Campground WiFi

MiRV wrote:
Does anyone have a good solution for long range wifi (i.e. bullet 2m) that really works? I'm looking at installing a wifi long range solution (similar to some used on yachts) to help me get a good wifi signal from free hotspots. Normally, there are several free hotspots within a few miles of most CGs.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Follow this link to my long distance WiFi solution.
I have made line of sight connections up to 4 miles.

Richard

Dog Folks wrote:
"Why haven't the CGs gotten into the 21st century with wifi across the park?"

Because they want to attract campers but don't want to spend the big money it takes for a good system.

DING,,We have a winner.....

I have two campgrounds I visit where I have had chats with the staff.

The one I'm in now.. He has a wide coverage antenna that would greatly improve coverage where I am (But then I have a long range antenna so I'm at 40 percent saturation on the limiters (A very very good signal) as a r****.. the antenna is 20 feet up a flagpole though,, and directional).

He said he does not have enough bandwidth to hook up the good antenna.

The other one has a park wide network of repeaters, but turned it off cause they use Verizon 2-way satellite... I have suggested a couple companies they should check out (Excide would work well for them).

A third park I frequent has "Park wide Wi-fi" only it only covers about 3/4 the park.. and in the summer it's dang near useless TOO MANY CLIENTS.. in the late fall when I was last there.. Lightening would not move that fast if greased,, It was FLYING, No problems streaming multiple videos if I wished..

But it is a fact that they want to be able to say "Free Wi-FI" or at least "Wi-FI" but they don't want to pay the bucks needed for enough bandwidth.

Oh, I have streamed video here too, Even though he says "Not enough bandwidth"

The room next to the router closes at 8pm.

I stream one hour a week, starting at NINE pm.

I have found that if you pay $400 a month the wifi isn't so good but if you pay $1000 a month for your RV site then the wifi is much better.

IMHO campground owners don't want to spend the $$$ to put in a good WiFi system. They realize that more and more RVers are getting smart phones or something like MiFi and realize that the demand for a good WiFi system will be decreasing.

If I was a park owner I couldn't justify the expense.

we traveled from south Texas to northern Minnesota this spring and summer using a Verizon MiFi JetPack as our "hotspot". We had great service everywhere and some of the places were pretty far out in the boonies. Cost was $50 a month for 5gig..well worth the money.

I give up on trying to keep finding good access to the internet from the various campground WIFI signals.

I now use VERIZON MIFI which gives me a great HOTSPOT range around my trailer and various WIFI enables devices that goes where I go...

This works anywhere you have a Verizon Cell Phone signal which for the most part is just about everywhere.

This is also a very secure connection to the internet for which I can keep in touch with my family, send and receive emails, pay on-line bills, and surf the internet.

Of course it isn't free but from what we have seen around the country side is it is most dependable.

Roy Ken

YUP Cost plane and simple.
IF you want decent secure, get your own mifi card either from Milencom or your cell provider. Most prefer either Milencom or Verizon for their coverage nearly everywhere.

They have not installed them because a "good" system is very expensive. Even if they can get the system setup to properly share the signal with everyone, the service is often not available to the campground itself or if it is can be very expensive to purchase enough bandwidth to serve everyone. Lastly, there are the bandwidth hogs who believe they are somehow entitled to do whatever they want on whatever connection they have which bogs the system down for everyone else.
Now, as to a long range antenna, I think you will be very disappointed if you try to find an antenna that will get you to those hot spots "miles" away. There are some very sophisticated Yagi style antennas that will have to be manually pointed in the appropriate direction (if you can figure out the right direction) that will get you a mile out or so but most of the omni directional antennas like a Bullet will simply make the local wifi one that will not drop out or possibly bring in a nearby (1/4 mile or so) that doesn't currently show up.
If you do find something, please be sure to post back.

"Why haven't the CGs gotten into the 21st century with wifi across the park?"

Because they want to attract campers but don't want to spend the big money it takes for a good system.