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Forum
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RE: Need help for Canuk friend
Don't be surprised if the two zeros thing doesn't work (all the time anyway). See the other thread for solutions that always work.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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12/01/11 11:18am |
Snowbirds
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RE: What Was That Trick ....
The postal code zeros thing will not work if the address verification system (AVS) is fully functional at a station in question. If AVS has been fully implemented (which it has not been at all stations) the computer compares the ZIP code you have entered at the pump with the ZIP that is on file with your credit card issuer. If they don't match, the pump will not turn on. I have tried different credit cards with different "tricks" all across the US and some of them work some of the time but none of them work all of the time.
Now I just put my US mailing address on one of my Canadian bank issued US $ cards and that works at the pump every time. You can also use a Canadian debit card with PIN at the pump at stations associated with the NYCE network. Not all Canadian bank cards will work and not all US stations participate. The Canadian banks were charging a fee each time their debit cards were used in this fashion. I see CIBC is now advertising international transactions with their Canadian debit card but I don't know if they are charging a fee or if they are just catching up with the other banks. I can also use my USA bank issued debit card and PIN at the pump (no transaction fee) but I prefer using a credit card.
So there are several ways to deal with this issue other than going inside and waiting in the slurpee/lottery ticket line. Of course, some profess to like the exercise and change of pace.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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11/28/11 11:56am |
Snowbirds
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RE: Virgin Mobile Broadband
Our Virgin Mobile Broadband2GO worked great during our travels around Florida (but we didn't go to the the Keys) two years ago. We were able to use it in several State Parks and even got a usable signal for checking e-mail at the Long Pine Key campground in Everglades National Park (this was well outside the coverage area shown on their map). BUT............it worked dismally, if at all, during our trip across the south last winter to California. Often we would be well within the map coverage area and have full signal bars yet get no more than dial-up speed (if we were lucky). We did get download speeds above 1 Mbs a couple of times (out of 27 different campgrounds). We were very disappointed with this. We will try it again in Florida this winter and, if the performance is not satisfactory, we will be looking for an alternative.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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11/28/11 11:24am |
Technology Corner
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RE: Tracfone Calls to Canada - How?
dieharder, I'm guessing you have a CDMA Tracfone (that doesn't use a SIM card). Unlike a GSM Tracfone, from some reports it seems a CDMA Tracfone may get a signal through a Canadian cell phone provider (although Tracfone doesn't like it) which might explain why you can get minutes added to your phone while in Canada. Your location is too far away from a US tower to get a US signal. My GSM Tracfone phone will not show any signal from any Canadian cell provider. I can get a signal from a US tower if I am in certain parts of Cornwall and east of there very close to the St Lawrence River.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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11/22/11 01:43pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Tracfone Calls to Canada - How?
Unless you use a VPN, Tracfone could easily tell from your IP address that you are accessing it's web site from outside the US. But unlike some other US internet sites, Tracfone doesn't seem to care.
I wonder if things work differently with a GSM phone with a SIM card versus a CDMA phone when the expiration date (plus 30 days grace?) is reached and the phone cannot connect to Tracfone's computers to get new minutes/time previously added over the internet. If a SIM card expires, one must get a new SIM card. Tracfone will not ship SIM cards to Canada and one loses any unused minutes. I don't know if a SIM card automatically expires if the expiration date on the phone is reached (which I think is likely) or does it wait until the next time the phone gets a signal and connects to check if any time has been added before biting the dust. Unlike a CDMA phone, I don't think Tracfone can or will resurrect an expired SIM card.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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11/21/11 02:18pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Tracfone Calls to Canada - How?
How do you keep your Tracphone active from year to year or do you buy new each year?
We buy four 60 minute "cards" on-line on Tracfone's web site (about $80 in total) that gives us 360 (4 x 90 days) days of time. With double minutes on our phone and using promo codes (found on-line) we get over 700 minutes this way. Some just buy a new phone but we like keeping the same telephone number and our 1-800 numbers that are set up for calls to Canada.
We have added on-line time/minutes to our Tracfone while in Canada but since our GSM Tracfone does not get a signal here, the time/minutes were not added to the phone until the next time we crossed the border. The one time we did it this way, when we next entered the US and turned the phone on, we were prompted to enter several very long strings of codes into the phone before it would operate but that requirement may have just been a co-incidence and not related to our web purchase in Canada. The original time on our phone had not yet expired when we had next entered the US. Since, as I understand it, the time record is kept on the phone itself I don't know what happens if the time record on the phone expires before one next crosses into the US. Would just adding the time on the web site keep the phone alive or not if the phone cannot communicate with Tracfone's computers before the expiration date?
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Lorne&Lorraine
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11/19/11 11:36am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Tracfone Calls to Canada - How?
It appears Tracfone does not accommodate international text messaging. This from Tracfone's web site:
"TRACFONE service does not allow international text messages. Attempting to send international messages could result in service deactivation."
