RV Wireless Solution

Hey,

Last year I bought an RV and my wife an I have been travling across the nation since. We have a laptop and found that we had trouble picking up the wireless networks offered by the RV parks because of low signal strength. I looked for product to help increase the range of my laptop and came up with a nifty solution. I used a USB wireless adapter with a removeable antenna, and combined it with a strong outdoor antenna that I mounted on the roof of my RV. The products I used were an 'HWUG1'

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and an 'HAO9SIP'
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from Hawking Technologies. I have been very happy with this configuration for about a month now and just wanted to share with my fellow RV'ers.

Rob

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Reply to
RobbieWinter
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I'm glad your solution works in your RV. I too am an RVer but I want a wireless solution so I can move about inside and outside my rig.

Any thoughts?

BTW, does the documentation for the Hawking adapter give any hint that it will work with USB 1.1? Everything I could find says 2.0 only.

Cheers, Joe

Reply to
Joe Bedford

Anything that works on USB 2.0 should work connected to a USB 1.1 port.

The Hawking HWU8DD "Supports USB 2.0/1.1/1.0 interface". "Note: to obtain the best possible wireless data speeds you must attach the device to a hi-speed USB 2.0 port on your computer. If the device is plugged into a USB 1.1 port it will work at a lower speed."

Reply to
dold

Thanks. I just looked at the spec sheets for the products the OP mentionned.

I suspect if I have to be stuck with a wire, I'll be better of with, say, a gaming adapter attached to my ethernet port rather than the old, slow USB 1.1 that I have.

Cheers, Joe

Reply to
Joe Bedford

You may want to rethink that.. The speed you get is going to be limited by the slowest speed device in the system ( usually the connection to the internet, think water, you may plumb with 3/4" pipe, but if you had a 1/4" feed, that would limit the 3/4 pipe to the amount of water a 1/4 pipe can transfer).. Point is that whether it is cable or DSL (usual max around 6-8 Mbps), it is still going to be way way slower than USB 1.1 (about 12 Mbps)..... Just an aside, to maximize the sales of usb 2.0, you always see the term "up to" in regards to it's speed.... guess what..... "up to" are weasel words, actual speeds are 3-20 MB (24-160 Mb).. a far cry from 480 :)

Reply to
Peter Pan

Most hot spots are still 802.11b, so the adapter doesn't need to be any faster than that, and the connection to the Internet might be satellite in some RV parks, which I think is around 700Kbps. Even a moderate cable connection won't be faster than a slow WiFi link.

You will also not achieve maximum radio rates at a distance from the WAP. I have a USB 1.1 WiFi 802.11b dongle that used to be capable of the same speed as a wired connection. Recently my cable has gotten faster, so that's no longer true, but the"b" dongle is still plenty fast enough for surfing and downloading most things.

It used to be that the USB gadgets were much cheaper than the Ethernet client gadgets. The more "powerful" units are about the same price, but the USB gadgets are self-powered, essentially, where the Ethernet gadgets will need separate power.

My most recent engagement isn't resolved yet. A Thinkpad built in adapter gets a signal from the desired hot spot, but my DWL-120 dongle does not, even when I add a coffee can reflector. The desktop that I want to connect is more than 15 feet away from the window where I hope to get signal, but when I add a second repeater USB cable to the cost of a USB adapter like the HWU8DD, I exceed the cost of an Ethernet gaming adapter. The gaming adapter wouldn't already include the antenna, so that would raise that cost. The desktop is USB 1.1.

The Hawking HWBA54G might be the ticket, in client mode, with a freeantennas.com EZ-12 Windsurfer reflector. I will have power available at the window, so that's not a problem. The reviews look bad, but then it seems that the only reviews are written by unhappy users "I'm on hold for customer support as I write this".

The complaints about the manual are not true of the manual downloaded from the web site today, and the complaints about the "new" firmware that needs to be downloaded seems to refer to firmware dated 8/24/2005. If that's still shipping in current boxes, that's bad, but now that you know, updating to the latest firmware before doing anything else seems wise.

There are gaming adapters, and there are some other routers that have a client mode. The Hawking just caught my eye today.

Reply to
dold

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 05:08:07 +0000 (UTC), snipped-for-privacy@22.usenet.us.com wrote in :

Most will, but some won't (e.g., my NEC DVD burner).

Reply to
John Navas

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:59:38 -0400, "Peter Pan" wrote in :

That's 12 Mbps raw. Actually throughput will be quite a bit less than that.

