Sprint aircard is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!

mrcomer · Feb 9, 2009

So I just got a PM from Alex asking why I haven't said anything. He thougth I was having too much fun, well he's right.

Well I got everything up and running. I love this aircard stuff. So portable and so easy. We have a WIFI hotspot at home with the Cradlepoint Router MBR1000.

Just called Wild Blue today to cancel my subscription with them.

We went to Amish country this past weekend in Holmes County Ohio and all the way up Linda was on the laptop surfing the internet. When we stopped at a Flying J the speed on the aircard was just unbelievable. My wife was very pleased. I did "I told you so" to her. This is what the internet is supposed to be like. When we arrived at the Bed and Breakfast I setup a WIFI hotspot. Didn't get to use it very much as we spent most of our time running around.

All in all a great investment for us. We are all very pleased.

Mark

Delaine and Lindy · Feb 9, 2009

AT&T Air card..........

We have the AT&T air card and the Cradle Point 1000 and its also awesome and much faster than the 2005 AT&T card we had and its as close to DSL as anything we have used. Alex also gave us advice on what we needed. GBY....

davelinde · Feb 16, 2009

Make it the trifecta... Sprint, ATT and I'll add VZ I guess if you've got coverage they must all be the same. It's the Cradlepoint that makes it nice and turnkey I think. We went to visit my sis-in-law at her condo on Clearwater beach this weekend and brought the router/card along. Very nice to have internet where you are and so easy to share it via the wifi. With the hassle of VZ-access manager I would NOT want to be moving the USB modems between PC's to share it. The router is THE way to go.

SLJKansas · Feb 16, 2009

Ok I'm just getting my feet wet with the wireless internet. We have Verison and the UM175 USB modem, and it works well for us now. I'm not sure if I understand the Cradlepoint. Let see if I got it right. I would plug my usb modem into the Cradlepoint and then I would have a wifi so I could two laptops off the one modem? If this is correct, with out being plugged into the laptop that has the software loaded, how does the modem work.

FYI, I have just purchase the Wilson trucker antenna and the adapter for the modem.

AlexSian · Feb 17, 2009

The cradlepoint router has the intelligence to manage the connection to carrier.
It is not necessary to run the carrier's software on any computer while your device is attached/operating from the router.
Only thing you do is run your built in software that manages a wifi connection, same as if you were trying to connect to campground wifi, except that you own the hotspot, and its always ready when you are.

SLJKansas · Feb 17, 2009

Thanks EVDOalex for the explaination.

davelinde · Feb 24, 2009

Not only can the router take care of the aircard for you, I just connected my Cradlepoint to a WiFi bridge and we are sharing the campground WiFi service with all the PC's in our RV. The router will use the WiFi (defined primary) interface first and only revert to the aircard (defined second) if the primary fails. The kids just watched 200MB of Internet TV and are very happy to be off the data-diet we had with the aircard.

IF this works as I expect/hope it will, I now have the reliability of the aircard paired with the speed and unlimited use of our campground WiFi. Last year I worked on the CG WiFi for 2 months and it went completely out of service a few hours every few days - that unpredictability was the reason I bought the aircard to start with. I know this might not be important to a lot of people... but right now I could not be happier with my Internet solution!

jgilbert · Mar 26, 2009

Dave,

What is this wifi bridge you speak of? Is it a physical connection to the campground equipment?

Joe

Bobby A · Mar 26, 2009

to sljkansas and everyone,
I just purchased the UM175 from verizon about 5 days ago, I'm useing it as we speak, so far I'm very happy with it, in fact, when I get home I'm going to cancel my phone carrier and go totally wireless.

Jim & Harriet · Apr 19, 2009

aircard help please

just read the comments here and thought i'd ask for help.

i love the internet and hate to be without it or have to depend on staying only at campgrounds that offer wifi. so how do i get started? i have no monthly cel service so i am open to any of the providers.
right now we only travel with one laptop computer, but in the future we might add a second and would need to be able to surf the net via both.
thanks for any suggestions.

AlexSian · Apr 19, 2009

Jim & Harriet said:
just read the comments here and thought i'd ask for help.
i love the internet and hate to be without it or have to depend on staying only at campgrounds that offer wifi. so how do i get started? i have no monthly cel service so i am open to any of the providers.
right now we only travel with one laptop computer, but in the future we might add a second and would need to be able to surf the net via both.
thanks for any suggestions.

we've recently posted a guide for our RV customers:

http://3gstore.com/RV

it isn't meant to be an end-all be-all sort of thing... just a "guide"

hope it serves as a good starting point for you.

Jim & Harriet · Apr 19, 2009

evdo?

i know you will probably laugh, but what is evdo?

having asked that i will say thanks for the web site connection. i looked it over and the "good" and "better" suggestions seem possible. one of the things i am not sure of is where does the "aircard" fit into the set-up? was i just not seeing it? or is that a differeent way to connect?

as i said, i am very new to the best-way-to-connect technology. i'll go back to the website and try to learn more about the process.

thanks again for your help.

ok, i read more information and i know about "evdo." but what i really need information that tells me step-by-step exactly what to buy, the cost and how to use it. i'll return to the web site and see if it is all available.

