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turk123 · 09-05-2016, 10:39 AM

Here is what I worked out for the bottom brace. I'm using a 7/8 x 1 1/16 rubber stopper to fit snuggly into the tube. Make sure you sand the bottom edges of the tube or it will cut into the rubber. I bought two stoppers for this reason.

The metal rib is aluminum (of course) and on one side I added a rubber "tread like" friction pad (from Home Depot) The bolt is three inches long to make sure the extension tube doesn't pop itself off. It fits nice and tight on the rubber stopper.

Crank down the rear stabilizer jack and it's not going anywhere.

turk123 · 09-06-2016, 06:52 PM

I received the radiolabs marine XL antenna and the repeater today. Hooked everything up to do a little testing. In my neighborhood, I am able to see about 6 or 7 wifi networks (all properly secure). After setting up the gear and hoisting the antenna on top of the mast, I dived into the manual and setup the inside network. The repeater will be located in the refrigerator outer compartment. There is a 120 plug there and I can plug the repeater into it to be shared with the refrigerator. I put some velcro on the back of the repeater and up along the right side of the compartment where the metal changes to wood and with the antenna sticking up into the airspace along side of the refrigerator. I testing the signal strength of the repeater with an iphone ap that allowed me to walk around the trailer to see if the signal dropped out. It didn't. Very consistent throughout. The antenna plugs into the router and with this setup you will need a USB powered extension cable. Radiolabs sells them. The cable from the antenna is only 15' long; too short to reach the compartment.

In the setup process, radiolabs has you survey the area for wifi signals. I found about 50! Five of the networks were not "locked" so in the interest of testing, I grabbed one to see how it's signal was. Download speed was 8mb and up was 5 mb. Not bad if you are into stealing your neighbor's wifi! All the other but one, were almost as strong. Guess I should wander down the street with my signal tester to see how far away they are, and maybe let them know that their wifi is open.

I'm going to try a hotspot test next. Set up a hotspot on my phone and send my wife walking down the street to see how far away I can still see her signal.

Pictures to follow. It's dark here right now.

turk123 · 09-08-2016, 08:11 AM

Here are a few images of the install.

turk123 · 09-08-2016, 08:19 AM

The repeater in it's "refrigerator" rear location works quite well. It even reaches into the house!

I tested the systems capabilities by setting up a wifi hotspot on my wife's cell phone. I sent her walking down the street. Normally a hotspot on her phone is good for about 100' line of sight. When she reached the bend (about 600' away) I tested the signal. 92% 65mbps capable and was able to get 6 mb down and 9 MB up! Keep walking.

At the end of the street about an 1/8 of a mile away the signal dropped to 62% and about 24 mbps. I still could get 1mb (or a little less) down but had 2 mb up. I believe the antenna transmitter sends out a very strong signal for the up to be faster than the down.

Very successful! Cell phones do not have very strong transmitters so this should mean that an actual wifi router will transmit much further.

NWRVR · 09-09-2016, 09:33 AM

Subscribed!

NWRVR · 09-09-2016, 09:38 AM

If you have Comcast Xfinity you can pick up "Guest" hot spots that all Xfinity routers broadcast unless specifically turned off by the owner. All you have to do is enter your Xfinity password. We have a loft in the Pearl District of Portland, OR for which we discontinued the internet subscription because we are there infrequently. Two years ago there were no hotspots, this year we have three to choose from.

Chuck · 09-09-2016, 12:54 PM

Interesting. So aside from the ability to attach a giant-sized antenna, are there any other advantages over a wifi ranger?

turk123 · 09-09-2016, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck

Interesting. So aside from the ability to attach a giant-sized antenna, are there any other advantages over a wifi ranger?

OK, I'm not an electrical engineer, but I do have some of the specs.

Ranger 1W
XL 3.1W

Ranger 8.5 DB
XL 12 db

Here is where it gets complicated. DB is logarithmic so 8 to 12 is not 1/3 more but a lot more. Also wattage enters the picture and it too is logarithmic. Frequency is also a factor as higher frequencies carry more bandwidth but not as far. My antenna can use the "N" network (5 ghz) but falls back to 2.4 for distance. Longer antennas perform better with lower frequencies (mine is bigger than yours : )) My antenna is also higher in the air. This is a big factor for line of sight operation. I my be higher than the coach next to me that could block the signal. Compared to cell phones, your antenna 1-watt system should perform 30 times better (radiolabs has a similar antenna to the wifi-ranger and explained this to me) My system is approximately 60 time better (as told to me by them).

