Copy of Accelerate-Your-RV-Wireless-Connections

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections

Step by Step Photo Tutorial

by

Charles Preston

Ebook HTML

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

You may read this book for your personal use. You may not copy this material

or any part of it without the express permission of the author. Neither this book

nor any part of it may be used for any commercial purpose, without the specific

agreement of Comsec Wireless and the author.

Version 1.3-html

Comsec Wireless is a business name of SysWisdom LLC

SysWisdom LLC, P.O. Box 241608, Anchorage, AK 99524

For the ebook version, use this web address:

http://www.comsec-wireless.net/AYRVWC/

Disclaimer of Warranty and Limit of Liability

THERE IS NO WARRANTY EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED FOR ANY OF

THE CONTENTS OF THIS BOOK.

The publisher and author have used their best efforts to make this book

accurate and useful, but make no claims that any information in this book is

accurate and complete, or fit for your particular purpose. Neither the publisher

nor author will be liable for any use you make of the information, nor liable for

any loss or damages whatsoever.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Why this guide exists

A friend, who retired and became an RV fulltimer, contacted me and asked if I

could help with an issue he has seen over and over. He and his wife traveled

thousands of miles, visiting 47 states and 8 Canadian provinces. Of the many

RV parks visited, he said "a few had excellent WiFi, and most had mediocre to

abysmal WiFi coverage".

After talking to hundreds of RV park operators, he found that many knew they

had problems but didn't know how they could do better. Most had insufficient

background to respond to system issues and outages, and didn't understand the

options for better coverage.

My wife suggested that we provide information to RVers themselves, to help

them get the best service possible out of the existing WiFi networks.

I've designed large WiFi networks, and I'm a certified trainer (CWNT) providing

classes in how to perform wireless LAN site surveys, and to design and

administer wireless networks. In recent RV Park measurements for this project

I've confirmed that service can be worse than some RV park operators realize.

When we were taking measurements in RV parks other users commented that

they had trouble with their WiFi connections, either at that location or others they

used.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

is based on this background, as well as experiments in RV parks and other

locations to examine the actual performance of numerous pieces of WiFi

equipment.

My aim in writing this guide is to act as an unbiased information source about

WiFi use in RV parks for personal Internet connections.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Table of Contents

WiFi - Faster and Further

...................................................................................

1

Quick Start Choices

............................................................................................

1

Sixty Second Summary

......................................................................................

2

The Main Problem

..........................................................................................

2

The Main Solution

..........................................................................................

2

Section I - No-cost methods to improve your WiFi performance

..................

3

Hints on picking your park

............................................................................

3

RV Park "base" antennas and why they're worth your attention

..............

4

Comparison Table for Different RV Park WiFi Installations

.....................

23

Situating your RV

.........................................................................................

23

Situating a laptop PC inside an RV

............................................................

24

Section II -Additional cost methods for better WiFi performance

...............

25

Effectiveness of different solutions for most RV WiFi users

...................

25

How to tell if your computer has a PCMCIA CardBus slot.

......................

26

Performance Comparison Table of WiFi Adapters

...................................

28

SRC 300 adapter

..........................................................................................

29

SRC 300 tips

.................................................................................................

30

ExpressCard 34 adapter

..............................................................................

35

USB adapter to use with a USB cable

........................................................

36

USB EUB-362 and other higher power USB adapter tips

.........................

38

Brief comments on some WiFi adapters you may come across

.............

39

WiFi USB with internal antenna(s)

.............................................................

40

WiFi USB adapter tips

..................................................................................

41

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

WiFi Client Bridge/Workgroup Bridge

.......................................................

41

Customer Premises Equipment

..................................................................

44

WiFi Range Extender

...................................................................................

44

New laptop PC with built-in 802.11abgn WiFi adapter

..............................

44

Range of a “typical” laptop computer

.......................................................

45

External antennas for laptop WiFi adapters

..............................................

46

Cable suggestions

.......................................................................................

53

Section III - Troubleshooting and precautions

...............................................

54

Troubleshooting

...........................................................................................

54

Radio frequency energy safety

...................................................................

57

RV park WiFi security problems

.................................................................

58

RV park WiFi security suggestions

............................................................

59

Section IV - If you want to get technical

.........................................................

61

WiFi throughput explained

..........................................................................

61

WiFi interference - what it is and why it happens

.....................................

62

How to check the quality of your RV park Internet connection

...............

66

Glossary for WiFi

..............................................................................................

70

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

WiFi - Faster and Further

This guide is written for people who would like the best possible WiFi

Internet connection at the lowest cost. With no additional equipment cost

you can improve your connection by knowing about RV park antennas and

how WiFi works in an RV. If you're willing to spend $75 - $200, you can

greatly expand your choice of sites in most RV parks, while maintaining a

good Internet connection.

This material is explained in language that RVers can easily understand -

you don't need a degree in radio engineering or other technical education. If

you are curious, or technically knowledgeable already and want to know the

details, that material is also available in a special section called “If You Want

to Get Technical”.

Quick Start Choices

You’d rather not spend any

money on equipment

Go to Sixty Second Summary

on the next page, and then

Section I

You don’t want to bother with

information about RV park

antennas

Go to Sixty Second Summary

on the next page and then skip

to Section II

How far can my laptop be from

an RV park antenna for fast

reliable connections

Go to Page 23, Comparison

Table for Different RV Park WiFi

Installations

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Sixty Second Summary

The Main Problem

•

WiFi connections are slow, intermittent, and halting

•

Many RV parks have only a few WiFi access points with high power

•

Most laptop computers have only low power WiFi transmitters

Since all WiFi connections are always 2-way every second, laptops in

locations showing weak to moderate signal strength from the access

point cannot be heard properly at the access point.

•

Result - you see the access point as available in your laptop WiFi client

window, but connections are poor, and using the Internet is frustrating.

The Main Solution

•

Higher power output and better antenna at the laptop, or better site

location relative to RV park WiFi antennas.

•

The easiest way for the millions of laptops with a "PC Card" Cardbus slot

is to install a WiFi adapter with higher transmitter output and external

antenna connectors.

•

In general, setting your laptop WiFi radio for the highest level output won't

make much difference. Its power output is limited by design, and the

antennas are often small and in locations in the laptop that don't work well.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Section I - No-cost methods to improve your WiFi performance

Hints on picking your park

Before you pick tonight’s stopping place, see if your campground guide

gives you usable information about WiFi. An “Internet available” note may

mean each camper gets a 2-minute session at a computer in the office, with

shoulder surfers standing behind you during your 2 minutes. Some RVers

call the RV office about WiFi, and have gotten detailed, useful information

about their WiFi installation. While accurate, detailed information isn’t the

norm, it may be worth trying.

Online guide listings may allow a search, not just for Internet access, but for

“WiFi” or “wireless”.

Note the “WiFi” checkmark at the lower right in this web search screen,

which produced a lot of listings, even in a more rural area of one state.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Some campers prefer sites near the swimming pool, tennis courts, or golf

course. If a “no extra cost” WiFi Internet improvement is more your cup of

tea, you may find that areas around more distant RV park antennas have a

good choice of sites. You’ll need to ask, or better yet, do a quick once-

around to spot the WiFi antennas.

This section of Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections tells you how to

locate those antennas.

In return for keeping all your dollars in your pocket or purse, you will need to

learn how to best use the existing systems to your advantage. You will need

to park closer to an antenna, and in the antenna's favored direction.

RV Park "base" antennas and why they're worth your attention

Many RV parks have a WiFi system that works poorly with most laptop

computers that are more than 65 yards away from an antenna. And many

parking spaces are more than 65 yards from the nearest antenna.

To make these antennas work at greater range, they have been constructed

to transmit and receive better from some directions than others. If you know

what the favored directions are, you can situate your RV for a better signal.

Antenna types you can expect to see

• Omnidirectional

• Sector

• Flat panel

Omnidirectional

Similar to light from a table lamp with 1 bulb

For WiFi, this will usually be a white tube about an inch in diameter and

1-4 feet tall.

This antenna will be equally good at transmitting and receiving 360

degrees around it, as long as your RV and the antenna are both on flat,

level ground. Each omnidirectional antenna has poor coverage for an RV

that is parked too high above or too far below the level of the antenna.

The longer the antenna, the narrower the usable vertical angle (see

graphics).

