pickedaname
Member
We are currently full-timing it at the Kingsland St Mary's KOA in GA. We have been here since July 1st, and since we are at the very back of the campground, wifi has been terribly frustrating, when we could connect at all. I have never paid for an unlimited data plan, and never intend to. This KOA gets DSL service through TDS, and distributes this internet access via an openmesh network (a series of wifi repeaters mounted on light poles throughout the park. They just relay signals back and forth between the campers and the main wifi router at the office). Our location, of course, is somewhat out of range of the closest repeater. Even when I'd take my phone closer, the access still seemed very unreliable. I don't think that it is configured correctly.
Anyway, last week I reached the breaking point, so here is what I did to make my internet experience feel (literally) like I was back in my apartment using cable internet:
I knew I needed a powerful transmit/receive device OUTSIDE of this tin can of a trailer (wifi signals don't penetrate metal too well), so I sought a way to get the signal outside of the trailer, then bridge that device with a wireless access point or router INSIDE the trailer.
For outside duties, I purchased a KuWFi CPE1105 for $50. The CPE1105 is a Multipurpose wifi device which boasts a 2 kilometer range and can be left out in the rain. It can be powered using a network cable (so that you don't need an outlet right there. This is called PoE, or power over ethernet, and has a range of 100 meters, if I remember correctly) AND, since my laptop has no network port, it can be configured, out of the box, using wifi signal.
Next, knowing I would need to bring that connection inside the trailer via cabling, I bought a white 25' cat6 network cable. The tt is white, so...
Finally, I took a gamble on a cheap, but well rated, $23 wifi router/ access point, the TP-Link TL-WA801ND. This little gem also comes with the PoE as an option, and, like the CPE1105, does NOT require an ethernet cable connection to the device for initial configuration. If you already have a wifi router that can be set to AP mode, then use that instead.
Both devices require you to temporarily assign a static IP address to your laptop if you choose to perform configuration via wifi, so if you are not comfortable with changing your network configuration, get your kids to do the configuration portion (or all of it haha). Which IP address to assign and which IP to browse to in IE are in the directions for each device. Another thing to consider is DHCP. In my setup, the CPE acts as a DHCP server, not the TP-Link. If you get this setup wrong, it my seem that 'this crap doesn't work'. Get help before assuming that the hardware is faulty. It's more likely a configuration issue.
I have been in the IT industry for 20 years, but the CPE instructions were pretty much useless (other than getting the IP info for initial configuration), as was the vendors website, so it took me a while to choose the correct configuration for what I was trying to do (choose WISP mode if you want the same setup and you will avoid the aforementioned trial and error hassle). It will ask you to select a network to use. It wants you to tell it which wireless network that you are trying to bring into your trailer, along with the passphrase (if it's not an open network). Once you've done that, the wireless network should be extended through the CPE's network port labeled WLAN/LAN (vs the one simply labeled LAN). It is that port which should be run to the included power injector (just a wall plug with 2 ethernet ports). Make sure it plugs into the port labeled POE. The other port on that power injector plug, labeled LAN, should run to the ethernet port on the back of the TL-WA801ND, which is inside your RV or TT. Configure THAT device in 'Bridge with AP' mode, make sure that dhcp on this TL-WA801ND is DISABLED, give it it's own unique network name (or SID) with passcode, and you should be good to go. That will be the network you connect to from your devices, and the passcode you enter. Now, I temporarily ran the ethernet cable behind the kitchen window and screen, so that I could simply let the CPE dangle outside where I could easily reach it during the trail and error phase. Also, if the CPE happened to be dead on arrival, I could determine that BEFORE mounting it on a pole or to my roof antenna. I suggest you do the same before actually going through the hassle of installation. I'll climb up there someday and actually mount the thing on the roof hahaha.
The reason I selected 802.11BGN, rather than the newer 802.11ac, is because the park is only using b/g/n equipment, and it was cheap.