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Lorne&Lorraine
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11/18/11 03:46pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Temporary/Part-timer Internet Access
I have the VirginMobile Broadband2Go and am giving up on it. Coverage is horrendous. We drove 19,000 miles, 26 states over 100 days this year and used it but once. The rest of the time, SE Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and northern Minnesota mostly it was next to useless. If you are going to use a mobile hotspot, VerizonWireless is the number one way to go and AT&T second.
Check your planned and favorite destinations and coverage before choosing a mobile hotspot device and plan. Sprint (w/ VirginMobile) and T-Mobile might be OK where you live stationary but are not good RV solutions, IMO.
Must be something wrong with your setup. We criss-crossed the States from NE to SW twice and had coverage all the way to AZ as soon as we crossed the border.
Our Virgin Broadband2Go worked great all over Florida two years ago. But we were very disappointed with it last winter during our trip from the NE to SW. We would be well within the Virgin coverage areas with full signal strength bars and very often still only get dial-up data speeds. If it doesn't work any better this winter in Florida, we will be looking at an alternative. Others have reported the same experience. We really like the concept but it has to deliver in practice!
Broadband2Go
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Lorne&Lorraine
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11/17/11 10:52am |
Technology Corner
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RE: Question to Canadian snowbirds on cell phone recommendations
Just bought a new Tracfone with 269 minutes and 90 days service...total cost $49.00... call all over USA and the 800 #'s to Canada.. we use minutes up before the time expires..Bell was $150.. for 200 minutes... monthly
Even though we travel in the US for less than 3 months annually, we keep our Tracfone active year round by buying four 60 minute cards good for 90 days each (accumulative time). With double minutes on our phone and using promo codes we get over 700 minutes a year for only $80 (plus some tax). If we need more minutes (rarely), $20 gets us another 180 minutes (and another 90 days). There are other minute/time purchase options as well. We make extensive use of the 800 #'s to Canada (at the same no long distance/no roaming per minute rate as calls within the USA).
By keeping our GMS Tracfone active year round we get to keep the same telephone number and don't have to worry about getting a new SIM card (Tracfone will provide new SIM cards free for expired phones but they won't mail to Canada). Tracfone's CDMA phones don't use SIM cards but Walmart didn't sell them the last I checked. On the other hand and, because they are so inexpensive, some folks just let their phones expire and buy a new one next trip.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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11/07/11 11:28am |
Snowbirds
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RE: Alaska trip 2 way communication
From Wikipedia:
"In Canada, hand-held GMRS radios up to 2 watts have been approved for use without a license since September 2004.Typically these are dual FRS and GMRS units, with fixed antennas, and operating at 2 watts on some GMRS channels and 0.5 watts on the FRS-only channels. Mobile units (permanently mounted in vehicles), base stations and repeaters are not currently permitted on the GMRS channels in Canada."
I have several GMRS/FRS handheld radios and my understanding when I purchased them a few years back was that no license was required here. Some time before that we used an expensive business 2 watt UHF handheld radio set for travel that did require a license (was around $80/year) but the "new" GMRS/FRS radios perform just as well.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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11/07/11 10:57am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Hand Gun In Canada
A number, probably a majority of Canadians, do not agree with Canadian laws on gun issues. However, they ain't the ones writing the laws.
That is a general statement about a country of 35 million that I do not agree with. Maybe you know more people here than I do, but I doubt it.
BTW it's the Prime Minister of Canada, not Premiere. Premiere's lead the provincial governments much like Governor's.
Thank You.
I know lots of people here and ng2951's statement is correct. Our duly elected Federal government is now rapidly moving to get rid of one such intrusive law. Drop the "e" on Premier.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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10/04/11 10:50am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: How to give a Canadian Zip Code @ US Pumps?
In our experience and based on past postings in this forum, whether the postal code numbers thing will work or not seems to depends on the gas station chain, the specific station (depending on how fully AVS is implemented at that station) and the credit card used. Back when I was still having fun seeing what worked and what wouldn't, I had it work with one credit card when it wouldn't work with another credit card at the same station during the same fill-up.
We always notify our credit card companies before we travel in the US.
By the way, you do not need to enter a zip code if you use a debit card (you use your PIN instead). BUT not all CDN debit cards will work at all US gas stations and when they do, the CDN banks charge an extra small fee of $1-$2 per transaction. Plus your CDN debit card cannot access a CDN bank US$ account if that is a wish.
CDN debit card use in the US
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Lorne&Lorraine
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08/28/11 12:07pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: How to give a Canadian Zip Code @ US Pumps?
Canadian Zip Code at Pump Thread 2011
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Lorne&Lorraine
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08/27/11 12:05pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: How to give a Canadian Zip Code @ US Pumps?
I've tried all the so-called "work-arounds" for this zip thing at the pump including the three Postal code numbers followed by two zeros and none worked all the time. Now I just put a US address on my BMO US$ Mastercard and the zip for that always works at the pump. If you don't want your statements sent to the US address just put the account on paperless statements. You can change the address back to your CDN address when you return from your trip. I also use a US address on my account at a US bank and that credit card with zip always works at the pump too. Haven't waited in the slurpee/lottery ticket/cigarette line for a couple of years now.
