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Newbie Question on wi-fi

ccjack
Explorer
Explorer
I am new to RVing and have a question on wi-fi. Our new TT came with a Winegard air 360+. My understanding is it is a HD TV antenna but also has wi-fi router capability. We would need to purchase an additional gaetway router that installs inside the RV for $300. My question is what does this do? The air360+ pulls a wifi signal from the campground (as an example - the campground would provide log in info?) and then the $300 router serves as a booster for the area around our individual TT? Can't you just use the campground wifi without a router?

This is unrelated to any co-ax cable connectors on the outside of the TT, correct? The Winegard is not connected to any coax cable in the TT correct?

I am a bit confused as to what we should buy or not.

thanks.
12 REPLIES 12

Gdetrailer
Explorer III
Explorer III
ccjack wrote:
brholt wrote:
ccjack wrote:
I am new to RVing and have a question on wi-fi. Our new TT came with a Winegard air 360+. My understanding is it is a HD TV antenna but also has wi-fi router capability. We would need to purchase an additional gaetway router that installs inside the RV for $300. My question is what does this do? The air360+ pulls a wifi signal from the campground (as an example - the campground would provide log in info?) and then the $300 router serves as a booster for the area around our individual TT? Can't you just use the campground wifi without a router?

This is unrelated to any co-ax cable connectors on the outside of the TT, correct? The Winegard is not connected to any coax cable in the TT correct?

I am a bit confused as to what we should buy or not.

thanks.


We have the Air360+ and the Gateway modem. The Gateway unit adds additional antennas for both wifi and cellular signals. Our experience is that:

- TV reception is not pretty good but do not expect it to compete with directional antennas.

- WiFi is able to pull in signals our iPhones can not but most campground wifi isn’t very good.

- We have been impressed with the ability to grab cell signals. As an example, we were at a harvest host farm who claimed they had not been able to get cell service but we were able to get AT&T. This has repeatedly been our experience. I attribute it to the multiple antennas and the rooftop location. Note that I believe the Gateway is only a cat4 modem so it is never supper fast. WiFi Ranger sells their Osprey unit to go with the Air360+ which can be obtained as cat6 or cat12 units so they may be much faster though I don’t know if the Osprey adds antennas like the Gateway does.

Overall we have been pleased with the unit and it has given us data in a wide variety of place our phones have not been able to.





thank you all for the responses, they are helpful. One question about the Osprey vs. Gateway. My understanding is the antennas are already in the Air360+ and they are just not active unless you add the gateway. So is it possible the Osprey would offer faster wifi plus utilize the wifi antennas already in the 360+ I am not sure of the wiring and hookup for the Osprey... thanks.


WiFi Ranger Osprey offers 5Ghz Wifi along with 2.4ghz WiFi.

GW-1000 gateway only offers 2.4Ghz WiFi..

5Ghz WiFi offers slightly more speed than 2.4Ghze WiFi but at the cost of distance. 5Ghz is shorter range WiFi, 2.4Ghz will get you longer distance.

Generally speaking, you won't see much if any speed increase on 5Ghz unless you are directly under the antenna and even then a slight increase.

Not all devices have 5Ghz Wifi capability, only newer devices will have that so if you have an older laptop, tablet, cellphone you might only have 2.4Ghz radio card..

The downside to 2.4Ghz WiFi is congestion, BT and many other devices use that band and not to mention pretty much all WiFi capable devices will have it which can slow your WiFi..

5Ghz WiFi, less congestion, gets you away from BT devices and not as much channel congestion for now..

The WiFi ranger has a wired Ethernet port, but it is only a 10/100 connection and not 1GB connection so no real speed advantage there if you wanted a hardwired option.

HERE is a 2.4Ghz vs 5Ghz primer.

To put some of this into perspective:

2.4 Ghz WiFi can reach speeds of up to 600 Mbps (802.11n spec).

5Ghz WiFi can offer up to 1300 Mbps (802.11ac spec).

But just because they can offer up that speed, does not mean you will always get that speed nor will it "improve" the speed from the max speed of your internet source.

Both WiFi (2.4 and 5) band radios will auto-negotiate the connection speed based on signal strength and noise in the signal. If it is junk you are getting into your router then junk you will get out of your router..

brholt
Explorer II
Explorer II
Meant to say tv reception is pretty good but not comparable to directional antennas.

My understanding on antennas is the gateway has additional wifi antennas.

