Cell & Wi-Fi Booster(s). Do we need both?

[Sniper]

As we continue to prepare for full time I know the Commander will need to be able to have internet access at all times (for her job), and this is an area of high illiteracy on my part (I'm rocking a 9 year old flip phone, and I still don't understand half it's functions ). So I've been reading, researching, checking out post on this forum (and other forums), and websites.

Currently she uses the hot spot off her phone for the internet when we are away from home, so I assume that is where a cell booster would help. This should also help with voice connection as well, correct?

A Wi-Fi booster would help picking up a weak computer only signal say from a campground Wi-Fi signal, correct? So do we need, or want both to ensure internet service, at least most of the time? (I understand there are areas that no matter what you have, you may not get a signal) Am I way off base here? Assuming this it should also be noted, even though I've seen many of your pictures showing how you secured the cables on the roof, I'm still terrified of the prospect of popping wire clamp screws in the roof.

Appreciate all input, and advice, but please keep it at caveman level for me if you would (short 3rd grade sentences, and stick figures for this subject matter please ).

 

[jam20ster]

I just ordered the wifionsteroids.com wifi booster. It just plugs into a 110 outlet and boosts the signal. I will pass along my experience once it comes in. Reason I chose this over others is there is no chords to plug in or run from outside in. Fairly inexpensive at $70.

 

[Garypowell]

I think you will find that campground wifi is generally unreliable. I have seen that some parks might be upgrading...but it has proven to be too spotty for us as we work on the road too. I will also mention that at times we have tried to work via our cell phones (AT&T) as a hot spot.....and again it seems flaky at times too. The connection to the computer seems to drop a lot.

So for about 10 years we have used an AT&T hot spot and have been very happy with it.....of course there are costs too. We recently added a Verizon hot spot to the line up as we are just coming off a 2 month trip out west and into Canada....so the cost of the AT&T was going to be too high. With the Verizon we can change plans easily....with the AT&T we have a fairly inexpensive plan (unlimited data full speed up to 30 Gig and throttled after that for $135 per month). This is a new plan for us and last month they did not throttle us.....waiting to see how it works.....at least they did not charge us for the overage as in the past at $15/Gig.

We just do basic email with some web browsing and were told even when throttled we would not see much degradation....again....waiting to see how that really works when we actually get throttled.

We are in DC area right now and seem to be in an AT&T hole so just switched everything over to the Verizon and working fine.

I really don't believe I need any kind of booster as we always travel to big cities for our work. If memory serves correctly you have solar panels and have done a great job setting up for being off the grid.....if that is when your wife is going to work a booster might help.

 

[Sniper]

No solar for us (yet anyway) Gary, but we do have Verizon which has worked really well, but we like to do state parks, and have been in several out West, and a least one in Kentucky were we've had none, or very weak and spotty signal. We've never had any luck with a campground wi-fi connection, but thought a booster may help there as well, so when we are on the road full time she may save some of her megs, or gigs, or whatever they call them without going over her plan.

Jam20ster that seems like something I would understand, and look forward to your review. Thanks for the input guys. I really wish I were more intelligent concerning this whole wireless thing. The Commander tells me I handle her smart phone like it's a dirty diaper. LOL

 

[jam20ster]

The wifi booster has worked well for us so far. We went from not being able to use the wifi provided at our RV park, to now being able to stream movies via our firestick. I figured i would go this route first since there is no monthly fee.

The initial setup was a bit confusing, but called the owner Gary Drake and he quickly walked us thru and we where setup up within minutes.

I'm still considering a hot spot so I can make the connection private vs open, but even with that this booster will then amplify that signal also.

 

[macjj]

Being in the computer and network business since inception, I am having logical issues with this technology. So if someone could point to articles that clarify it would be appreciated. WiFi is one technology, and Celluar technology is another, to achieve the same result. A Celluar "hot spot", Verizon, ATT, etc. will get you access to the Celluar network, so will a phone. However it will not increase the bandwidth which is governed by the amount of traffic. Just like Hiways, the more users, the more congestion, the slower the movement. Signal strength does not always relate to bandwidth. WiFi is tied to a land based network of servers and therefore requires authentication. That said a WiFi booster, or Extender necessitates it be authenticated with a host. However I can conceded that technology is ever changing, so new changes are happening and as retired, I have not been keeping up. Therefor if someone has access to a link(s), I would appreciate the reference.


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[danemayer]

No articles or references to point to. But if you're having a problem with park WiFi due to your equipment not having great internal antennas, or having other shortcomings, a repeater could be very helpful. If you have good equipment, but are a little too far away from the access points, a repeater with better antennas could also help you.

But in my experience, the WiFi problem is most parks is first and foremost too many users sharing a low-bandwidth connection. Another issue in parks where there are a lot of sites close together is the channel contention because most of the WiFi devices are operating on channels 1, 6 or 11. Too many users on too few channels yields an excessive number of data collisions and retries at the access point.

If you're expecting to watch movies, the park will need a pretty robust WiFi setup.

 

[FARMER45]

Seems like at RV parks we get more interference from rvs that have boosters. We have been at rally's where 10 or 12 others networks were showing a strong signal but they are all secure. Reminds me of the CB days, when a guy would have his so amped up, no one should else could talk for 20 miles when they were on the air

 

[macjj]

Farmer45. CB boosters is somewhat different. First most are bootlegged, and uncontrolled. Some ill "tweet" there unit so a power meeter reads higher. This really does not provide more intelligent power, but more spectrum splatter. It overrides adjacent channels because of the harmonics generated by this distortion. In simple terms a normal CB SSB channels consumes 3500 hertz of bandwidth, a "boosted" signal consumes on an average of 30,000 hertz. If the users would use the proper equipment they could generate more intelligent power. The "network" devices described are better controlled, and leave very little for the untrained user to adjust


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[Sniper]

Based on what I'm reading here (and other places) that for the best chance of keeping the Commander on line, I will be needing both. Unless I've totally misunderstood. (which is highly possible) Thanks for the input everyone.