C.LeeNick
03-06-2019, 07:49 AM
Here's something that was kind of cool during our boondocking trip in February.
We were camped along Alamo Road, a dirt road in Arizona. We were about 26 miles south of I-40, and about 14 miles west of Wikieup, Arizona.
Out there, you really get the feeling of being "in the sticks". We could get radio, but no TV signal. We don't have satellite, either at home, or mobile.
We got out there in the rain (wouldn't you know it) and it rained off and on the next day. Evenings were pretty chilly the first couple nights, due to the moisture and dampness, so we spent more time in the trailer than we usually would have.
Remarkably, we had a super strong 4G phone signal out there. I decided to experiment with something.
Last year, I had purchased a cheap blu-ray player and installed it in our Passport trailer. It just happened to have some built in apps installed, for Netflix, I think Amazon Video, Hulu, etc. Stuff I never thought we'd actually use, but they came with the player. We had planned on bringing some dvd/blu-ray movies, but had forgotten them!
Since we had a strong 4G signal, even way out there in the boonies, I set up my phone as a wi-fi "hotspot", and turned on the blu-ray player. Once the blu-ray found the wi-fi broadcast from my phone, and everything got connected, remarkably, we had television! Netflix worked perfectly! No issues. Not a single hitch. We spend the evening watching the Andy Griffith Show.
As much as technology frustrates me sometimes, it sometimes amazes me as well. I've camped/explored that area off and on for 20 years, and never did I figure I'd ever be watching television out there.
We were camped along Alamo Road, a dirt road in Arizona. We were about 26 miles south of I-40, and about 14 miles west of Wikieup, Arizona.
Out there, you really get the feeling of being "in the sticks". We could get radio, but no TV signal. We don't have satellite, either at home, or mobile.
We got out there in the rain (wouldn't you know it) and it rained off and on the next day. Evenings were pretty chilly the first couple nights, due to the moisture and dampness, so we spent more time in the trailer than we usually would have.
Remarkably, we had a super strong 4G phone signal out there. I decided to experiment with something.
Last year, I had purchased a cheap blu-ray player and installed it in our Passport trailer. It just happened to have some built in apps installed, for Netflix, I think Amazon Video, Hulu, etc. Stuff I never thought we'd actually use, but they came with the player. We had planned on bringing some dvd/blu-ray movies, but had forgotten them!
Since we had a strong 4G signal, even way out there in the boonies, I set up my phone as a wi-fi "hotspot", and turned on the blu-ray player. Once the blu-ray found the wi-fi broadcast from my phone, and everything got connected, remarkably, we had television! Netflix worked perfectly! No issues. Not a single hitch. We spend the evening watching the Andy Griffith Show.
As much as technology frustrates me sometimes, it sometimes amazes me as well. I've camped/explored that area off and on for 20 years, and never did I figure I'd ever be watching television out there.