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Closeup view of omnidirectional, example 1

Distance view of omnidirectional, example 1. See top center, on the

tower

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Omnidirectional antenna, example 2

This antenna, which is the top 12 inches of the whole vertical mast, has

about ½ the range of the much longer omnidirectional antenna on the

tower. Its advantage in this particular RV park, which is not completely

flat , is that parking a little higher or lower than the level of the antenna

won't cause you to miss the really narrow up/down pattern of the longer

omnidirectional antenna, which is the 3D pattern shown below.

Closeup view of omnidirectional, example 2

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Distance view of omnidirectional, example 2

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Omnidirectional Antenna Pattern

Each antenna both transmits and receives best from certain directions,

depending on its design. If you are not within the area of coverage, your

connection with the WiFi network will not be as dependable or fast.

The magenta 3D patterns you will see below were created using antenna

manufacturers’ specifications and pattern figures.

Omnidirectional pattern looking straight down on the antenna from the

top.

Omnidirectional pattern from the side for the 4 foot tall omnidirectional

antenna (example 1). Each antenna is shown as if it were on a mast

about 30 feet high, (brown vertical post in the graphic) like many outdoor

antennas.

Note the narrow vertical coverage. For completely flat ground, this

antenna will provide coverage for 360 degrees. In an RV park with

different levels, someone at a different level might receive much less

signal.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Sector (directional)

Similar to the light pattern from a floodlight

For WiFi, this antenna is about 2 feet tall and several inches wide, and

fairly flat.

A sector antenna operates best in a 90 degree (sometimes 120 degree)

arc straight out from its front. Visualize a quarter-circle, with the antenna

at the point where the straight lines intersect. Most of the energy is inside

the two straight lines. Although it looks like there is energy well out to the

sides, notice that the lines further to each side in the 3D pattern are a

shorter distance from the antenna to the edge than in front. This means

the signal is considerably weaker there. The flat side away from the mast

is where the radio energy is emitted. One side will usually be very close

to a vertical mast - this is the back. Certain sector antennas, like

example 2, have the transmission line cable attached to the front of the

antenna.

Closeup view

Notice that two 90 degree sections of the area are covered from this

mast, by having two antennas aimed 90 degrees apart. The useful signal

pattern comes from the flat side away from the mast.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Sector antenna example 1

Distance view

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Sector antenna example 1 showing downtilt (top is further from mast

aiming the pattern slightly down) so that the flattened vertical pattern

won’t be above closer RVs

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Sector antenna example 2

Closeup view

Notice that two 90 degree arcs are covered from this mast, by having two

antennas, as in example 1.

Sector antenna example 2

Distance view

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Sector Antenna Pattern

90 degree sector pattern looking straight down on the antenna from the

top.

90 degree sector pattern looking from side and back

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

90 degree sector pattern looking from side

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

The illuminated area is the best coverage you can expect from an RV park

sector antenna that would provide fast, reliable connections if you are using a

laptop with no better than average WiFi performance, on a table in your RV.

This is provided your RV has composite/fiberglass (not aluminum) sides. Good

coverage extends to 90 yards from the antenna. The antenna is located at the

center of the bottom of the illuminated area, below and to the right of the pool,

and at the top right corner of the red areas. If you make a 90 degree V with your

fingers, and place the point of the V at the antenna, you can see that the pattern

fills the area between your fingers. If you are outside the illuminated area your

connection to the WiFi network and then to the Internet will be slower and not as

reliable, and you will be at a disadvantage compared with RVs closer to the

antenna. All laptops compete for a share of available bandwidth. In this

particular park layout 100 yards is about 7 RV spaces straight out to the front or

within 45 degrees of either side of the front of the antenna away from the

antenna. An all-metal shell on your RV will often not work as well as composite

for WiFi.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

The illuminated area is the area for fast, reliable connections you can expect

from a sector antenna that would provide good service if you are using a

laptop computer with exceptional WiFi performance. These include a new

MacBook , an Acer Aspire One netbook, and an HP Mini netbook, all with

internal WiFi adapters. This coverage extends to about 180 yards in the 90

degree V in front of the antenna. Coverage could be increased to 290 yards

with an add-on SRC 300 WiFi adapter (see adapter suggestions in the next

section).

Compare this with the smaller coverage area on the previous page.

Of course, some RV parks have good enough coverage that you would never

have to be more than 90 yards from an access point and antenna.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Flat panel (directional)

Similar to the light beam light from a spotlight or flashlight

This antenna is packaged as a square that is about 1 foot per side, and

only about 1 inch thick.

These usually have their usable zone in a 30 or 45 degree angle straight

out from their front. This looks like a dieter's pie slice with the antenna at

the small end. The front is the side without the cable attachment. One

side will usually be very close to a vertical mast - this is the back.

Flat panel antenna example

Closeup view

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Flat panel antenna

Distance view

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Flat Panel Antenna Pattern

90 degree flat panel pattern looking from top

90 degree flat panel pattern looking from side and back

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

90 degree flat panel pattern looking from side

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Indoor access points and antennas

Less commonly, you may find an RV park using an access point inside a

building that can provide an Internet connection.

Here are two possible configurations. The first photo is the way these

access points are usually purchased. The second is using Linksys higher

gain antennas that were FCC approved to use on some Linksys access

points.

For the difference in range to a typical laptop see the Performance

Comparison Table for Different RV Park WiFi Installations.

Consumer grade access point “router” with 5 inch 2 dBi antennas

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Consumer grade access point “router” with 10 inch 7 dBi Linksys

omnidirectional antennas. These antennas provide nearly two times

greater range than the standard ones.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Comparison Table for Different RV Park WiFi Installations

If your RV is only 4 RVs away from the antenna but all the RVs are large

and have aluminum shells, the relative performance of these adapters and

configurations will still be the same, but the range will be considerably

shorter. These are ranges for nearly line of sight between laptop and RV

park antenna, with no additional buildings or foliage in between, and for

higher speed, reliable WiFi connections.

RV park access point & antenna

Typical laptop computer

Consumer grade access point “router”, 5”

standard 2 dBi antennas, inside a wooden RV

park building

30 yards

Consumer grade Linksys access point “router ”,

12” Linksys 7 dBi antennas, inside a wooden RV

park building

50 yards

Consumer grade or commercial access point

with 12”, 5 dBi omnidirectional antenna, outside,

about 15 feet high

50 yards

Commercial grade high power access point with

18”, 8 dBi omnidirectional antenna

65 yards

Commercial grade high power access point with

48”, 12 dBi omnidirectional antenna or 12 dBi

sector antenna

150 yards

Situating your RV

If you have a laptop PC that isn't brand new, you probably have a built-in

radio that will be listed in the user manual as WiFi, 802.11bg, or maybe

802.11abg. Some laptops from 2007-2008 list the radio as 802.11abgn, or

"draft n). Many 802.11bg or 802.11abg laptops will not send and receive

data at high speeds further than 190 feet from many RV park antennas, and

that is if they are in the correct direction from the antenna. (See antenna

patterns, above)

If a sector or flat panel antenna is mounted higher than 20 feet off the

ground, you could be in a poor performance zone by being closer than 30

feet to the antenna. (See antenna graphics, above).

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Try to park within the coverage zone of the antenna, and 75-150 feet from it.

Remember that you are competing with all the other WiFi users in your

vicinity, and having a stronger signal will help. While it's true that WiFi

systems are designed so every laptop within even marginal range gets a

chance, stronger is better.

Situating a laptop PC inside an RV

Many RV outer shells are made of fiberglass and plastic composite

materials which don't cause much loss for radio waves passing through.

Wood paneling on the inside is also low loss material. Aluminum sides,

metal mesh window screens, or closed metal venetian blinds are a barrier

to WiFi radio waves, and need some extra considerations, which will be

discussed below.

The main considerations for a laptop in a composite shell RV are the radio

shadows created by the metal sides of the microwave, refrigerator, and

oven.

For an RV with metal sides, the laptop will work better if it has a line of

sight path to the RV park antenna through a nearby window. Think of the

shadow pattern created inside your RV from a single streetlight outside.

The radio wave pattern will be similar, but the radio shadows won't be as

dark, since the radio waves will bounce around some inside.

Most laptops have antennas that are somewhat directional. Rotating the

laptop on the table through at least 90 degrees will often show that one

position is noticeably better. Since it is usually not convenient to leave it at

the best angle, add-on adapters with external antennas will work better.

