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03-20-2016, 03:25 PM
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#1
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2014 360 QL
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: gardendale texas
Posts: 153
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cell and internet boosters
just wanting to know if any on you use cell phone boosters to help with getting your signal. I tried a one made for mobile but it didn't help that much at all. I thought that maybe one make for a house would be better. and what brand
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2014 360 ql
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03-20-2016, 03:30 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 522
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2011 Berkshire 390-rb-40, upgraded tires and front axle airbags, 2012 Jeep Wrangler 2 door, Blue Ox baseplate and BlueOx aladdin tow bar, Blue Ox Patriot brake system, wiring run through right frame rail and homemade led taillight bar.FB.
Ham KG5LTL.
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03-20-2016, 10:41 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: On Another Adventure
Posts: 2,563
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I use a hot-spot from AT&T.. Works great....
Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums
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03-21-2016, 06:31 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Mishawaka
Posts: 576
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ernest917
I use a hot-spot from AT&T.. Works great....
Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums
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X2
Wayne
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Wayne
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03-21-2016, 06:33 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Between Pickles Gap and Toad Suck, AR
Posts: 6,070
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Have a WeBoost LTE booster at our rural farm house........middle of nowhere, and no good cell service for many miles.
Works great. Range is not extreme, but in most of house we get 3-4 bars.....where before, my phone got zero, and wife's got 1 bar at best. There is no landline there, so at least we have communication when we go there. Not cheap, but cheaper than $90 a month forever for a Centurylink land line.
If you want 4G, make sure you get the model made for 4G. And make sure outside antenna is pointing at the nearest tower, wherever it is. It is a signal booster........and if there is truly NO signal, there's nothing to boost.
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03-21-2016, 11:31 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Whereever our Berkshire is Parked!
Posts: 7,082
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BandJCarm
Have a WeBoost LTE booster at our rural farm house........middle of nowhere, and no good cell service for many miles.
Works great. Range is not extreme, but in most of house we get 3-4 bars.....where before, my phone got zero, and wife's got 1 bar at best. There is no landline there, so at least we have communication when we go there. Not cheap, but cheaper than $90 a month forever for a Centurylink land line.
If you want 4G, make sure you get the model made for 4G. And make sure outside antenna is pointing at the nearest tower, wherever it is. It is a signal booster........and if there is truly NO signal, there's nothing to boost.
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X2 - we have a friend with a 4G/LTE WeBoost in their Toy Hauler and it really does the job.
As for a WiFi booster, the WiFi Ranger has received good reviews and my personal experience with it is that it works as advertised (although I DO think their 2 mile claim is a reach, I have personally seen the WiFi Ranger suck in a WiFi signal from a Jack's fast food restaurant that was about a mile from the campsite.
We will be installing the WiFi Ranger and We Boost on our Berk.
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Bob & Anne-Marie [BamaBob & 6 Actual]
| 2017 Berkshire XLT 43A with Ultrasteer Tag | Blue Ox Avail + KarGard II |
| SMI AF-1 Air Brake | 2016 Jeep Cherokee Overland TOAD | Pedego Bikes |
Nights Camped: 2013 - 24 2014 - 42 2015 - 56 Jul 2016 - Fulltime
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03-21-2016, 12:08 PM
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#7
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Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: New york.
Posts: 11
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I also have weboost, works fine. Remember it boosts doesn't make signal. Make.sure antenna is at highest metalic spot on rv. Also use att Mobil hot spot. Better rates for data.
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03-21-2016, 12:43 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Out West Somewhere
Posts: 163
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Wilson Electronics (now known as weBoost) seems to be the leader in cell phone amplification. They offer a complete line of boosters, antennas, etc. The company has been around for many years, and I started buying Wilson products 18 years ago. And, one of the better internet stores that offers tremendous customer service is the 3G Store (I am not affiliated with Wilson, weBoost or 3G) at this url:
Wilson Electronics Antennas, Amplifers and Repeaters
I have bought several items from the 3G Store through the years and have been pleasantly surprised with their pre-purchase support and post-purchase support. Sometimes you have to purchase amplifiers based on your cell provider because each cell provider (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, etc) use different frequencies for their voice and date transmissions.
Remember that regardless of the amplifier you use, having a good antenna is the key to your success, just as chesterberkshire posted. Which kind varies on your RV and your particular configuration.
Personally, I use the Wilson Sleek amplifier combined with a small, magnetic base antenna that I put on my hood when camping. The sleek has a cradle that you can put your cell phone or MiFi unit in.
I believe that Wilson also offers a line of WiFi amplifiers also.
