WI-FI EXTENDER IN A FW

First your FW is a tincan that blocks signals so you need an external antenna or put the extender in a window aimed at the park wifi antenna. I have on the roof a Hawkings Dipole connected to a Smart Repeater router inside.(Google both) Works great to picking up wifi signals. Do a scan and select the park cg to connect with. However this is all dependent on the strength of the signal from the cg and if there is anything in the way of the park antenna to your antenna. Wifi does not travel very far and doesnt like to be blocked by trees, rv's etc and if the rigs between you and the park wifi are streaming HD Netflix, their bandwidth might not be enough for you to get much, as well. We need internet for work and this system helps us get away with less stress.

Happy Trails!

I can check my usage by clicking on settings (lower R) and then on the wifi singal strength bar graph and then R click on it to show usage. Like you I do not stream movies and in the last 60 days at home I've used 12 GBs. This past winter as snowbirds on a slower connection I used 10 GB in 60 days but this is while sitting still. On the road traveling it would probably be half that or less.
*I use this USB WiFi adapter with a Yagi antenna for less than $35 as it usually increases the signal strength 5 fold.

I use my phone as a wifi hotspot all the time. I use a Wilson sleek amplifier and a trucker antenna mounted on the ladder on the back of my rig. My wife is taking online courses to get her masters in pharmacy infomatics and has to study when we are camping. Works well. You just have to watch your data used.

I've just recently purchased and set up the equipment described on this blog:

Signal booster and more!

I'm on the road on a 6 week trip, and I've used it a couple of times and it's working well. I like adding a layer of security for when I have to do a few banking chores.

If you watch the video, you'll see that it requires a certain level of computer skill, but if you can handle it, it's a great option for under $100. But, as clearly pointed out, all you are doing is amplifying the campground signal. Most of the time, there isn't anyway that you are going to stream video using the internet signal provided by campgrounds.

This is just one option. I don't have any experience with tethering via a smart phone. And, I've never wanted to get into the expense of any dish based system.

We also use the hotspot on our phones. We get 5gbs per month and have never gone over that, no streaming just emails etc. as stated using parks wifi is dependant on other peoples usage, and it can get real slow! Also, you are on a "public" network and shady types could hack into your devices and get personal info. Only drawback is occasionaly signal strenght is low, so internet speeds are down, this has happened to us only twice in the last six months so it is not a big issue.

I use a Verizon Mi-Fi and Wilson Sleek.
I can use the Sleek for either my cell phone or my Mi-Fi.

We usually just tether the the laptop to the phone. Several downloads available onTHIS site. Pdanet does a pretty good job for droids.

*Technology Corner* forum (here) will yield more info.

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Thanks guys for all the info, it sure gives me a lot to think about. If anyone has any ideas or thoughts, please let me know.

I do have another question. If, I use my cell phone as a hot spot, is it secure? Can I keep others from logging onto it or my computer? I am going to investigate the stuff you guys gave me to look at.

TGPILOT wrote:
Thanks guys for all the info, it sure gives me a lot to think about. If anyone has any ideas or thoughts, please let me know.

I do have another question. If, I use my cell phone as a hot spot, is it secure? Can I keep others from logging onto it or my computer? I am going to investigate the stuff you guys gave me to look at.

I use Foxfi (part of PdaNet +) and it has WPA2 security feature.

More info here: foxfi info

Fred