If the laptop is close to your body, and you are directly between the laptop

and the access point antenna, there is usually a noticeable decrease in

range and speed.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Section II -Additional cost methods for better WiFi performance

You can improve laptop performance with additional WiFi hardware. Here

are some example types of WiFi adapters, discussed in detail later in this

section.

Effectiveness of different solutions for most RV WiFi users

The listing below is from top to bottom, with Number 1 & 2 being my

suggestion for the best solution for Windows XP laptops with a PC Card

slot, based on the technical specifications, performance, and ease of use.

If your computer doesn’t have a PCMCIA CardBus “PC Card” slot, you’ll

have to choose one of the others. See “How to tell. . .” on the next page.

1. Ubiquity SRC 300 with 2 omnidirectional 5 dBi antennas

2. Ubiquity SRC 300 with 1 omnidirectional 5 dBi antenna (as furnished

with each adapter)

3. EnGenius EUB-362 EXT or similar USB high power adapter with

external antenna

4. D-Link DWA-130 or similar USB adapter with internal antenna,

positioned away from the laptop or desktop This adapter gains a little

advantage over similar 802.11bg USB adapters, since it has a more

sophisticated antenna/radio configuration for 802.11n.

5. New laptop PC with built-in 802.11abgn WiFi adapter

6. Client bridge

7. Customer Premises Equipment

8. Repeater/”range extender”

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

How to tell if your computer has a PCMCIA CardBus slot.

1. Mac laptops don’t have them.

2. Netbook computers don’t have them

3. Most Windows laptops from 2-5 years old have a PC Card, CardBus

slot, and some new 2009 laptops have them.

Here is what a dual CardBus slot looks like. A single one should have

one ejection button. The blue buttons are to help you eject the adapter if

it doesn’t have anything you should pull on, which is the case with the

SRC 300.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

To have your Windows XP computer show you if the slot on the side is

both PCMCIA and CardBus, go to Control Panel/System/Hardware tab/

Device Manager.

In the hardware list, just below Network adapters you should see

PCMCIA adapters. If that line has a + in the box to the left, click on the

+ .

You should see some brand and model of CardBus Controller. If you see

that, then Windows should be able to use the SRC 300 once you install

the SRC 300 driver software and client software.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Performance Comparison Table of WiFi Adapters

Many factors can affect WiFi performance and range. Cordless phones,

and microwave ovens radiate radio energy in the same frequency

spectrum used by 802.11b/g WiFi. Older Bluetooth cellular phone

headsets, keyboards and mice interfere more than the newest Bluetooth

versions. If your RV is only 8 RVs away from the antenna but all the RVs

are large and have aluminum shells, the relative performance of these

adapters and configurations will still be the same, but the range will be

shorter. These ranges are without buildings and foliage in between the

laptop and the RV park antenna.

WiFi Adapter

Approx. range for good

service from RV Park

omnidirectional 18”

antenna

Approx. range for good

service from RV Park

sector antenna or 48”

omnidirectional

Ubiquiti SRC 300, 2

antennas

150 yards

290 yards

Ubiquiti SRC 300, 1

antenna

125 yards

260 yards

EnGenius EUB-362 EXT

USB adapter, external

antenna

140 yards

250 yards

D-Link DWA-130 or similar

USB adapter, internal

antenna

48-65 yards (edge or flat

side toward access point is

important)

90-160 yards (edge or flat

side toward access point is

important)

Laptop PC with very good

802.11abgn WiFi adapter

100 yards

180 yards

Laptop PC, 802.11b/g

internal adapter

65 yards

150 yards

Netbook PC (Acer Aspire

One and HP Mini)

100 yards

180 yards

Client bridge with 3 dBi

omnidirectional antenna

200 yards

250 yards

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Higher power client with external antenna

Cardbus adapter - If you have a laptop PC with PCMCIA (PC Card) slot,

you can greatly improve the WiFi performance by using a high power client

with one or two antennas that clip onto the lid of your PC. An excellent WiFi

alternative for these PCs is the Ubiquiti SRC 300. It sells for $120-$150,

depending on the vendor. It is possible to use these adapters in a desktop

PC if you add an internal card that accepts PCMCIA Cardbus adapters.

SRC 300 adapter

This adapter comes with one antenna, but a second antenna will improve

your results, and costs around $10.

While you can use standard Windows XP WiFi software to run the adapter,

it comes with its own program to help you see available WiFi access points

(base stations) and make a connection to them.

The large improvements in your connection speed and reliability come

from the antenna, which works better than the internal antenna(s) inside

your laptop and the adapter's higher transmitter power, which means you

will be heard much better at the access point. The SRC 300 adapter has

two tiny connections, and you can plug in either one or two antennas. Your

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

WiFi client's effective output power will either match, or be close to

matching the access point, which is desirable.

One place to buy a Ubiquiti SRC 300 PCMCIA adapter is QuickLink

Wireless

SRC 300 tips

You can see an arrow pointing toward which connector to use if you have

only one antenna. While the Ubiquiti client software allows you to make

advanced settings, including selecting antenna connectors, using the

default values is easier, and may result in less troubleshooting.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

SRC 300 PC Card plugged into laptop with one of the two gold antenna

jacks in use.

The SRC 300 is shipped with one antenna, and will work fine with one, but

better with two.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

This is an antenna that comes with the SRC 300. The tiny gold connector

is rated for 500 insertions. To prevent damage, if the cable is likely to get

hit or pulled, you should disconnect it at the PC Card. It’s fine to leave the

PC Card in the laptop. When you connect and disconnect this connector,

be careful to have the tiny round end going straight into the PC Card

matching connector, and not held at an angle. It has a latching ring, and

you can feel and hear it when it is seated. It requires a little force to

disconnect, which should be either a fingernail or tiny screwdriver forcing it

straight out. The connector is made to rotate freely while staying plugged

in, so you don’t have to worry about the cable angle leaving the PC Card

connector.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Often called a “pigtail”, this cable can be used to connect the MMCX

antenna jack on an SRC 300 PC Card to another, longer, cable, and an

external antenna using a “N series” connector. By Federal

Communications Commission (FCC) rules in the U.S., only an antenna of

the same type and the same or lower gain can be used with a WiFi device.

For the SRC 300, this is an omnidirectional antenna with 5 dBi gain. There

is some loss in cable this small, but because it is only 18 inches long, the

loss can be overcome by better antenna location. The antenna could be

one designed to be outdoors, and mounted on top of an RV.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Closeup of the MMCX male connector used on antenna cables for the

SRC 300 PC Card

Closeup of the N series male connector used to connect to a wide variety

of external WiFi antennas or extension coaxial cables.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

ExpressCard 34 adapter

While there is a Ubiquiti SRX adapter that fits the newer ExpressCard 34

slots on laptop computers, there are a number of problems reported by

people trying to use it. I have years of experience working with a couple

dozen different WiFi adapters and different laptops and operating systems,

but was unable to get a new SRX adapter to work correctly. If you have

only an ExpressCard slot in your computer, consider one of the other

options listed below.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

USB adapter to use with a USB cable

The EnGenius EUB-362 EXT Wireless LAN Long Range USB Adapter is a

way to get higher WiFi client transmitter power with a separate external

antenna and connector.

Some USB adapters work only with Windows PCs, since they depend on

software running on the laptop.

This unit connects to the computer with a USB cable, and these can easily

be 5-6 feet long, allowing you to position it for the best results. The USB

adapter gets operating DC power from the laptop or desktop computer. If

you add a really long extension, like 10 feet or more, the adapter may not

work correctly, due to voltage drop. There is no loss of radio signal, like

there is when you separate the radio and antenna, but there may be

insufficient power to run the adapter. Since the USB adapter is getting only

power and data via the cable, there is no such thing as “a USB antenna” or

“an antenna that plugs into the USB port, as some ads would have you

believe.

One place to buy this adapter is QuickLink Wireless .

The antenna that comes with it is 2 dBi. (between two antennas, the one

with the higher dBi figure will transmit and receive relatively better in its

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

best direction than the lower one. See Glossary for antenna gain and dBi).

You gain an advantage in being able to place either the adapter/antenna or

just the antenna in a position different from the laptop or desktop.

The EnGenius EUB-362 EXT adapter has a single external antenna that

can be disconnected for packing. If something happens to the antenna,

another 802.11b/g dipole antenna can be used, if it has a reverse-polarity

SMA (RP-SMA) connector. This adapter has a stated power output of 200

mW (21-23 dBm). Compared with a typical laptop internal adapter, this is

about 6 dB higher, which translates into about twice the range in an RV

park for the same speed and reliability. The included antenna will work

better than most laptop internal antennas.

