Wifi Extenders/Boosters

[sourdough]

I know this topic has been discussed but could not find anything that spoke to my question.

When we travel it is usually for a couple of weeks or less so we either have the free wifi (good or bad) or nothing and do without. By the time I need to take care of business we have usually hit a spot with good enough reception that I can access the internet. When we stay longer (4-5 mos.) it is usually in FL and I always reserve the same site and have had the local provider build out my own broadband loop to the site which I hook to every year. My dilemma:

Due to a number of factors, including hurricane Michael, we are delaying our arrival at our normal location and will spend at least a month in Crystal River FL. They have advised they have "wifi" but it won't stream movies etc. That also makes me worry because we have been to so many places that have "wifi" that may or may not work. I am thinking of getting some sort of extender or booster (whatever the difference is) in the event the wifi is poor in Crystal River. Previous topics have addressed some pretty expensive and time consuming options. I don't want to permanently mount it to the trailer as I think this trip is probably an anomaly. I don't want an external antenna or have to tune it. I'm thinking cheap and easy (as far as that goes).:)

I've seen all kinds of boosters and extenders that are less than $100. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with them? Reading some of the reviews they sound like they work well but I'm skeptical. Any thoughts???

[JRTJH]

If you're looking for something to "boost" or "amplify" an existing signal, then something like the Netgear 1200 or 750 are rated fairly high and don't cost very much. We used a 750 for a while in a park where we had a weak signal and got fairly good connectivity. We still couldn't "stream movies" but that was because of the limitations of the park system, not the signal strength.

I don't know of any device that will "hog all the capacity" from a slow network and allow you to use it like a fast network....

Here's a link to the 2018 top WIFI extenders https://www.bestreviews.guide/wifi-extenders?origin=google&google_params[matchtype]=e&google_params[network]=g&google_params[device]=c&google_params[creative]=285625662624&google_params[keyword]=wifi%20extenders&google_params[adposition]=1t4&google_params[adgroupid]=56290996253&google_params[campaignid]=1454369924&bs=KsSUkllTKn036JQG32vmWYBendFBlaG6Ohw854VoGuZ1pm1 oGn9sELUvNqTM6X7cR_DnrgdGkZlnEqXoEpZ2ZuibTmKyOJ2D&google_params[feeditemid]=&google_params[targetid]=aud-536347572867:kwd-295406858776&google_params[loc_interest_ms]=&google_params[loc_physical_ms]=1026083&google_params[devicemodel]=&google_params[target]=&age=others&hhi=Top&dest=0&sys_id=0|466&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqYvQj_ON3gIVAaeGCh1q8w5QEAAYBCAA EgIuHvD_BwE The Netgear 750 is ranked "up there with the best"...

You can find it on Amazon for about $40. https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-AC750-Range-Extender-EX3700-100NAS/dp/B00R92CL5E/ref=as_li_ss_tl?tag=shopperz_origin1-20&ascsubtag=665301590-2-1328850621.1539048718&SubscriptionId=AKIAJO7E5OLQ67NVPFZA

Don't expect it to work like your "own private fiberoptic network". Any of the "extenders" will still be limited to the maximum capacity the campground network can provide. But if your campsite is on the outer fringe of the WIFI range, they will allow you to get a signal strong enough to connect on devices that otherwise would not even show that network on the list of available connections.

[sourdough]

That's what I'm hoping for - to pull in a weak signal so I'll be at least able to check my "stuff". We stream Netflix at our normal FL campground. They have cable TV, and lots of channels, we just don't like TV anymore and prefer the older shows. The Crystal River campground doesn't allow streaming; I suspect due to the available bandwidth which is a concern in many places.

I'll look into that link. I think I had looked at it previously but wasn't sure if they would work well or not. I know they/we will be affected by the signal strength and available bandwidth, but so many places say they have "free wifi" and when you get there it's "over there" or "it's in the main building so you have to be close". Those that stay full time at our regular campground walk or park next to the office in the evening to pull in the wifi signal....not for me hence our own dedicated loop. Thanks.

[MSB1766]

Take a look at these videos a lot of info:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APHIlkTdWLo&t=3s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNQgYHgMgmM&t=2s

[Mic]

I know this topic has been discussed but could not find anything that spoke to my question.

