So on our recent journey, I found internet access where I could. Many commercial RV parks are offering this service and when we were parked in a state campground, I could usually find internet at an accommodating restaurant. Libraries are often access points and surprisingly enough, most Safeways offer free Wi-Fi…even when they don’t advertise it. I found Wi-Fi in Starbucks inside of Fred Meyer on the Oregon coast and at a KOA campground café. I saw signs for free Wi-Fi in bookstores, bars, coffee shops, travel centers, and even gas stations! It’s out there, it just is not always convenient.
One of the frustrations with this method of staying online, is that I often have to go somewhere other than my camping site to find a connection. One solution to that was doing my blog off line in Live Writer. I would do sometimes three posts at a time and then when I found internet I would upload all of them but schedule them to post automatically on different days. It’s very easy to do that in Blogger. If anyone doesn’t know how and is interested, just let me know and I’ll help you through.
The other thing that frustrates is the lack of a good signal. Sometimes I would get no signal at all inside the RV but could get one if I went outside. Our Lazy Daze is metal clad rather than having a fiberglass body and I think that makes a difference. It’s like trying to get a signal from inside an enclosed metal box.
Russ picked up a handy dandy little device at Radio Shack for just $49.95.
It is a simple signal booster. It can either be plugged directly into the USB port (if you are not inside a metal box!) or it can be plugged into the cradle and the long cord plugged into the USB port. Then I just dangle the thing outside the window! Bingo! In one place I had the signal strength go from “low” to “very good” and the speed go from 11 mbps to 22 mbps. Now that’s still not very fast but there are other factors that go into determining the upload and download speeds.
All in all I would say this was a good purchase. I used it whenever I was within range of a signal, sometimes even in restaurants where free Wi Fi was offered. It always improved the signal strength. I suppose if I was clever, I could find a way to mount it somewhere rather than dangle it out the window, but right now, dangling works fine! Simple.
Can’t wait for fall pictures again. These are from October 2009.
That's very interesting. I love traveling but I don't want to blog while traveling. I stayed a week in Ireland and week in South Shores this summer. Your pictures of fall are beautiful. We are going this weekend to the Ozarks this weekend to see the trees. Have a great time. Doylene
ReplyDeleteMy aircard is on a cord that takes up two USB plugs, and I often hang it outside the window to get better reception. Since I'm a fulltimer, the air card is mandatory for me. :)
ReplyDeleteI have an aircard too - it usually works, but The Palms has a fiberglass body. At one place I could get Internet even when my phone had no service. Go figure! I don't know if I could be a full-timer if I didn't have pretty reliable Internet.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm sure glad the internet has become so much better over the years. It is my lifeline.
ReplyDeleteI think my comment got lost.
ReplyDeleteLast night when we went up to the Alfa to sleep, I took my laptop with me to read on my Kindle ap for a while. When we discovered the leak I wanted to jump right on the internet and start looking for information. I amy be to dependent on my computer these days!
glad to hear the signal booster works for you!!!
ReplyDeleteI have a Verizon Air Card and love it. I am very attached to the Internet so enjoy the Air Card.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have found a good solution. WE have both and air card and droid X that can create a wi fo signal and there are still some places where the connection is marginal:(
ReplyDeleteNice simple fix for your reception problems. I have a signal booster for our Verizon Air Card but, so far, I've never had to use it - I hope that luck continues!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found a wifi signal booster that was reasonably priced. We have one, too, but we paid around $80 for ours a few years ago. Maybe they've come down in price? There are still lots of places where we can't get a wifi signal. We don't have an aircard, but we can hookup our droid phones up to the computer and get on the internet that way. But sometimes we can't get a Verizon signal, even with a cell phone booster, so it's not a perfect system.
ReplyDeleteWe've been very lucky with our Verizon Air Card so far with about a 95% success rate. Lucky, considering we are not always around populated areas. Have had several signal boosting devices with limited success.
ReplyDeleteCan't imagine being on the road for any length of time without internet. We try not to let it rule our lives, but .... :-)))
ReplyDeleteA signal booster would probably be a help sometimes, but we haven't gone to that yet. When we travel we have two laptops with us, and the Verizon MiFi is ideal. It will support up to five computers on line at the same time. At home in Benson, we have the two laptops in the casita, and the desktop in "house" (our park trailer with metal walls). So far we have only been able to connect two computers with the MiFi at home, so we cannot just put the MiFi in one location and leave it there. We have to schlep it back and forth.
ReplyDeleteI use an Alpha booster that I bought on line last year, and it also works very well. It has a little case that it fits into, and the case has a suction cup on the back so I can just hang it in the window. Works for me. We love the fall picture too.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a good purchase and a good fix to a sometimes frustrating problem. Great job!
ReplyDeleteCan you tell us what this booster is called, and a product number if you have it. It sounds very useful for on-the-road use.
ReplyDeleteVirtual hugs,
Judie
Hi Judie - don't see an email for you...but the signal booster is Netgear brand. Sorry, I threw the box away so don't have a number. Got it at Radio Shack. There are lots of such devices at various costs so you might want to do some research to find what's best for you. Good luck.
ReplyDelete