Internet Signal Booster

By that you mean a WiFi signal booster ?
Or something else ??

Yes I am interested in a WiFi signal booster.

There is a electronics store in Mazatlan it is Steren Electronics. Google Steren Mazatlan for directions and phone number. They should carry one.

Hey Hpymls,

I have a background designing and implementing wireless networks and would love nothing more than to come down to Mazatlan and give you a hand. I just need to get the snow shoveled out of my driveway first....... :(

Seriously, be cautious when shopping for a "Wi-Fi Booster" as there is a ton of "snake oil" and misinformation.

I spent over 6 years full time in my RV traveling to jobsites all over the country for contract network projects. My technical background and my social nature led me to helping out MANY fellow RV'ers with Wi-Fi troubles.

I saw all sorts of stupid, useless junk sold to folks by the 19 year old "expert" at Best Buy.

What worked best for most folks that I ran into was to install a quality external Wi-Fi client radio. The best performing setup I saw was a Ubiquiti NS2 radio installed on the crank up TV antenna. The gentleman did not use the TV antenna so he fabricated a simple bracket that mounted the radio to the top of the TV antenna and, when he stopped, he would crank it up and aim it at the nearest access point.

Beware of "Boosters" that receive and rebroadcast the Wi-Fi signal. I won't go into a longwinded explanation (unless you ask) but they work poorly in a nice "quiet" environment. When you introduce them into a "noisy" environment like an apartment building, college dorm or RV park they become very trouble prone. I won't say that they don't work just that they generally don't perform anywhere close to the manufacturers claims.

As is true of a lot of things posted on forums......

It would be better to give some details of the situation.
That often makes for better answers.
It sometimes reveals that the wrong question was asked.

IF there is not a reliable WiFi available relatively close by, no kind of booster is going to help.

If cell phone service is reasonably good, doing a WiFi hotspot with the phone might be the best answer.

We use a hot spot from AT&T since some of the camp grounds have very small or weak WiFi systems and do tend to get crowded in the evenings, this solved our problem, granted it is a phone line but it works even on the road as long as there is a cell tower in the area.

navegator

navigator - Does using a phone for a hot spot use time on a service plan? Will go to a Steren Electronics store in Mazatlan to see what I find out about a booster. Thanks everybody.

Hpymils wrote:
navigator - Does using a phone for a hot spot use time on a service plan?

Yes. It uses the same amount of data time as if you were doing your surfing on the phone itself.

But if you are not streaming audio or video it really doesn't take much.....unless you are on it ALL the time or you have a real stingy data allotment.

This probably won't help much in Mexico but if things don't work out and you can't find what you want there is a device we have been using for a few years that works great for us made by a company named ALFA. We have gotten a couple from a place in FL that gives very good customer service . . . http://store.rokland.com/ . . . I wouldn't buy from anyone else since the people there seem to really understand these things and provide good advice and customer support - unusual for a product that costs less than $30! Email them and tell them what equipment you have and what OS and tell them what you want to accomplish and they will get back to you with advice.

Our experience has been that one of these will increase the number of bars we see and also will pick up signals that we were not seeing before. In many RV parks all over US, Canada, Mexico we can sit in our RV and be online while others have to go to the park office to get a signal - or go into town to find a place with decent WiFi. This is not a miracle but will provide a better internet experience in many cases.

We recently got a new computer with Windows 10 and could not get an old ALFA to work so contacted them and they told us of a new download and gave instructions how to install and get it to work. We have been very pleased with these products and Rokland for several years.

I have a booster from Hawking Communications, paid $59 CDN for it last year. I have had no problems using Windows 10 and have usually had a great signal with it where others keep getting dropped or have no signal. Would highly recommend it, keeps us happy not frustrated unless, of course, there is no signal at all around but then what can one do.