# how to hook up internet



## campingforfun (Jan 5, 2008)

Okay this may be a real dumb question considering my work requires I am on the internet day and night but how does this work when you need to hook up to the internet at a campground.

A couple times, I have wanted to email family and ended up going into town to an internet cafe. It was such a nuissance.

How do you get this wireless service? And how good is it? Does it cut out like cell phones? And what about going to another state or even between canada and the states, does the service still work?

Thx for any tips or advice?


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## mailfire99 (Nov 16, 2007)

*Wireless access?*

Well, I have used the internet a time or 2 when camping, but not that often. I have only been to a few campsites that actually offered wireless internet. With that being the case, I just use my laptop, which has a built in wireless card to connect to their wireless internet connection at the campground. I also found out the hard way that they may have the internet connection secured, which means you need a password from them in order to use it. :bang: This keeps out unwanted people in the general area from borrowing the internet access and keeps it for use only by the campers at the park. The places I have been that had wireless usually have someone there to explain how to use it, or may even have a brief how to handout for you


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## antigua (Dec 17, 2007)

Up here they call it Wi Fi. Wireless Internet connection. Do they call it the same in the US? I check the campgrounds website to see if they offer it or give them a call and find out. They should be able to help you set it up for instant access.


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## ctfortner (Nov 16, 2007)

Yeah, its also known as Wi Fi here too. I know a lot of KOA campgrounds in the US have Wi Fi, but have not been to any others in my area that have it. I think it is becoming more common with todays technology though and more places will start to get it.

Another thing you can use is wireless internet cards. They are expensive though for just personal use. I have a Sprint wireless card that goes into my laptop and provides "high speed" internet. Its not real high speed, but much better than dialup. I think they are around $60/month. I wouldnt pay for it myself, but work likes to be sure I am never to far away, so they pay for it. Its kind of nice though, on long road trips I can surf the internet while riding down the road. We have used it many times when out of town for finding directions, looking up places to eat, checking email, etc..


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## bill0830 (Nov 16, 2007)

From my experiences, I find that a lot of campgrounds now run their own websites and usually here it will list if they are WiFi ready. When I check in, I would check at the office for any special directions/passwords. Sometimes there is a charge, but I find that mostly they are free, but you do need the instructions. My wife has stayed at extended stay RV parks and some of them actually have wired (RJ45) connections. Hey, who said that camping wasn't HIGH tech !! We have also stayed at locations that did not offer WiFi, so if you have cell service, you can check with your provider and either purchase a PCMCIA card (looks like an old laptop Modem) or even some phones have Broadband capability. If there is a will there is a way. We are a connected society and we MUCH have ore internet. :clapping::thumbup1::bang:


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## glfortner (Nov 16, 2007)

Here, I thought we all went camping to get away from it all.


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## dchaviland (May 5, 2008)

campingforfun said:


> Okay this may be a real dumb question considering my work requires I am on the internet day and night but how does this work when you need to hook up to the internet at a campground.
> 
> A couple times, I have wanted to email family and ended up going into town to an internet cafe. It was such a nuissance.
> 
> ...


I know two such RV'ers that lug around their own portable DirectWay (HughesNet) antenna and plunk it down right next to their Dish/Direct TV one as well. I haven't looked too far into the portable antenna for internet yet but if Comcrap does one more thing to lessen the service to my home I may reconsider that. So far, save one, all the parks we go to here in Texas have Wifi, so I've been lucky. 

David :icon_smile_bbq:


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## ctfortner (Nov 16, 2007)

Well, let me say this. 

I live in the boonies, and we have NO fast internet service available, and have had direcway for 4 years. I would never recommend this to anyone who could have anything else. Its very slow compared to dsl or cable internet. You will lose signal in bad weather. If you ever have to work from home like I do through VPN, its almost impossible over satellite internet. So even if you get fed up with comcast, dont make the mistake of switching to direcway for you main home internet, you will regret it. Oh, and the price....WOW. We have the fastest package they offer, which is $80/month for 1.5mb speed. For DSL's fastest package, which is 6MB for $45/month, and will absolutely run circles around direcway.

Now if you wanted to have it just for camping, that would be ok. However as mentioned above, I just use the sprint wireless card for travel, and it works about as good as direcway and is MUCH easier to use, no antenna to setup, haul, aim, etc...


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## heruide (Feb 12, 2008)

I've spent too many hours (sometimes late at night) on the phone with the techs of hotels trying to resolve wireless issues. In some instances when everyone is on the wireless the speed will slow down to the good ole 300 baud days. 

So like Ctfortner, I use a wireless card. Mine is a Verizon and it does a good job.

Ruide


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## dchaviland (May 5, 2008)

The only thing I'll say here that could be even remotely construed as a defense is that I'm a big DishNetwork Fan. Yes, you will lose signal in a downpour but not general rain or overcast. That is what irked me the most with TWC ads against either Dish or Direct. Now that said, I have no experience with the dish system in a Hughenet system so I don't know how robust the transmission is under similar cloud and rain conditions. I've only seen my two friends pull theirs out and I've seen a few other antennas at various campgrounds ranging from our TX state parks to Disney World. I've not asked them how their signal is. When I see my two friends, it is because we are all in central TX for astronomy related reasons and so we hoped and prayed for clear skies. As I said, I have no experience with Hughesnet and have no idea how comparatively twitchy the signal is compared to TV dish reception. 

Honestly, I don't know how well Hughesnet will be doing as my own personal crystal ball thinks that the more cell phone ranges are expanded and enhanced, that will become more of the WiFi market. 