By the way, the reason why some of the work-arounds work sometimes is probably because the computerized address verification system (AVS) hasn't been fully implemented at the stations in question. But even if you put a US address on a CDN credit card doesn't mean it will work (BMO's does) because I don't think all CDN banks support AVS. Someone tried a TD bank credit card the winter before last and it wouldn't work.
The zip code is not encoded on the card's magnetic stripe. As noted earlier, the zip code entered at the pump must match the zip code on file with your bank.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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08/27/11 11:58am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Want higher speed limits? Drive FASTER!!
"sets speeds based on how fast 85 percent of drivers actually drive on a specific route."
This statement is incorrect. The 85th percentile speed is the speed at which or below 85 percent of the vehicles are moving. In the absence of extreme coercion, the vast majority of motorists drive at speeds they are comfortable with regardless of the posted speed limit. This means the 85th percentile speed doesn't change much if legal speed limits are changed (that's one reason why speed traps are effective revenue generators). Speed limits that are deemed reasonable by the majority of drivers (ie set around the 85th percentile speed) tend to reduce the variance in travel speeds between faster and slower motorists and this reduces the potential for accidents. There are other factors that must be considered, but the bottom line is that establishing proper speed limits is a more complex process than many think. But as the video indicates, properly established speed limits are safer than otherwise. It's been a while but I think in recognition of this fact the State of California (and possibly other jurisdictions) deem that speed limits not set on the basis of a proper engineering study are unenforceable.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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08/22/11 12:06pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Cell phones
My GSM Tracfone definitely does not work in Canada. My understanding from the Tracfone forums is that, at least at one point, Tracfone's CDMA phones might work sometimes in Canada but that Tracfone didn't support this and if there was anything other than very nominal use, Tracfone would cut off the phone service.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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08/17/11 09:59am |
Technology Corner
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RE: Cell phones
In the past we did the US travel thing with Bell and Rogers (had $5/min roaming with Rogers once!) but now we use Tracfone's pay as you go service. Only pay for what you use while in the US. No cost when not in use (doesn't work in Canada). Some Canadian travelers get Walmart's staff to help activate the phone. Tracfone's web site allows you to set up up to 10 frequent numbers that you might call back in Canada. After setting these up, you then store them in your phone's phone book under the name of the person you want to call. After that it's just like calling a number in the US (at the same per minute rate). Calling the special Tracfone number first and waiting for the tone before dialing a Canadian number works okay too.
A downside is that if you let the time expire, you lose your phone number and if you wish to reactivate the phone in the future you need to get a new SIM card (Tracfone will not mail these to Canada). Some people just buy a new phone on their next trip (the phones are inexpensive) or others, like us, make sure they have enough time remaining on the phone to tide them over till their next trip. Tracfone may still have some CDMA phones that don't use SIM cards like the GSM phones do but I think Walmart may just sell the GSM version.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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08/16/11 04:23pm |
Technology Corner
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RE: Good Sam RV Emergency Road Service
We had CAA/AAA for 30 years before dropping them for Good Sam based on comments on this forum. We had Good Sam for less than a year when the fuel pump on our camper crapped out in San Diego late on a Sunday on Labor Day weekend. Good Sam first sent out a mobile mechanic who diagnosed the fuel pump. We called them again and they sent out a large tow truck who took us to a Ford dealer (who had us going in 48 hours notwithstanding the Monday holiday and having to remove and replace some RV plumbing to drop the fuel tank). We were delighted with Good Sam's service (as we were with the Ford dealer). Good Sam even called us back on regular intervals to see if everything was unfolding as it should. From what we gather CAA/AAA is too inconsistent for RV coverage if one is traveling far and wide. It was a tough decision to drop CAA after so many years but we are very glad we did.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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08/11/11 11:49am |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: Cellphone options for travelling Canadians
Tracfone here too. Calls to Canada at the same rate as in US calls. As others have noted, one can set up a few international numbers so people in Canada (albeit looks like only for some major urban areas in Canada) can call you in the US without incurring long distance charges. The phone doesn't work while in Canada though. We used it all across the US south last winter from Alabama to California and had service almost everywhere (even at Furnace Creek in Death Valley NP). We buy enough minutes/time before we leave the US to keep the phone "active" until our next trip. Keeping the phone active means the minutes never expire and our US telephone number never changes. We bought a "double minutes" phone so the purchase of a 60 minute card actually gives us 120 minutes etc. And using bonus codes found on the internet provides additional "free" minutes.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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08/09/11 02:54pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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RE: RV Park in Kelowna BC?
We stayed at Hiawatha a few years back. Sites very close together and didn't like that the gates were closed in late evening with no vehicles in or out after that. Was a pain since we were visiting friends in Westbank. Another time we stayed at Holiday RV Park. Nice resort with all amenities very close to Kelowna.
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Lorne&Lorraine
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08/09/11 02:36pm |
RVing in Canada and Alaska
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