Internet on the road

[mrkane]

What is the current recommendation for internet access?

I do not have a smart phone---only a pay-as-you-go phone, which usually remains in a drawer. Park wifi, when present, is often poor, and may incur extra costs. (This park uses Tengo at $3/day. Nearby truckstops are ~$4-5/day.)

Also when county hunting (a radio-sport activity for amateur radio operators) I pull over in a rest area or other wide spot to get on the air, typically away from habitations or other structures. It would be helpful to access the web in these cases.

Usage would likely be email and text web browsing, perhaps maps and weather radar, but not video streaming.

Are there recommended minimum-cost options for one essentially starting from zero?

Thanks--
M.R.Kane
1987 PT40 'Sleipnir'
currently near Livingston, TX

[ernie ekberg]

We had ATT, now Verizon. Since I'm doing this floor covering, gotta stay connected.

[mikebulriss]

(12-20-2013 18:27)mrkane Wrote:  Usage would likely be email and text web browsing, perhaps maps and weather radar, but not video streaming.

Are there recommended minimum-cost options for one essentially starting from zero?

Thanks--
M.R.Kane
1987 PT40 'Sleipnir'
currently near Livingston, TX

Hi Michael!

Those uses are what the spouse uses her iPad for. 2GB / mo at $25/ mo. No contract. Month to month. AT&T plan. She usually has spare capacity at month end even though 2GB doesn't seem like a lot.

Hope this helps.

[oldmansax]

WARNING and DISCLAIMER:
I sell this! Your mileage may vary! Terms and conditions may apply! Not responsible for accidents! Or on-purposes!

Now then..... I use an Autonet. In fact, we have 2 for the company & one for the bus & home. You buy the the equipment. It mounts in the car or bus or set it on the dash. It runs on 12 V. It has a wireless router and wired Ethernet built in. You can find out more at Autonet.com.

The speed is very good, not quite fast enough to stream video but enough to look at Youtube if you want. They supposedly have a bandwidth limit but the only time anything has ever been said to me was about one the ones we use for the business. It stays in the truck & on most of the time. We have burned up the bandwidth lots of times on that one. They finally asked us to go the the $59/mo plan instead of the $39/mo plan. You can start and stop the service anytime you want. No contract. You can also connect an external cell antenna if you frequent bad cell areas. I have thought about putting an external antenna on the TV antenna mount but never had time. I get enough signal for email pretty much anywhere on the East Coast and good service for everything else in most places.

I also have a Verizon device @ $79/mo but use the Autonet most of the time.

We bought a couple of these a long time ago & I only became a dealer because I liked them so much.

My prices are usually less the the open market.

I hope this doesn't violate any policies here. If so, I will still give Autonet a plug & just leave out the part about me selling them. They are a good company with a good product.

TOM

[davidbrady]

M.R.,

Here's what I run:

It's a Digi WR21 Gobi cellular modem and router. Gobi is the Qualcomm chipset that supports the different cellular standards, CDMA or GSM for instance. Lookup "gobi cellular modem" to see what's available in your price range. These modems have SIM sockets that allow you to plug in SIM modules for prepaid data plans of your choosing. No contracts and not tied to one single carrier.

http://www.neobits.com/digi_internationa...OgodHkAA-Q
http://www.embeddedworks.net/wwan376.html

If you wish to connect just a single pc you can choose from the various gobi aircards or mobile broadband cards available, but be careful of being tied to a single carrier or a contract:

http://mobile-broadband-services-review....dband.html

You can also plug your aircard into something like a cradlepoint router to handle multiple pc's on your mobile network:

http://www.cradlepoint.com/products/smal...and-router

[mrkane]

A quick look at Autonet and the Gobi device shows each to have equipment and start-up costs of ~$500, plus monthly fees of $40-60 dollars, dependent on usage. Correct??

Coverage maps show gaps where I spend a lot of time, for example the UP and west Texas. In this park, ATT gives only one bar, and often allows only 911 calls. Any experience with fringe area reception?

Thanks--
M.R.Kane
1987 PT40 'Sleipnir'
currently near Livingston, TX

[oldmansax]

(12-26-2013 21:14)mrkane Wrote:  A quick look at Autonet and the Gobi device shows each to have equipment and start-up costs of ~$500, plus monthly fees of $40-60 dollars, dependent on usage. Correct??

Coverage maps show gaps where I spend a lot of time, for example the UP and west Texas. In this park, ATT gives only one bar, and often allows only 911 calls. Any experience with fringe area reception?

Thanks--
M.R.Kane
1987 PT40 'Sleipnir'
currently near Livingston, TX

I sell to Bird owners & other select customers for $399. Fringe area reception is a tough call. One of the areas I stay in only gives me 1 bar on my Verizon Iphone. I can usually make a call if I'm out side of the Bird. I have a magnetic cell antenna I stick on top of the AC condenser & I can get mail, & web surf at reduced speeds. As I said, I have thought about putting an antenna on the TV mast but have not done it yet. I can surf with a 30% signal. Try getting on the roof & making a call. See if you gain a bar or 2. Also, there is one guy I know of using a cell amplifier with good results.

As far as bandwidth, I only have one customer (not including me) who is on the $59 plan and no one has ever complained about usage.

TOM

[cmillsap]

Mobile internet service as you travel can be easily attained through your smart phone without the hassle of tethering or using bluetooth.
Many smart phones such as Samsung Galaxy Note 2 now have the ability to set up a security enabled personal internet "hotspot". If it is not presently activated on your smart phone, call the provider and have it turned on, it's free. Type in the cell phone's network security key and password on your computer on the initial connection to your "hotspot" and you're good to go. On your cell phone you can name the devices (computers) you allow to use the cell phone's security enabled personal "hotspot". No one else around your "hotspot" will have access to it making it safe & secure.

[csprenger]

(12-29-2013 23:22)cmillsap Wrote:  Mobile internet service as you travel can be easily attained through your smart phone without the hassle of tethering or using bluetooth.
Many smart phones such as Samsung Galaxy Note 2 now have the ability to set up a security enabled personal internet "hotspot". If it is not presently activated on your smart phone, call the provider and have it turned on, it's free. Type in the cell phone's network security key and password on your computer on the initial connection to your "hotspot" and you're good to go. On your cell phone you can name the devices (computers) you allow to use the cell phone's security enabled personal "hotspot". No one else around your "hotspot" will have access to it making it safe & secure.

I've used the "hotspot" feature for some time. Works great. Just picked up my new Samsung Galaxy S4, and changed our service to the 4G plan. That's with Verizon. We were paying about $220.00/month, now down to about $160.00/month for two smart phones.

[mrkane]

Quote:I've used the "hotspot" feature for some time. Works great. Just picked up my new Samsung Galaxy S4, and changed our service to the 4G plan. That's with Verizon. We were paying about $220.00/month, now down to about $160.00/month for two smart phones.

I don't currently have a phone subscription, so this looks more expensive than the cellular modem approach. Most available plans seem to stack network cost onto the data cost, plus the phone hardware and minutes cost??

Hate to pay a lot, then get no connectivity in the areas where I go. How are these systems in Q?

Thanks--

M.R.Kane
1987 PT40 'Sleipnir'
currently near Terrell, TX