Our problem is that we tend to go to a couple of places where cell phone service doesn't exist, and we just accept the fact that we'll have a zillion emails racked up until we get to place where we can check it. 

David


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## geodrake (Feb 2, 2008)

*sprint Air Card*

We just got our MH last fall and began extensive travel. We were out four months the first time and all that time ATT kept billing me for TV/Tele/Internet, and would not put it on vacation. When we got home i vowed to fix that so I converted TV to Direct TV and bought a portable dish. Then i bought a Air Card from sprint along with a Air Card router. Tele I kept with ATT. Now when we travel I forward the home phone to the cell phone, take the Direct TV rec from the kitchen, and the Air Card from the router and off we go, fully connected. 

Currently we are at Turkey Run State Park, in southern Indiana. TV is great, internet is slow, but reliable. At home I get speeds like DSL, not real fast but ok. At least we are connected and not paying for something we can't use.


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## rao (Aug 9, 2008)

*Camper Refrigerator Wont Switch To Gas*

I discovered last night that my refrigerator had not switched to gas automatically so I tried all the suggestions in the manual with no luck. Any ideas for me. The gas is turned on; I turned the switch off and one as directed with no luck. I was abel to light the gas stoveso I know the gas is on because I was able to lite the stove.

I'll be taking the trailer back in today sometime if I don't figure it out. Again thanks. RAO


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## ctfortner (Nov 16, 2007)

RAO, this can be a tricky thing sometimes. What I always do to get it switch over, is light the gas stove and let it burn for several minutes, to get the gas flowing through the camper good. This took me a while to get used to the first few times. I usally light 2 or 3 burners and let them burn several minutes, and then switch the fridge over to gas, and it will usually light the first or second attempt.

You should also be able to hear a clicking noise on the fridge when you switch it over to gas. It can be tough to hear, so make sure any other noisy items are off, so you can hear. Then while standing at the fridge, switch it to gas, and you should hear it clicking, attempting to light the pilot. If not, that may be a problem. 

When you switch it, do you eventually get the "check" light on the fridge, letting you know its not working?


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## antigua (Dec 17, 2007)

I was thinking the same thing. Check that first.


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## mailfire99 (Nov 16, 2007)

The above posted information is definitely the first step in diagnosing this issue. If that doesnt work, there are some other things that can be done, depending on how comfortable you are working on it, and whether it could void a warranty, if you have one.

If it works on electric, but doesn’t work on gas, inspect the gas burner to make sure crud from the chimney hasn’t fallen down onto the burner, obstructing it or even causing the burner to not light. You can get to it by removing the access cover on the outside of the coach.You can lightly blow the junk off the burner with air or carefully brush it off.


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## billyj (Feb 1, 2008)

I have had this problem before, but it would light and not stay lit. The problem was rusty carbon deposits on the burner tube. Cleaned real well and fixed the problem.


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## annetteholmes (Sep 7, 2008)

*internet accesss while camping*

Hi.. I appreciated your post on Camper Community. I've been trying to figure out how to get internet access on my laptop while camping without spending a fortune. 

I subscribe to DirectTv at my home. We purchased a dish for our TV while camping, which works fine for basic TV most of the time.

I have a Verizon cell phone. Their card for internet access will cost me about $75.00. I can handle that, but then they want an additional $60 to $80 a month for internet service.

I'm trying to avoid that expense if possible.

Am I correct that with the card only from sprint, you can access the satellite internet without having to pay your cell phone company any additional money, that you just use your dish to access the internet?


I'd appreciate your coments.

Thank you.


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## ctfortner (Nov 16, 2007)

annette, I have a sprint card for internet, which is completely separate from phone service. You can get an wireless internet card from sprint, verizon, etc, but you will be paying around $60/month for either.

There is not a card you can buy (that I am aware of), that does not require a monthly internet fee. The directv dish is completely seperate from sprint or verizon cards, and the dish will not allow you use the internet.


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## bobvaughn (Sep 26, 2008)

*Wasps*

Check too to make sure that there are no un wanted guests building a home in the burner...Wasps seem to be attracted to the odor of propane.....I took my refrigerator cover off and put fiberglass screen on the inside of the vent slots and taped it with duct tape then put it back on....you can not see it from the outside and it keeps the critters out...also put the metal screens on your heater and water heater holes also....


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## kg7il (Feb 25, 2009)

Although I visit camp sites that have a WiFi network available for campers, it usually is not secure.

My choice was the Verizon service using their USB727. The USB727 has an external antenna connector that allows be to use either an amplifier or a larger yagi antenna for more reliable connections when I am out in the sticks.

Much easier that Hughes satellite setup, more secure that free offerings on WiFi (802.11). 

And, it works great while driving down the road in the motorhome.


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## dchaviland (May 5, 2008)

kg7il said:


> Although I visit camp sites that have a WiFi network available for campers, it usually is not secure.
> 
> My choice was the Verizon service using their USB727. The USB727 has an external antenna connector that allows be to use either an amplifier or a larger yagi antenna for more reliable connections when I am out in the sticks.
> 
> ...



Wife and I are thinking along those lines. Thing is, as amateur astronomers, we tend to also camp in places where standard cell service is fleeting at best and sometimes, like in central Texas, non-existent. We can go back and forth about do you need internet when we are out there anyway, but sometimes we do (lol). I haven't taken the plunge yet for satellite internet and likely won't in the near future but if cell service keeps expanding, I agree it would be easier to go that route. 

Cheers,

David :icon_smile_bbq:


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## southrnbound (Feb 24, 2009)

I have a verizon wireless card and it runs me $50 a month. havent had any trouble getting connectings here in Michigan, lets see what happens when I move to southern Texas this summer.


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