WiFi

[Barry J]

We are in a campground that has crappy WiFi. Our park model stays at this campground. What would you recommend for a WiFi booster that we can use to increase the strength of the WiFi.
Thank you Barry

 

[CaptainGizmo]

Hi Barry,

We're gonna need a few more pieces of information to help you.

1. What, if any, system do you already have in your coach; ie. WiFi Ranger?
2. Are you trying to grab the CG WiFi with a Cellphone, iPad, Laptop?

Please confirm that what you are trying to do is: PICK UP the weak signal of the CG's wifi signal and bring it into your coach.
This may seem "techie" or a "nit-pick", but it's RIDICULOUSLY IMPORTANT and sooo many people I help can't understand the fact that...IF THE WIFI IS CRAPPY WHERE YOU ARE...there's really not anything you're going to be able to do to improve it. PLUS, even if you DO grab that weak signal, and "bring it into your coach", the connection speed and reliability will be crap.

I can tell you, I spent HOURS helping/teaching my cousin about this last month. He thought that, just because he bought a "booster", that it would solve all his problems...and it didn't.

What was SO confusing for him, was he saw a FULL STRENGTH SIGNAL on that booster wifi network. Which, of course, meant nothing, because even though the booster was right in front of him...even IT COULDN'T pull in the poor wifi from the CG.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Barry J]

We are trying to use IPhones , IPad and chrome books...but mostly, have a camera that we want to set up to watch the dog. We have Verizon and unlimited data plans. I was talking to a lady down the street and she has a jetpack
when trying to connect the camera to WiFi , it would not, but took it home and it took 2 minutes to connect

 

[CaptainGizmo]

You’ve got a few moving parts here.

Jet packs are LTE cellular, so a “WiFi booster” is irrelevant for that usage.

Cameras take bandwidth and you’ll be in a world of hurt connecting to 99% of CG networks, even if your were parked10 feet from their repeater/antenna.

Rather than take you through all the steps and thought processes to making your own network, it’s best you jump into the Internet for Dummies thread, here. It will give you a lot of education. It will also help you avoid spending money and getting the wrong outcome.

There are a handful of guys who have set up very nice little networks with cameras.

Personally, the easy suggesting is what I’ve done. Buy a PepWave BR1 Max which creates my own network to which ALL devices connect to; just as with your home network. Any time I need to, I can have it connect to an outside wifi network. But, as o stated above, the instances in which ANY CG network has been able to support anything more than a little bit of streaming has been non-existent. What’s needed on the PepWave is a solid carrier; so that means multiple SIM cards.

This is why many folks prefer to just use a “jet pack” and use it as a hotspot. It’s a bit simpler.

Sorry there’s not an “one stop” solution.

 

[Barry J]

is using my iPad as a hotspot also an option? As long as my camera will Connect to it

 

[bpaikman]

I’m no wifi expert, but this is how I understand it. CG WiFi is like a garden house with a spigot at each campsite. The idea is that people are getting a drink of water (I.e. checking email and tomorrow’s weather).... and then they Turn Off the Spigot. But there’s a few that try to water their lawns all night or fill a swimming pool (i.e. stream movies, run cameras, heavy-duty website usage, like gaming) and the water pressure stays low. you can get a bigger spigot, or connect a line directly to the main outlet, but it won’t make more water come out when everyone’s using water. CG Wifi is intended for light use only - I’m thinking they expect people to have their own water sources for lawn watering and swimming pools anyhow.

__Your own private wifi:
...through Jetpack (your own private, clean water source - way more secure -you create your own password) that gets “water” from your internet provider I used Jetpack for a couple years - as long as I had Verizon signal, I could get internet.
...Your phone as a hotspot (also ’clean water’ -i.e., secure, your-password protected).

I don’t trust passwords from any campground or hotel. People get the pw’s , or sometimes just guess it, and drive up, sit in their cars, and use the wifi. I know - I do it occasionally (legitimately, briefly) at public wifis like libraries.

Both jetpack and phone hotspot are the same, but the Jetpack might allow more devices to connect (never tested that) and it does have its own battery. If you’re running a camera and want to go shopping or sightseeing, and take your phone with you, you can’t be using it to ‘get water’ from the internet for your thirsty cameras.

Beware: The ”water“ that I’m getting through Verizon, either by Jetpack or my phone, is ‘prepaid’ by my data plan, so when I go over that, the rates jump tremendously.
Before every trip, I used to upgrade my data plan for a few weeks - I just had to remember to downgrade it to normal cell usage when we returned,.

When I get home, I have cable internet (an even bigger spigot than Verizon locally), and I don’t use hotspots.
Hope I got it right, and hope it’s understandable and not too long.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

is using my iPad as a hotspot also an option? As long as my camera will Connect to it

If your carrier allows you to use it as hot spot and the hardware and software is there then probably. ask your carrier and apple if your model will work that way.

also low res cameras don't require as much band width as Hi res units do. also the video format and compression can make a huge difference as to how much infrastructure is needed.