Extreme WiFi for RV, trucks, motorhomes, vans and cars

Extreme Wi-Fi for RV, trucks, travel trailers, motorhomes, boats, yachts, buses, vans and cars

Purpose and Objective:

Achieve a much stronger Wi-Fi connection for RV, trucks, travel trailers, motorhomes, boats, buses, vans, cars and in hotels with weak Wi-Fi signals.

Why:
The built-in antenna in modern laptop/netbook is inadequate when it comes to Wi-Fi in challenging mobile environments. For example, in Wi-Fi campgrounds, Wi-Fi truck stops or boat marinas, the distance often exceeds Wi-Fi's operating range of 300-feet open air. Trees absorb signals and vehicles (metal) block signals. The situation is much worse when the laptop is inside a vehicle (vehicle body shields Wi-Fi signal). The hi-tech gadgets outlined here are near-magic in solving those problems.
Similarly in hotel/motel/buses/airports/airplanes, some rooms/seats may have weak Wi-Fi signal, these hi-tech gadgets can help.
These gadgets enable you to acquire a stronger Wi-Fi connection (hence faster data throughput), improving your Wi-Fi reach and enhancing your on-line experience. This diagram shows signal (and speed) improvement when using a high gain antenna.

Some campgrounds or marinas have properly engineered and installed Wi-Fi "base stations" for adequate coverage; others use a consumer-grade Linksys/D-Link wireless router, radiating with just stock antenna, or "internal antenna".

Where:
RV parks, Wi-Fi campgrounds, Wi-Fi-equipped long-haul buses, truck stops, boat marinas, Wi-Fi enabled rest areas, restaurants, fast food chains (US McDonalds, Carl's Jr/Del Taco/Jack in the Box), US airport, non-US airports, some convenience stores, coffee shops, some Canadian Tire stores, pubs and bars, visitors welcome centers, some public buildings (e.g. Calgary's City Hall), some shopping malls, some downtown buildings, Barnes & Nobles book stores, some gas stations, etc.

RV-Park or marina owners wanting to setup a Wi-Fi hotspot, see this link.

Easy as 1, 2, 3, 4

It can be frustrating trying to decipher what really works. Some blogs on this subject only result in a small improvement. Hopefully this resource article will tilt that balance. I use the symbols [1] [2] [3] [4] to indicate the four basic components that are needed.

[1] Antenna

Antenna is an essential component. There are two basic antenna types: omni-directional and directional. Also see this diagram.
Omni-directional (or simply Omni) means the antenna receives wireless signal from any direction with equal sensitivity. This should be your main antenna.
Directional antenna is very sensitive in one direction (analog to a flash light's beam). Directional antenna can be purchased as a spare antenna.
Use the directional antenna when stationary, and the direction of the Wi-Fi source is known. See this application example.

A term used by antenna engineers is dB (or dBi, or Decibel), which is an index of the gain or sensitivity of the antenna. The higher the dB the better, but there is size and cost limitations associated with high gain antenna. If you are interested in the intrigue and mathematics of Decibel, check it out on Wikipedia.

What antenna to buy and from where?

(Prices are taken from vendors web sites for approximate guide only)
For RV, trucks, vans or cars, a magnetic-mount 7 dB omni yields a good connection at 600 feet (line of sight & no tree obstructions).
This antenna has low profile and low wind resistance. It comes with a 5-foot cable.
"Wi-Fi Booster Antenna" from eForCity (www.eforcity.com) product ID CNOK5161A103 ($5).
"7 dbi Magnetic-Mount omni with 1.5-meter cable to RP-SMA-male" (10.5 inch height) from Data-Alliance of Nogales, Arizona ($8).
MRO Electronics Calgary/Edmonton/Vancouver (www.mroelectronics.com) part number MR2400C11 (9 inch height, $18).

For large RV or large trucks, consider
7 dB omni antenna with N connector, product code 24-7M, from Invictus Wireless.
8 dB (17 inch height) omni antenna, SuperPass Model Number SPDG16O ($43), or
8.5 dB (24 inch height) "Antenna: 8.5dBi omni Stainless Steel Mounts. N-female connector" from Data-Alliance of Nogales, Arizona ($20),
9 dB (25 inch height) SuperPass Model Number SPDG8O ($59).
These antenna use weather-proof N-type female connector

Directional antenna with higher gain is suitable for longer range/stationary use. You need to point the antenna at a known Wi-Fi source (similar to a vehicle headlight's beam). See this application example.
SuperPass Model Number SPAPG16 gives you an awesome 16 dB gain [20-degree beam width] ($42). SuperPass SPAPG16 uses weather-proof N-type female connector

Antenna should be mounted outside your vehicle, free of obstructions from metals (because metal blocks Wi-Fi signal). Preferably on the roof.

