I need unlimited Internet for work; what is best? - Page 2 - Montana Owners Club

toolmanroy · 08-30-2006, 06:18 PM

I was told by the HIPAA guru of MyDocsOnline that any fax is not really HIPAA compliant, but as yet no one has wanted to rock the boat about that.

Roy and Nancy

2001 F250 CC 4x4 Lariat diesel
2005 Montana 2955RL

Wannabe Full-timer · 08-31-2006, 12:26 AM

Nancy, I always wondered about that but the doc's office request me to fax and they too fax patient notes to offices. Obviously, this does not necessarily mean it is HIPAA compliant!

Sandi & John & 3 Shih Tzu from Michigan (2 adult sons, 1 DIL)
Considering selling stick house, purchasing a Montana, living in it full-time locally so we can continue to live near my elderly father. Continuing to work full-time. Dreaming of the day we can head south for winter!

toolmanroy · 08-31-2006, 04:46 AM

I always send a cover sheet stating clearly that Dr. X requested that I send you a copy of the attached chart note. That relieves me of any responsibility.

I have used free fax programs I found by Googling to send faxes from Word to a regular fax number. You have to have a phone line attached to the computer, of course.

I hope you find the things you need to allow you to work from your Montana.

Roy and Nancy

2001 F250 CC 4x4 Lariat diesel
2005 Montana 2955RL

Wannabe Full-timer · 10-13-2006, 02:22 PM

Well, I just wanted to update those of you who may be interested in the Verizon ExpressCard that the newer laptops have. I decided to try it just this past week and so far so good! I live in a rural area, in the woods, but I am receiving all the antenna bars BUT I am not in a Broadband area, just National Access. I am still connecting at about 120-140 kbps though when I did a broadband speed check. One nice advantage (in a way) is that I can get the unlimited Internet/National Access pkg. for a lower price than the Broadband pkg. Most likely any areas I will be camping in, at least for the next few years, will only have a National Access connection. This is still 2-3 x faster than the dial-up I have been using (which usually connected at 50+kbps) and so I am happy with it. In Michigan, from what I can tell, only the major cities (which I don't frequent) offer Broadband but I know they are continually expanding these areas.

I found out though you need to request just the National Access pkg. when that is all you have available to you or otherwise you are charged for the Broadband price even when you are not able to access Broadband speeds! For me, Verizon's unlimited Broadband was $79.99/month as I do not have one of their cell phones. If I had a cell phone pkg., it would have been $59.99. I contacted Verizon to get my pkg. changed to just unlimited National Access and that is $59.99. If I were to get a cell phone pkg. from them that cost at least $35/month, then my unlimited National Access would only be $39.99! I am seriously considering getting a $39.99 cell phone pkg. as I do use a cell phone but very little. (I currently just use a TracFone which works well for me at $95 for a year's service and I haven't had a need to buy any more minutes than what comes with that.)

I thought some of you may be interested in the ExpressCard. It is SO convenient to use and so far has been very reliable for me but I realize it may be a little to early for me to fairly state that.

As for my earlier concern about faxing, I downloaded a program called Fax1 which you can try a few faxes for free and then it allows you to prepay by buying $10 worth of faxing (I think it then deducts 12 cents/page that you send) and the $10 does not have an expiration on it. I have been using eFax to receive faxes as that is free for me since I do not receive many faxes each month. (I believe they charge a monthly fee for you to send with it, whether you use it or not, and I don't send enough faxes for that to be worth it to me.)

Parrothead, I wanted to let you know you were right - I did find the internal fax option from my Control Panel on my laptop and I installed that but I do need to plug in my land line phone to use it of course. I could use the Fax1 though if I wanted, as mentioned above, without the need for a land line phone connection at all.

Anyway, I feel fairly confident now that I may be able to work while staying in a campground.

I realize, of course, it is all dependent on the signal I may or may not be able to get. However, I have driven to a few campgrounds with my laptop and ExpressCard, where we may go camping, and I have had Internet/National Access available.

kwbosch · 10-13-2006, 04:00 PM

Wannabe Full-timer,

You might also want to try e-fax. They also have a free version.

http://www.efax.com/en/efax/twa/page...ash?CMP=OTC-bb

HTH,

Ken

jerrybb · 10-14-2006, 02:00 AM

I use the Verizon card ,,, works well for me ,,,, and it is unlimited ,,,,, geting the KR1 router soon !!!!!