When we travel it is usually for a couple of weeks or less so we either have the free wifi (good or bad) or nothing and do without. By the time I need to take care of business we have usually hit a spot with good enough reception that I can access the internet. When we stay longer (4-5 mos.) it is usually in FL and I always reserve the same site and have had the local provider build out my own broadband loop to the site which I hook to every year. My dilemma:

Due to a number of factors, including hurricane Michael, we are delaying our arrival at our normal location and will spend at least a month in Crystal River FL. They have advised they have "wifi" but it won't stream movies etc. That also makes me worry because we have been to so many places that have "wifi" that may or may not work. I am thinking of getting some sort of extender or booster (whatever the difference is) in the event the wifi is poor in Crystal River. Previous topics have addressed some pretty expensive and time consuming options. I don't want to permanently mount it to the trailer as I think this trip is probably an anomaly. I don't want an external antenna or have to tune it. I'm thinking cheap and easy (as far as that goes).:)

I've seen all kinds of boosters and extenders that are less than $100. I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with them? Reading some of the reviews they sound like they work well but I'm skeptical. Any thoughts???


I use it all the time.

Locate strongest signal on your lot and place there.

even use it to boost by phone hotspot

[sourdough]

Thank you.

[FlyingAroundRV]

I'll Second what John said about an extender not making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Our experience has been that a lot of the campgrounds (particularly state parks) that advertise as having "free wifi" either have the infrastructure but no connection to the internet, or you have to go up to the office/visitor center to get a connection. Most of the latter situations would not be improved with an extender because of the distance between the campground and the office or whatever.

[sourdough]

Yes, I have no illusions about their capabilities. I'm just thinking I'll get one to have in the "arsenal" of junk in the event we have a weak signal. Just talked to Verizon about an unlimited data plan to utilize the 4G network and they advised it wouldn't work for what we want (streaming). At 15gb your data speed is cut back to the point it won't stream. The solution? Purchase 4-5 jetpacks each with a 2 year contract!! Not happening.

[Frank G]

You might want to take a look at the Alfa systems extender and personal Hot Spot. I am using the 1st gen. starting the second season and we both stream at will. It also adds a level of security and a personal network.

https://store.rokland.com/products/alfa-wifi-camp-pro-2-long-range-wi-fi-repeater-kit-r36a-tube-un-aoa-2409-tf-antenna?variant=12221012869203&gclid=CjwKCAjwu5veBRBBEiwAFTqDwaYfbOb91o9cCR_T6Kkm tDCc6d7z4orekVAmainyja66Ud3kdMTUERoCn8wQAvD_BwE

[Barbell]

We use our unlimited plus plan w/ATT with the hotspot. Two phones total 20 gigs of signal that streams Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc with little buffering. After 20 gigs, it is pretty much useless but by being careful, we rarely exceed our limit. Cost per month is around $140 after the phones are paid off. Obviously you have to have a signal with ATT for it to work; not the case everywhere.

[sourdough]

Yeah, the Verizon plan put us at $85 mo. just for the data plan x 2 = $170 mo. and then it quits. Don't know how far 15g gets in streaming movies, but, DW likes to watch her old stories/movies several hours a day (primarily evenings - I shop and cook) so figure it would run out quick. My dedicated 40 mb loop in FL costs $60 mo. if I recall.

[JRTJH]

Danny,

We have a Verizon Jet Pack that we use for internet when we travel. DW teaches college courses and needs to maintain an active internet anywhere we go. We do that by using the campground WIFI (if available) and by connecting the WIFI extender if needed. I have a 50' extension cord (orange outdoor cord) and can place the extender almost anywhere on the campsite (under a bucket if it looks like rain) to get the best signal. We try to keep it indoors, but sometimes it works better outside, on the far corner, behind the trailer or way out front sitting in the bed of the truck... Anyway, that's what we do. Right now, we're in a campground that has a satellite internet connection (slow at best) connected to an old Netgear router/network adapter. You can guess the quality of our "campground provided WIFI"... Yup, non-existant, so the Jet Pack is working and I'm online using it. We have the "unlimited 15 gig/month plan. Can't stream much of anything. Even a few UTube videos from the forum seem to be enough to put us over the limit with the DW's necessary work and my forum "playing".... Once the 15 gigs is used, the signal reverts to a "very slow signal". We can use it to "barely check email and load forum pages, but only one of us can be online at a time when we're on the "slow phase of our plan"....

