WiFi antenna recommendation?

[Wayward]

Any recommendation for an external WiFi antenna for the Airstream? I need an omni-direcitonal with about 6-8dbi gain. I'd like a flexible whip antenna or one that can be mounted on a spring to keep clearance height down.

Any advice on mounting or on minimizing loss in the connectors/cables? I understand aluminum does make for such a good ground plane.

............Scott

[N2XBW]

Scott,
Try Enterasys RoamAbout 7dBi Omni Antenna WiFi 802.110
John
'84 Excella 27

[Wayward]

Thanks John. That looks nice and at a reasonable price- difficult to tell but maybe not flexible? I've seen trucker type mouning springs - do those need a steel mounting plane?

.......Scott

[N2XBW]

Scott,
I don't think a mounting plate is needed. It LOOKS like there is a bracket which would mount on a mirror or some other "likely protruberance".
Also, look at: Maximum Performance Marine & RV WiFi Kit EPR 4 watts.

I think that set up would be the nuts for long distance wifi. I use a cell card from att/cingular myself. Great coverage with no limit on minutes for $2 per day.
I have an amp and trucker antenna as well. I've been using it on my E-350 van and am anxious to try it on my MH which I just bought and have not yet picked up. See my recent post in the new members forum.
John Wolfe - N2XBW
AIR 14867
'84 Excella 270

[DFord79]

Originally Posted by Wayward

Any recommendation for an external WiFi antenna for the Airstream? I need an omni-direcitonal with about 6-8dbi gain. I'd like a flexible whip antenna or one that can be mounted on a spring to keep clearance height down.

Any advice on mounting or on minimizing loss in the connectors/cables? I understand aluminum does make for such a good ground plane.

............Scott

Forget WiFi, Get and Aircard for your Laptop from one of the nationwide broadband companys. They have plans now for 49 dollars. You can get internet anywhere you can get cell reception. Wifi is NOT safe, a broadband internet connection from a cellular company is very safe. With wifi anyone can pick up your messages...banking etc. Wifi is extremely unreliable and YOU CANNOT DO BILL PAYING OR BANKING. Too dangerous.

[Tim A.]

On another thread ( http://www.airforums.com/forums/f452...#post423753%29 ) I covered the Radiolabs WaveRV external antenna and how I mounted it. It has worked great for us.

As far as WiFi being dangerous, I would suppose that all depends on what you do with it. For example, I have no problem using WiFi for contributing to this forum, internet searching, and ordinary email. Cellphone broadband can cost more than $49 (depending on your provider) and there are many areas where broadband is not available. Where not, WiFi can be much faster.

[moosetags]

We use a Wave RV II wificard/antenna. It works great in campgrounds when the signal is weak at our site. We also use Alltel's Quick Link Mobile axcess through SuEllyn's cell phone. This costs $25.00/month for unlimited useage. We have found that we can get lower end broadband speed anywhere we can get a cell signal.

[Wayward]

I do appreciate the info! I've been reading up on the links and am leaning toward setting up both WiFi and cellular wireless. I found some routers that support both.

I like the idea of the WaveRV keeping all the RF stuff outside the aluminum bubble .

As I study up on cellular wireless, all ideas for Wifi antennas are much appreciated!

...............Scott

[Gunnyusmc]

I use Internet in motion high speed. information.com
It is for full timers due too cost, but never failed too hook up in three years and its fast and secure.

Gunny

[CanoeStream]

Here's a thread I had bookmarked -- $2 a day aircard for the days you actually use for broadband: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...ort-36592.html

Looks like I'll be bookmarking this thread for future reference too. Thanks Scott. And John.

[silverback]

WiFi reliability depends on the provider. My Home (and trailer) WiFi is entirely reliable and secure. I don't know about your banks but all my banks use SSL encryption. All transactions including sign/sign-off are encrypted. No more or less secure then wired Internet. Having said that I would probably fire-up the host based firewall software in a coffee shop. Aircards are the way of the future but it is not quite there yet for me . Broadband based WiFi is still less expensive right now.
-Ken

[henw]

I generally find WiFi at camgrounds pretty iffy. Even with a good antenna, it all depends on signal. As soon as enough campers sign on the available broadband drops right off. Especially if someone tries to download video. At one camp they referred to the later practice as " strafing."

[wanderer1]

I seem to have a good one (Netgear),have to post more info Monday about it,as the box/specs are at work.

[SRW]

Originally Posted by DFord79

Forget WiFi, Get and Aircard for your Laptop from one of the nationwide broadband companys. They have plans now for 49 dollars. You can get internet anywhere you can get cell reception. Wifi is NOT safe, a broadband internet connection from a cellular company is very safe. With wifi anyone can pick up your messages...banking etc. Wifi is extremely unreliable and YOU CANNOT DO BILL PAYING OR BANKING. Too dangerous.

You have confirmed what my daughter said. Thanks. I will check out the aircard.

[pdq1203]

Does any one have experience with Satellite Internet?

[Crusty]

WiFi is no more insecure than any other connection medium. You must always always always check that you are using an SSL connection before sending any sort of sensitive information. In Internet Explorer look for the yellow padlock to indicate that you are using SSL, which is an encrypted protocol and readable only by the computers at each end of the connection - No padlock, then don't send - ever. Anyone who is sniffing your traffic over the airwaves can capture it but they cannot decode it without a supercomputer and a lot of time.

I have an AT&T aircard which I use to connect in Austin TX (though not in a 3G area - which is their highest connection speed) and I would call my service OK, but not great. I've actually had to reduce my link throughput speed because connectivity is unreliable at the default settings. Others in the country report some really fast throughput speeds but not here. My average speed is about like DSL (better than dialup but not as good as cable broadband). If you want to test your connection, go to Speakeasy - Speakeasy, Inc. - Broadband, Voice and Data Services and run the test there for an objective evaluation.

I understand that some of the Sprint Aircard users maintain that their service, speed and cost is better than AT&T's.

[Jim Foster]

Check out radiolabs.com
I have their 12 dB Omni Antenna, an ethernet router and a cable to connect the two all from RadioLabs. The router connects to up to four computers via a network cable. If you want to, you can connect a WiFi router to the ethernet router and have your own access point. RadioLabs tech support is great.
If there is WiFi anywhere around, you will get it. At home, it picks up our own Wifi and half a dozen others around the neighborhood. This set-up really works.

I don't think WiFi wants to come through two layers of aluminum. Sometimes just opening the door helps if it is pointed in the right direction. Not good, especially at night when the bugs fly in toward the light.

Love my set-up

[wanderer1]

Originally Posted by wanderer1

I seem to have a good one (Netgear),have to post more info Monday about it,as the box/specs are at work.

Opps,forgot about this post! I disabled my built in wireless card on my three month old laptop. I now use the this NETGEAR WN121T RangeMax NEXT Wireless-N USB 2.0 Adapter It works pretty well and is faster than the built in card. Bought it at Best Buy,around $80 dollars. I use the c/g's free (sort of,in rent) Wifi G rate router,or throw the l/t in the truck and go to the other end of c/g to use the N rated router (much faster).

[SilverRanger]

Originally Posted by wanderer1

Opps,forgot about this post! I disabled my built in wireless card on my three month old laptop. ...

That's probably the route I'll take with my new laptop too. The built in WiFi card and antenna is significantly less effective than the PCMCIA card with external antenna jack I was using on my old one.

[Al - K4GLU]

I was in Best Buy in Tallahassee, FL within the last hour and they had all kinds of stuff made by Netgear but they did not have the WN121T mentioned above and there was no label on the shelf for it. Possibly it has been discontinued or they no longer carry it.