Wannabe Full-timer · 10-14-2006, 03:25 AM

Ken, thanks. I already use the free eFax for receiving personal faxes in my E-mail. For my work though, I need to be able to send to an actual fax machine and not a computer, so I chose Fax1 since I don't have to pay a monthly fee (whether I use it or not). I can just prepay in $10 increments and use that $10 any time I want. I only send a couple pages a month so that should last me a long time!

Jerrybb, glad to hear of someone who has actually been using the ExpressCard for some time. That is encouraging to know.

So you haven't had any problems with it? Do you get Broadband speed or National Access?? Excuse my ignorance here, but is the router so you can have more than one laptop connected at the same time to the ExpressCard and/or are you able to then connect a regular PC with using that??? Since we are still stuck living in our stick house and I also have a PC, I would like to be able to use my PC with the ExpressCard as well as my laptop. The company that actually sent me the ExpressCard said they may have something available in the next month or so that can be installed on my PC so I can insert the ExpressCard in it as well. That would be really nice to have as a backup in case something should happen to my laptop as I depend on my computers for my work/earnings! I pretty much have two of everything due to that fact. Not being able to work on my computer means no $.

Thanks!

Bob & Lee · 10-16-2006, 03:49 AM

Well I started reading this late but I use Cingular for two phones and internet, unlimited internet is $44.99 and in most citys Broadband should be nation wide by end of 06 and the air card now is $49.00 If you watch the sales on line I got my card free. have been using this service for about a year and no problems. going down the road on the web.

Bob

Wannabe Full-timer · 10-16-2006, 05:18 AM

Thanks Bob. It appears that I might not have coverage in my area with Cingular or where I might need to use it most. I don't even have coverage with Sprint so I am kind of stuck with Verizon.

Just a heads up for those of you that might choose Verizon for unlimited Internet for your laptop. Their "unlimited" pkg. as I learned at the antenna-booster.com forum (where I purchased from after I heard great reports about them on this forum BTW and they DO have great support - thank you!

) if you go over 5-10 GB per month and/or download games, music, videos, etc. (which takes up a like of bytes), they most likely will terminate you and most times I hear you are not given a "second chance" so to speak.

It is in their "fine print" what you are not to use their service for and it includes those things I mentioned above. I have heard people have had their service for up to eight months and then get a termination notice. I don't use my computer for downloading games or music but I do like to listen to this once a week talk radio program that is not aired locally and I can no longer do that in fear of using too many bytes.

Also, my laptop only accepts the ExpressCard; it does not have a PC card slot. It is my understanding that the PC card slots are going to become obsolete (so what's new, heh?) They sure make sure by their upgrades that you have to continue to keep making purchases of new equipment. However, it also does usually mean improvements over what we have been using as well.

I bought my first laptop a few months ago without even knowing that the ExpressCard that I needed for Internet was not even available yet and did not become available until a month or two ago. They sold old fast the first time around on line from Booster-antenna.com. I then decided to try the USB Modem through Sprint (again purchased at Booster-antenna) and that is when I found out I did not have coverage in my area. Well, I should say, I did get a signal but it took eight minutes to load a web page! LOL Cannot be too productive doing that when you are using it for your work and even if you were just using it to surf the Internet. I even took my laptop to our nearest city, where there is a Sprint store, and still the same connection issues with the Sprint!

We actually have a huge tower within walking distance of our home (even out here in the boonies) and Verizon apparently bought into it about a year ago (and I have heard that Verizon and Sprint will not be on the same towers but I don't know how accurate that is)as my brother who lived with us had a Verizon cell phone and could not use it much due to such poor reception and then one day he got all the antenna bars and even my TracFone did as well, even inside my home. We use to have to go outside to try to make/receive calls on our cells prior to that and then it was poor.

I spend a lot of hours connected to the Internet so I hope Verizon doesn't terminate me!

toolmanroy · 10-19-2006, 05:15 AM

Glad to hear you got things worked out. The biggest obstacle for me is to get my doctors to agree to go digital. They have refused my requests so far. I have just the one doctor to whom I send the finished files using MyDocsOnline. I really like that program and the price is right. I only wish I could get one of the doctors to try recording and sending a voice file through the program so I can see how it works. Continue to keep me posted on your progress.

Wannabe Full-timer · 10-19-2006, 09:23 AM

I hear ya Nancy. Ya know, I thought I really wanted my docs to use digital recorders too and I still would if we were on the road full-time as that is the only way I could do their work. However, after I thought about it and listening to other MTs that have docs that do digital recordings, they complain as they never know when the files are going to be uploaded, how much dictation there will be, how many times they will upload files each day, etc. At least when I go in and pick up tapes, I know right then that is what I have to do in 24-hours and I can tell pretty close just by looking at a tape (and should after so many years with the same docs) how many minutes/hours it will take me to complete my work, so that makes it nice to schedule various things, i.e., my time working, appointments, errands, etc. So, I guess there can be a positive in the picking up and delivering, which was something I hadn't even thought of.

