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Old 05-06-2014, 07:26 AM   #1
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RV Internet

For you computer guys out there. For years I've been trying to setup a robust RV network for when we're in campgrounds with WiFi. Previously, I used a wireless ethernet bridge to receive the signal from the campground and send that into a wireless router for everyone to share. While this does work, it's not intuitive to setup and operate, in fact I seem to be the only one who get's it.

So... Onto my thought.

I have a bunch of old laptops laying around and I was playing with internet sharing. I can hookup an external USB / PCMIA wireless adapter with external antenna, then use the wired connection to feed the router and setup internet sharing. The advantage of this is it can be setup by anyone, since all that would need to happen is boot the computer and access the park wi-fi, the rest would already be setup.

Ultimately, since I have mostly Mac's and iPads, I would like to get an old Mac-Mini, load it with Slink so I can use Bonjour services remotely on my iPad! I just tested this and it *almost* works, have a question to the publisher of the product to see if I can get it going.p

What are your thoughts on how you provide access to all your wireless devices?
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Old 05-06-2014, 08:55 AM   #2
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If I understand this correctly you are trying to both boost the CG wireless and then share the connection.

Networking 101, the speed and performance is only as good as the smallest pipe in the system. That's usually going to be the CG's wireless access point or their incoming service.

Second, to me the wireless bridge is a far simpler solution that fooling around with old laptops. Not to mention that the throughput for sharing would really slow down the connection speeds.
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Old 05-06-2014, 09:29 AM   #3
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iPhones with hotspot feature.
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Old 05-06-2014, 10:14 AM   #4
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We use a repeater from JEFA Tech, it works great when we have the bandwitdth. I use my old PC my wife has her MAC and daughter uses her ipad. when we have poor connection to the campsite wifi, I hook up my hotspot on my iphone to the repeater and everyone can use the same connection.
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Old 05-06-2014, 11:30 AM   #5
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Previously, I used a wireless ethernet bridge to receive the signal from the campground and send that into a wireless router for everyone to share. While this does work, it's not intuitive to setup and operate, in fact I seem to be the only one who get's it.


Pretty much the Ethernet Bridge is your best option. Not sure as to why there is an issue. We get to the camp ground, set up the TT, and then I access the wireless bridge, 3 clicks and it is connected to the CG's AP.

On all the devices (tablets, iPhone, laptops, Slingbox) the TT's Wi-Fi router is already set up and all they have to do is select it from their devices. All the work, as easy as it is, is between the Ethernet Bridge and the CG AP, 3 clicks and its connected. That is unless yours is a little more difficult.

The benefit of the eth.. Bridge is its power, and you can select any of the CG's AP’s, and I usually go for the one with the least number of TT's, which usually gives me the most bandwidth.

I assume that your Ethernet Bridge was a high power one (400mw+), correct? I leave my Bridge unit at about ½ max power for campgrounds. The one campground we normally stay at (believe it or not) has 20Mb on each of its AP’s, most others max out at 10Mb all combined.

Without the Bridge, we were not able to use our Slingbox, so the DW knows exactly what needs to be done when we get to the CG.. select the TT's Wi-Fi on her devices. No complaints yet!

The best connection I got (line of site - distance wise) was in Colorado and we were over a mile away from a Home Depot store. Since they get most of my money it was a fair trade, their Wi-Fi for my customer $$. We were even able to watch the Slingbox (local base ball games, home DVR) with no breakup.

If you click on this link it shows my Wi-Fi setup. http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/album.php?albumid=328

Good Luck
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Old 05-06-2014, 12:24 PM   #6
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Maybe that's my problem, the age of my bridge and that it's 802.11b only and not very high power. Which model bridge do you have, I'd like to look it up?
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Old 05-06-2014, 01:08 PM   #7
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I have the EnGenius EOC5611P, 500Mw, b,g.

Here is the website for EnGenius, there are a lot of models but I believe the enh202, or the enh200 are probably the best ones for the job. I have only encountered one CG that had 802.11 n, most have b & g.

These new models are I believe 800Mw and good for 2 miles line of site for somewhere around $80. Mine is an older 500Mw, but it still gets the job done.

http://www.engeniustech.com/business/Directory/business-networking/outdoor-access-points-client-bridges_c89_m331/

These also have directional antenna's, unlike mine. So you could mount it on a piece of PVC to your ladder like mine and just twist the unit on top of the PVC for best reception.
I am totally happy with the EnGenius series; I have had mine for a few years and no issues.

There are others on the market that you may want to look at. Down load all their user docs and compare. What ever you decide to get, get the outdoor model unit.

