I've posted a few times today that we have a big 3,000 mile trip coming up in a week. So, we've been modifying things for the trip.
I run internet websites for a living (I'm friends with the guy that owns this one) and need very good very reliable internet access. So, I pulled out the big guns for this coach.
First, I installed a WiFi Ranger Elite Wifi antenna/booster on my RV's roof. Then I installed a 12" by 18" sheet metal ground plane on the roof to accommodate my Wilson Cell Phone Antenna.
I ran the wires down through the hole in the roof for the TV Antenna. They then tucked nicely and fully hidden between the roof and the padded ceiling > into a cabinet > under the cabinet floor and out to the end of the upper cabinet above the sofa.
There I mounted our Wilson 3G/4G cell phone booster and the WiFi Ranger's neat Go2 wireless router. Everything runs on 12v, too.
The WiFi Ranger can pick up wifi signals up to 2 miles away and it boosts weak RV Campground signals that can hardly pass through most RV's walls. The Wilson Sleek 4G boosts Cell signals about 18 db (which is quite a bunch). But we don't use it for our phones so much - we use it to boost our Cellular MiFi Broadband Cards. We have two Mifi Aircards - a Verizon mifi and an ATT aircard.
The Wifi Ranger looks for free open Wifi networks and automatically signs on to them. Then you enter the local logins for the campground you're in and finally it connects via USB to your Aircard. Then the Wifi Ranger prioritizes all this and connects you seamlessly to the strongest and least costly internet.
The neat thing is, you only set up your computer, iPad, mobile phone, etc to to log on to the Wifi Ranger's Go2 router. There is no need for my wife and I to change logins for each park we visit. As long as we set up the Wifi Ranger it logs us in and shares everything - while blocking all others from getting onto our network.
I saw this setup at various Full-Timer blogs - such as Gone with the Wynns and others.
It worked great - I must say. When we pulled into a RV Park yesterday and got set up I booted my computer. Seconds later - bing sounded the updating of 3 new emails. But how could that be? I had not entered the parks Wifi settings into the Wifi Ranger yet. Turns out "Charlie's Coffee Shop" has free open Wifi. And, we still have no idea where Charlie's Coffee shop was.
Here's the Wynn's video about all of their electronic upgrades - including Solar, Li-Ion Batteries, Hybrid Inverter, etc and of course these items as well.
That's the exact setup that was recommended to me by the RV Mobile Internet Technomads.
I'm likely ordering the stuff this week. Where did you get the sheet metal for the ground plane for the Wilson antenna?
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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
I've been running a JefaTech Internet repeater/router and a Wilson 4G Cell Repeater for over a year and they both work like a champ! Great value and this system has been trouble free. I have all my devices currently paired from my phone to all internet devices in my RV.
Frank
KM4FVI
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Frank
2016 Days Camping so Far: 24
2013 3051S Forester
2013 Elantra GT (Toad)
WashU EMBA "39
I got a 12 x 18 piece of galvanized sheet metal for $4 at Tractor Supply but I'd guess Home Depot would have it too. I screwed down the four corners with some small screws, but mostly it's held down with Dicor. I've painted it White with rustoleum since I took the photo in my first post.
I was going to go with the bigger weBoost Drive 4G-M that broadcasts boosted cell signals in a wider area around the indoor antenna - they boost signal by up to 50 db.
But, since we already have the Sleek 4G booster and it worked well without the roof top antenna and ground plane, I figured I'd stick with that for now and see how much better it is with the roof mounted Ant.
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2017 Winnebago Adventurer 37F
TOAD: 2016 Lincoln MKX
I have a Verizon 4G LTE that I take everywhere with me. It doesn't care if I'm in Silverton Colorado or the backwoods of Paris TX. our two laptops and I-phones work when other people have very poor or no reception. If my wife needs her laptop while I'll I'm driving, all we need is a power source. It work great for me.
Can you tell me what model 3g/4g aircards you have and how they connect to your Wilson booster and to the wifi ranger? I'm researching this stuff and I don't see any new VZW hotspots that have both an external antenna input and a USB to connect to the wifi ranger. So are your aircards USB and your wilson extended has an external and internal antenna?
My Verizon aircard is the 6620L - it connects to the Wifi Ranger via USB cable. The WiFi Ranger is completely capable in controlling the aircard. And, the Aircard has a "tethering" setting in advanced settings that turn off the Wifi in the aircard so the WiFi Ranger's USB connection handles all the data.
My ATT aircard is a 770S and it too connects to the WiFi Ranger with a USB.
But, of course, you only use one of these at a time. And in my experience the Verizon works much better.
Both of these have an external antenna connector too - though I don't use it. My Wilson Booster is the older Sleek 4g "Cradle" booster. You simply put the aircard in the cradle and the booster does it's signal boosting through the proximity of the aircard.
Even the new cell boosters don't physically connect to the aircard. They don't have a cradle, but they have an indoor pad that rebroadcasts boosted cell signals into a 2 to 4 foot area around the indoor pad.