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03-21-2016, 12:47 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Whereever our Berkshire is Parked!
Posts: 7,082
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T-Mobile Hotspots?
Quote:
Originally Posted by chesterberkshire
I also have weboost, works fine. Remember it boosts doesn't make signal. Make.sure antenna is at highest metalic spot on rv. Also use att Mobil hot spot. Better rates for data.
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Speaking of Data Rates....T-Mobile offers unlimited data with their hotspots and starting at only $20/month
Anyone have *recent* experience with T-Mobile hot spots (I say recent because in the last 6-9 months, T-Mobile has supposedly done a major upgrade/build out to their cell tower network)
Our local library let's you check out a T-Mobile hotspot for $10/week, so I did so to check out service. Pretty much anywhere in the Huntsville-Decatur-Athens-Priceville-Cullman area of AL, you get decent signal and 4G/LTE. And my oh my that sucker is FAST!
So now the question is, how is T-Mobile reception in other parts of the country?
__________________
Bob & Anne-Marie [BamaBob & 6 Actual]
| 2017 Berkshire XLT 43A with Ultrasteer Tag | Blue Ox Avail + KarGard II |
| SMI AF-1 Air Brake | 2016 Jeep Cherokee Overland TOAD | Pedego Bikes |
Nights Camped: 2013 - 24 2014 - 42 2015 - 56 Jul 2016 - Fulltime
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03-21-2016, 02:56 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 171
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$10 a week for unlimited data? How long can you keep it?
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03-21-2016, 03:03 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 869
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I don't have any experience with cell boosters but am very familiar with wifi. There are two problems with wifi and you can only take actions to improve one of them. The one you can't do anything about is the wifi provider (usually an RV park) not having enough bandwidth to handle the traffic load. This problem effects at least 80% of all rv parks. This problem is exacerbated by wifi users downloading movies and TV shows over the park's network.
The second problem is a weak wifi signal. I've encountered this most often in older parks that added a wifi antenna to the office and expect it to cover the entire park. Many RV parks I've stayed at, including those with multiple wifi antennas, appear to have their systems set up by network technicians who worked very hard to make the system work as poorly as possible. RV parks also use multiple security mechanisms ranging from no security to wifi passwords, to monitored usage requiring a signin from your web browser to access the internet. Some parks use routers that allow you to attach a "repeater" to their network to improve the wifi signal at your location while others don't allow this.
I currently have enough networking equipment in my RV to build a wifi system for an RV park. (I don't normally carry this much but I just disassembled the network I've been maintaining for a couple of years.) I've successfully used my router as a repeater in around 30% of the parks I've stayed at. My better solution is to use a high powered, super sensitive wifi transceiver as an access portal to an RV park's wifi system. This radio looks like a computer to the park's system and easily connects. The radio is configured to act as a wired internet connection and is plugged into the WAN port of my router. Our computers are connected to the router with ethernet cables and, if I want, I can turn on the router's wifi and have a "local" wifi access point. I don't like using the router's wifi because my wifi signal may cause interference with the park's system but there are some techniques I can use to minimize this interference.
The problem with doing this is that it requires a significant amount of technical knowledge to set up the radio. Once the radio is set up to connected to a given wifi network, it's very difficult to access it to change it to another wifi system. I've usually ended up having to do a factory reset to it to set it up for another park's system. I've also encountered problems caused by the radio being out of production and the manufacturer has stopped providing updates to its software. The radio is configured through a web browser interface and changes to web browsers to support upgrades to internet security protocols made it impossible to access the device using current web browsers. Again, I have tools to let me get around this problem but they're not the type of thing most computer users have available.
For most users, getting one of the commercial wifi "signal improvers" marketed for RV users is probably the easiest way to go. As already mentioned, using your cell phone as a wifi hotspot is another alternative, one I've discarded because of additional line costs and restrictive usage limits from my cell provider. I also spend lots of time in areas where I'm roaming with the cell provider and internet usage is further restricted when roaming.
Phil
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03-21-2016, 03:19 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Whereever our Berkshire is Parked!
Posts: 7,082
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rbertalotto
$10 a week for unlimited data? How long can you keep it?
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2 weeks at a shot but, there is nothing stopping you from reserving another unit back-to-back
Still, if this proves to work for us, we will just get one from T-Mobile - their 4G/LTE 10GB/Month with rollover for a year plan is $50/month.
What is so sweet about this deal is T-Mobile DOES NOT count videos streamed from Netflix/Hulu/Sling/Apple TV/Amazon or Audio streamed from Apple/Amazon/iHeart Radio/Sirius/et al against your monthly data!!