Good Luck,
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Old 05-07-2014, 06:51 AM   #8
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It looks like your model has been replaced by EnGenius ENH500.

Your unit is mounted inside but the unit above looks to be weather proof? Is there a reason you mounted it this way? You also have a router inside according to your other thread. Do you need an external antennae?

I am trying to find a simpler setup. Ideally one unit that would server as an extender and local wireless for a couple of laptops. Is there such a beast?

Thanks.
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Old 05-07-2014, 07:27 AM   #9
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Way over my pay grade! If there is CG wifi available to your, what is the advantage to others getting access that requires you to set up anything. I guess if I was running my business while in the RV or living on the social networks I might benifit from what you are doing, but as a "Not" power users, I often drive to the camp store or ranger station to get a stronger connection and catch up on my emails and the news. There is no room allocated in my TT for extra laptops or net devices, my little netbook is the extent of my tech equipment.
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Old 05-07-2014, 11:32 AM   #10
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Anyone remember going camping with no cell phones, internet or TV????? And, sleeping in a tent???? What has the world come to? Well spoken as I sit in my new 5th wheeler in a campground with free wireless I am sending this on from my new Microsoft Surface Tablet and watching the pre-draft hoopla on my direct TV high definition Satellite!!!!! Go BUCS!
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Old 05-07-2014, 12:06 PM   #11
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Quote:
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It looks like your model has been replaced by EnGenius ENH500.
Quote:
Originally Posted by reitrof View Post
Your unit is mounted inside but the unit above looks to be weather proof? Is there a reason you mounted it this way? You also have a router inside according to your other thread. Do you need an external antennae?

I am trying to find a simpler setup. Ideally one unit that would server as an extender and local wireless for a couple of laptops. Is there such a beast?
Thanks.
Yes, the EOC 5611P is weather proof and can be mounted outside. On my old TT, I had it mounted on the Tv antenna arm. The 5611 is a dual band, 5 GHz and a 2.4 GHz bands. You do not need the 5 GHz band, as CG’s and current laptops/tablets/phones use 2.4GHz.

The internal antenna on my 5611 is only for 5 GHz, so I have the 2.4 GHz on an external antenna (mounted on rear ladder (see Wi-Fi album), just swing it up into position when needed). I have a cat 5 cable running from the 5611P (rear storage area) to the TT's Wi-Fi router (runs 24/7) in the front storage compartment and all the electronic toys have access to it. This layout worked best for our TT layout. The newer units are weatherproof and have an antenna mounted on the unit.

Some of the newer units have (2) - 2.4 GHz trans/receivers in them and can operate at the same time (different channels- transparent to the user). So one could be set up to connect to the CG’s AP, the other would be set up as your TT Wireless Wi-Fi router. Some of the newer units also have a high-speed hardwire port on them also.

This is the setup that I decided was best suited for our current Wi-Fi needs.
I am currently working on using the 2nd unit’s 5GHz band for my SlingBox Laptop. This way the SlingBox’s streaming data (from home) will not interfere with the regular 2.4GHz data to the laptops/toys.

CG’s WiFi >> EOC5611P >> D-Link Wi-Fi Router >>Laptops, iPhone, Tablets
D-Link Wi-Fi Router >5GHZ 5611>>> SlingBox Laptop/TV
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Old 05-07-2014, 12:38 PM   #12
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Way over my pay grade! If there is CG wifi available to your, what is the advantage to others getting access that requires you to set up anything. I guess if I was running my business while in the RV or living on the social networks I might benifit from what you are doing, but as a "Not" power users, I often drive to the camp store or ranger station to get a stronger connection and catch up on my emails and the news. There is no room allocated in my TT for extra laptops or net devices, my little netbook is the extent of my tech equipment.


Here is the fun part of it..

I get a text message saying someone is at my front door, I click on my remote security cameras and see who it is, I can even ask them what they want, and a photo of them was saved on a secure server away from the house. In the morning I can check to see if the computer watered the garden at 7:30AM as programmed. I can check the soil moisture to see if it was watered enough, if not I can turn the garden sprinklers (fed from the 8 rain barrels) on for a little bit and turn them off. I can turn off/on the city water supply to the house, from the TT, I can tell you the water pressure, or if there is a leak in the system. On Tuesday, if the backyard motion sensors fail to send me a text message, that means the lawn service did not arrive. I look at a different camera and see if it was cut or not. If they did not arrive yet, I can send a picture of the long grass with a text message to the lawn care service. I can look at my thermostat and see how the inside of my house is doing. In Florida, the temp should not exceed 80 degrees in the house or you could encounter mold, so I check/change the current temp/humidity, and how active it was that day or any past day. I can tell you the attic temperature/humidity, if the attic fan is working, the temperature in my fridge/freezer. I can look at my tv schedule (Tampa Bay RAYS) and watch them at the CG using the SlingBox that sends the home cable box output over the internet to the TT.
And on the way home, I can tell the thermostat to lower the temp to 74, so that it is not hot in the house when we arrive.