I would guess, that even without a booster, you would see some signal improvement from a ground plane attached hi gain antenna on the roof of your RV with the aircard plugged directly into the antenna. But I find the Sleek 4G cradle booster will take a one bar signal and make it 4 or 5 bars.
By the way, the Wifi Ranger can also connect to your aircard via the built in wifi in both devices. You don't have to use a USB connection - it's just better in every way to have the Ranger controling the aircard.
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2017 Winnebago Adventurer 37F
TOAD: 2016 Lincoln MKX
PSA -- I just saw that the 3GStore is offering 20% off of these items - but only yesterday and today. Using discount code: 48hourskingofrandom at checkout.
That's a pretty good deal. I purchased my Wilson booster from them and they were great to work with.
Both of these have an external antenna connector too - though I don't use it. My Wilson Booster is the older Sleek 4g "Cradle" booster. You simply put the aircard in the cradle and the booster does it's signal boosting through the proximity of the aircard.
Even the new cell boosters don't physically connect to the aircard. They don't have a cradle, but they have an indoor pad that rebroadcasts boosted cell signals into a 2 to 4 foot area around the indoor pad.
This is the missing link I was not able to figure out. In the documentation, it only refers to a test port, not an external antenna port, page 10.
So I was confused as to how to boost the VZW signal, with a direct connection vs the external antenna and an internal "pad" or some type of non-direct signal boosting. I was leaning toward the direct path similar to how its done in this video from 3gstore.com,
With these you get everything you would get from WiFi Ranger FM kit, with the exception of the mounting bracket. The two items above retail for about $160, a hefty discount.
I should say that I'm assuming that the 6620L has an external antenna connection - It looks like every external antenna connector I've ever seen. But since I'm not using it, I haven't paid it much attention. But it looks just like the connector in the video you embedded.
Those two wifi items appear to be the exact same thing as the WiFi Ranger - but I wonder if they would work the same without the Go2 firmware.
When I access the set up in my Go2 I have a control panel with a ton of very helpful options. Such as being able to prioritize connections - making the unit use Wifi rather than cellular broadband when ever possible. Plus, I'm able to enter an unlimited number of wifi connections - for every campground or wifi we log onto - so that the Go2 connects automatically to each network automatically. The best part of this is that I set up the Go2 to log on, but all of our devices have just one universal log on to the Go2.
Plus there are a great many other firmware features that make the Go2 really ideal for RVing.
I can see that the hardware is the same - it's the firmware/software that I'd be curious about. Who knows, it might be all there. But how to know that?
Here's the control panel of the Go2:
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2017 Winnebago Adventurer 37F
TOAD: 2016 Lincoln MKX
Those two wifi items appear to be the exact same thing as the WiFi Ranger - but I wonder if they would work the same without the Go2 firmware.
There are a lot of alternatives to the expensive Wifi Ranger and a lot of people will tell you "this is the same thing without the price tag"- but very few have actually ran them side by side.
IMO, where the wifi ranger excels is in its convenience and "no fuss" setup and configuration. To me, my time is well worth the added expense. Others have good luck with other products- to each his own.
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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
So, I've been using this system for the past month on this month long 3,500 mile trip and I have some comments about it.
The handiest part of the system is the Go2 Router with USB tethering. We've been staying in RV Parks with free wifi OR in State Parks without any Wifi. When the park has decent wifi with plenty of access points the big powered antenna on the roof isn't much use - and many times it creates problems because it's so powerful.
For instance, we spent 2-weeks at a park outside Washington DC and they had good wifi and the park's access point was about 20 feet away. I was having the devil of a time getting the system to work reliably until I unplugged the 2-mile powered antenna on the roof.
Then I just used the Go2 routers built in antenna to pick up the park's wifi and broadcast it in our RV.
And, in the State Parks without wifi, the 2-mile antenna couldn't find any wifi except the broadband cards of the other campers - and they are always password protected. So, the Go2 just used my broadband aircard that is attached to the Go2 with a USB cable.
If you boondock a lot, and park at Walmart etc, the powered roof top antenna's massive range could be a real help - but if not I'd suggest getting their cheaper $350 "Mini" system that includes a rooftop antenna that only reaches .5 mile and has a smaller indoor router with all the same features.
We've been able to use this system to watch Netflix, a little. Mostly there are halts and stalls and it's frustrating.
But we've had excellent internet access.
Without this system, when you go to a new RV park you have to log on to the parks wifi separately on all of your devices - phones, tablets, and computers. And as you move from one RV Park to another you have to log all of these devices on separately.
But with this system, you set up the Go2 router with one network id and password. Then you set up all your devices to use those settings. Then you never have to do that again. The only thing you do when you get to a new RV Park is enter the RV Parks wifi settings into the Go2 and you're done. So, for us instead of setting 5 or more devices at each RV Park. We only have to do it once on the Go2.
Here's a link to Wifi Ranger's smaller simpler and cheaper system:
Linear Mode