Most standard definition full length movies are between 3 and 5 gigs of data, so watching 3 or 4 movies in standard definition (certainly not in HD) will "kill your Jet Pack" for the month. If your DW likes to watch old TV shows at night, chances are after a couple of nights, you'll be "over the monthly limit"....

As another example, we just ended our Hughesnet satellite internet plan. We had a 30 gig monthly allowance, cost was $119 monthly + equipment charges of $10 monthly. That's a tad over $135 a month with taxes and fees. We couldn't stream movies with that much data, essentially twice the Jet Pack allowance.

I don't think you'd be happy with a Verizon Jet Pack. You'd be out of data and it would be a paperweight within a couple of days use.....

[sourdough]

Thanks John. Your explanation fits exactly with what I figured. The Verizon guy said, "if I wanted to be out there", I could do the multiple Jet Packs with the cost and 2 year contracts to multiply the 15 gig; I told him I wasn't remotely interested and he chuckled and said he understood. They just don't have a viable option for doing what we like to do. I have 3 boxes of DVDs and that is our fallback. I just have to have internet service to check my financials from time to time, so I can get by with less but, as we always say, "a happy wife makes a happy life" - so I will look for a way, if any, to accomplish that goal. I really appreciate everyone's input on such a "off beat" topic.

[cookinwitdiesel]

My plan is to just put all of my movies on an external hard drive and be able to play them locally. I have my entire library ripped for Plex use but obviously wont plan on being able to stream Plex in the RV. Since they are already digital, I plan to just copy all the files over to a 10 TB USB Hard Drive and have that locally available where ever we go. 10 TB should fit about 400 Blu Ray movies with no compression in my experience. Can't beat that density.

For internet, I will be happy to have WiFi when available but otherwise plan to tether off phone for just email/web browsing.

Disclaimer for any morality police out there: I own every movie I have on my hard drive, I rip them myself (legal to make a copy for backup purposes) and do not redistribute any of the files in any way other than streaming over Plex. I honestly do not even know how to torrent or download movies.

[wiredgeorge]

I live in a rural environment and have a shop office about 150 - 200 feet from my home router. We get our internet via Hughesnet right now and have the 50 gig plan so we can stream movies. We don't stream that many but have never gotten near our plan's limit. I send the internet up to my office using a Netgear AC750 as has already been mentioned; It is a range extender for extending the range of your router and I don't think would help boost a signal inside an RV. I have an USB Wifi outdoor antenna on my shop and it picks up the range extender. Can't recall the name of this antenna but is is powered through the usb. The antenna is on an outside wall and the USB cord comes in through a window (made a small hole in the frame). My antenna is very directional but a similar antenna mounted on a pole attached to your ladder or the like and you are able to turn it in the direction of the wifi would probably help. I am also not sure how far a USB cable can go but the cable would have to go into an extender or router inside the RV or directly into your computer.



We are hopefully leaving Hughesnet next week. Have an appointment with AT&T Fixed Wireless Internet installer. They put an antenna up next to your house on a pole or mount on the side of your house; it is line of sight internet signal coming from a local AT&T tower and we are supposed to be in range. I have my doubts but it is $70 a month WITH NO CONTRACT and $99 for the antenna and router (they call it a gateway). I hope it works because we pay well over double that for Hughesnet. Hughesnet service is OK except for peak times and I think too many folks use it and downloads seem to be a lot slower meaning it is not always easy to stream movies on Netflix.


I use my phone for a hotspot for several years with AT&T and had 32 gigs a month for almost $200. We could stream some movies but had to keep an eye on the data usage. If you went over it was $10 a gig which can mount up if you binge watch some shows. If you go over with the new Fixed Wireless Internet service it is $10 for each 50 gigs of data. If you sign a contract for the Fixed Wireless service, it is for a year and you get $10 off and you may be able to bundle telephone and DirecTV for more discounts but I didn't go there.