This adapter more than doubles the good service range compared with a

laptop or netbook computer using only their internal 802.11bg adapters.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

USB EUB-362 and other higher power USB adapter tips

The label on the USB adapter says 2.4 GHz ANT only because it is

possible to buy antennas that look very similar but are designed for use

with 802.11a/n adapters or access points at a different frequency of 5 GHz.

There is a small chance that using such an antenna would damage the

transmitter, but mainly you don’t want to use it because it would work very

poorly. Some antennas list specifications of 2.4/5 GHz and would be ok to

use.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Brief comments on some WiFi adapters you may come across

Check the specifications for each device you may be considering. If the

power is listed as 15-17 dBm, this is the same power as a laptop internal

WiFi adapter. If the antenna is listed as having 2 dBi gain, this is similar to

the antennas used in laptops. In other words, you might get better

performance than your laptop because the USB adapter has better radio

hardware, or because you can position it better, but the two major

improvements you need are higher transmitter power so you can use an

omnidirectional antenna, and a higher gain antenna, preferably

omnidirectional.

If the antenna gets its gain by having to be aimed, as opposed to being

omnidirectional when it is standing straight up, there are disadvantages.

• Slight movements resulting from touching the cable or adapter mean

signal loss

• it has to be carefully aimed each time you set it up, after a first-time

360 degree sweep to locate access points

• if it gets blocked, such as by an RV with a metallic shell pulling in

nearby, the WiFi adapter can’t just seek out the next best RV park

access point location to quickly switch to, which is the way WiFi

networks are designed.

Directional antennas can help in special circumstances, but are generally

not the most convenient to use.

The comments below are based only on the manufacturersʼ descriptions,

and are provided as an example of what to look for as good RV park

solutions. They are not intended as comments on their quality or value in

general.

•

Linksys WUSB54G 17dBm output power, 2 dBi antenna -- No

advantage over internal laptop adapter

• Hawking HWU8DD 15-16 dBm output power, 8 dBi antenna -- No

output power advantage over a typical laptop. Total radiated power

(EIRP) of 23-24 dBm is less than SRC 300, with the drawback of

having to aim the antenna.

• hField Wi-Fire 16.5 dBm power output, 10.4 dBi antenna -- No output

power advantage over a typical laptop. Total radiated power (EIRP) of

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

27 dBm is similar to the SRC 300 , with the drawback of having to aim

the antenna.

• WAVERV appears to have 23 dBm (200 mW) output power, since the

manufacturer lists omnidirectional antenna gain as 8 dBi, and overall

radiated power as 30.5 dBm. I have not tested this system, but it may

work similarly to the SRC 300 with one antenna, and be a USB device

usable with both a Mac and Windows PC. http://radiolabs.com/

products/wireless/waverv.php

• Engenius 9701-EXT2 18 dBm power output, 2 2dBi antennas -- No

output power advantage over a typical laptop. The 2 radio/2 antenna

802.11n capability might provide better reception for the client, which

is not the main problem in an RV park. The 802.11n capability could

improve the connection back to the access point, but only if RV access

points used 802.11n, which they normally do not.

WiFi USB with internal antenna(s)

The D-Link DWA-130 Wireless N USB Adapter is an example of a class of

adapters designed to be plugged directly into a USB port. Some of these

adapters come with a USB cable, or cable and stand, so they can be

stationed several feet away from the computer. These can be used to add

newer WiFi modes to any computer, and positioned for the best

advantage. They normally offer only the same transmitter power output as

the WiFi hardware inside laptop computers. The double advantages of

higher power and larger, more efficient antenna are both missing here.

These adapters have internal antennas that are no better than a typical

laptop, and possibly not as good.

The DWA-130 has 20 dBm output for 802.11b, 16 dBm for 802.11g, with a

2 dBi antenna. This information isn’t listed in the manufacturer’s retail

literature unlike most WiFi equipment, but it is available from FCC test

reports. 802.11g, the faster mode, is the same as laptop internal adapters.

See the performance comparison table for test results. The DWA-130 was

highly directional. If rotated edge-on to the access point antenna, the

range dropped by more than half.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

WiFi USB adapter tips

Many adapters of this type come with a USB extension cable or cradle.

This allows you set the adapter further from your body, which is a good

practice for any source of radio energy, and higher than the laptop, or in a

window. If they don’t come with one, you can buy a USB extension cable.

Since the USB cable is being used for power and data, and not for WiFi

radio energy, it shouldn’t matter if the cable is 1 foot or several feet long,

unlike antenna coaxial cable.

For more information about this adapter, see the DLink product description .

WiFi Client Bridge/Workgroup Bridge

Because there are essential setup steps with all of these units, their use is

recommended only for those with some computer networking experience.

If terms like IP private range address and subnet mask are familiar, these

devices offer additional versatility and the possibility of using really high

gain antennas while staying within FCC regulations.

Client bridges are called different things, depending on their intended use.

If the unit is designed to connect a game console to a WiFi access point

and network, it is called a game bridge. If it is designed to connect one or

several computers to a business WiFi network it is called a workgroup

bridge. If it is to be used primarily to connect a household network to a

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) using WiFi, it may be called

called Wireless Customer Premises Equipment.

Client bridges may be worth more consideration for Mac users, since many

models of USB WiFi adapters won’t work with Macs. Not all client bridges

have been approved with high gain directional antennas, but this is one

model that has. It is from Symbol, now a Motorola brand. Since client

bridges connect with Ethernet cables, they can be up to 100 yards from the

connected computer, unlike USB devices, or the separation of a WiFi

adapter and its antenna. A client bridge could be mounted near a roof

antenna, and the Ethernet cable end could be located anywhere in the RV

with no loss of signals or usability. Most allow several computers to share

one WiFi connection. If configured, this could allow more than one

computer to be used at a “pay for WiFi” RV park, since sometimes

operators limit access to the WiFi adapter address used to sign up for

service.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Symbol CB3000 Workgroup/Client Bridge

Its 20 dBm output power is double that of most laptop client adapters.

This has several approved antennas, according to the Motorola CB3000

site, including a 15 dBi Yagi (See External antennas section) and an 5 dBi

omnidirectional like a Motorola model or Cushcraft 2403 that is built for

outdoor service (See External antennas section). The included antenna

shown here has 3 dBi gain for 802.11b/g. A less permanent mounting than

the RV roof is a bumper telescoping mast, which will also allow aiming if a

directional antenna is chosen. Since a clear line of sight is desirable for

WiFi, having the antenna 10-15 feet high can work better. It also puts the

radio frequency energy further from any part of your body.

Since client bridges use only an Ethernet connection to the computer, they

don’t get power from a USB connection, and most are designed to have 120

volts AC power for their power supplies, which is a separate physical item.

The CB3000 gets 12 volts DC from its power supply, but doesn’t have

enough information in the manual to be sure it can handle the 13.8 volts that

is found in a vehicle environment.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Customer Premises Equipment

Each of these units works in a similar manner. They have internal software

that causes them to act much like the WiFi adapter in a laptop computer.

They join a WiFi network as a client. They have a default (pre-assigned)

IP address on their Ethernet port. In order to set them up, you must make

an Ethernet connection after setting your PC to the same subnet or using a

utility software program to "find" the bridge. Since this guide is primarily for

people without computer networking experience, more details about CPE

bridges are found only in a forthcoming video supplement to Accelerate

Your RV Wireless Connections.

WiFi Range Extender

This device as offered by Hawking is a combined client bridge and access

point. It receives packets as an access point from a laptop, and then,

using its client connection to the distant access point, it forwards the data.

If you can supply it with power, it could be situated between your laptop

and an RV park access point. It isn’t designed for outdoor use, and it will

be an additional access point operating on the same channel as the RV

park access points and doubling the amount of wireless bandwidth taken

by your laptop alone.

New laptop PC with built-in 802.11abgn WiFi adapter

Because of the advanced design of some 802.11abgn client adapters

found in laptops, the best of them perform better than a laptop with an

802.11b, 802.11bg, or 802.11abg built-in adapter. Even the best of them

do not equal the performance of the Ubiquity SRC 300 with 2 antennas in

a typical RV park environment. Most RV parks have from one to several

access points (base stations), that for reasons of economy or careless

design are intended to provide service too far away for laptop clients to

work properly. A good 802.11abgn laptop installation has more internal

radio transmitter/receivers and antennas, and can provide about 2/3 the

range of the SRC 300, and double the range of a mediocre laptop

equipped with 802.11abg or 802.11bg.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

MacBooks with 802.11abgn adapters work well, and provide additional

range compared with 802.11bg adapters even when the access point is

802.11b or 802.11g, as in RV parks.

