5GHZ wifi at campgrounds

I have read of a few Campgrounds using 5Ghz, however My New Chromebook LOVES it when I visit Denny's in Brusnwick.. I get about 5 GIABYTES of bandwidth if using just one device, about 4.5 using 2 That is GIGA BYTE (I still recall 300 Baud, that 300 BITS per second, in fact I've used 45.45 bits per second. .WOW)

However the manual for the HP Chromebook mentioned that 5G is for indoor use only as it seems (per them) that it interferes with Radar. Do not know if Police or Air or what but that's what HP says.

Campground owner says he's had visits from folks tracking down RVers using 5GHZ here in the park.. Not sure if I believe him but well. he's the landlord.

However.. As Is said. HP does, and Well, take that as you will.. There was a time when HP was not the most honest company . (Well I wonder who IS the most honest company.. Costco is a contender. I have seen comnpanies put stuff in their manuals where in fact I know the law and it's different.

jhilley wrote:
I installed WiFi in a campground. We did both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. We had enough APs that distance wasn't a problem. What worked out nicely for those that stayed longer is that they had more available bandwidth on 5GHz because the over night campers used the 2.4GHz. We are a WISP in the Red River Valley. At one time we covered 4,000 square miles with wireless Internet. We used Carrier Grade equipment and fed the APs at the campground from our CO over fiber.

I doubt you would find 5GHz at many campgrounds.

This sounds like a great campground to stay at if you do your work over the Internet :) Not many I'm guessing with a dedicated fiber feed coming in.

I installed WiFi in a campground. We did both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. We had enough APs that distance wasn't a problem. What worked out nicely for those that stayed longer is that they had more available bandwidth on 5GHz because the over night campers used the 2.4GHz. We are a WISP in the Red River Valley. At one time we covered 4,000 square miles with wireless Internet. We used Carrier Grade equipment and fed the APs at the campground from our CO over fiber.

I doubt you would find 5GHz at many campgrounds.

5ghz isn't a fit for a campground. 5ghz, 802.11ac, is designed for high density short distance applications. Like an array of access points with dual gigabit ethernet connections serving a dense cubical farm or sales floor consisting of hundreds of devices.

Another application is a PtP or PtMP backhaul, where the 2.4ghz band is crowded and going into a licensed band is too expensive. PtMP would work in a campground, but the client connection would still be from edge devices using the 2.4ghz band, for the reasons the OP mentions.

Parks that just plunk down 5ghz routers or access points without doing a site survey and working with a wireless engineer are just inviting frustration on their guests and themselves.

The one campground we stayed at that offered both did not have enough signal strength on the 5G side to get a good connection. The exact same connection to the 2.5G was great.

Because of the distance limitations you're not likely to find a lot of campgrounds using it. If they are, it's probably more trouble than it's worth. I have some outdoor access points on my property used for wireless surveillance cameras. One of them kept dropping so I contacted the manufacturer. It turns out it was on the edge of the 5 Ghz range and would drop when it tried to switch over from 2.5 Ghz. I disabled 5 Ghz on the AP and it's rock solid now. Personally I wouldn't go through the trouble of getting a 5 Ghz adapter if you already have 2.5. You're not going to have a noticeable improvement in bandwidth.

With CG wifi and/or LTE mobile hotspots, you will never find service with enough bandwidth to have 5ghz make a difference in your actual speeds. Maybe when 5G cell service is unleashed.........

westernrvparkowner wrote:
Most any newer device will be compatible with the 5GHZ channels. However, for the reasons you mentioned (lower ability to penetrate trees, walls, etc.) and the fact it is has shorter range to begin with, you won't find parks too interested in adapting it as an Access Point protocol. All devices that can use 5ghz are backward compatible to the more common 2.4ghz, so having a 5ghz device is no problem.

Thanks for the response! Our laptops are not 5GHZ compatible and I don't plan on replacing them anytime soon. Adding an external 5GHZ WIFI adapter that connects by USB or Ethernet would be a relatively inexpensive upgrade if there is anything to connect to.

Still interested in hearing what folks are seeing at campgrounds as they travel.

Most any newer device will be compatible with the 5GHZ channels. However, for the reasons you mentioned (lower ability to penetrate trees, walls, etc.) and the fact it is has shorter range to begin with, you won't find parks too interested in adapting it as an Access Point protocol. All devices that can use 5ghz are backward compatible to the more common 2.4ghz, so having a 5ghz device is no problem.

Based on what I remember seeing here: NO.
Unless your equipment needs to be replaced anyway.