The perpetual tweek for the best wifi setup continues. I sold my old router (Amped Rec10) that I used successfully all summer because once we started travelling, I found it to be finicky and rather annoying. It worked great in Minnesota, but was only 600mW, so I wanted to go back to the 1,000mW Alpha AWUS036h. The limitation with the Alfa booster is it's inability to act as a wifi repeater. It's great for plugging into the USB port on a single computer to boost the wifi signal, but that's where it ends.
So here is the new wifi system we are using.
1. Tupavco flat panel antenna on a tripod, signal is fed into the antenna port of the Alfa.
2. The Alfa plugs into the USB on the PC, which gives it a very strong wifi signal.
3. The ethernet port on the PC is set up to share it's internet via ethernet out.
4. Ethernet out to TP Link WR702N ($20 router-repeater).
5. TP Link WR702N rebroadcasts the PC's wifi throughout the RV.
6. Two iPhones, one iPad, and an AppleTV connect to the internet through the TP-Link.
I am using the flat panel antenna because it's almost as sensitive as the huge 24dbi parabolic I bought this summer, but it's smaller and easier to set up. It's not as powerful as the big boss, but I think for 80% of campgrounds it will be fine. We have a long cable for it so we can move it into position to obtain the best line of site to the access point if need be. Trees, RV's, and other obstacles really interfere with wifi, so it's best to have line of site.
TP-Link router rebroadcasts the wifi from the PC. |
1000mW wifi booster. The panel antenna feeds into this, then into the PC. |
Flat panel antenna pointing at wifi access point. |
And just for extra fun, our toilet flush broke today, so I got rid of it and put in a bidet of sorts. Cheaper than a new toilet. |
Our new flush handle........high tech stuff going on here. |
Love your sense of humor! We found your blog from FOTR. How is the internet still working? We are looking for a cheaper way for internet rather than our expensive cell phone plan.
ReplyDeleteWe switched back to our big 2.4ghz 24dbi parabolic antenna now that we are in a new section of the park. The parabolic antenna definitely works better than the panel antenna. We can see networks miles away (line of sight), but some of them we can not connect to. Regardless, the parabolic antenna is the best one we've used, and works great to amplify RV park signals and to shoot out of the park for other signals.
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