amontanagl
Montana
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Thanks everyone for the idea's and suggestions....I will research everything suggested. Appreciate the help!
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valhalla360
No paticular place.
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amontanagl wrote:
So my questions are:
1. Would a mobile hotspot work for this type of camping situation?
2. If you use a mobile hotspot....which service provider do you have?
3. I don't think Wifi boosters or repeaters would work for us...am I correct in thinking this?
Thanks for any help!
Cindy
1. If you have no cell service, the hotspot won't work (a jetpack is basically just a cell phone that only does hotspot).
2. Verizon is probably the best coverage followed closely by AT&T. There are many resellers who use the primary networks.
3. They might work, particularly if you use a directional antenna. Both wifi and cellular are line of sight. A little bit of signal may go thru or leak around an object but really you want a clear straight view between antennas to get good range. A wifi repeater half way with a good line of sight will probably work. A remote cell antenna is going to depend on where the tower you are picking up is located. If you are down in a valley and the cell tower is in the next valley over, raising the antenna may do nothing.
A cheap test for cell height would be to tape a cell phone with hotspot to a pole and raise it up as high as possible. Then tap into the hotspot and see if it works better. If it works noticeably better, a cell booster raised up is likely a good option. If it still struggles, good chance a booster will still struggle.
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TechWriter
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amontanagl wrote:Thanks everyone for the idea's and suggestions....I will research everything suggested. Appreciate the help!
Also look at MIRC. They know what they're talking about.
2004 - 2010 Part Timer (35’ 2004 National RV Sea Breeze 8341 - Workhorse)
2010 - 2021 Full Timer (41’ 2001 Newmar Mountain Aire 4095 DP - Cummins)
2021 - ??? Part Timer (31’ 2001 National RV Sea View 8311 - Ford)
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j3ff9ack
Idaho/Montana
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amontanagl wrote:wa8yxm wrote:FMCA tech connect is 50/month plus 50 setup and the annual membership fee,Uses sprint/T=mobile NO LIMIT on date no throttling if you hit xxx Gig per month.
But like all cellular providers it is not 100 % coverage.. There are dead spots.
(Coverage among the bit 3,, AT&T, Verizon and the T-mobile family (T-Mobile, Sprint, Metro, Boost and a few others) is very close but the deadspots are different)
Star Link is, I believe, in Beta with their Low Earth Orbit satellites the chinease are type b itching about and that is about the limit of my knowledge.
Hughes net also works on Sats but Geo-Sync not LEO so the ping times are longer.
Thanks for the info...I do know that T-mobile sucks in the state of MT, so will stay away from anything that uses them. I am thinking that if I want anything it would have to be a satellite type setup.
Having lived in Montana or Idaho most of my life and all of the years that cellular service has even been available, coverage is spotty in the Mountain West at best. If you want consistent high bandwidth and low latency, you are probably going to need Starlink. They are working on the FCC waiver for mobile service. In the meantime, I use AT&T (phone hotspot) and Verizon (MiFi JetPack). Sometimes I have to drive to the top of a mountain to get one or two bars, but until Elon gets his waiver and equipment in place, that's about as good as it's gonna get.
https://arstechnica.com/information-tech........ized-terminal-for-extreme-heat-and-cold/.
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1492
Arlington, VA
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Here's a member's forum post suggesting "We have Starlink and travel extensively with it...".
It appears to violate Starlink's current TOS: "You acknowledge that you are only authorized to access Services at the location identified on your Order, and you will not divert the Starlink Kit or Services to any other locations,.." In which case, the risk would be Starlink could cancel your service.
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ford truck guy
Pennsylvania
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I joined Calyx Institute for my traveling wifi needs…. For the 1st year you pay $500/year and you receive a free hotspot and 12 months of UNLIMITED, NON THROTTLED wifi..
That’s $41/month first year…. Then you pay $400 per year, that’s $33/month..
I changed my membership last year to tge highest level… With that I pay $41/month for 5g wifi..**. BUT LIKE STATED ***. If cell signal is weak, these hotspots utilize cell signals and could be hit or miss depending on YOUR camping style…. We are able to muse ours about 100% of the time
Me-Her-the kids
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TechWriter
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I don't think so. According to the Starlink Reddit, people just change their Service Address and then move the dish.
However, two gotchas:
- There may not be Starlink service in the area you're moving to.
- If you return to your "home" base, there may not be an available spot for service. In other words, you could lose your Starlink home service.
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navigator2346
Wa and points South
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"1. If you have no cell service, the hotspot won't work (a jetpack is basically just a cell phone that only does hotspot)."
Not always true.I have been in spots on the east coast where cell service was dead but the hotspot worked fine. So, to make a phone call, I used SKYPE with the hotspot
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TechWriter
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amontanagl wrote:I am thinking that if I want anything it would have to be a satellite type setup.
Besides cell data service, there are a number of satellite data services:
STARLINK
Cost: $500 for dish. $99 monthly fee.
Speed:100 to 200+ Mbps (my average)
Mobility: Kinda sorta. You can move your Starlink dish by changing your Service Address. However, the area you're moving into may not have Starlink service. Also, when you may not be able to return to your "home" service.
Notes: Expect a 6-month to 1-year wait time to get your equipment. You'll need a clear view of the sky like my roof setup. Don't hold your breath for a truly mobile version of Starlink. Check Starlink Reddit for more info.
HUGHESNET (KU BAND)
Cost: Way too much for what you get.
Speed: 1 - 3 Mbps (at best)
Mobility: Ku-Band HughesNet ("your father's HughesNet") was made for RVing. Lots of Rvs had that dish with the blue light on their RV roof.
Notes: Ku-Band HughesNet is still available and service is typically supplied by iDirect.
HUGHESNET (KA BAND) -- Business Service, NOT Home Service
Cost: $1500 for equipment (dish, tripod, etc). Data Plans from $40 to $600/month.
Speed: 10 Mbps (my average speed)
Mobility: My .98M HughesNet Gen5 dish was a PITA to set up, but it was easy to aim, and ultimately always performed well. Rooftop automatic HughesNet Gen5 systems are available.
Notes: To reaffirm, this is the Business version of HughesNet Gen5, not the home version. FYI - the home version uses a .74M (29 in) dish while the Business HughesNet Gen 5 uses .90M (35 in) to 1.2M (47 in) dish. In this case, size does matter. Finally, you're locked into a 2-year commitment.
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1492
Arlington, VA
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TechWriter wrote:
I don't think so. According to the Starlink Reddit, people just change their Service Address and then move the dish.
I doubt Starlink is going to allow changing service addresses to each campsite visited? More likely, they will realize its being used as a mobile dish, and discontinue service.
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