Check here for the best info:

Mobile internet reviews

ccjack
Explorer
Explorer
brholt wrote:
ccjack wrote:
I am new to RVing and have a question on wi-fi. Our new TT came with a Winegard air 360+. My understanding is it is a HD TV antenna but also has wi-fi router capability. We would need to purchase an additional gaetway router that installs inside the RV for $300. My question is what does this do? The air360+ pulls a wifi signal from the campground (as an example - the campground would provide log in info?) and then the $300 router serves as a booster for the area around our individual TT? Can't you just use the campground wifi without a router?

This is unrelated to any co-ax cable connectors on the outside of the TT, correct? The Winegard is not connected to any coax cable in the TT correct?

I am a bit confused as to what we should buy or not.

thanks.


We have the Air360+ and the Gateway modem. The Gateway unit adds additional antennas for both wifi and cellular signals. Our experience is that:

- TV reception is not pretty good but do not expect it to compete with directional antennas.

- WiFi is able to pull in signals our iPhones can not but most campground wifi isn’t very good.

- We have been impressed with the ability to grab cell signals. As an example, we were at a harvest host farm who claimed they had not been able to get cell service but we were able to get AT&T. This has repeatedly been our experience. I attribute it to the multiple antennas and the rooftop location. Note that I believe the Gateway is only a cat4 modem so it is never supper fast. WiFi Ranger sells their Osprey unit to go with the Air360+ which can be obtained as cat6 or cat12 units so they may be much faster though I don’t know if the Osprey adds antennas like the Gateway does.

Overall we have been pleased with the unit and it has given us data in a wide variety of place our phones have not been able to.





thank you all for the responses, they are helpful. One question about the Osprey vs. Gateway. My understanding is the antennas are already in the Air360+ and they are just not active unless you add the gateway. So is it possible the Osprey would offer faster wifi plus utilize the wifi antennas already in the 360+ I am not sure of the wiring and hookup for the Osprey... thanks.

brholt
Explorer II
Explorer II
ccjack wrote:
I am new to RVing and have a question on wi-fi. Our new TT came with a Winegard air 360+. My understanding is it is a HD TV antenna but also has wi-fi router capability. We would need to purchase an additional gaetway router that installs inside the RV for $300. My question is what does this do? The air360+ pulls a wifi signal from the campground (as an example - the campground would provide log in info?) and then the $300 router serves as a booster for the area around our individual TT? Can't you just use the campground wifi without a router?

This is unrelated to any co-ax cable connectors on the outside of the TT, correct? The Winegard is not connected to any coax cable in the TT correct?

I am a bit confused as to what we should buy or not.

thanks.


We have the Air360+ and the Gateway modem. The Gateway unit adds additional antennas for both wifi and cellular signals. Our experience is that:

- TV reception is pretty good but do not expect it to compete with directional antennas.

- WiFi is able to pull in signals our iPhones can not but most campground wifi isn’t very good.

- We have been impressed with the ability to grab cell signals. As an example, we were at a harvest host farm who claimed they had not been able to get cell service but we were able to get AT&T. This has repeatedly been our experience. I attribute it to the multiple antennas and the rooftop location. Note that I believe the Gateway is only a cat4 modem so it is never supper fast. WiFi Ranger sells their Osprey unit to go with the Air360+ which can be obtained as cat6 or cat12 units so they may be much faster though I don’t know if the Osprey adds antennas like the Gateway does.

Overall we have been pleased with the unit and it has given us data in a wide variety of place our phones have not been able to.

Gdetrailer
Explorer III
Explorer III
Wade44 wrote:


Add to all that the Winegard 360+ totally sucks as a HDTV antenna unless you're basically parked within 10 miles of the broadcast point. Its a piece of junk.


Not the fault of the antenna, after all it is a "omnidirection" TV antenna so it doesn't need to be rotated.

This comes at a cost of no "gain" and is the benchmark that all antennas are compared to.

Omni direction antenna radiates or receives in a circular pattern with relatively the same strength in all directions.

Wingard Sesars antennas are a "dipole" type of antenna, with dipoles you get less gain on the sides but the front and back have additional gain which helps bring in distant stations better with the downside of needing to rotate the antenna.



Pix on right is pattern of an omnidirectional antenna.

Pix on left is a dipole antenna pattern..

wa8yxm
Explorer III
Explorer III
I too agree the dome antennas are not that great for TV reception

Wi-Fi.. This can act as a "Wi-Fi Extender" basically the same as what I used.. Listening to the park's wi-fi and "extending" it into your RV.

I had either a linksys WGA54G or a Umbquiti Loco M wi-fi "Adapter" I put atop a flag pole then hooked the cat-5 side to a Router inside the RV This is basically the same concept.

It can also act like a Cellular Hot Spot. and being up on the roof. generally has better reception that one inside the RV Generally.