Reply to
John Navas

My notes say 20 Mbps raw, and about 12 Mbps actual... Either way it's faster than the cable or DSL modem... guess I should have just said way faster, rather than way way faster.... :)

Reply to
Peter Pan

On Thu, 14 Jun 2007 01:37:59 -0400, "Peter Pan" wrote in :

12 Mbps raw. Figure about 4-6 Mbps throughout on bulk transfer with a good implementation, which could be a limiting factor, particularly if the implementation is actually worse than that.
Reply to
John Navas

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Great solution. I have a rig like this too for problem places.

Steve

Reply to
seaweedsteve

Build your own two radio repeater: Instead of a USB adapter, use a wireless ethernet bridge with whatever antenna it needs outside the metal box to connect to the hotspot. Run an ethernet cable from bridge to a second wireless router or access point to cover your RV locally. Add additional ethernet cables to any fixed computers or for extra coverage in dead spots

Big problem is how get indoor and outdoor coverage with one AP. Metal RVs are RF shields. Not much gets in or out. Placing the AP by a window will allow some outdoor coverage.

Steve

Reply to
seaweedsteve

On Thu, 14 Jun 2007 08:10:31 -0700, seaweedsteve wrote in :

The problem with that solution is signal loss in the antenna cable, which can greatly reduce the effectiveness of the external antenna.

Better to locate the access point as close as possible to the antenna.

My own preference is something like the Hawking HWU8DD Hi-Gain USB Wireless-G Dish Adapter

  • The USB cable has no signal loss, and can be extended with active extension cable(s).
  • The directional nature of the antenna has the added benefit of reducing wireless interference.
  • I've good success with this in marine environments, and recommend it in the Wi-Fi on a Boat wiki (link below).

One caveat is that it's not a permanent solution. The unit is stored inside, and only placed outside when needed, aimed at the desired access point. I use heavy duty Velcro to make the outside mounting secure.

Another caveat is that the Mac isn't supported. An alternative that solves that problem is to use a wireless Ethernet (client) bridge like the Buffalo Wireless-G High Power Ethernet Converter WLI-TX4-G54HP.

  • Ethernet cable likewise has no signal loss.
  • PoE (Power over Ethernet) can be used to avoid a separate power cable.
Reply to
John Navas

Yes, I understand that. I was more concerned about compatibility than throughput. When I'm RVing usually what I'm doing is checking email and paying bills with the occasional "google this or google that" thrown in. I don't need high-speed but what I do want is a rock solid connection where I don't have to stand on one foot in the bedroom pointing exactly NNE to get it to work (so to speak).

I really wanted a wireless solution but if I have to be tethered by some kind of cable, ethernet gives more length flexibility than USB.

BTW, I have a camera and a backup drive and they both work on USB 1.1 but are vastly faster on my USB2.0 equipped machine.

Cheers, Joe

Reply to
Joe Bedford

In that case you may want to consider this (had it in my RV, external antenna on the TV antenna mast (had sat too for TV) so I could turn it, cable to the fridge vent, amp to power behind the fridge, and then an omni antenna inside to make the whole inside of the RV WiFi friendly (metal walls, blocked the signal from outside big time)

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about $299... However if you want to consider internet by cellphone instead of wifi, this unit works for both voice and data (on the cell)
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(replaced my wifi only with this so I could use the cell for both phone and data, and a datacard in my laptop, same antennas, same cable route etc)

For some nifty ideas see the whole website and look at their accessories (yagi/panel/omni/antennas etc) bet you can come up with some real cool ideas...

Reply to
Peter Pan

It might not be rock solid in some remote campgrounds, but anything along an interstate probably has cellular coverage.

I see bankofamerica has a .mobi tool to access online banking on a cellphone, and yahoo/aol/sbc-yahoo/gmail all work on most cell phones.

You could also tether a PC to a cellphone, which yields somewhere between fast dialup and DSL, depending on the equipment and location.

I tether a PC via Bluetooth to a cellphone propped in the window on Cingular, and see from 80-100Kbits/sec. It used to be 30Kbits/sec, but it upgraded here, recently.

Newer cellphones go faster in major metropolitan areas.

Reply to
dold

Agreed. The Bridge is the way to go in this case, and most efficient way is to mount it by the antenna.

One could use a rootenna :

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or keep the existing antenna just mount it in an enclosure:
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with a pigtail to the antenna.

Still, the last time we went around about doing this with RVs, it was pointed out that the vibration on a mast could be significantly worse than keeping the bridge inside.

Considering that, I lean towards suggesting low-loss coax and keeping the bridge inside the RV on the shortest possible coax cable.

I'll get more specific:

1) Get a wireless bridge like the Buffalo John mentioned:

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2) Use low loss coax from the antenna thru the roof or however you run the current USB and keep the bridge inside. LMR400 loses only .25 db per meter at 2.4Ghz. At 30 feet, that's under 2.5 db loss. And the shorter the better.