I would love to have an engineer step in and look at both specs to get a better-unbiased evaluation. Right now I'm relying on what I've been told.

Radiolabs is a USB based system. Wifi-ranger has to have power to the antenna no data line coming down. Both work well. Radio labs can plug directly into the USB port of a computer for simplicity. I bought the repeater router to make a personal network in the trailer. Ranger has the router in the antenna. Radiolabs is a little less expensive as I bought even with the large antenna. I had to add the extension mast bringing it to about the same cost.

Mine will pick up more and really kicks when transmitting. If someone wants to upload travel videos, my system is much much faster due to the increase in transmitting power. I'm getting "up" speeds faster than "down".

I hope that helps. For convenience and ease of use, the smaller roof mount antennas probably make more sense. As I said in my very first post, I was trying to get the best possible signal.

NC Camper · 09-10-2016, 07:58 AM

This looks like a very interesting set-up. My husband is already experimenting with elevating an external antenna for our JetPak. Thanks for providing so much detail!

If I understand things right, since you are using the outlet behind the refrigerator to power the repeater you either need to be on shore power or use your batteries and inverter. Correct? Any info on power draw? Thanks!

turk123 · 09-10-2016, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NC Camper

This looks like a very interesting set-up. My husband is already experimenting with elevating an external antenna for our JetPak. Thanks for providing so much detail!

If I understand things right, since you are using the outlet behind the refrigerator to power the repeater you either need to be on shore power or use your batteries and inverter. Correct? Any info on power draw? Thanks!

My camper has a 120v outlet for the refrigerator on the ceiling of the outside compartment. The repeater comes with a small transformer power box that can plug in there. The radio labs repeater runs on 12v. You can either match the adapter on the box or purchase the cigarette lighter type adapter from them and . . . . . there is a 12v block mounted on the floor of my compartment (for the fridge) that you can add a female cigarette adapter or hard wire into the block. The cigarette adapter would have a fuse.

Very low power draw on the repeater and the USB that goes to the mast antenna uses the USB 5v.

Pictures to follow

turk123 · 09-10-2016, 10:57 AM

Her are some pictures:

First one is a picture of the ceiling in refrigerator compartment. I have a green splitter so I could plug in the transformer (black). I have to clean that up a bit. I don't want it to pull out of the plug shutting off my fridge.

Second is the plug on the end of the transformer

Third is the block marked "12v DC

Phoenix · 09-10-2016, 11:06 AM

This is what we use for cellular mobile broadband service in remote areas:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f317...ml#post1387129

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f314...ml#post1546027

Chuck · 09-10-2016, 11:11 AM

decisions, decisions....

With either unit, I could mount an antenna to the fridge vent, and go that way; I was planning on mounting something to the batwing antenna mast, which would give it considerably more height. The antenna is on the other side of the roof, though; wouldn't be practical to run the wire down the fridge vent, but I could run it through the hole that the original tv wire came in. (ohm twin lead), which comes in through the center panel of the roof. From there, it could go anywhere, but I was thinking of running it to the cabinet in the front end cap.
On the other hand...my fridge vent cover already has a hole in it. PO had some sort of ham or cb antenna there. Looks like they cut the hole with a spoon

...all dented and not even close to a round hole. It was funny-looking, too, having an antenna sticking out sideways. I took it out, and covered the hole with aluminum tape. That was 14 years ago; its still in place, and has not leaked. so I "could" stick something in that hole, and run the wire down that way.
Old batwing element is mounted to the side of the mast, so another antenna can easily be mounted to the other side. NEW improved antennas can be retrofitted to the batwing mast--they come with brackets for that purpose...but they are flat, and sit on TOP of the mast, which would make it difficult to mount an additional antenna to it. It can be done, though...a friend of mine from the Wally club made a custom bracket to off-set the stick antenna from the batwing mast, so it can co-exist with the flat-top king jack tv antenna. The whole unit then cranks down and lays flat on the roof for travel.

turk123 · 09-10-2016, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck

decisions, decisions....