[Bisjoe]

If your phone or iPad air has plenty of cellular data, and you have a newer smart TV, you can use Chromecast to get various streaming from the device to the TV. We have used it for mostly Youtube, but we sometimes also create a personal hotspot for the TVs.

[labman]

netgear nighthawk wifi range extender works for me. but it won't improve a conjested undersized link the campground has. just your connection to it....:confused:

[sourdough]

I live in a rural environment and have a shop office about 150 - 200 feet from my home router. We get our internet via Hughesnet right now and have the 50 gig plan so we can stream movies. We don't stream that many but have never gotten near our plan's limit. I send the internet up to my office using a Netgear AC750 as has already been mentioned; It is a range extender for extending the range of your router and I don't think would help boost a signal inside an RV. I have an USB Wifi outdoor antenna on my shop and it picks up the range extender. Can't recall the name of this antenna but is is powered through the usb. The antenna is on an outside wall and the USB cord comes in through a window (made a small hole in the frame). My antenna is very directional but a similar antenna mounted on a pole attached to your ladder or the like and you are able to turn it in the direction of the wifi would probably help. I am also not sure how far a USB cable can go but the cable would have to go into an extender or router inside the RV or directly into your computer.



We are hopefully leaving Hughesnet next week. Have an appointment with AT&T Fixed Wireless Internet installer. They put an antenna up next to your house on a pole or mount on the side of your house; it is line of sight internet signal coming from a local AT&T tower and we are supposed to be in range. I have my doubts but it is $70 a month WITH NO CONTRACT and $99 for the antenna and router (they call it a gateway). I hope it works because we pay well over double that for Hughesnet. Hughesnet service is OK except for peak times and I think too many folks use it and downloads seem to be a lot slower meaning it is not always easy to stream movies on Netflix.


I use my phone for a hotspot for several years with AT&T and had 32 gigs a month for almost $200. We could stream some movies but had to keep an eye on the data usage. If you went over it was $10 a gig which can mount up if you binge watch some shows. If you go over with the new Fixed Wireless Internet service it is $10 for each 50 gigs of data. If you sign a contract for the Fixed Wireless service, it is for a year and you get $10 off and you may be able to bundle telephone and DirecTV for more discounts but I didn't go there.

George, hopefully the ATT wireless will work for you. When wifi/internet was first getting started the first opportunity we had for any kind of broadband was from a local company that installed repeaters on the water towers in town. Although I was a manager for the local telco at the time the telcos did not offer any service like that so I went with them. They installed the pole with antenna on the side of my house nearest the water tower and ran a cable inside to the router. Worked far better than anything we had ever known and used it for several years until the telcos caught up. Hopefully they will provide you better service at a lower cost.

[wiredgeorge]

Hughesnet is OK. Don't get me wrong; just very pricey for the 50 gig data a month plan. Also, if you want to run as a virtual VPN, it won't work with sat internet due the latency. I am not super hopeful regarding the AT&T offering as we sit down over the horizon a bit as our house is at about 1050' and the hill between us and the towers is higher by about 100 ft making tall masts unpractical.



We had line of site radio internet at one time from Castroville Computers and they had a send antenna up the hill to the northwest from us. It was on the side of a building and fairly high. We got the lowest level of service due to the signal strengh but we could stream 1080P video. The owner who leased the building saw the mast and was incensed and had them take it down and the mast was moved closer but lower and we lost enough signal where it wasn't workable. The company came out to extend the mast (really a pole) up even higher and the guy who was doing it was not the sharpest and he attached the guy wire to one side (of 3) and pulled it too tight and the mast came tumbling over and smashed my antenna out of shape and that was that. The company would not make good for the antenna and just wouldn't answer the phone when I wanted to see what they would do about their mistake.

[bbells]

I use both a similar signal booster and using my phone as a hotspot. I usually just swtch my phones 4g hotspot on because it is faster and more reliable. 3g is usually faster than the free wifi, too.