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With a 12 to 15 dbi antenna, you still net plenty of gain and have a decent coverage pattern.

Perhaps the antenna you already own will work fine. You have it, it's installed, try it first. If not, something like this will make up for the cable loss:

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or a backfire antenna

3) use any wireless router or AP inside the RV for local wireless coverage. The current fav is the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 wireless router, but there are plenty of cheaper ones if you are on a tight budget.

Here's the budget wireless router of the moment:

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I have no idea if the Hawking is any good at all. The Buffalo is good.

Locate your AP by the window to cover an area outside as well.

I believe this is an excellent solution for getting wireless coverage to the inside of your RV.

Steve

Reply to
seaweedsteve

snip ... The Hawking HWBA54G might be the ticket, in client mode, with a

In your case, Clarence, why not go with the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 and install DD-WRT on it? It will be as flexible as the Hawking and with a reflector on the included *4dbi* antenna, you are quite good to go for $60.

Plus it's a lot more tool for future use than a gaming adapter or a usb + extension.

I guess that's what your are thinking with that Hawking -

I strongly suggest the Buffalo with DD-WRT instead. More options, cheaper, more common for getting support online. There are DD-WRT tutorials, forums etc. And good reviews for the Buffalo all around.

I can vouch for ours !

Steve

Reply to
seaweedsteve

I hope this thread isn't dead yet, because I need to hijack it. :-)

All the stuff I've heard lately seems to say that you can't get internet from a wireless router > wireless bridge>ethernet cable>2nd wireless router > wireless to various computers with wireless adapters.

This is precisely what I need to do (I think). There's an existing DSL>Linksys WRT54G that I can 'see' wirelessly (by using a directional antenna) from a window in my shop, but I need to turn a corner around obstructions so that a wifi internet signal will be available to the computers with wireless adapters in my house. There is also a computer in the shop that can be ethernet cabled to whatever wireless device 'sees' the WRT54G. My computers need to talk to each other, but do not need to talk to any computers on the WRT54G's native network; they just need to get internet access.

Can this be achieved with one of the wireless routers that can be configured as a bridge, or must a 'by design' wireless/wired bridge be used?

I can use the computer in the shop to 'share' internet access through an additional wireless device, if that's a better way to do it.

I currently have on my shelf an old D-Link DI-514 ('B' speed), a Motorola WR850G and a CompUSA wireless router that doesn't seem to have an actual model number (SKU is 333628).

Can any of these be used as either wireless bridge to wired/wireless router, or wireless bridge to ethernet>desktop>shared internet via another wireless device (router? access point?)? I'll happily buy another device if it will get me working at an affordable price.

The closest thing possible to a 'cookbook' approach will be needed at my experience level. I've been reading the wikis & other sites, but I'm having a problem building a strong base of knowledge to get where I need to be with this project. I've read through some of the wrt.org stuff & it looks very powerful, but a B-2 bomber is only powerful if you know how to fly it....

If anyone is willing to take this on 'off-line', I'd be grateful & I'll be happy to write up a how-to-for-dummies once I get it working. My reply-to address is a working address.

Thanks,

Charlie

Reply to
Charlie

Depends what you mean by reasonably priced.. Free or willing to spend a few bucks? (this one is about $299)

From

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Set up a Point to Point solution that can get you miles of range between a router and a bridge!

At the heart of the CA2400 is a 500mw 2.4 GHZ Bi-Directional amplifier that increases the signal strength by over 1000%. It allows for quality signal gain without harmful packet loss associated with other amplifiers.

CA2400A Combines the amplifier with our Ceiling Mount CA-C1000 antenna that can be placed up to 25' from the amplifier. The increase in strength can cover an area in excess of 10.000 square feet. At your option you can change this antenna to our COM24015 Interior Panel Antenna for directional 'push' to overcome wall signal losses.

Using the CA2400A with a router or access point on you can extend communication across a few miles to be picked up at the other end with another CA2400A system connected to a Bridge! All that is required is a little patience to align the high gain panel antennas that come with the systems. This is a cost effective solution to extend your network into another building or location.

============================ Note the last paragraph, you can use it as an input to a local wap/router

From the same place,

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antenna for the above about $59 (much easier to aim and windproof than a yagi)

You didn't say what neck of the woods you are in, I have one set up at my house in Northern Idaho (TV Mast on the house with a cable modem, to the TV mast on the workshop about 1/2 mile away, however during the spring/summer lots of foliage, and in the winter, lots of snow.. both really screw up the fresnel zone clearance, so the height was needed for reliability)

======================================= In your case, think panel antenna outside pointed at the wifi source around the corner, the lan/amp, and that to the wan in on a wap/router to give you both wired and wireless

Reply to
Peter Pan

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