From what T-Mobile says on their website, after you reach your monthly data cap, T-Mobile reserves the right to throttle you. From other folks I have talked to however, they have not been throttled (yet).
__________________
Bob & Anne-Marie [BamaBob & 6 Actual]
| 2017 Berkshire XLT 43A with Ultrasteer Tag | Blue Ox Avail + KarGard II |
| SMI AF-1 Air Brake | 2016 Jeep Cherokee Overland TOAD | Pedego Bikes |
Nights Camped: 2013 - 24 2014 - 42 2015 - 56 Jul 2016 - Fulltime
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03-21-2016, 04:04 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 171
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I currently have a hot Spot from Sprint and one from Verizon. The Sprint one I own and pay for. The Verizon is from my employeer. Sprint service is terrible! The Verizon is fantastic.
Sprint costs me $35 a month for 3G and in 30% of the places I travel it won't work.
I need another solution and I guess I need to research this T-Mobile thing more.
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03-21-2016, 04:09 PM
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#14
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Always Learning
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Four Corners, FL
Posts: 21,891
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rbertalotto
I currently have a hot Spot from Sprint and one from Verizon. The Sprint one I own and pay for. The Verizon is from my employeer. Sprint service is terrible! The Verizon is fantastic.
Sprint costs me $35 a month for 3G and in 30% of the places I travel it won't work.
I need another solution and I guess I need to research this T-Mobile thing more.
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If you're going to use it a lot- explore unlimited data plans from Verizon. You can lease them for $120-200 per month or outright buy one from someone and then your bill is $70-ish per month.
__________________
Officially a SOB with a 2022 Jayco Precept 36C
Checkout my site for RVing tips, tricks, and info | Was a Fulltime Family for 5 years, now we're part-timing on long trips
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03-21-2016, 04:22 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 171
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Yes...I've done lots of research on the AOL and Lease unlimited plans. But they are quasi legal and I'm sure at some point in time Verizon stops it. And I'm looking to spend less than $50 a month for "reasonably" good cellular data. I've had extremely good luck with free WiFi with my TechnoRV set up. McDonalds and Starbucks are your friend!
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03-22-2016, 08:39 AM
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#16
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Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: fort worth texas
Posts: 57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ernest917
I use a hot-spot from AT&T.. Works great....
Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums
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That's what we use also,,,good luck with it so far
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03-22-2016, 08:57 AM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Between Pickles Gap and Toad Suck, AR
Posts: 6,070
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Hot spots require an internet connection.
At our remote farm we occasionally stay at, no internet connection, no phone line....so the WeBoost is all we could use.
__________________
"Next to prayer, fishing is the most personal relationship of man" Herbert Hoover
"American by Birth, Southern by the Grace of God"Lewis Grizzard
FROG AR-0019-242
2016 GMC Denali 3500Dually--2017 CC 36CKTS
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03-22-2016, 09:40 AM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Green Bay, WI
Posts: 140
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I went with a "Wave WiFi Rogue Wave Ethernet Converter/Bridge" and am going to connect it to a ""TP-LINK TL-WDR3500 Wireless Router" I tested the Wave WiFi Rogue so far, I am able to see a lot more networks out there, so far, most have been locked. Once I get it all mounted after getting the MH on 4/4 I'll send an update. So far I'm in for about $372.00
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Bill & Kay
Green Bay, WI
2016 FR Berkshire 38A
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03-22-2016, 12:09 PM
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#19
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RailwayRog
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 72
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I've got the weboost Drive 4G-X with a trucker antenna mounted on the roof.
The booster seems to do what it suppose to do, the only issue I have is the antenna being mounted on the roof, the radials on the antenna got broken off by tree branches (not sure how it affects the antenna).
I don't have any choices as far as mounting locations go so I'm stuck using the roof.
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03-22-2016, 02:13 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Whereever our Berkshire is Parked!
Posts: 7,082
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ependydad
If you're going to use it a lot- explore unlimited data plans from Verizon. You can lease them for $120-200 per month or outright buy one from someone and then your bill is $70-ish per month.
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Doug,
Where are you getting Verizon unlimited data for $70 a month? (I want in on that )
__________________
Bob & Anne-Marie [BamaBob & 6 Actual]
| 2017 Berkshire XLT 43A with Ultrasteer Tag | Blue Ox Avail + KarGard II |
| SMI AF-1 Air Brake | 2016 Jeep Cherokee Overland TOAD | Pedego Bikes |
Nights Camped: 2013 - 24 2014 - 42 2015 - 56 Jul 2016 - Fulltime
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