With either unit, I could mount an antenna to the fridge vent, and go that way; I was planning on mounting something to the batwing antenna mast, which would give it considerably more height. The antenna is on the other side of the roof, though; wouldn't be practical to run the wire down the fridge vent, but I could run it through the hole that the original tv wire came in. (ohm twin lead), which comes in through the center panel of the roof. From there, it could go anywhere, but I was thinking of running it to the cabinet in the front end cap.
On the other hand...my fridge vent cover already has a hole in it. PO had some sort of ham or cb antenna there. Looks like they cut the hole with a spoon

...all dented and not even close to a round hole. It was funny-looking, too, having an antenna sticking out sideways. I took it out, and covered the hole with aluminum tape. That was 14 years ago; its still in place, and has not leaked. so I "could" stick something in that hole, and run the wire down that way.
Old batwing element is mounted to the side of the mast, so another antenna can easily be mounted to the other side. NEW improved antennas can be retrofitted to the batwing mast--they come with brackets for that purpose...but they are flat, and sit on TOP of the mast, which would make it difficult to mount an additional antenna to it. It can be done, though...a friend of mine from the Wally club made a custom bracket to off-set the stick antenna from the batwing mast, so it can co-exist with the flat-top king jack tv antenna. The whole unit then cranks down and lays flat on the roof for travel.

I would probably just use the fridge vent cover. You have good access to the back of the fridge and if you are using the wifi-ranger, you just plug it into 12v power that's on the block. No need to go anywhere else. It is a router. It broadcasts a personal network to inside the cabin.

turk123 · 09-14-2016, 05:58 PM

The wife and I went up to Port Clinton / put-in-bay for a 4 day trip. We stayed at the East Harbor state park in section C. They had WiFi and we could see it on our smart phones from our campsite, but it was not strong enough to get on the internet. After setting up the antenna it showed a 100/100 signal. Disappointingly the bandwidth was being shared by so many that although we could surf the internet, and video streaming was sporadic. Certain times of the day were better and it was better than no internet so I guess I can say the system does work.

We could see about 35 wifi points with one all away across the bay to a marina. We actually could get internet from them but it was weaker than the signal from the campground. As you can see from the image, it was about .6 miles away line of sight. Without knowing the source's strength, we can draw little from this other than it did work! I will keep testing and posting results here.

turk123 · 10-06-2016, 08:17 AM

One quick update: I've discovered that my Iphone and my Ipad under the new IOS 10.0.2 will not run the setup software anymore. I've tried Safari, chrome and firefox. Does not run properly.

It does work with a Mac laptop and a PC laptop. It may be an issue with flash. So I guess I have to bring a laptop with me to do the initial discovery of wifi locations and then once setup, it works fine with my other devices. This also might be a similar restriction with the other manufacturers of antennas. Maybe someone could chime in here.

The Colonel · 10-27-2016, 08:25 AM

For someone who has the xl antenna and the wifi router repeater, do you have to have a computer to get up and running at campgrounds?

DBLee and Southern Belle on the road

turk123 · 10-28-2016, 05:38 AM

Yes

Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

turk123 · 10-28-2016, 06:55 AM

As I said in my earlier post, the router software does not run properly on an iPhone, android phone or any tablets I have. I did have it running on my iPad at first, but then I upgraded to 10.0.2 IOS and it stopped working. The company said to run it on a laptop. I carry one of those, so it is no problem.

Once the router is setup, all devices work fine for getting on the internet.

I also added a cell phone directional antenna to my mast and purchased the WeBoost cell booster. It works fantastically for bringing in far away cell towers signals and getting the signal into the trailer. The internal antenna spreads the signal throughout the cabin. I purchased the Weboost RV with the square outside antenna. I swopped out that antenna for Wilson's 12 db directional antenna. You have to turn the mast to find the closest tower. It works wonderfully and may be the best solution for getting a strong internet signal. Of course you use up your bandwidth on your plan, so plan accordingly.

So far the wifi solution works marginally in the campgrounds we have been to since installing Radiolabs. It's not the fault of the equipment, it's the inherent poor distance characteristics of WiFi. I believe it will shine while traveling and stops where a walmart, McDonalds, subway, or any other free WiFi is along the way.

This leads me to advise all of you who are going to use this method to go with the small rooftop solution. The antenna will always be up and ready for a nearby starbucks to feed you a signal. Stopping to put up an antenna makes no sense. And my solution although might connect to the campground wifi, I'm finding the limited bandwidth makes it useless for anything. I will probably add the one foot high antenna to my roof for this reason.

The Colonel · 10-28-2016, 05:43 PM

I have a laptop, but was hoping what they say on their website about just running an IP address in a browser would allow me to just use an iPad to set up. Maybe they'll fix that. I just ordered the usb router whatever and the shorter of the marine antennas. I plan to put on an extendable pole and route from underneath AS, as soon as I figure the best place to enter. The refrigerator compartment has a floor and then the wheel well has a housing so not sure if that's a good place or not. I also have the weboost with a trucker antenna that I haven't figured out how to mount. Thinking I might use same pole and route with usb cable. Haven't decided on an inside antenna for weboost yet.

DBLee and Southern Belle on the road