Roof mount Wifi adaptor. I'm impressed!

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi guy's,

I have had issues picking up wifi signals in my bus at home and at campgrounds.

Must be all the aluminum and steel..? So, I searched for something external mount

and found this Co. called
http://www.uawifi.com/

I installed their adaptor this week on the roof of my coach.

I went from 1 signal bar at my home to 5 bars!! I now also can pick up 13 other

wifi signals in my neighborhood.. I even found 2 that are unsecure!! Lol

I have no connections with Co. other then being a happy camper..

Enjoy
Nick-

[technomadia]

Thanks Nick!  A wifi signal booster is on our list of tech upgrades for our bus! 

- Cherie

[jjrbus]

For the DIY'er, the poor and the cheap

http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/has.html

A Google search turns up many such sites.


 Mine    http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv34/jjrbus/bus%20pics/Bus%20exterior/tmpphpsVVB4s.jpg

                                                    HTH

[pickpaul]

Interesting product but I want something that will squirt the data back out via wifi so I don't need to plug in my laptop or iPad. Anyone worked out how to just amplify signals for computers to pick up on their wifi radio? It's got to be possible right? Like a repeater?

[pickpaul]

Just did my homework and for under double the price, this is some seriously quality gear and you don't need to plug your laptop in. Helps out your neighbors too :-)

http://www.jefatech.com/product/RV-KIT-REPEATER/Long-Range-WiFi-Repeater-Kit-for-RVs.html

Cheers, Paul.

[desi arnaz]

what a bunch of crooks. i got a Chinese yaggi antenna and a realtek box for under $40 yesterday i had no less than 28 different signals in  the lowes parking lot with the antenna sitting on the dining room table of the bus.

[robertglines1]

When you get away from population areas.  Ck out Wilson Electronics repeaters for home office use. Only draw back is it must be mounted 35 to 40 ft separation from two antennas.  supports our Verizon mifi and unlimited number of cell phones.   Tested and proved in remote areas by us. Not as good as a satellite but we don't travel in remote west.  Don't buy for RV use the price doubles.   We use the egg looking inside antenna. It worked best for us mounted above entrance door.  Bob

[Lin]

Bob, I think that the ones for RV use are supposed to be better for use while in motion.  If you are really only going to use it while parked, there would be no reason to get the more expensive device.

[robertglines1]

Doesn't seem to make a difference in motion or not. Use a 12 inch roof mount antenna recommended by Wilson.  Technology changes daily I might get away with a less expensive unit nowdays than 4 years ago when I installed this system    Bob

[pickpaul]

Can you guys post any links to cheaper sources for the above setup I kinked to above? I would like to avoid the RV tax if possible :-)

[jbnewman]

The unit they show is a Linksys WRT54GL (Amazon) with custom firmware. One common custom firmware that is free & has repeater functionality & is reasonably easy to use is DD-WRT.

I searched Google for "8.5dbi omni antenna" and found them starting at $25.

So, the components are:

- Router (WRT54GL, or anything that will run the firmware & has a removable antenna)
- Custom firmware for router (DD-WRT)
- Antenna
- Antenna Cable

You will need to do some Googling to determine the correct connectors for the antenna and antenna cable for the router you're buying.

I do this same thing within my home with Cisco E1000 routers ($30 "rebuilt" at TigerDirect). Unfortunately, the E1000 doesn't include an external antenna, much less one that's removable. If you wanted to experiment with it, though, to make sure you're comfortable with DD-WRT, and how the whole thing works, it might not be a bad way to spend $30.

[pickpaul]

Interesting, I've never installed firmware on a router before but I can't imagine it's too hard. I may curse trying to save under $100 if I spend too many hours on research and troubleshooting.

[artvonne]

  So how far do these signals travel? Im way out in the sticks, a good 10 - 15 miles from siv ill I zation. If I could get up over the trees and hills, any chance of a signal??

[desi arnaz]

Nope. Maybe a 1/4 at the very most but dont count on that much...

[jbnewman]

Interesting, I've never installed firmware on a router before but I can't imagine it's too hard. I may curse trying to save under $100 if I spend too many hours on research and troubleshooting.

On the WRT54GL, it's a matter of downloading a file from the dd-wrt web site, then using an "upgrade firmware" button on the WRT54GL's web interface to select & upload it. On some other models, it can be a bit harder. Personally, I don't like to muck a lot, so I'll only buy hardware that is point and click easy.