ilovecamping
IL
Senior Member
Joined: 01/16/2005
View Profile
 Offline
|
Thank you for your input. I would pay for it if it would work with my phone. I will give it some more thought and maybe try calling AT&T again and see what input they can give me for a solution.
Donna & Tom
2000 Suburban LT 1500
2011 Shamrock 23ss
2 DD's-grown
1DS-grown
3 DGD's
1 DGS
1 Pekineese
2008 ngts camped-63
2009 ngts camped-14
2010 ngts camped-21
2011 ngts camped-14
http://community.webshots.com/user/ilovecamping1?vhost=community
|
Motorhome_Georgia
Southeast
Full Member
Joined: 11/19/2010
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
I've purchased a MiFi device called Samsung SCH-LC11 4G mobile hotspot from Costco for Verizon Wireless. I like this because at home I use it and use it also on the road and at campsites.
At home in Atlanta I have 4G service which is faster than the AT&T DSL wireless home broadband service I previously had. This MiFi device will allow up to 5 wifi devices connected simultaneously -- which is my smartphone, my iPad, and my desktop in my home office. Still have room for 2 guests as well or other devices.
On the road and in the boonies 4G is not available. It drops to 3G and thus, slower. But still adequate. But if it's a rural community it could get really really slow or cut off temporarily depending on the number of other persons also using Verizon Wireless in the area particularly your campsite. They are not on my account of course, but their own account. I have security WPA or whatever. It was more than frustrating especially if you were transacting business and in middle of it your signal stops. I just hope 4G gets out beyond the biggest cities soon.
It's not perfect, but will do for having the same service at home and away. You can literally carry in your pocket your own little hotspot. The size of the device is about 1/3 the size of pack of cigarettes if not smaller. It runs for a while on an internal battery too. It's very very lightweight. I paid $80 for it through Costco --- at the Verizon store it probably sells for double that. Costco gives me 90 days to swap it out or adjust the price should it go on sale. Plus Costco refunds the $35 activation fee.
The bad news is that I can no longer afford to stream Netflix movies as I was formerly doing with my AT&T fast DSL service (unlimited). The Verizon wireless broadband is limited. I picked the 5GB monthly download for $50 a mo. plus taxes. I could get 10GB for $80, but I think 5GB will do as long as I don't watch a lot of videos, etc. I have to change my usage habits somewhat. I will miss Netflix streaming, but one movie could eat up 1/5th of my monthly allowance through Verizon.
It's expensive I think. Verizon does not offer unlimited broadband. Sprint does, however. But I tend to believe that Sprint service would be frustrating and quite inferior -- all depending on where you are as locations vary in quality. But generally speaking Verizon is king. They are the most expensive too. I've never regretted switching my cellphone service from AT&T to Verizon as I no longer had dropped calls and poor reception in Atlanta. I could now have an iPhone if I wanted through Verizon, but much prefer my Droidx. I love Android.
2001 Beaver (Monaco) Marquis C-12
FMCA member
|
ventrman
Mission, TX
Senior Member
Joined: 06/04/2003
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
Nascarcruzin wrote:I use the Verizon's air card. It, so far, has been really great!
Rebecca
The only Problem I have with my Verizon Air Card is that sometimes it disconnects repeatedly right after it connects, Other Times it fails to detect the Air Card and I have to repeatedly detect it and wait for it to configure. Other Times I have to restart my Lapto in order foe the air Card to work..
God Bless!
|
brobox
Sunny SW. Florida
Senior Member
Joined: 11/18/2003
View Profile
|
ventrman wrote:Nascarcruzin wrote:I use the Verizon's air card. It, so far, has been really great!
Rebecca
The only Problem I have with my Verizon Air Card is that sometimes it disconnects repeatedly right after it connects, Other Times it fails to detect the Air Card and I have to repeatedly detect it and wait for it to configure. Other Times I have to restart my Lapto in order foe the air Card to work..
I had that problem until I updated the air cards software, end of problem.
Chuck
02 Travel Supreme, 2 street side slides
09 Toyota Tacoma 2WD
|
elkhornsun
Monterey
Senior Member
Joined: 11/29/2011
View Profile
Offline
|
Verizon had not even finished with converting all its towers to 3G from 1xRTT before it started a new program to convert them to 4G. Verizon is going to upgrade the towers in high density urban areas first and in rural areas eventually in a year or two or three.
With a 3G/4G card (modem actually) the device tries to make a 4G connection and when it fails it then tries to make a 3G connection which often succeeds if the tower is close enough and nothing interferes with its line of sight signal transmission and reception (from your device which puts out a lot less power). Problem is that after 10-15 minutes the modem will try to upgrade the connection to 4G and in doing so it kills the 3G connection.