Two netbooks with 802.11bg adapters were surprisingly good performers

also. Both the Acer Aspire One and the HP Mini measurements were

almost as good as the MacBook.

Note the EVDO router near the window in the picture. This allows you to

bypass a marginal WiFi system or connect to the Internet where there is no

WiFi service. EVDO connections provide better local area security than

WiFi, for email or other sensitive data. Like most public WiFi hotspots,

most RV park WiFi connections can be eavesdropped on using

inexpensive or free software.

Range of a “typical” laptop computer

Laptop and netbook portable computers mostly have the same transmitter

output power. Their internal antennas are often about 1 inch long, and

intended to be omnidirectional. Some computers have one antenna, some

two, and some computers equipped with 802.11abgn WiFi adapters have

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

three. These antennas do not radiate and receive equally well in all

directions. If you measure the signal strength and throughput of a laptop

computer while turning it through 360 degrees, you will find certain

positions with a noticeable difference. Signal strength can double, and

throughput may double. Because you need to position a laptop where you

can see the display and use the keyboard, ranges provided in this guide

are not the maximum range at the best possible angle.

Better than average performers

Three new computers that had better than average laptop performance

with their built in WiFi adapters were the Apple MacBook with an

802.11abgn adapter, and two netbooks. The Acer Aspire One and HP Mini

netbooks had two different WiFi 802.11bg adapters. One was made by

Atheros and the other was made by Broadcom, but performance was the

same, and was as good as the MacBook for some measurements.

MacBook range with the 12 dBi sector antenna was 180 yards.

External antennas for laptop WiFi adapters

If you have an adapter with an antenna connection, you can attach a

different external antenna to improve your WiFi connection. Generally the

antenna type that comes with the adapter will be all you really need. Due

to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations in the U.S. the

antenna you use must be the same type and no higher gain than an

antenna that the adapter was tested with. This is a sensible regulation,

and not just more government meddling, since it is designed to prevent

unintentional interference that could affect other radio systems, such as at

airports, satellite communications, or many others. The adapters are

approved to operate everywhere in the U.S., without the bother of getting a

license for a certain location like many other radio transmitters require.

Because of this, they may be close enough to other radios to create

problems for them.

Virtually all the advertisements you see for external antennas will have a

figure like "5 dBi". This is a measure of how much the antenna improves

transmission and reception in its strongest direction. For the Ubiquiti SRC

300 adapter, 5 dBi is the "antenna gain" for the antenna that comes with it,

and that it was tested with. It is an omnidirectional antenna, and when it is

vertical, or nearly vertical, it will work equally well 360 degrees in all

compass directions. If the external antenna you are looking at is

omnidirectional, and has a figure like 8 dBi or 12 dBi associated with it, it

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

would violate FCC regulations in the U.S. if used with the Ubiquiti SRC

300.

An advantage to external antennas, even if they aren't higher gain than the

original, is that they can be separated from the laptop or desktop computer,

and placed in a window or even outside the RV in a location where they

work better. If you choose the cable carefully, having the antenna a few

feet from the WiFi adapter hardware is not a problem. If you want to

separate them by a greater distance, larger and more expensive cable

must be used to avoid excessive loss of transmit and receive radio signal

strength. (See cable suggestions)

Omnidirectional antennas are usually the best type for WiFi laptop clients,

since you don't have to know exactly which direction the access point

(base station) is from your RV, and if you turn your laptop, or take it from

the front of the RV to the back, the antenna doesn't have to be aimed. You

could permanently mount an antenna on the RV roof, and as long as you

use low loss cable to connect it to the laptop adapter, it will often work

better than an antenna clipped to the laptop lid. (See cable suggestions)

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

WiFi external antenna, omnidirectional

This antenna has 5 dBi gain, which means it won’t exceed the regulatory

maximum when used with a number of external WiFi adapters and client

bridges, since they were tested with an omnidirectional antenna of the

same gain.

To avoid confusion if you look at the data sheet in the URL link below, it

shows the gain as 3 dBd, which is the same as 5 dBi. We won’t get into

more detail about why in this tutorial.

Cushcraft S2403BH12NF

http://www.cushcraft.com/comm/support/pdf/S2403BP.pdf

But check the manufacturer’s descriptions closely, to make sure it is rated

for outdoor use since some are for indoor ceilings and beams only.

It is about 11 inches long and 1 inch in diameter. Its advantage over the

type of 5 dBi antenna that comes with the SRC 300 is that it can be

ordered with a different connector on the cable, and used with longer

coaxial cable or different types of adapters.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Maxrad 15 dBi directional antenna.

This type of antenna would be legal to use with a client bridge that had a

15 dBi Yagi antenna on its FCC lab test approval. Because it is so highly

directional, it is not a good solution for anything other than an extreme

case, where it must be carefully aimed. Remembering the rule of thumb

(see Glossary) that each 6 dB is good for twice the distance, this antenna

would extend the range for good service to almost three times that of the

SRC 300 5 dBi antenna, allowing around 400 yards. Slower connections

would be possible at 800 yards or more. However, this assumes a clear

line of sight to the other antenna. Tree foliage, buildings, or metal-shell

RVs would interfere.

A high gain directional antenna should never be aimed at a close person or

RV, within 6 feet or so, for a 15 dBi gain antenna.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

This tripod and mast below are lightweight and high quality. The tripod

folds, and the mast is 16 feet extended and telescopes into just 37 inches.

They are available from Buddipole, as the Buddipole Tripod and the 16’

Buddipole mast.

http://buddipole.com/budac.html

As you can see at the top, the same mast does fine as a portable mounting

point for a cellular data (EVDO, in this case) Internet connection antenna

for any EVDO adapter with an external antenna jack. The same mast and

antennas can also work for marginal area cellular phone service.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Precaution

There is a precaution you should observe for antennas or adapters that are

outside the RV and separate from it. Never use them during a period of

thunder and lightning. If you don’t bring them inside your RV, disconnect

any cables and put them outside with the tripod and mast, adapter and

antenna.

Checking external antenna gain without laboratory instruments

You can get a pretty good idea of whether certain antenna claims are

exaggerated or not, if you have client adapter software that reports signal

strength in dBm. There is often a choice in options, about displaying signal

strength in percent or dBm. Use the antennas from the same exact

location, with the same WiFi adapter. Record the signal strength of the

same access point. The comparison won’t tell you the actual gain in dBi of

each antenna, but if Antenna 1 is a common 2 dBi-labeled external

antenna a few inches long, its gain will usually be close to 2 dBi. Antenna

2, if directional, must be aimed for the highest signal level. If it only has a 2

dB increase, and it is supposed to be 10-15 dBi, then either there is a lot of

signal loss in the supplied coaxial cable, or you should shop for a higher

quality antenna.

If your client software doesn’t provide the option of showing signal strength

in dBm, but you have an Apple Airport Extreme, it will display client signal

strength as received at the access point. You can find that by running the

Airport Utility software, Manual configuration/Advanced/Logs and

Statistics/Wireless Clients. It is best to leave at least 10 yards between the

client antenna and the access point.

With any of these dBm readings, it is normal to vary 3-4 dBm from second

to second. By looking at the reported value for 10-15 seconds, and picking

the most frequent value, you will come pretty close.

This is not a good way to distinguish between an antenna with an

advertised 7 dBi gain and one with 8 dBi gain. For that, testing

laboratories use elaborate test equipment in special rooms designed to

reduce radio energy reflections.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

How far will my WiFi configuration work?

You can check the approximate useful range of your WiFi configuration by

monitoring the signal strength in dBm from an access point that has the

same antenna type as most of the ones you want to use. If signal strength

as received from the access point is less than -70 dBm, such as -75 to -90,

you can often establish a connection, but it will not be reliable or fast. Also,

as pointed out in The Main Problem, if you aren’t using a higher power

client and/or higher gain antenna, your signal will be weaker than the access

point, and you’ll have to move closer. If your wireless client software doesn’t

have the option of displaying in dBm, you could use an Apple Extreme

access point, as in Checking external antenna gain without laboratory

instruments above, to get an idea. Your reliable distance from an RV park

sector antenna will be about twice what you get when your WiFi client signal

strength on the Apple Extreme is -70 dBm, and both the WiFi client and

Apple Extreme are in the open, with a clear line of sight between.