I know one person who put his "My-Fi" box atop a flag pole for added range.. Worked too.
Home was where I park it. but alas the.
2005 Damon Intruder 377 Alas declared a total loss
after a semi "nicked" it. Still have the radios
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LouLawrence
Explorer
Explorer
While you will hear bad comments about the Winegard omni directional TV antenna, that's not a Winegard problem. Omni directional antennas are best described as being equally bad in all directions.

Wade44
Explorer
Explorer
Gdetrailer wrote:
ccjack wrote:
I am new to RVing and have a question on wi-fi. Our new TT came with a Winegard air 360+. My understanding is it is a HD TV antenna but also has wi-fi router capability. We would need to purchase an additional gaetway router that installs inside the RV for $300. My question is what does this do? The air360+ pulls a wifi signal from the campground (as an example - the campground would provide log in info?) and then the $300 router serves as a booster for the area around our individual TT? Can't you just use the campground wifi without a router?

This is unrelated to any co-ax cable connectors on the outside of the TT, correct? The Winegard is not connected to any coax cable in the TT correct?

I am a bit confused as to what we should buy or not.

thanks.


When in doubt, read the manual..

FOUND HERE

Right on the very first page it says..

"WINEGARD AIR OMNIDIRECTIONAL TV/FM ANTENNA + WIFI + 4G EXTENDER*

*WiFi & 4G functionality requires Winegard Model AR-360B 360+ Gateway (GW-1000) sold separately"


Page 4 states..

"Winegard recommends installing the Gateway directly under the Air 360 + . Once the Air 360 + has been installed, there are two requirements to finding a location on the RV ceiling for installation: +12VDC must be present, and the three WiFi/4G antenna cables from the Air 360 + must be able to reach the connection points on the Gateway router."

Additionally, you might wish to read the Gateway GW-1000 manual for more details on setup and operation..

FOUND HERE


Add to all that the Winegard 360+ totally sucks as a HDTV antenna unless you're basically parked within 10 miles of the broadcast point. Its a piece of junk.
2018 Marathon H3-45
2019 GMC Sierra Denali (Toad)
2012 Grady White 271 Canyon

Gdetrailer
Explorer III
Explorer III
ccjack wrote:
I am new to RVing and have a question on wi-fi. Our new TT came with a Winegard air 360+. My understanding is it is a HD TV antenna but also has wi-fi router capability. We would need to purchase an additional gaetway router that installs inside the RV for $300. My question is what does this do? The air360+ pulls a wifi signal from the campground (as an example - the campground would provide log in info?) and then the $300 router serves as a booster for the area around our individual TT? Can't you just use the campground wifi without a router?

This is unrelated to any co-ax cable connectors on the outside of the TT, correct? The Winegard is not connected to any coax cable in the TT correct?

I am a bit confused as to what we should buy or not.

thanks.


When in doubt, read the manual..

FOUND HERE

Right on the very first page it says..

"WINEGARD AIR OMNIDIRECTIONAL TV/FM ANTENNA + WIFI + 4G EXTENDER*

*WiFi & 4G functionality requires Winegard Model AR-360B 360+ Gateway (GW-1000) sold separately"


Page 4 states..

"Winegard recommends installing the Gateway directly under the Air 360 + . Once the Air 360 + has been installed, there are two requirements to finding a location on the RV ceiling for installation: +12VDC must be present, and the three WiFi/4G antenna cables from the Air 360 + must be able to reach the connection points on the Gateway router."

Additionally, you might wish to read the Gateway GW-1000 manual for more details on setup and operation..

FOUND HERE

Acampingwewillg
Explorer II
Explorer II
I could be way off here but I have the "ToGo" Wi-Fi booster( similar to yours). I believe your Winegard is a booster in that it helps with any Wi-Fi signal but it's also an access point that accepts a SIM card too. I'm not sure who Winegard is associated with but you can buy data plans through them.

Here again....I could be confusing this with something else!
96 Vogue Prima Vista
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CA_Traveler
Explorer III
Explorer III
Typically a higher amplified antenna will give better results.

Typically there is no password or a single password for everyone. Translation: "We also have free WiFi." Bandwidth, security and speed are frequently marginal.
2009 Holiday Rambler 42' Scepter with ISL 400 Cummins
750 Watts Solar Morningstar MPPT 60 Controller
2014 Grand Cherokee Overland

Bob

Lwiddis
Explorer II
Explorer II
Don’t depend on campground WiFi. Rarely have adequate bandwidth. If reliable, fast Internet is important to you, plan accordingly.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

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