[HD Raptor]

You might want to take a look at the Alfa systems extender and personal Hot Spot. I am using the 1st gen. starting the second season and we both stream at will. It also adds a level of security and a personal network.

https://store.rokland.com/products/alfa-wifi-camp-pro-2-long-range-wi-fi-repeater-kit-r36a-tube-un-aoa-2409-tf-antenna?variant=12221012869203&gclid=CjwKCAjwu5veBRBBEiwAFTqDwaYfbOb91o9cCR_T6Kkm tDCc6d7z4orekVAmainyja66Ud3kdMTUERoCn8wQAvD_BwE
How did you mount the Alfa external antenna to your camper? Is there a need to drill through the skin/roof of the camper?

[Tre’s Laredo]

If you’re talking about rock crusher canyon RV resort in Crystal River then they do have Wi-Fi. We are there now and our signal is very good. I can’t say how it is throughout the park.

[dsttexas]

If the RV park doesn't have a high bandwidth connection to the internet, there is nothing you can do to boost that. If the issue is your distance from the rv parks wifi, then yes.

[sourdough]

If you’re talking about rock crusher canyon RV resort in Crystal River then they do have Wi-Fi. We are there now and our signal is very good. I can’t say how it is throughout the park.


No, I had made reservations before I checked the forum and saw the mention of rock crusher. I will be at quail roost? quail run? Thought about moving but they had told me there would be a $200 deposit lost so figured we would just hang tight and see what it is.

[slow]

How did you mount the Alfa external antenna to your camper? Is there a need to drill through the skin/roof of the camper?

Details on my Alfa system and install start at post #20 in this thread: http://www.keystoneforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26415&highlight=alfa&page=3

[cookinwitdiesel]

Got carried away and ordered the 15dBi omni antenna....the picture does not make it easy to understand the scale...it is like 5 ft long lol

Check the dimensions before ordering people! :)

[wiredgeorge]

George, hopefully the ATT wireless will work for you. When wifi/internet was first getting started the first opportunity we had for any kind of broadband was from a local company that installed repeaters on the water towers in town. Although I was a manager for the local telco at the time the telcos did not offer any service like that so I went with them. They installed the pole with antenna on the side of my house nearest the water tower and ran a cable inside to the router. Worked far better than anything we had ever known and used it for several years until the telcos caught up. Hopefully they will provide you better service at a lower cost.


Danny, the AT&T Fixed Wireless Internet service has been on for a week. It works great. 20 mbit download and 10 upload. Only issue is that they keep dropping the IP lease and picking it back up again. I use a tool called CPanel to get my email and manage my website. Had to do a work around to get these to work properly but otherwise seamless. Will be calling Hughesnet tomorrow to drop their service. BTW: We can stream 1080P with no buffering on Netflix and with Hughesnet, could only stream 480 with occassional buffering. At about half the price! I got the no contract service for $10 more a month (they give you $10 off for the first year if you sign a contract then it goes up to $70 a month anyway).

[Frank G]

How did you mount the Alfa external antenna to your camper? Is there a need to drill through the skin/roof of the camper?

Most people run the cable through the slide seals. The bottom corner.

Long answer.
I use a smaller antenna (less gain) that suction cups to the inside of the window. I winter at a RV resort that installed a wifi system that provides each site with enough band width to stream. Last year when at 100% capacity we could stream day and night. We use the Alfa system to provide us with a secure network.

From what I have been told the wifi towers have a donut shaped signal and the towers we have, have a ground base signal to cover inside the donut. In other words you can be too close to the tower. We are within eye sight of at least 3 towers and all 3 show up at 100% in the setup selection screen. Lastly, no system can overcome the limitations of the wifi system you are going through, it just improve the signal to and from the tower.

[sourdough]

We are here at Quail Roost RV and they have wifi….decent at times, not so much at others. Their little coupon says they will not allow you to run "too much" data, if anyone knows what that means. It was very "iffy", off and on, fast and slow etc. I put in the new Netgear AC 1200? extender and boy it makes a difference. I could probably run Netflix (says my loop is 65mb) but the provider (and resort) says they will throttle it down and/or stop it if you take up too much bandwidth. And, I have experienced big slowdowns at high traffic hours. Anyway we're here, the extender works great, the park is pretty nice and we have wifi - guess you can't ask for a lot more than that.