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Omni-Direction RV
WiFi Antenna to Computer USB
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Weatherproofing a USB
Antenna |
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Each year thousands of
Americans trek around the country in their
RVs and Motor homes in search of new adventure. What
better way to spend a vacation with all the accommodations of
home and without the worries of hotels? RV Parks are the
landing place for most, providing water, sewage, electrical
connections, and sometimes WiFi internet.
Most WiFi internet is broadcast from the
park office and has a limited range. For those who are
within range of the WiFi access point life is good, but
for those who are stuck out in the "Back 40", life
is not "peas and carrots". To check your email
or browse the internet for directions you must pack up your
laptop and head down to the lobby in the main office. Of
course your privacy is gone and it seems that people
are always interrupting your internet secession. It's
about time you figure out how to
get better WiFi from the comfort of your
RV.
Choose your Campsite
Wisely
Some locations only have a few RV
parks available, but if there are several parks available
then try searching online for web sites that list free
WiFi parks in your
area. Once you find one that you like, call in and
reserve a site that is closest to their WiFi access point.
Some RV parks will not let you reserve sites ahead of time and
in this case you will have to figure
out which campsite has the strongest WiFi
signal.
When
you arrive at the RV park ask that attendant were the
WiFi access point is located. After receiving your answer,
take out your WiFi enabled laptop and walk around from site to
site in search of the strongest WiFi signal. Start at the
sites that are closest to the WiFi access point. Usually the
signal strength is represented by a number of bars next to
the WiFI network name when scanning with your
laptop. Be sure to press the refresh icon at each site for an
updated signal strength readout.
When looking for a good site, keep in
mind that even one tree can block your WiFi signal. Try
to achieve perfect line of sight to the outdoor WiFi antenna
or RV park office from your campsite. If the RV park is
crowded then it is ok to choose a campsite further back as
long as its has good line of sight to the access
point and good signal strength. These two should relate
directly to each other. Once you find a site that has good
WiFI signal strength, write down the campsite number and
request it for your stay.
How to
Get Connected
So, you've finished setting up camp and now
your ready to get connected the WiFI Internet. At first, try
connecting using just the WiFi capabilities that are built into
your laptop. If you are unable to get a good connection from
inside the RV or motor home then try positioning the
laptop in a window that faces the RV Parks WiFi Access Point.
The walls of an RV can block your WiFi signal completely,
this is why we recommend using the window as a portal for
WiFi.
...Using a
USB WiFi Antenna
Unfortunately holding your laptop up
in the window is not a greatly comfortable position. This can
wear on your arms after only a few minutes. If you
are experiencing this then your solution is a USB WiFi
Antenna (like this one). A USB
WiFI Antenna should be more powerful then your average
laptops built-in WiFi abilities but in some cases newer
laptops do have very powerful antennas. Place the
USB antenna in the window with suction cups or
double sided sticky tape and run the USB cable to
your computer. If your USB antenna does not
come with a USB cable then you can pick one up at
your local electronics store or order one from C. Crane
. The
cable is called a "USB 2.0 Extension Cable"
with standard type "A" connectors.
Avoid Harmful
Radiation
USB WiFi
antennas are also a great way to avoid harmful radiation.
You will notice that almost every WiFi device has
an FCC RF exposure warning that tells you to keep it at
least 8-inches away from your body. Some people worry about
the radiation that is output from their laptop could
cause them health problems because of their close proximity when using
it. Using a USB Antenna with a USB extension
cable will lessen the possibility of exposure to harmful RF
because you
can place it further away.
Remember to turn off the built-in WiFi on your laptop when using
a USB antenna or you will remain subject to the
harmful radiation. Turn of the built-in WiFi using a switch
or button on your laptop.
Weatherproof your USB
Antenna
If you are still unable to pickup
the WiFi signal then you may need to place your
USB WiFi antenna outside. It will need to be located
above the roof of your RV or motor home for best reception.