All this, but how often do I use it. Not often, but it is nice to know that I can check these things anytime I want and they will let me know if something is wrong. So being away from the house for 4-6 months is not an issue.
The only item I do not want to see is a text message from my alarm company....

Most of the above mentioned items will automatically let me know if something is wrong.. less worry.. when gone for extended lengths of time.

Can you tell, ELECTRONICS/Home Control is my hobby?

Poor wife... :-)

Don
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Old 05-07-2014, 02:11 PM   #13
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Don,

Your last name wouldn't be SkyNet would it?

I must say I'm very impressed and hope to use what I learned from this thread.
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Old 05-07-2014, 04:26 PM   #14
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I call my neighbor. LOL
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Old 05-07-2014, 06:15 PM   #15
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I have a house sitter who collects the mail and keeps an eye on things. Can be reached via cell or email that i check at least once per day. On our last trip 2 of our credit cards were cloned and we were notifed by both banks via email. They had blocked the old cards, pended the suspect charges, and with my confomation they UPS'ed new cards that I got in 2 business days. No harm and no loss. I have more fun fishing and walking the dogs than checking the wetness of my lawn or the whatnot.

Hobbies are just that. This is not one of mine. I still have a "dumb" cell phone.
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Old 05-07-2014, 06:46 PM   #16
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I still have a "dumb" cell phone.

I had to laugh. We would still have my Verizon flip phone, but the kids were bent out of shape because they could not text us. So my son was upgrading his iPhone 4 to a 5 and made me take his old iPhone 4. It has its benefits, but I do not like the small screen. Now they get mad because I don't turn it on 1/2 the time. Can never please them.

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Old 05-08-2014, 03:16 AM   #17
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I had to laugh. We would still have my Verizon flip phone, but the kids were bent out of shape because they could not text us. So my son was upgrading his iPhone 4 to a 5 and made me take his old iPhone 4. It has its benefits, but I do not like the small screen. Now they get mad because I don't turn it on 1/2 the time. Can never please them.

Don
No texting on my dumb phone or wife's little smarter phone. We turned off texting feature [at the service carrier] because we don't text and people were starting to text spam to her phone. The kids got over it. They learned to call or email if they really wanted to communicate. We dont care about what someone has for lunch or how bored they are in traffic.

Just like our parents, but we do own several flat screens. My hobby is Sat Tv. Love the 211z for Dish in our 14 whitehawk. Added hard drive [now thats hi tech] and volla I have a DVR.

Opps, time to call the house sitter and have her check the moisture in the lawn and check the batteries in my 3 trailcams that guard my front and rear entrances. I may not catch them, but I'll have their liscense # when I get home and call the police.
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Old 05-08-2014, 06:17 AM   #18
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New item I was told about. I talked to the designer/manufacturer yesterday. They also make an add on for those electronic devices that need a cable.

Gonna pick one up myself and I can report on it at a later time.

http://rvaccessorynews.com/2014/03/1...ignal-booster/
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Old 05-08-2014, 08:07 AM   #19
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So a lot of this is good technical AND personal information which has helped me with a decision.

I was really caught up on making the RV similar to my home. I mean, I have satellite TV, Gas Grill, Microwave etc... and forgot why I bought the thing in the first place, and that is to get away from my home.

While having 3 kids, I do think that there needs to be some electronic entertainment for the rainy day, I don't want to enable them to have the same habits on the road as they do at home, however I have to recognize that the internet IS a part of life which really can't be ignored. So what I have decided:

I purchased a Bearextender for Mac. This will allow me to have my Mac access the internet when needed. Also if needed, I can share that connection with the other devices such as iPad's and such, but it won't be a persistent connection for anyone to get "caught up" in non-participation with the camping experience.

The creative ideas which were presented here are really awesome and certainly answered the question, but I also really appreciated the grounding on what I am doing here as well. Sometimes I get caught up in the tech of it with the challenge to be seamless that I forgot I wanted to get away from that in the first place!
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Old 05-08-2014, 08:19 AM   #20
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Great point. I too go to get away.
Having to deal with stuff like grass growing when I am away takes some of the fun out of it for me but many are not bothered by it.

We have access but it is a challenge to not become so engrossed in it that you don't enjoy where you are.
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