[2] RF-cable

For the magnetic-mount 7 dB omni antenna mentioned above, a 5-foot RF-cable and connector already came with it.
For the 7 dB omni antenna mentioned above (product code 24-7M), you need to add a mount (product code MN90-N) which has 10 feet RF-cable already came with it.
For other outdoor antenna, you need a "N-male to RP-SMA" cable to work with the USB dongle [3] below.
Do not excessively bend or kink the RF-cable.

Where to buy RF-cable ?

SuperPass "N-male to RP-SMA" RF-cables of various lengths. Use the shortest RF-cable to bring the RP-SMA connector "indoor" to minimize signal loss. You can make up for distance using USB extension cable [4]. Price for a 10-foot (3 meters) cable is $16 at SuperPass.
Trendnet LMR200 (2 meters; 6.5 feet). You can order Trendnet LMR200 ($18) from Dell Canada website. Part number is A2793225
Data-Alliance of Nogales, Arizona has a 3-meter "N-male to RP-SMA' cable ($11), description is "pigtail cable adapter RP-SMA male to N male 3-meter cable".

[3] USB Wi-Fi network adapter (USB dongle)

This is a critical component of the system. Not all USB dongles are made equal, some have superior performance over others.
-TP-LINK's new high power USB Wi-Fi adapter is TL-WN7200ND .
It handles IEEE 802.11n/g/b standard and it has high power output.
-An older, but popular USB Wi-Fi adapter is ALFA AWUS036H (IEEE 802.11b and IEEE 802.11g)
-ALFA AWUS036H-V5 is essential the same as AWUS036H but this V5 model has a higher transmitter power.
-ALFA AWUS050NH is a new USB Wi-Fi adpater which handles IEEE 802.11n/g/b standard.

Where to buy a USB dongle ?

TP-LINK TL-WN7200ND is quite new and is very hard to buy from North America. TP-LINK signs up distributors around the world at trade shows, but the "distributors" they sign up do not really carry stock nor distrubute their products. Hopefully this stupidity will change when TP-LINK's president takes notice; TP-LINK dominated the China market, but virtually unknown in North Amercia because of the fundamentally flawed distribution mechanism.

For ALFA USB Wi-Fi adapters, you can find them from Data-Alliance of Nogales, Arizona or Invictus Wireless in Oregon.

[4] USB extension cable

You may need a USB extension cable to connect the USB dongle [3] to your laptop/netbook. The TL-WN7200ND comes with a mini-USB cable so you may not need a USB extension cable. The maximum length for a USB cable is 16 feet. If you need more distance, simply add one or more active USB extension cable to extend the total length.

Where to buy USB extension cable ?

Geeks call it "USB 2.0 extension cable, Type A Male to Type A Female".
You can buy USB extension cable from any computer store, e.g.
at NCIX www.ncix.com, 6 feet SKU #16285 ($4)
at eForCity (www.eforcity.com) 6 feet PCABUSBX0033 (white) or PCABUSBX0034 (black) ($4)
at Home Depot 10 feet Belkin model F3U134-10 ($13)
at Bestbuy www.bestbuy.com 6 feet SKU#6801017 ($27)

Putting it all together.

Here is a graphics of what it looks like when you gather all the components [1] [2] [3] [4] before installation.
For laptop use in hotels with weak Wi-Fi, see this setup
For longer distance, replace the 5 dB antenna above with a 7dB antenna, or use a 9 dB directional patch antenna.

Here is a photo of my Dodge Caravan, with a 7 dB magnetic-mount omni plus a 14 dB directional antenna deployed.
(The directional antenna is deployed to boost Wi-Fi reach when the mini-van is stationary in campgrounds).

Important Operational Note.

You should disable the built-in wireless network card or else Windows will use the weaker built-in wireless network system, hence all the work you've done above becomes a waste. To disable the built-in wireless network card, you can do that either in software (Control Panel, Device Manager) or in hardware (e.g. most modern laptop has a slide switch to enable/disable the built-in Wi-Fi system).

Hotel and motel use

TL-WN7200ND includes a modest performance 5 dB omni antenna. You can discretely take them and use it in hotel/airports/airplanes to boost the signal if necessary. See this setup.

In flight Wi-Fi Internet is deployed on planes at Delta Airline, Alaska Air, AirTran, American, Virgin America, United and Southwest. Air Canada and US Airways are next to deploy in-flight Wi-Fi.

Disclaimer

GPS co-ordinates 49.2238, -122.9748 49°13'26" -122°58'29"

Last revised: May 15, 2010

Wi-Fi Extenders, Wi-Fi boosters