You can confirm the distance by checking throughput using the method

discussed in How to check the quality of your RV park Internet

connection.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Cable suggestions

The coaxial cable used from the antenna to the WiFi adapter/radio should

be low loss, or significant transmitted and receive signal will be lost. For

18 inches, a small, flexible cable about 1/8 inch in diameter can be used.

The loss per foot at WiFi frequencies is much greater than for CB radio or

TV or 2-way FM radio, which are radio services many people have prior

experience with. Cable quality is very important, and will also affect loss.

Coaxial cable from Times Microwave and Andrew is very high quality, and

those are the brands I use. The correct type has to be specified. WiFi

radios and antennas use cable with 50 ohm impedance, not with 75 ohm

impedance, which is common in cable TV.

If you use a USB adapter, the cable from the adapter to the computer is

not an antenna cable, so its small size will not affect how the adapter

works. But if you decide to use a length of coaxial cable between the USB

device and its external antenna, don’t use 1/8 inch cable for more than a

couple feet. For a short cable of about 4 feet, Times Microwave

LMR-240UF can be used. It is 0.25 inches and more flexible than

LMR-400, and has only 0.6 dB loss for 4 feet for 802.11b/g frequencies.

Example

You decide to mount an omnidirectional 12 inch 5 dBi antenna on the roof

of your RV since it is an approved antenna type with your model of client

bridge. Or perhaps you have it on a tripod or bracket so it can be outside

your aluminum RV shell. If you use 20 feet of Times Microwave LMR-400

to reach your adapter, the loss is about 1.4 dB (see dB) at 802.11b/g

frequencies, which will not greatly affect the way your equipment works. If

you use smaller RG-58 type cable, loss will be at least 3.6 dB, and

perhaps over 6 dB, depending on brand and exact type, and this is the loss

of most or all of the 5 dB advantage for transmitted and received signal

power. The antenna may still work, because it is 10 feet high and outside

the RV shell, but you are unnecessarily giving up many yards of range.

LMR-400 is almost 0.5 inches in diameter, and not very flexible. RG-58 is

less than 0.25 inches in diameter, and more convenient to handle, but not

suitable for 802.11a/b/g/n frequencies.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Section III - Troubleshooting and precautions

Troubleshooting

There are times when something isn’t working, and you can’t reach any

Internet destination. Reaching any Internet address requires a long chain of

systems to work correctly (see Throughput discussion). While you can’t fix

problems past the RV park access point, there are several things you can

check.

Experienced troubleshooters know that the quickest diagnosis often involves

a second, “known good” unit. If you can’t make a connection with one of the

RV park’s access points, how about your RV neighbor? If their connection is

working, it is time to look at your setup.

Quickest and easiest - Compare with a working second computer. Or, if you

have a second WiFi adapter, such as the internal one in your laptop and you

normally use a PC card or USB adapter, try the internal one instead. It will

have a different radio, different antenna(s), different client software. A

completely different computer and WiFi adapter is better.

Reboot and try again

All computer operating systems and individual software programs have

bugs. Your software may simply be stuck in a dead-end. There are a

couple different ways to reboot. One is to tell the software to tell the

computer to start again, in what is called a “soft” reboot. While this

sometimes helps, especially where there is associated hardware such as

an internal WiFi client or external adapter, a soft reboot is frequently a

waste of time. Turn off power to each external device and to the computer.

Then turn them back on.

Create a new wireless client profile for the RV park SSID

Using your WiFi client software, check for any access point SSID names.

While corporations sometimes hide their SSID, RV parks don’t usually

operate that way. It isn’t unusual to see one or more SSIDs for access

points outside the RV park, or even those inside other RVs. It is generally

against the law to use any access point without authorization, so stick to

the RV park SSID. If you don’t see that SSID, take your laptop to a point

within 25 yards of an RV park WiFi antenna and try again. Don’t try much

closer, since you could be outside the main pattern (See Antenna pattern

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

and 3D examples). Pick or enter the SSID you were given by RV park

management. Enter the security password, if any. Your software window

will show the connection. If your computer client software and access

point software are working correctly, your computer will be issued an

Internet Protocol address after being allowed to connect. One thing you

need to be aware of is that the Windows XP WiFi client and some others

will seem to show that you are connected to an access point from an hour

ago, or yesterday. Without powering off the computer, you can disable the

WiFi adapter and then re-enable it. The association process is usually only

1-2 seconds, but it may take up to 30 seconds to receive an Internet

Protocol address for your computer. If you can’t get an address and reach

a destination on the Internet after connecting successfully 2 or 3 times to

an access point, check with the RV park system manager.

If you see that you are connected to the access point, and your computer

was issued an Internet Protocol address, but you can’t reach any

destinations at all on the Internet, you can try a tactic used by the fulltime

RVer mentioned in the front of this guide. In some smaller RV parks the

access points are inexpensive consumer grade units, and the most

common brand is Linksys. These may allow and maintain connections on

the wireless WiFi side, but refuse to pass packets to the wired side and on

to the Internet. Resetting these or unplugging the power for 20 seconds

will often cause them to start working again. Ask the manager if they can

reset or re-power their access point if none of the wireless laptops can

reach the Internet. If no wired or wireless Internet connections attached to

the cable modem or DSL modem are working, resetting that modem first,

and then after a couple minutes resetting the access point will often solve

the problem.

The two adapter problem

At the heart of each WiFi adapter is a chipset. This is the digital circuitry

and radio that makes it work. Most WiFi adapters you can buy will use one

of a small number of chipsets. If the USB adapter or PC Card adapter you

are adding happens to use the same chipset as the internal laptop adapter,

or the same as the previous adapter you were trying out, then it may also

have many of the same files as the ones already installed, creating an

overlay of files and difficulty controlling the new adapter. This can produce

the symptom of Windows being able to use the new adapter to make WiFi

connections, but the new client utility control software not working, or other

difficulties.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

The solution is to uninstall the files relating to the previous adapter. For

Windows XP sometimes you have to go as far as Control Panel/System/

Hardware Tab/Device Manager/Network adapters/previous adapter name

and uninstall. Once you reinstall the software associated with the new

adapter, all of it will work. This is a 5-10 minute job.

Windows has its own control software that can be used on most USB and

PC Card adapters, but you sacrifice some features compared with the other

software. When possible, I usually use the external adapter’s software to

control it. Installing new adapter software will often disable Windows WZC

software and record a new choice of using the new software for WiFi

connections. If not, you can go to Control Panel/Network Connections/new

adapter name/Change Advanced Settings/Properties/Wireless tab and

unclick the box that says “Use Windows to configure my wireless network

settings”

The two adapter problem doesn’t come up when using a client bridge or

customer premises equipment, since they normally use self-contained

software. You usually control them by connecting to them with a Web

browser, but their software doesn’t directly interact with Windows on your

computer.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Radio frequency energy safety

Two things to keep in mind

1. There is little or no good scientific evidence that exposure to the power

levels and frequencies in use for FCC approved WiFi equipment is a

health hazard

2. There is little or no good scientific evidence that exposure to years of

WiFi RF can have no harmful effects.

Keeping these both in mind means:

I use WiFi equipment constantly without worry, but I use it carefully, and with

attention to the exposure limits published in engineering studies, by the

FCC, and by manufacturers of WiFi equipment.

These warnings are printed in the manufacturer's literature for most WiFi

access points, laptop computers or WiFi telephones.

For most laptops, this means no part of your body should be closer than 2

inches to the antenna(s) for long periods of time.

For most access points no part of your body should be closer than 8 inches

to the antenna(s).

I don't attach any antennas or amplifiers to WiFi equipment that aren't

approved in that combination by the FCC.

I stay further away than these rules when easily possible.

When I design WiFi networks for buildings I take care to stay under

exposure guidelines for antenna placement and power levels, even when it

means building owners have to install more access points or antennas.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

RV park WiFi security problems

There are many sources of information on computer security, and on WiFi

security. This isn’t meant to be a detailed manual, but to make sure you

know the basics.

WiFi works by sending all your data back and forth to an access point in

short packets, from your adapter radio to the access point radio. While it is

possible to set up a wireless link directly to another computer, this isn’t how

you use WiFi in an RV park.