AlexSian · Apr 19, 2009

Jim & Harriet said:
...what i really need information that tells me step-by-step exactly what to buy, the cost and how to use it. i'll return to the web site and see if it is all available.

your first decision really needs to be which carrier to go with, and that decision needs to be based on where you want to use this technology.

will you be fulltiming? focusing on any particular part of the nation?

will you be using at stick-built for a significant part of the year? if so, you might want to send me that full street address and zip code via private message so i can research coverage for you. (if you want to look at it yourself, check out http://3gstore.com/coverage )

after the carrier decision, i recommend starting with the "good" solution and hitting the road to see how it works out for you. its easy to progress to better/best as needed because of your RV lifestyle.

hope this helps you...

Jim & Harriet · Apr 20, 2009

i looked at both service area maps. right now we are only part-time 5ers so i entered our home address. seems that verizon has dark blue coverage and sprint has only light-orange coverage. so i think we would go with the verizon plan. i will go back to the 3g store and look at the "good" solution and see if i can figure out how to put the parts together.
thanks again.

mrcomer · Apr 20, 2009

Jim,
You are doing exactly what I had to do not too long ago. Alex is a super resource for all items EVDO. He is very knowledgeable and will help you all the way through the entire process. For me, I was trying to replace my satellite internet at home and as a bonus have internet on the road when we camp. For us it worked out that Sprint was best at home. We have taken it on the road a couple of times and it was awesome. I have not installed the antenna on the RV yet. As soon as I figure out the best placement and figure a good way to run the wire I will get it mounted. Would also like to add and amplifier at a later time. For now, the only item I really want to get is a mobile router to leave in the trailer.

Whatever direction you go you will not be sorry.

Good luck,
Mark

AlexSian · Apr 20, 2009

Jim & Harriet said:
i looked at both service area maps. right now we are only part-time 5ers so i entered our home address. seems that verizon has dark blue coverage and sprint has only light-orange coverage. so i think we would go with the verizon plan. i will go back to the 3g store and look at the "good" solution and see if i can figure out how to put the parts together. thanks again.

you are most welcome. don't forget that you can call and talk to our well-educated sales staff.

if you do call, just tell them you are looking to get the "good" RV solution from our solutions guide.

Jim & Harriet · Apr 20, 2009

phone choice, etc.

ok, so let me see if i am understanding this...
the phone itself is not part of the set-up?
the service provider for the phone also provides the internet service connection via modem software they provide?
is that right so far?

but how does that work with the router (cradlepoint?) that is connected to my laptop?

i looked at the "good" solution but am still confused because the phone is not part of the diagram. sorry to be so dense...

perhaps i just need to call and chat with one of the experts...

boatto5er · Apr 20, 2009

Hi Jim,

I don't currently have a full setup with the router, but I do have an aircard and can answer a few of your questions. The USB modem will act as a phone for your PC to connect to the internet. The service provider you choose can be totally independent from your current cell phone provider, however you may get a discount if you use your current cellphone provider for your service. The Cradlepoint router allows you to hook up more than one PC to the interent at the same time. The modem is connected to your router instead of your PC and the PC's connect to the router via their internal wireless cards. In effect, you are then sharing the modem and internet connection. If you only hook up one PC, I don't believe you need the router. That's my take on it. Hope that clears it up a little. If I misstated anything, I'm sure Alex will correct me

.

AlexSian · Apr 20, 2009

gus has it right. you don't need to get data modem from same carrier that your cell phone came from. you want data modem from carrier that provides the coverage where you need it.

and yes, i do think you'd have an easier time understanding, if you were to call in.

AlexSian · Nov 24, 2009

davelinde said:
Not only can the router take care of the aircard for you, I just connected my Cradlepoint to a WiFi bridge and we are sharing the campground WiFi service with all the PC's in our RV. The router will use the WiFi (defined primary) interface first and only revert to the aircard (defined second) if the primary fails. The kids just watched 200MB of Internet TV and are very happy to be off the data-diet we had with the aircard.

IF this works as I expect/hope it will, I now have the reliability of the aircard paired with the speed and unlimited use of our campground WiFi. Last year I worked on the CG WiFi for 2 months and it went completely out of service a few hours every few days - that unpredictability was the reason I bought the aircard to start with. I know this might not be important to a lot of people... but right now I could not be happier with my Internet solution!

company i work for is now selling the pepwave surf wifi bridge.

by itself, the pepwave surf is a great way to improve wifi reception in parks
with limited wifi range, but the real reason we'll sell and support it is as our
"wifi as wan" solution for cradlepoint routers.

with a tipsheet we've prepared, owners of cradlepoint routers will find it easy
to use campground wifi as an internet source when cellular signal sucks.

using the pepwave surf this way means no network settings have to change on any
computer already associated with the cradlepoint router.

more info in my review at http://www.evdoinfo.com/mini

Sprint aircard is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!

Past Ohio Chapter Leaders (Founding)

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SLJKansas

Mobile Broadband Consultant

SLJKansas

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Mobile Broadband Consultant

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Mobile Broadband Consultant

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Past Ohio Chapter Leaders (Founding)

Mobile Broadband Consultant

Well-known member

Founding VA Chap Ldr (Ret)

Mobile Broadband Consultant

Mobile Broadband Consultant

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