If your park is transmitting wifi via 802.11ac equipment, then, by all means, try to find these parts which use that standard, because 802.11ac has triple the bandwidth retention as 802.11n or g. 802.11n is plenty for our needs here, laptop, ipad and phone connecting simultaneously. The CPE can be configured to reboot daily at a specified time, so I chose 2AM.
I hope this mess helps someone.
-Lance
Anyway, last week I reached the breaking point, so here is what I did to make my internet experience feel (literally) like I was back in my apartment using cable internet:
I knew I needed a powerful transmit/receive device OUTSIDE of this tin can of a trailer (wifi signals don't penetrate metal too well), so I sought a way to get the signal outside of the trailer, then bridge that device with a wireless access point or router INSIDE the trailer.
For outside duties, I purchased a KuWFi CPE1105 for $50. The CPE1105 is a Multipurpose wifi device which boasts a 2 kilometer range and can be left out in the rain. It can be powered using a network cable (so that you don't need an outlet right there. This is called PoE, or power over ethernet, and has a range of 100 meters, if I remember correctly) AND, since my laptop has no network port, it can be configured, out of the box, using wifi signal.
Next, knowing I would need to bring that connection inside the trailer via cabling, I bought a white 25' cat6 network cable. The tt is white, so...
Finally, I took a gamble on a cheap, but well rated, $23 wifi router/ access point, the TP-Link TL-WA801ND. This little gem also comes with the PoE as an option, and, like the CPE1105, does NOT require an ethernet cable connection to the device for initial configuration. If you already have a wifi router that can be set to AP mode, then use that instead.
Both devices require you to temporarily assign a static IP address to your laptop if you choose to perform configuration via wifi, so if you are not comfortable with changing your network configuration, get your kids to do the configuration portion (or all of it haha). Which IP address to assign and which IP to browse to in IE are in the directions for each device. Another thing to consider is DHCP. In my setup, the CPE acts as a DHCP server, not the TP-Link. If you get this setup wrong, it my seem that 'this crap doesn't work'. Get help before assuming that the hardware is faulty. It's more likely a configuration issue.
I have been in the IT industry for 20 years, but the CPE instructions were pretty much useless (other than getting the IP info for initial configuration), as was the vendors website, so it took me a while to choose the correct configuration for what I was trying to do (choose WISP mode if you want the same setup and you will avoid the aforementioned trial and error hassle). It will ask you to select a network to use. It wants you to tell it which wireless network that you are trying to bring into your trailer, along with the passphrase (if it's not an open network). Once you've done that, the wireless network should be extended through the CPE's network port labeled WLAN/LAN (vs the one simply labeled LAN). It is that port which should be run to the included power injector (just a wall plug with 2 ethernet ports). Make sure it plugs into the port labeled POE. The other port on that power injector plug, labeled LAN, should run to the ethernet port on the back of the TL-WA801ND, which is inside your RV or TT. Configure THAT device in 'Bridge with AP' mode, make sure that dhcp on this TL-WA801ND is DISABLED, give it it's own unique network name (or SID) with passcode, and you should be good to go. That will be the network you connect to from your devices, and the passcode you enter. Now, I temporarily ran the ethernet cable behind the kitchen window and screen, so that I could simply let the CPE dangle outside where I could easily reach it during the trail and error phase. Also, if the CPE happened to be dead on arrival, I could determine that BEFORE mounting it on a pole or to my roof antenna. I suggest you do the same before actually going through the hassle of installation. I'll climb up there someday and actually mount the thing on the roof hahaha.
The reason I selected 802.11BGN, rather than the newer 802.11ac, is because the park is only using b/g/n equipment, and it was cheap.
If your park is transmitting wifi via 802.11ac equipment, then, by all means, try to find these parts which use that standard, because 802.11ac has triple the bandwidth retention as 802.11n or g. 802.11n is plenty for our needs here, laptop, ipad and phone connecting simultaneously. The CPE can be configured to reboot daily at a specified time, so I chose 2AM.
I hope this mess helps someone.
-Lance