Be sure you are connecting only to the access point SSID you were

furnished by the RV park. Sometimes eavesdroppers will set up their own

access points with SSIDs that sound like an RV park or public WiFi hotspot,

to get people to connect to the eavesdropper directly. This is more

dangerous to your privacy than simply having your WiFi packets captured by

nearby eavesdroppers.

I f the WiFi connection isn’t encrypted, which scrambles the contents of the

packets, someone can easily pick up all the nearby packets using free or

low cost software, and that someone can be located at least hundreds of

yards away in an open area like an RV park if they use a directional

antenna. Instead of ignoring packets not addressed to their one adapter,

which is the way normal WiFi connections work, eavesdroppers can capture

all of them.

Public WiFi hotspots and RV parks seldom use encryption . Even if they

were to use the type of encryption security you should use at home for WiFi,

called WPA2 (AES), wireless packet contents can still be decoded if there is

a passphrase given out to all the customers, or if the passphrase can be

easily guessed.

This has been the situation for years, and isn’t likely to change soon, so

make sure your use of WiFi Internet connections takes this into account. It

is easier and cheaper for eavesdroppers to use low cost hardware and

software to intercept your communications with WiFi than to gain access to

Internet traffic at an Internet Service Provider or elsewhere along the

Internet.

Business users should always use Virtual Private Networks over WiFi to

communicate with their offices. This means all the data in all the wireless

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

packets can be decoded only by their laptop and the business network

equipment, and eavesdroppers cannot easily see the contents.

Email client with POP or IMAP - if you use an email client with POP or IMAP

email, your email provider may allow the use of encrypted passwords to

login and get your email. If not, eavesdroppers can get easy access to your

login ID and password, then login as you and and read all your email even

after you leave the local area. If the login is encrypted, all other email

contents, such as home addresses, telephone numbers, your social security

number, or anything else you send in standard email, is available to local

WiFi eavesdroppers.

Email with a Web interface - if you always log into your email accounts using

a Web browser, and if the login always uses a URL like https:// instead of

http://, your login password is encrypted and protected from most

eavesdroppers, local and on the Internet. However, for many widely used

email services, the contents of the email messages are not protected, and

all the contents can be seen by local WiFi eavesdroppers. This includes

MobileMe (.mac) mail and gmail from Google.

Web browsing - your Web URLs and Web page content can be seen by

WiFi eavesdroppers unless the URL includes https:// and you can see the

lock symbol in your Web browser window.

Plain text protocols including ftp and telnet - your user ID and password, as

well as all files can be captured.

Voice over Internet Protocol - unless each VoIP telephone call or session is

separately encrypted, such as with Skype, eavesdroppers can listen in.

RV park WiFi security suggestions

Set your computer to refuse all computer to computer “ad hoc” WiFi

communications, and to use only access point or “infrastructure”

connections.

You can protect your login information for email as suggested above, by

configuring your email client software to use an encrypted login or an https://

Web mail interface.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

You can protect sensitive Web sessions, like online shopping, by making

sure your browser is using https:// on that Web page.

There are services set up to allow the encryption of all Internet

communications all the way from your computer to that service’s encryption

endpoint, where they will decrypt it and allow normal unencrypted Internet

packets from there onwards to and from your online destination. Some of

them work only with Web sessions, so you could protect your email contents

only if you always use a Web interface to send and receive email. Some

allow an encrypted “tunnel” between your computer and their encryption

endpoint, so that all your computer communications, including Web

sessions, email, and all other traffic is protected against WiFi

eavesdropping. Communications and protocols that use the tunnel are also

better protected against eavesdropping or interception at your Internet

Service Provider, even if you use a DSL or cable modem connection.

If you use a service like this, use one that has been established for years, in

the U.S., and that has a good reputation. Otherwise, you are merely

funneling all your computer communications through one easy collection

point.

I’ve used Anonymizer services, at http://www.anonymizer.com /

Additional privacy tools and services are listed at the Electronic Privacy

Information Center.

http://epic.org/privacy/tools.html

If you use cellular data services like EVDO, eavesdropping on the wireless

part of the Internet connections is very much more difficult and expensive,

and not anything I worry about. I would rate it as a similar level of security to

DSL and cable modem. All other Internet security precautions still apply.

For some RVers, paying $60/month to Verizon or Sprint is more expensive

than using WiFi at RV parks.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Section IV - If you want to get technical

WiFi throughput explained

This is the total amount of data passed each second over a network

connection. This is often expressed as bits per second (bps), Kbps for

each thousand bits, or Mbps for each million bits. The total data throughput

from the RV park to the Internet is often around 1.5-5 Mbps, for all users at

once. A short text email message without graphics is around 2600 bytes in

length, which is about 2600 x 8, or 20,800 bits. A single World Wide Web

page like http://news.bbc.co.uk /, with graphics and ads can be 456,000

bytes (456 KBytes), or 3,648,000 bits (3.6 Mbits). If your WiFi connection

is using the speed that often seems planned in RV parks, the transfer

speed of this one page to your computer from the access point would take

approximately 7 seconds, assuming no interference. A lot faster than

dialup, of course. But if you and your RV neighbor are both trying to look

at that page, your speed would be about half. If four neighbors are all

looking at similar pages, your speed would be 125,000 bps, taking about

28 seconds to download the same page. Using the methods in

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo

Tutorial , your single-page transfer could be several times faster than 28

seconds, even sharing with other users, since your WiFi link speed can be

much faster. The total time to fetch a WWW page or download a file

depends on more than your WiFi link speed. WiFi link throughput AND

access point/Internet connection throughput AND DNS delay AND packet

transmittal time through around 14 Internet routers AND packet transmittal

time through company network to server AND response delay by server

AND packet transmittal time from server through around 14 Internet

routers to RV park wireless access point AND WiFi link back to your

computer. The RV park computer-access point WiFi link can’t speed up

these other parts of the communication, but it can dramatically slow the

whole chain of communication to your laptop.

Example - Case 1 a typical laptop computer with a typical WiFi embedded

client may be able to achieve a WiFi throughput of only 3 Mbps at 90 yards

from a particular RV park antenna

Case 2 a typical laptop with the SRC high power PC card client radio and

two external antennas on the laptop can provide 14 Mbps at 150 yards

from the same RV park antenna and conditions.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

In each case this is with no other clients in the RV park using the same

access point during that period. Having only three other WiFi users at the

same time means the laptop in Case 1 will be receiving data about .75

Mbps, which is less than the RV park connection to the Internet can supply.

The laptop in case 2 will be receiving data at about 3.5 Mbps and getting

its full share of the RV park’s connection to the Internet.

With only 10 WiFi users during peak periods , the laptop in Case 1 will be

receiving data at no more than 0.3 Mbps, at 90 yards, and the laptop in

Case 2 will be receiving data at around 1.4 Mbps, at 150 yards, still able to

fully share the RV park Internet bandwidth of 1.5 Mbps.

Each RV park visited while researching this material had many more than

10 potential WiFi users for each access point/antenna.

WiFi throughput speed and connection reliability depend on more than just

transmitter power and antenna gain. Laptop internal adapters, PC Card

adapters, ExpressCard adapters, and USB adapters all depend on client

driver and utility software that runs on the laptop. This can differ for

manufacturers who are using the same basic radio hardware, so that one

works better than the other. For client bridges or customer premises

equipment, the software in the device, rather than your computer, helps

determine whether it does a really good or really poor job.

Don’t be mislead by advertising that says or implies that WIFI DEVICE

WONDERFUL has to be the best only because it has higher power or

more antenna gain. Because of the particular WiFi situation in RV parks,

higher client power and external antenna performance are more important

than they would be in a small house or coffee shop hotspot, but more is not

always better. Once you have enough radiated power so that your client’s

signal level is the same at the access point as the access point signal is at

your end, adding more transmitter power or antenna gain doesn’t help, and

may make things worse for nearby users or yourself.

WiFi interference - what it is and why it happens

Various widely-used devices are approved in the U.S. to operate in the

same frequency range as 802.11bg WiFi. These include microwave ovens,

2.4 GHz cordless phones and 2.4 GHz headsets, Bluetooth headsets,

cordless mice, security video camera/transmitters, and outside radio links. If

either the access point antenna or a laptop is close to these devices when

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

they are operating, they can cause connections to fail or affect speed. Since

they are not 802.11bg WiFi, your client doesn’t show them to you in the

wireless list. The interference radio energy power drops off rapidly with

distance. Moving 30 feet further away from something you think is causing

interference should make a noticeable difference in your connection speed.

