Installed JEFA Tech WIFI Repeater Today

[ourflat]

Installed a JEFA WIFI Repeater RV kit today in my Forester 3051S today. The install was pretty simple as I mounted the repeater antenna to the batwing antenna and the router on the side of the cabinet behind the passenger seat. Next project will be a tri-band 4g cell phone repeater.

[B D HOWie]

Nice job.
I have been look looking at that unit. I like your install. Do you have any pictures of how you brought the cable in? Also, I am interested in how the unit performs.
Thank you for anything additional you can tell us.
Paul

[ourflat]

Thanks. I setup the repeater at my house and can see all the neighbor's WIFIs. My signal strength went from 2 bars to completely full bars inside the RV from my home WIFI network. I opted for the 2500 FT antenna instead of the other 6 FT antenna that JEFA Tech offers. I ran the wire from outside next to my new LED strip awning light cable. I need to hide the cable still inside but you can see where the hole comes through the coach wall. I sealed the outside cable with a rubber hole grommet and black RTV.

[ourflat]

Partial covering of antenna cable inside coach.

[bgilly]

I tried a couple different external repeaters with great signal pickup only to find that the campground runs transmitted WiFi at around 50kbs. Found even most public hotspots hold back on data rates. I imagine its to squash out streaming. I went with a 4G service and use a pay as I go plan when the WiFi isn't reliable. The good side about the 4G is it's on when on the road and rarely have drops.

[ourflat]

bgilly,

I know exactly what you mean. My backup is a 4G tri-band repeater to use with my ATT 4G cell phone. I can run the 4G internet off my phone through the WIFI router, giving me both options.

[Evereddie]

Just bought the same Jefa unit. Can't wait to get it in. Glad to hear yours is good.

[kz08h5]

I also have a Jefatech and it works well. I have not permeately mounted mine yet. I have been able to place my antenna in one of my front windows and this has worked well every place I've used it but one. That situation was really weird and definitely not the norm. I do plan to mount the antenna on the TV antenna like Ourflat has done. To get the cable into the TT I plan on routing it into the refridgerator vent. That way there are no holes to drill through either the roof or side wall.

[ourflat]

I synced all my WIFI devices in the RV today such as the WIFI DVD players, Dish satellite receiver and iPads to the repeater. Now when I pull into my next campground all my devices are already connected so all I need to do is sync my repeater to the campground's (or 4g cell phone) internet.

This is way cool!

[ourflat]

I used my repeater throughout my trip over the last 3-weeks or so at over 10 campgrounds and absolutely love this thing. Several campgrounds had very weak signals but no problem for me. This unit will pickup signals up to a 1/2 mile away. At one KOA, their WIFI was down for the campground but they still had signal in the rec room. No worries, I could pickup the club house from my RV and voila!

I recommend this upgrade if you need WIFI when camping.

[Richbald]

Question for ourflat or anyone who wishes to chime in. I see that your message is almost over 2 years old, but found this on the FR Forum. I'm preparing to purchase the same setup, based upon your forum thread. Is there anything you would change after using it a while? Is the standard 8.5 dbi what you would recommend, or after using yours for a while, would you recommend the 15 dbi?





Long Range WiFi Repeater Kit for RVs

Part Number / SKU: RV-KIT-REPEATER
Shipping Weight: 4.00 pounds

Price:See Below

IN STOCK
Ships the same day when ordered by 2PM EST Weekdays.


KIT AS PICTURED IS $170.50. THIS INCLUDES REPEATER UNIT, 20 FEET OF CABLE, AND 8.5dBi ANTENNA - COMPONENT PRICES ARE LISTED BELOW SO YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE THE KIT TO MEET YOUR NEEDS




Repeater Unit:

JEFA Tech WiFi Repeater Unit $89.95 No Repeater (To order replacement parts)
Antenna:

8.5dBi Portable Omni $49.95 15dBi High Gain Omni $99.95 No External Antenna $0.00
Antenna Cable:

10 Feet Long $26.30 20 Feet Long $30.60 30 Feet Long $34.90 40 Feet Long $39.20 50 Feet Long $43.50 No Antenna Cable $0.00
Quantity:

[MarsMan]

Dual voltage 12V/110?

[Richbald]

The kit I found is 120VAC Power Supply (12 Volt DC options are available separately)

I'm not sure when I'd use 12 volt DC.

JEFA Tech: Long Range WiFi Repeater Kit for RVs

[ourflat]

Hi, the standard 8.5 do antenna works perfect since it is omni directional. I've not had a problem connecting in an RV park. I wouldn't change a thing after 2 years. System works perfectly, almost too good! Some parks will meter your access speed since they don't have a whole lot of bandwidth.

Frank
KM4FVI


Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

[Richbald]

Outstanding! Thank you for such a quick and positive reply! I hope to order the system by the end of the year. I'm looking forward to great reception (or at least SOME reception).

[Evereddie]

I have this Jefra system and it works great. However...there is setup involved each time you use it. You have to find the wifi signal you want to use and lock it in in the Jefra. There is a little back and forth involved. There are some other systems I remember reading about that don't have the setup tine involved. They just work as soon as you power them on. I'll dig around a little tonight and see what that other system was. I think one of the system that worked had "Ranger" in it's name. Also I had this bookmarked from a while ago. Private RV Wi-Fi and Making a Better Park Connection for Under $100 | Outside Our Bubble

[Richbald]

Thank you evereddie. I appreciate any new information.

[elind]

We have been using JAFA Tech for a few years now. It does a nice job to pull in the WIFI inside the RV. When the signal is weak it will boost it so your not sitting next to a window or outside on the picnic table. It does take a couple of minutes to configure at each new location but after it is set up every thing is connected. It also gets you multiple hook ups when your paying for each device on the paid systems. Once I mounted it on the TV antenna then ran it thru the bedroom vent and mounted to a unused TV mount. Another time I mounted it to my ladder and run the coax under the RV to the entertainment center by drilling hole through the bottom of the cabinet.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Evereddie

I have this Jefra system and it works great. However...there is setup involved each time you use it. You have to find the wifi signal you want to use and lock it in in the Jefra. There is a little back and forth involved. There are some other systems I remember reading about that don't have the setup tine involved. They just work as soon as you power them on. I'll dig around a little tonight and see what that other system was. I think one of the system that worked had "Ranger" in it's name. Also I had this bookmarked from a while ago. Private RV Wi-Fi and Making a Better Park Connection for Under $100 | Outside Our Bubble

WifiRanger. But, it's significantly more expensive- like $600. Most people install it to their crank up TV antenna and crank it up when they want to use it. Then you use a web page to select a network to connect to.

[Creativepart]

I have the WiFi Ranger Elite Pack and find it works well. As others have said, if your CG has lousy WiFi boosting its signal doesn't make it faster or free from limiting. The Go2 Router that comes with the Ranger connects to my Verizon and ATT MiFi cards via USB and this really makes using these cellular broadband devices work even better. It can also automatically switch between available WiFi and cellular internet based on signal or speed or cost.

It was $600 but they make a less powerful version for $350 and I think that might have been the best way to go. My unit is so strong it can sometimes pickup too many access points and get kind of slowed down trying them all.