With towers that have 1xRTT and 3G transmitters there is an internal setting that you can make to force the modem to never make a 1xRTT connection which is going to be extremely slow. If you do not do this the modem chooses whichever transmitter signal is stronger and not the one that will provide the fastest speed.
I switched back to a 3G modem only and all my dropped connection problems went away. It was the modem and the tower causing the problem as my signal strength is excellent thanks to the use of a mast mounted parabolic grid antenna and a powered signal amplifier which in tandem quadruple the signal from the tower.
Verizon has the most coverage with regard to data as well as cell phone and there are public maps that show towers in your area and whether they have Sprint or Verizon or AT&T transmitters. The companies lease space on the towers for their transmitters. The nearest Verizon equipped tower is 3 miles from my house and the nearest Sprint equipped tower is the same distance but on the other side of a hill so the only option was Verizon.
Millenicom resells both Sprint and Verizon data services at a lower price and with double the cap on monthly data usage and it is month to month and they provide the modem (card and USB types) at no charge. I have used them for more than two years and they have been great in every respect.
|
|
|
elkhornsun
Monterey
Senior Member
Joined: 11/29/2011
View Profile
Offline
|
If you need to access the internet and download a lot of data (like Apple updates or post lots of pictures for example) the data plan rates for smartphones are the highest ones around. Much less expensive are the data plans that feature a USB or Expresscard modem. Even here the reseller for Verizon data, Millenicom.com, provides 20GB per month at $20 less than the Verizon plan that has a 10GB monthly limit.
Verizon as of today has 4G coverage in less than 5% of the USA and in reality it provides 4G only in major metro areas, so 0% coverage in Montana or WYoming. 4G in Utah is only available in the Salt Lake and Ogden metro area, in Colorado only in the Denver metro area, in Georgia only in Atlanta, in Northern California only in the major cities. Once you drive 10 miles outside the cities the coverage is 3G only and that is across the entire USA.
We have a 3G only modem as 3G service is all we can get at our house and all we can get on the road 99.9% of the time. The 3G only modem provides a much more stable connection. It is important to go into the diagnostic mode of the modem and set it so it does not use 1xRTT and only CDMA. The CDMA is 10x as fast but the modem will pick whichever transmitter is providing the strongest signal.
If the nearest tower is transmitting 1xRTT at -75db and the CDMA signal is -80db the USB modem in its default mode will choose to link to the 1xRTT signal and the result is a very slow, as in dial-up speeds, connection.
With the added performance of a USB modem in a wireless router it is easy for multiple computers and people to share a single connection even when traveling. Much cheaper than paying for access in the parks.
One alternative we have found is that the public libraries have free WiFi and so when we have needed to upload or download a lot of data or found ourselves in a cellular black hole (not uncommon in California) we stop at a library for a couple of hours.
|
ISM500
Manitoba
Full Member
Joined: 09/20/2009
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
Been really quiet and since technology moves so quickly, what is the latest and greatest?
More specifically,voice, email, Canadian access, pay as you go.
|
carbour404
NY
New Member
Joined: 08/05/2010
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
We use my verizon I phone. Make it a "hot spot" either on line or in the store. This will power 5 devices. My wife had her I pad fired up searching for the next cg or place of interest. The laptop was always online as long as I had cell service. It costs only $20 a month and is pro rated for partial months. It did drop out often and we would have to sign on to the service on the I phone once in a while.
Boy have we ever come a long way from having to find a pay phone along the way.
|
RockyRoadCamper
Browder, Ky, USA
Senior Member
Joined: 09/14/2003
View Profile
Offline
|
carbour404
This sounds really interesting. We are very tech challenged, only have an old trac fone, but we need to figure this stuff out pretty soon. Could you tell us a little more about the Verizon I phone feature?
Thanks, S.F.
|
tomman58
Southeast Michigan
Senior Member
Joined: 06/12/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
RockyRoadCamper wrote:carbour404
This sounds really interesting. We are very tech challenged, only have an old trac fone, but we need to figure this stuff out pretty soon. Could you tell us a little more about the Verizon I phone feature?
Thanks, S.F.
I just got a Samsung galaxy 2 from Costco for 49.00.
With the ATT plan I can set up a hot spot for 0.00, nada dollars.
I use the 5G media plan. I didn't do an I phone as don't like the idea of being "locked" into their world only. the androit lets me play in all worlds less apple.
2015 GMC D/A, CC 4x4/ Z71 ,3.73,IBC SLT+
2018 Jayco 338RETS
2 Trek bikes
Honda EU2000i
It must be time to go, the suns out and I've got a full tank of diesel!
We have a granite fireplace hearth! Love to be a little different.
|
|
|