I am just so thrilled so far with my Verizon ExpressCard for my laptop. It connects only a little more than twice as fast as dial-up as where I live we only have National Access but I am sure Broadband is expanding continuously so I will eventually have that I think.

If anyone gets the ExpressCard for their laptop for their ISP and you can't get Broadband and only the National Access, make sure you tell them you just want the National Access Plan or otherwise you will be charged the same rate as those getting Broadband which is $20 more/month! (They didn't tell me that - I found that out on my own.) If you have a Verizon cell phone pkg., then you also get $20 off of the unlimited Broadband/National Access, so you could potentially end up just paying $39/mo. for unlimited National Access. Like I said, what I have is not real fast, not even DSL speed, but it works nice for a laptop, it is portable, and best of all I can connect anywhere I can get a Verizon signal.

snfexpress · 10-19-2006, 06:37 PM

Sandi,

Try getting a Wilson Cellular Trucker antenna and adapter cord. Plug this into your Verizon card and you will find that your throughput will go up, mainly because the packets are not repeating due to a poor signal.

I have a KR1 router and installed an exterior antenna to our slide topper bracket. Drilled a hole in the Monty and covered it with a cable outlet cover (identical to the one that came with the Monty). Ran the cable to the Verizon card and noticed that my throughput is higher, according to DSLreports.com. Also, when we are in a fringe area, it helps to pick up the signal.

Hope this will help you.

Wannabe Full-timer · 10-20-2006, 02:13 AM

snfexpress, thank you. I already get all the bars/signal strength for my National Access. They don't offer Broadband where I live currently. However, if we move to the CG we are considering, I don't get all the bars and since we will be there for quite awhile I already planned on getting an antenna to plug into my ExpressCard (and it does have a slot to do that) so it will bring in the signal better.

I have spoken with the customer support at booster-antenna.com and was told an antenna won't do me any good where I am but should if I moved to this other CG. Also, I may get a portable one for when we are camping in other CGs anyway, for our TT, as we will probably keep our TT and use that for week-end camping trips and just keep our Monty parked when we get it. Really don't have much choice on that anyway until husband gets the appropriate TV and we don't plan on getting that until probably a year after getting a Monty, depending on when we get that.

Thank you so much for your suggestion and the great info on the permanent type antenna that you installed. That sure s/l something that I would be interested in for our Monty!

jrgwdenner · 10-20-2006, 02:50 AM

Somewhere in this topic I think Sandi asked why some of us use the KR1 router. It does give us a wireless connection that can be used by more than one computer at the same time.. We have even provided an internet connection for our 'neighbors'. But some of us purchased aircards that won't fit into our computers because they have Express card slots. So the solution is the KR1 router because the aircard goes directly into the router. This system works great for us and allows both of us to be on the internet at the same time. Our Verizon aircard is great and we are happy with our setup.

Wannabe Full-timer · 10-20-2006, 03:05 AM

Judy, do just the air cards fit the KR1 router or do the ExpressCards also fit? I would love to be able to use my PC sometimes for Internet but now I am limited to my laptop. Plus, I need a back-up system for my work in case I have problems with my laptop.

Thanks!

jrgwdenner · 10-20-2006, 04:47 AM

Sandi, I think the KR1 is for aircards but I'm wondering if there is one that uses the Express card. Maybe someone else knows of one. I'm sure they'll be coming out soon if they aren't already available.

Wannabe Full-timer · 10-20-2006, 07:35 AM

Thanks again Judy. I am sure they will be coming out with something in the future where there will be a way you can use your ExpressCard to connect to the Internet with a regular PC or laptop.

I tried the Sprint external plug-in USB Modem (which was almost 3 x the price of the ExpressCard!) and you could connect that to your PC or your laptop via a USB port but I could barely get a connection with that no matter where I tried it, so sent that back. No probs with the Verizon ExpressCard so far and I have used it for about 10 days and I am connected with it for many hours a day.

jrgwdenner · 10-20-2006, 11:23 AM

The Verizon card seems to be the best so you did good, Sandi.

Wannabe Full-timer · 10-20-2006, 11:41 AM

Judy, kind words mean so much. Thank you. You made my day.

Sandi

snfexpress · 10-20-2006, 04:46 PM

The KR1 currently will only accept a PCMCIA card, what people on this forum have been calling an aircard. It is just a matter of time before the KR1 or a competitor has an express slot.

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