Comments on: Internet on the Road

By: Dridma

Dridma — Sat, 03 Aug 2013 18:49:10 +0000

Hi there,

Thanks for the writeup. I’ve just bought a pair of the same antennas.

– Could you provide any info on your experience attaching them up on the roof?
– Did you use any grounding/surge protection for the antennas? Often this is done via a surge protector adapter between the antenna and the router.

Thanks!

By: Cyrus

Cyrus — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:51:58 +0000

Great write up.. got me thinking about adding AT&T as a backup to my Millenicom Verizon plan (I feel so vulnerable in the boonies with a nonexistent Verizon signal).. which led me to below solution. If anyone wants to avoid part of the spaghetti mess.. for a simplified setup (on the amplifier/booster front) you can get the new Wilson Sleek which covers 2G/3G/4G on AT&T, TMobile AND Verizon.. all in one device. You used to have to get separate ones for AT&T or Verizon. Believe it just came out in Feb '13. While not as robust as your setup it will save you on frustration and a couple hundred bucks. http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/store/display/236/43/sleek-4g

By: Nathan

Nathan — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:46:37 +0000

Have you guys looked into Millenicom at all? http://millenicom.com/ Thinking about going with their data plan (the one labeled "Hotspot") as it runs off of Verizon's network but it's 20GB / month for $70. They have an "unlimited" plan too but it runs off of Sprint. I used to have one of their Aircards which worked just about nowhere back in 2008.

By: Kyle Bolstad

Kyle Bolstad — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 17:28:59 +0000

Since I was the one who recommended the whole Pepwave setup, I feel responsible for your spaghetti mess of cables! Here are a few things that have kept me “spaghetti-free” for a year:

I have only one data card (like you, it is the Verizon UML290). If 4G is not available, I manually kick it over to 3G using the Pantech Modem Utility (http://3gstore.com/site/download_form.html?u=pantech-uml290-fix). So annoying it doesn’t automatically do this! If I know I won’t have any Verizon reception whatsoever, I turn on the “Personal Hotspot” on my AT&T iPhone and have the Pepwave connect to it as my Wi-Fi source. I don’t have to mess with swapping out any cables–ever! And, then of course, I use the “Connect to Any Open
Mode AP” under “WiFi WAN Settings” to automatically scan for open Wi-Fi networks, and “Fail Over Settings” enabled to automatically switch over to my data card if Wi-Fi fails. This method as worked flawlessly for one full year–from Alaska to Florida.

Any security concerns of connecting to an open Wi-Fi network are (mostly) mitigated by using the incredible Mac and iOS VPN called Cloak.

Oh, and I am running firmware 1.0.19 (build:1085) on the Pepwave. I contacted tech support and had them open up the Bonjour (Zeroconf) protocol so that I could seamlessly transfer files across my various Apple devices. I can’t seem to get it to transfer at true 802.11n speeds, but it does at least find my devices and do the file transfer. Hope that helps!

Oh, one more thing. If I don’t have great voice service, I just hop on FaceTime or Skype and use the data connection for my “phone” call. That eliminates the need for any cell phone boosters.

Just keepin’ it simple! 🙂