What do use for your computer system while traveling?

[bobofthenorth]

Bottom line is if you travel enough you will find dead spots, no matter who your carrier is.  I've had Verizon coverage in southern Saskatchewan.  I was close to the border but definitely in Saskatchewan and nothing out the windows but hills and cows in every direction.  And I can find you lots of places in North America where nothing works, not just in Clifford's yard.  Hughes is getting better - I think they are losing customers and their transponder (over)loading is going down.  Our speeds have been 1.5 to 2x what they were a year or 18 months ago and they have upped our FAP limit with rumours that it will go up further in the near future.  If you absolutely have to have internet all the time, anywhere, then I still think Hughes is the only option. 

[Oonrahnjay]

(snip)   If you absolutely have to have internet all the time, anywhere, then I still think Hughes is the only option. 

     Thanks, Bob.  Do you know what "startup" costs are for Hughes, and what's monthly fee cost?   Are there any other costs besides this?   (It would be nice to have a single solution - I read of people who have "wifi for some places, and satellite for other places, and SuperPhone for backup" and my mind reels with pictures of money flying out the window.)

[bobofthenorth]

We have a tripod system and those are available used for well under $500 if you are patient.  What you need to watch out for though is that you need a HN series modem.  Some of the older modems, while they may still be in service, cannot be reactivated on a new account.  I'm not sure if anyone is still selling new tripod systems, likely they are and they will be in the neighbourhood of $2000.  Rooftop systems are $5k to $7k new and they too are available used, often under $2500.  Same restriction applies to the modem for either system (its the same modem).

Personally I wouldn't want a rooftop system.  There's times it would be really nice - you pull into a Wallymart lot for lunch, clear view of the sky, push the button and go online while you eat lunch.  But .......... pull into a well treed campground and good luck finding exactly the right site with that perfect hole in the foliage to let you shoot out to the south.  Not so much a problem where we are now (southern Texas) with the satellite shooting up at 50 degrees but try it in the PNW or western Canada when you are down to 30 degrees or lower.  In those situations I can wander around my site with my aiming tool looking for a little hole in the trees.  Then I can set my tripod exactly in the right spot to shoot out through that hole.  I'm actually going to try using my tripod system on the boat when we get back out there in a couple of weeks - got me 300 feet of siamese coax in the bay right now just waiting to go to work.

Don Bradner runs this web forum and its the bible for all things Hughesnet related.  If you go ahead with a Hughes tripod don't hesitate to contact me - not that I know all that much but I've used it for over 4 years now so I've pretty well done everything wrong that its possible to do.  All you need to do is do what I didn't do and you'll be good to go.

[Ed Hackenbruch]

Fulltiming for 8 years now, used a laptop that just died this summer. For 4-5 years we went thru our cell phone with verizon, then the phone died, so we got a verizon aircard. Got a Mac  desktop and had to get a new aircard for it, verizon again. Don't/won't do wifi.  We are in the western US of A. and get a signal most of the time where ever we are at. Been one or two times where we went a few days with no signal.  Old aircard was $60 a month, new 4G aircard is $50.     Haven't been in a 4G area yet but still pleased with the speed of the Mac and the aircard so far.

[oldmansax]

FYI, there is an alternative to Hughesnet that is faster. You can also do VOIP & VPNs, no FAP & it will work on the old Datastorm F-3 dishes.

Mobil Satellite Technologies in Va. sells them & Hughesnet. I get my Hughesnet service from them & Sean used to also. Their website:

http://www.mobilsat.com/

I have no interest in them other than a satisfied customer.

TOM