Full Time Internet - Montana Owners Club

H. John Kohl · 11-01-2005, 10:33 PM

Ann and I will be full time in 15 months. I like to plan ahead so I have some questions for those that have been there.
Each post will have a different question so the content should stay on track.
What do you use for Internet?
Satellite Dish with Internet
WiFi at RV parks
Cell phones
Where is it mounted? Where is it stored for transport? What is its weight.
Thanks

Glenn and Lorraine · 11-02-2005, 12:26 AM

Right now we are using Road Runner. We are here for 6 months and it is a better deal than our AirCard.
Road Runner--$32.95 a month unlimited
AirCard Unlimited---$79.95 a month.
Revert the AirCard to 20meg limited at $39.95 a month and save $7.05 a month.

Parks FREE or cheap WiFi when available.

Verizon Air Card

Confused?? So am I but Lorraine ain't.

ols1932 · 11-02-2005, 01:14 AM

Wi-Fi where available, otherwise we use our Verizon cell phone with the Mobile Office cable connected to our computers.

sgtpp214 · 11-02-2005, 01:16 AM

Preference is campgrounds with WIFI, but if that doesn't work out I will stop by local library or Internet cafe to check on email and any other things I have to do like make sure money in checking account. Libraries are usually free, but limit your time while the cafes charge. I'll usually leave a donation at the library. At times I have internet shakes, but I'm not wedded to it so I survive.

jrgwdenner · 11-02-2005, 01:42 AM

If you use the internet a lot, in my opinion, you need a system like Direcway or Starband. Then you can get the internet almost anywhere, much like satellite TV. We don't have it but enjoyed Hamrad's connection at the rally. There are links to extended discussions on RVNet.com if you put 'Direcway' in their search engine. You'll get more info than you'll ever need.

Parrothead · 11-02-2005, 06:50 AM

I think it depends on how long you are in one place. We plan to take our DirecWay with us but will only use it when we are someplace for say one month. We use WiFi if it is available and not to expensive plus we have the Mobile Office Kit for our Verizon cell phone which works really well. We have also been in parks where instant phone service is available and then we can use dial up but it is sometimes expensive as they charge by the minute. In case you haven't figured this out, I am addicted to computers!

Happy trails................

cmp-shooter · 11-02-2005, 08:25 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Parrothead

I think it depends on how long you are in one place. We plan to take our DirecWay with us but will only use it when we are someplace for say one month. We use WiFi if it is available and not to expensive plus we have the Mobile Office Kit for our Verizon cell phone which works really well. We have also been in parks where instant phone service is available and then we can use dial up but it is sometimes expensive as they charge by the minute. In case you haven't figured this out, I am addicted to computers!

Happy trails................

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Is this what I need and is there anything else?
http://www.cell-phone-accessories.co...ffice-kit.html

jrgwdenner · 11-02-2005, 10:37 AM

That's all I needed and it works great. There is also software to download such as Venturi or Verizon Manager but you can check that out later. It works great and we boost our signal with a basic Wilson trucker antenna. It has helped us get a better signal in some remote areas. Other times it won't help at all.

FireTruckerWife · 11-02-2005, 11:02 AM

We really like the Direcway dish. There are a lot of RVers using it with a tripod setup, and that's what we use. Commitment of a year at 59.99. Get a good system with support (dustyfoot.com is one of them and about a $1500 investment in hardware) but it beats the $5000 datastorm system. You can have "high speed" internet anywhere you have access to the southern sky here in the US. Speeds of about 1MB are normal for download speeds (about 1/3 the speed of cable modem) plenty fast for snappy loading of web pages.

Parrothead · 11-02-2005, 12:43 PM

My mobile office kit came with the software. If you buy the kit from Verizon it is cheaper than your link.
Happy trails...................

jrgwdenner · 11-02-2005, 07:17 PM

Sue, I thought Verizon was charging $30.00 for the MOK. I've not seen it for $25.00 anywhere else, but I sure am not up to date on prices. Correct me if I'm wrong.

w4nfr · 11-03-2005, 03:13 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by H. John Kohl

Ann and I will be full time in 15 months. I like to plan ahead so I have some questions for those that have been there.
Each post will have a different question so the content should stay on track.
What do you use for Internet?
Satellite Dish with Internet
WiFi at RV parks
Cell phones
Where is it mounted? Where is it stored for transport? What is its weight.
Thanks

I would recommend a laptop with WiFi at a minimum for traveling. We like the independence of having WiFi Internet with us all the time, so we opted for the Direcway satellite dish. Keep your good time tv seperate from your internet stuff, I dont recommend using the same dish for both. We got our Direcway dish on a tripod and all the acccessories and training from MAXWELL Satellite in Casa Grande Az. They have a website at: http://www.maxwellsatellite.com/
They were the best quality that I could find and offer a super portable tripod mounted and easy to setup system.

Gypsy · 11-03-2005, 03:46 AM

I use WiFi whenever I can find it, especially if it's free. Otherwise, I use the Verizon Mobile Office cable and software, with the NationalAccess Calling Plan. It costs about $20 more per month than America's Choice, but it provides much faster data transmission. Minutes count the same whether for voice or data, and free evening minutes start at 8:01 pm instead of 9:01 pm. If I can't connect because of being in an extended network area, I go to a library with either WiFi or computers available, or an RV park clubhouse with phone connections.

sreigle · 11-07-2005, 01:45 PM

More and more we're finding wifi at rv parks. It is really exploding onto the rv park scene. We're currently on free wifi, meaning the price is incorporated into the cg fee whether you use the wifi or not.

If no wifi, sometimes you can get an 'instant phone' connection at the campsite. That's where you don't call the phone company, you just pay the cg to turn on the phone and you run the line to the side of the Montana. These are more and more rare as wifi takes over.

If none of the above, 99.9% of CG's we've been in have a phone line you can connect to in their office, laundry room, or other place in the park. You need your own isp and a local phone number (or use a phone card to call long distance.). Several isp's have numbers over most of the country including highstream, earthlink, aol, probably others.

I use cell phone only when I absolutely have to. I've not even installed the drivers on this laptop which I bought last December. Haven't needed to. We've had wifi in almost every park we've been in since then. Almost.

Excellent idea to ask questions in advance. I did the same thing and never regretted it. I did find most of my pre-fulltime concerns were unfounded but it made me feel better to ask.

Parrothead · 11-07-2005, 03:22 PM

The one thing I like about the cell phone connection is you can connect while on the road. This of course is only for those addicted to the MOC.
Happy trails...................

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