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How to optimize my wifi reception while camping?

precioustime
Explorer II
Explorer II
What can I add or buy for my 34" motorhome to have better chances of being able to use my pc while in a campsite? I know many clubhouses have wifi reception but I want to use it while in my rv.
14 REPLIES 14

2oldman
Explorer
Explorer
op is gone
"If I'm wearing long pants, I'm too far north" - 2oldman

Dutch_12078
Explorer
Explorer
The metal pipes in the organ block the WiFi signal... ๐Ÿ˜‰
Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F53 chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
Bigfoot Automatic Leveling System
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/Blue Ox baseplate

NRALIFR
Explorer
Explorer
2oldman wrote:
ajriding wrote:
If you do, put it on the roof, not near your organs for goodness sake.
Huh?


Yeah, organs. Everybody knows that. :R



:):)
2001 Lance 1121 on a 2016 F450 โ€˜Scuse me while I whinge.
And for all you Scooby-Doo and Yosemite Sam typesโ€ฆโ€ฆโ€ฆ..Letโ€™s Go Brandon!!!

2oldman
Explorer
Explorer
ajriding wrote:
If you do, put it on the roof, not near your organs for goodness sake.
Huh?
"If I'm wearing long pants, I'm too far north" - 2oldman

ajriding
Explorer
Explorer
Sounds like you are asking about a wifi booster antenna.
If you do, put it on the roof, not near your organs for goodness sake.

missnmountains
Explorer
Explorer
If you are just trying to improve signal strength, an extender/booster works. We use the PDQ Connect on our RV and Boat.

However, as others said the access to the internet at campgrounds is sometimes useless. I always say; the campgrounds advertise "free wifi". Notice they do not say "free internet". ๐Ÿ™‚

Ken
2016 Newmar Dutch Star 4369

Our Blog: Lawrence Adventures

theoldwizard1
Explorer
Explorer
Johno02 wrote:
Buy a wifi hotspot from your celluar provider. Then all you need is good cell service, and it will work wherever you are.

Mobley. $20/month from AT&T

2oldman
Explorer
Explorer
Search: wifi antenna
"If I'm wearing long pants, I'm too far north" - 2oldman

MitchF150
Explorer III
Explorer III
How to optimize my wifi reception while camping?


Get your own private hotspot device and enjoy... All that "free" wifi stuff is just asking for trouble in the grand scheme of things..

Good luck!

Mitch
2013 F150 XLT 4x4 SuperCab Max Tow Egoboost 3.73 gears #7700 GVWR #1920 payload. 2019 Rockwood Mini Lite 2511S.

Matt_Colie
Explorer
Explorer
All of the above is very true.

Is this a one campground problem or an any campground problem?

If the campground WiFi is not out of bandwidth, (you can figure this out by looking at your WiFi client's (app) signal strength indicator) and you are just short of signal strength, then there is an inexpensive fix. There are several boosters on the market and I have had varying success with some, but a high power transceiver and better antenna will be a good fix. My favorite for the past few years has been the Alfa units. As 802.11 goes up, I buy a new one. This is a stand alone USB device that can have a much better antenna and as much as ten times the transmit power of your device.

If you can it, you can probably work with it.

But again, if you are out of bandwidth, use your phone as a hotspot and have a good data plan.

Matt
Matt & Mary Colie
A sailor, his bride and their black dogs (one dear dog is waiting for us at the bridge) going to see some dry places that have Geocaches in a coach made the year we married.

bob_nestor
Explorer III
Explorer III
MrWizard wrote:
Campground Wi-Fi
Is seldom good enough for anything more than social media
Email, Facebook, forums etc..
Seldom has enough bandwidth for streaming movies, even if you are sitting in the clubhouse, it is too many users trying to use the available bandwidth


And most of the campground WiFi installations I've looked at didn't do anything to optimize their setups. They typically just take it out of the box and turn it on in which case the first one or two users who get logged in can basically hog all the bandwidth. Of course if you're a hacker and are familiar with how to optimize the equipment they usually don't change the default Admin password either.

MrWizard
Moderator
Moderator
Campground Wi-Fi
Is seldom good enough for anything more than social media
Email, Facebook, forums etc..
Seldom has enough bandwidth for streaming movies, even if you are sitting in the clubhouse, it is too many users trying to use the available bandwidth
I can explain it to you.
But I Can Not understand it for you !

....

Connected using T-Mobile Home internet and Visible Phone service
1997 F53 Bounder 36s

Johno02
Explorer
Explorer
Buy a wifi hotspot from your celluar provider. Then all you need is good cell service, and it will work wherever you are.
Noel and Betty Johnson (and Harry)

2005 GulfStream Ultra Supreme, 1 Old grouch, 1 wonderful wife, and two silly poodles.

Lwiddis
Explorer
Explorer
Is your concern signal strength (mostly doable) or bandwidth (unfixable)?
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad