The Perfect Long Range WiFi Setup?

[msiminoff]

For some time now (been on the road for 95 days) I have been looking for a way to get my family and I connected to distant WiFi networks. I do have the ability to teather to my cell phone which is fine for checking email etc, and I love the LTE connection speed...but up/downloading large files (and kids games) has twice pushed me over my 10gig limit 😞

As we all know that WiFi is king when it comes transferring large files and streaming video. So I checked with a friend who is responsible for the wireless network at a very big outdoor event and he steered me to the products from Ubiquiti. I selected their NanoStation M2 antenna/radio and an airGateway WiFi access point. The two devices cost me just $108 in total (+tax).

The NanoStation features an 11dB gain antenna and a high power radio. When paired with another similar antenna it has a potential range of several miles (well aimed, clear line of sight, no obstructions, etc). The airGateway is a super-compact access point which basically gives the TC it's own secure hot-spot that the whole family can join. We even have our printer and AirPort Express on the network.

I'm not a networking wiz' so the initial configuring of the network settings was a challenge and it took me quite a while to get it working right. But now that it's set up, re-connecting to any other WiFi network is a snap.

When parked close to another access point the NanoStation can stay inside the TC, pointed in the general location of the other antenna. Longer range requires outdoor mounting. I'm still playing around with possible mounting schemes and will probably make a simple PVC pipe mount that attaches to my ladder. At the moment the NanoStation is zip-tied to a short length of PVC pipe and attached to my batwing antenna with a Velcro strap. As I type this I am ~1200 ft from the park's (Bahia Honda State Park) WiFi antenna.


This is a close-up of the NanoStation.


Velcro strapped to my batwing.


This shows the airGateway (small box) plugged into the POE power supply (larger box).

Hope this is useful to some of you.
Cheers,
-Mark

[bka0721]

fpoole wrote:
Yah, full-timing, it's a whole different ball game for most....
Some, and kudos to those brave souls, would be happy with a tent in the middle of the desert, but that would be a "Small Some"....

I used to just do the weekend trips when working, get away from it all, but I am not able to do it full time and having a problem keeping up.

While it's nice to be able to "..get away from it all..." it's nice in theory, but hard to do with banking/bills, meds, contacts and photo sharing that one can do at a "Sticks N Stone" home when coming back off a trip.

My problem is the cost of the Data highways and the cost for good coverage. Verizon is good, but they do 'luv' their system and smile as the gauge nudges past the data plan limits...

Posting on the forum is a good example of not choosing to "..get away from it all."

Apples - Oranges styles..

now, I have to log off, heheh, to keep Verizon from smiling...

fun..

Frank, you are so right. It is really an Apples and Oranges, style.

Just as in Full-Timing. A Full-Timer is actually a person who cuts all ties, being that they sell their home, leave their apartment, mom and dad’s, jettison their excess material possessions and hit the road. Otherwise you are just a Long Tripper. No matter how you look at it, when you climb into your Truck, RV, or hike that pack onto your back, with nothing left behind you to return too, that is Full-Timing. If you leave by shutting the door and locking (renting it out) it until you return, you are virtually on a wonderful and exciting vacation, for a year or two.

No matter what you call it, any length of time in a Tent, on the Pacific Coast Trail or in an RV it takes some serious planning, preparation and, well, courage. Then you include a family, which in my mind is amazingly courageously a life experience one cannot ever duplicate.

But the best advice I ever got, when I started on my adventure, was to surround myself with the things that made me happy and comfortable, when I lived in a home/apartment/mom and dad’s. One of these luxuries is access to internet. By using the Apps in smartphones I can plan for these cellular zones and travel through or linger within them. Last year I spent 4 months in an area that had no cell or internet availability. It felt like I had gone back 35 years and enjoyed every minute.

Each time when one of these threads come up, I watch and learn as much as I can and maybe secretly wish to join in. But, there is so much to comprehend and figure out, I just wish someone would post a D-I-Y post on installing one, just like is done with an upgrade for solar, or Closet installation. That is what I am truly waiting for!

My booster, so far, is taking my Mi-Fi device and placing it on the roof of my camper or sending up an extendable Fiberglass Pole, with surprising success. You just have to protect it from overheating from the sun, so your battery does not become pregnant. But shifting to nighttime surfing facilitates that issue. As well as surfing out under the stars!

derrickg wrote:
T-Mobile has a service that's included which allows you to stream popular apps (Netflix, etc.) with NO reduction in your data plan usage.

Sadly, this is not the reality beyond populated areas. For many of us, we wish to travel beyond the “Belt-Way” and “Interstate Corridors” that are famous for now having Cellular coverage. So the two major carriers, AT&T/Verizon, are the standard for these travelers. Straight Talk, Cricket, T-Mobile and others are great alternatives when your major usesage percentage is in populated areas, but otherwise the promise of piggybacking onto other networks (roaming) you virtually become 2nd and 3rd Class customers that suffer connectivity equal to those classes as these major’s customers have first right at the Internet Table.

The biggest changes, I have found, in my multiyear adventure is that some areas that once did not have cellular coverage, now does. (Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, as an example) As time goes forward, things are changing much like when Indoor Plumbing and Electricity came to rural areas. Often with the same subsidies that were afforded the Small Phone Companies and the Rural Electric Companies of a time not that long ago.

b

[derrickg]

T-Mobile has a service that's included which allows you to stream popular apps (Netflix, etc.) with NO reduction in your data plan usage.

[fpoole]

Yah, full-timing, it's a whole different ball game for most....
Some, and kudos to those brave souls, would be happy with a tent in the middle of the desert, but that would be a "Small Some"....

I used to just do the weekend trips when working, get away from it all, but I am not able to do it full time and having a problem keeping up.

While it's nice to be able to "..get away from it all..." it's nice in theory, but hard to do with banking/bills, meds, contacts and photo sharing that one can do at a "Sticks N Stone" home when coming back off a trip.

My problem is the cost of the Data highways and the cost for good coverage. Verizon is good, but they do 'luv' their system and smile as the gauge nudges past the data plan limits...

Posting on the forum is a good example of not choosing to "..get away from it all."

Apples - Oranges styles..

now, I have to log off, heheh, to keep Verizon from smiling...

fun..

[msiminoff]

jmcgsd wrote:
Hmmm, I thought we camped to get away from all this garbage! :R

Yes.. most of the time we do.

However we are full-timing in our TC for a whole year. We do spend a lot of time completely off of the grid, but my wife and I both own brick & mortar businesses back at home that we absolutely positively need to be in contact with... not daily, but frequently. In addition we are home-schooling our two children and we download books and other classwork for them.

So, sometimes we need to be connected... and sometimes we don't.

[jmcgsd]

Hmmm, I thought we camped to get away from all this garbage! :R

[msiminoff]

KRumm wrote:
Here is a YouTube video that explains the process...

Gah!!! Well that would have saved me hours and hours of effort! 😮 😮 😮
Anyway, in the end I wound up with a very similar configuration. If anybody else purchases a Ubiquiti system, watch this video FIRST!!

Can anyone recommend a omnidirectional antenna to use?

Laptops, cell phones, etc already have omnidirectional antennas... You can get external USB WiFi adaptors with a bit more gain, but IMO if you want more range (given the FCC's power limitations) then you need a directional antenna.

HMS Beagle wrote:
The Ubiquiti stuff is good. -snip- Most of it also will run from 12V if you get a (very inexpensive) 12VDC POE injector.

That's a hot tip, thanx Beagle! I just ordered one up 🙂

-Mark

[Jfet]

I am using a YAGI with about 14dB of gain but also bought a huge parabolic on Amazon (about $40) with 24dB of gain. I can hit a wifi hotspot at several miles but it is a pain to set up. The YAGI is pretty decent and can pull in a hotspot at a half a mile or so.

I do like your setup too though and will have to check that out. Maybe I can have three options 🙂

[KRumm]

Here is a YouTube video that explains the process...

http://youtu.be/-i8SmOf5ZTw

Can anyone recommend a omnidirectional antenna to use?

[deltabravo]

FOr mounting my setup, I use the flag pole holder made by Flag Pole Buddy

I stick a piece of PVC pipe in it.

[HMS_Beagle]

The Ubiquiti stuff is good. Most of it is powered by Power Over Ethernet using a POE injector. Most of it also will run from 12V if you get a (very inexpensive) 12VDC POE injector. It looked like in your picture you were using a 110V version, you may want to investigate a 12V for off grid camping.

[msiminoff]

Golden_HVAC wrote:
I have been using a Hawkins long range external Wi-Fi...

Thanks Fred, I do have a TP-Link external USB WiFi antenna and it's pretty good, but its range is far less than the NanoStation (also super directional BTW). In addition, my family has a bunch of devices that need connectivity (Mac, PC, iPad, Kindles,printer, etc), so having our own network makes good sense.

fpoole wrote:
Just so I'm understanding the setup here, you're basically tying into another's free Wifi signal.... like McDonald's, Starbucks or campsite without requiring a password/login (free) or something like that. I though they were limited in speed...

The NanoStation allows me to connect to any 2.4Ghz WiFi network that I can "see" and authenticate onto; Open or password protected... even paid ones or those with a captive web portal work fine.
I haven't had any issues with speed or data limits. The network I am currently on has a download speed of ~6Mb/s and the one I hopped on in the parking lot of the Kennedy Space Center was over 40Mb/s.

Rbertalotto wrote:
I used an extendable painters pole (16') mounted to the side of my trailer.

Thanks Bill and Roy. The flag pole and/or painter's pole is are GREAT options!

Cheers,
-Mark

[derrickg]

Hey Rbertalotto,
It's a good thing you and I aren't friends, because I'd be broke! 🙂
I looked at your link and fell in love.
Great stuff.

[Rbertalotto]

I used an extendable painters pole (16') mounted to the side of my trailer.

At the bottom of this artcle

http://rvbprecision.com/diesel-stuff/dodge-cummins-diesel/forest-river-cherokee-grey-wolf-19rr-toy-h...

[Trackrig]

For outdoor mounting, yes the PVC pipe would be the cheapest, but you should also look at one of the collapsible flagpoles a lot of people mount to their ladders. As said, they do collapse for easy storage and they'll get the antenna up a lot higher to clear obstacles than a piece of PVC will.

Bill

[fpoole]

Yah, kewl, I've been wrestling with the WiFi thing for the past 2 months.

Currently contracted to Verizon and have gone from a 4-gig to 14-gig back down to a 6-gig plan, can't afford the higher ones, but still manage to go over the limits.

Now trying to manage the limits, FB and Google, are, I believe the culprits, (not me of course heheheh).

Just so I'm understanding the setup here, you're basically tying into another's free Wifi signal.... like McDonald's, Starbucks or campsite without requiring a password/login (free) or something like that. I though they were limited in speed and volume...

It's frustrating to say the least... thanks for the info, will look into it...

Happy Trails.. and thanks for the posting.. sigh, one step at a time eh?

heheh, cheers..