Zip ties work well to secure it to a plastic or PVC pole. We
don't recommend mounting it to a metal pole or object as it
could block or lessen your WiFi reception. If you plan on
mounting it permanently outdoors then you will need to
weatherproof it. The easiest way is to use a plastic bag
with some tape around the bottom to keep water out. While
effective, this amature job may become an eyesore on your
rig. For a more professional weatherproofing setup,
try enclosing your USB WiFi Antenna in a PVC
pipe with end caps. You can also use vinyl gutter pipe for
better results as it has a little less resistance to WiFi
signals. Here is one example of a PVC pipe enclosure.
...Using a Large Outdoor WiFi
Antenna
For the best possible WiFi RV park
antenna, use a large outdoor WiFi antenna
connected to a powerful WiFi adapter. This
will be your solution for receiving WiFi way out back where others cannot. If
this doesn't work then there's not
much else you can do. how to hook up an
outdoor wifi antenna
Point-To-Point WiFi
Antenna
For the
best WiFi antenna setup, hook up an outdoor Point-to-Point WiFi
antenna on your RV or motor home's roof. This is a
directional type antenna and can really bring in hard to get
WiFi. It is not really a "discrete" antenna but it will get
the job done. You will need to reposition it to face toward
the WiFi hotspot at each campground. The trick is trying to
figure out how the WiFi antenna will mount to the RV. Usually
these antennas will come with mounting hardware that includes
a "U-bolt" for attaching it to a pole.
Once the antenna is mounted and
aligned, run a low-loss LMR-400 or 9913 coax cable inside the
RV or motor home to where you will be using your computer.
Unfortunitly the cable will not plug directly into your
computer as your computer does not allow for this type of
connection. The best solution is to use a powerful USB WiFi Adapter
with the
approiate connector to adapt to the heavy cable. Since this
cable is so heavy we recommend using a USB extension cable
(15 foot max)
to lessen the load on your computers usb port and provide
extra length at the same time. You may actually have enough
length using the USB cable to downgrade to smaller
coax cable pigtail for short runs of about 8 feet.
This pigtail cable will be specific to the
connectors on the USB WiFi Adapter and the Point-to-Point
antenna. Most USB WiFi adapters have a RP-SMA female type
connector whereas most Point-to-Point antennas have a "N"
female type connector.
Omni-direction WiFi
Antenna
A more discrete WiFi antenna is an
8dbi omni directional antenna. You will want to use one that
is rated for outdoor use and is easy to mount (like this one ). The setup will be
much like the Point-to-Point antenna because both antennas typically use
the same connector types. Omni-direction WiFi antennas are a
little easier because you do not need to aim them at the parks
WiFi hotspot. They can receive a WiFi signal from any
direction.
Share your WiFI Reception with Others
Often at an RV park you will meet
people
that are not able to catch the WiFi
signal because they are out of range for their WiFi
antenna. It is possible to share your WiFi reception with them by using a
WiFi range extender to repeat your signal to others. Equipment required includes a 8dbi
outdoor omni-directional WiFi antenna, low-loss coax cable, and a WiFi range extender with
a removable antenna.
First mount the antenna above the roof
of your RV in a spot that it is not blocked in any direction
by your RV. Next run the coax cable from the antenna to the
WiFi Range extender that is located inside. You will need to
remove the antenna that comes on the range extender so that
you can hook on the coax cable. Once everything is connected
up properly, plug in the power to the range extender. It will
take a minute to start up. Some range extenders have a button
that can be pressed to repeat the strongest non-password
protected WiFi site in range (like this one
). In this case, just press the
button and the range extender will do the rest.
In some case where there are a lot of WiFi
site the range extender will not repeat the desired
site because another is stronger. In this case you will need
to connect your computer to it and run the setup so that you can
pick your desired WiFi site.
Ideally you do not want to be too
close to the main WiFi site as you may cause too much
interference for it to work properly. You want to be at least
150 feet away from it but not out of range of the WiFi signal.
If the parks WiFi signal is weak then you will want to be at a
closer site.
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