule but:
One of my repeaters that sees open air with just one wall, reaches 1/2 a mile.
Degradation of speed, but entirely usable at about 2meg speed.

Look at 9 o'clock on that pic after you tap it twice.
See that long building?
$14 tplink reaches from there.
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Old 12-16-2021, 05:44 PM   #39
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A very cheap way of doing it is
I found a wifi travel router 39.95 on amazon. When I am at a site with internet I log into the travel router and scan the available wifi's in the area. Pick the one for the park, enter the key and all my devices are connected to internet and I don't need to do it to each one

TP-Link AC750 Wireless Portable Nano Travel Router(TL-WR902AC) - Support Multiple Modes, WiFi Router/Hotspot/Bridge/Range Extender/Access Point/Client Modes, Dual Band WiFi, 1 USB 2.0 Port

==Mike
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Old 12-16-2021, 06:08 PM   #40
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Not to poo-poo the 300ft rule but:
One of my repeaters that sees open air with just one wall, reaches 1/2 a mile.
Degradation of speed, but entirely usable at about 2meg speed.

Look at 9 o'clock on that pic after you tap it twice.
See that long building?
$14 tplink reaches from there.
Yep... line of sight signal propagation in "good conditions".

I've transmitted on the 2-meter HAM band with a handheld using 5 watts and hit repeaters over 10 miles away. But that's line of sight... on a clear day with no obstacles. And... NOT reliable - NOT dependable.

While you MAY get a signal with (somewhat degraded) carrier data, that's an atypical situation. May work... may not. Just like using studded tires on pavement in the summer... unless you're trying to plow through a pile of poo-poo...
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