If your starting distance is 4 feet, interference power will drop to 25% at 8

feet, and by 16 feet the interference power level will be only 6% of the level

at 4 feet. With an established strong connection, a laptop 15 feet from a

1000 watt microwave oven will cut its connection speed in half while the

oven is on. A weak connection may be completely dropped. This is usually

more likely on channel 6 or 11 than channel 1, but varies with different

models of microwave oven.

A major source of interference is a strong nearby access point or laptop on

an adjacent channel. Good WiFi practice is to have networks use channels

1, 6, and 11 only, for proper frequency separation. Channel 1 overlaps

channels 2 and 3 in a major way, 6 overlaps 5 and 4, and 11 overlaps 10

and 9. Searching for a different channel to use, RV owners may set up their

own access point on channel 5. Nearby WiFi devices on the same channel

cooperate and take turns using the channel. But WiFi devices on adjacent

channels interfere with each other.

Here’s an example. In a test, Laptop 1 was receiving data from Access

Point 1, on channel 1, similar to a large email attachment or file download.

The connection for Laptop 1 was good enough to support 13-14 Mbps in

Internet data packets (maximum possible for 802.11g is about 21 Mbps).

Laptop 1 could not see Access Point 2, and was 22 yards from Laptop 2,

which was downloading a file through Access Point 2, on channel 2. When

Laptop 2 was actively downloading, the data throughput between Laptop 1

and Access Point 1 dropped from 13-14 Mbps to 0.1 to 5 Mbps. That’s

about the distance of a laptop in an RV parked two spaces away.

Older Bluetooth devices both create and receive more interference from

WiFi than those produced within the last 1-2 years

When to suspect interference

A number of the interference sources are intermittent. If a good working

connection slows drastically for one to a few minutes at a time, suspect

nearby microwave oven interference, or 2.4 GHz cordless phone

interference. A cordless phone creates the most interference when a

handset is in use on a phone call.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

5.8 GHz cordless phones, DECT cordless phones, and EVDO broadband

adapters won’t usually cause interference.

Some laptop client software shows the channels that access points are on.

If you can see fairly strong access points on an adjacent frequency to the

one you connect to, you may be subject to adjacent channel interference.

Normal laptop client software isn’t designed to show other laptops or

whether they are transferring data to or from an access point.

If you are planning to stay in the same location in an RV park for some time,

and the other solutions in this guide have produced strong WiFi signals but

with intermittent problems, consider some hard-core sleuthing. While

professional spectrum analyzers that will show all interference sources cost

thousands of dollars, there is an inexpensive version for $200.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/80ce/

The Wi-Spy hardware and software are sufficient to locate sources of

interference. If you discover that your RV neighbor is using a 2.4 GHz

cordless phone, it might be easier to replace it with a 5 GHz model than to

move.

Having a specific location generating interference, and if you plan to be

stationary for a longer period, is another time when you might consider using

a highly directional antenna. (See 15 dBi yagi antenna in this guide) These

antennas transmit and receive better in one direction and much worse in

others. If the source of interference is behind you, when you are looking at

an access point and antenna you want to use, there’s a good chance you

can eliminate the effects of the interference.

Interference log

Here is a portion of an actual interference log, made by sophisticated

equipment, in a house during one day.

Items to note:

• microwave oven entries at 71 and 67 dBm signal strength - this is the

level of a strong signal from an access point at a laptop computer, and it

would produce interference on channel 11, despite being 25 feet away

through two walls;

• microwave oven entry at -42 dBm was from 10 feet away, and is much

stronger than most access point signals you would be using in an RV

park;

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

• number of Bluetooth (Piconet) entries within five hours with idle

computers and no use of a Bluetooth cell phone headset - nobody was

home most of the day;

• while the Bluetooth signals are generally weaker than good WiFi access

point signals, the monitoring device was not within a few feet of any of

them, where the signals would have been stronger, and caused some

interference;

• most of the microwave oven entries are weak, since they are from a

neighboring house

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

How to check the quality of your RV park Internet connection

There is an excellent free connection throughput service from Visualware. It

lets you test more than just download and upload speed.

http://www.myspeed.com/speedtest/index.html

Notes about the Broadband speed test

Download speed - the speed from an Internet server to your computer.

This server was in San Jose, CA, and the computer was in Alaska. For this

test the speed is 4.8 Mbps, which is higher than most DSL connections

could offer, and considered by itself, plenty fast enough for streaming audio

and video or Voice over IP telephone service including Skype. This is

faster than most RV park Internet service.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Upload speed - the speed from your computer to an Internet server. For

this test the speed is 0.48 Mbps, also plenty fast enough for VoIP,

uploading large files

Quality of service - mainly affects real time activities like audio and video,

but 7% is low

Maximum download pause - pauses, or stoppages in data transfer of 1/2

second (411 milliseconds, or thousandths of a second) will seriously affect

voice conversations or two-way video. Too many long pauses will also

cause Internet servers to “timeout” and quit communicating with your

computer.

Average download pause - 2 thousandths of a second is not bad, and

won’t interfere with any normal online activities

Average round trip time to server - 57 ms is excellent for any Internet

connection traveling across 10-20 routers, which is a common Internet

end-to-end connection. A poor WiFi connection and poor Internet

connection, along with congestion on the Internet a peak times can cause

delays of 1-2 seconds (1000-2000 ms), which will often cause servers to

drop connections or quit responding.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

For even more connection quality information, choose

http://myvoipspeed.visualware.com /

Notes about the VoIP quality test

Connection jitter - how much speed varies from packet to packet. Under 9

ms is desirable for Voice over IP

Packet loss - data transfers can stand a little loss somewhere in the

connecting chain, since most transfer protocols have built-in error

correction. Missing packets can show up in VoIP as sharp sudden clicks.

MOS - one measure of telephone quality speech. 4.1 is about as good as

an Internet VoIP connection will be. This is in the range considered “toll-

quality”, and suitable for paid long distance connections not using the

Internet

Additional MyVoIPSpeed note

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

On Apple OS X Leopard, and probably other firewalls, you may see the

initial server window and a button to start the test. The test will fail. For

the 30 second test period, you may have to open the firewall to outside

connections. The risk isn’t major, but it is higher than leaving your firewall

set to refuse all outside connections, which is how it should be normally.

One way around this is to buy the Visualware MyConnection VoIP software

for your computer, and then make a firewall exception only for the VoIP test

ports when needed. This is safer, and their software keeps a record of the

tests without the work needed to save the web pages from the free

version.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Glossary for WiFi

Here is a list of terms the way they are used in this guide. Some wireless Local

Area Network terms have been defined by an engineering standard, such as

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. Wireless LAN is often called

WiFi. Wi-Fi is the trademark of a group set up to insure interoperability for

different manufacturers’ equipment. 802.11g is one of the WLAN standards.

Other terms, such as "high power" can mean almost anything in different

situations.

Access point

Sometimes called a base station at RV parks. It is a transmitter and receiver,

using the same 802.11b/g radio protocol used in laptop computers. It is

normally set up to link wirelessly to laptops, using 802.11b/g, and has a wired

Ethernet connection to the RV park wired network and out to the Internet.

Antenna gain

A way of expressing how much better a given antenna can transmit and receive

in certain directions at the expense of others. A gain of 3 dB means the antenna

provides the equivalent of two times the transmitter power in its favored

direction(s). 6 dB gain is the equivalent of four times the transmitter power. See

Antenna pattern.

According to FCC regulations, a high gain antenna cannot be attached to an

access point or WiFi adapter unless a similar antenna with at least that much

gain has been tested with it in documents submitted to the FCC. Here is an

example of one adapter, a Hawking HWUN2, which was tested only with a 2 dBi

antenna.

Item 6 in the report below provides the information about the maximum gain and

type of antenna you can attach, even though the external antenna connector

would make it easy, and even if the manufacturer shows higher gain antennas

as accessories.

https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?

attachment_id=1008611&native_or_pdf=pdf

Antenna pattern

Visualize a 12 inch round balloon on a table with a 2 inch stick floating vertically

in the middle. This is about how a short 2 inch omnidirectional antenna radiates

radio energy at 802.11b/g frequencies. Now push on the top of the balloon until

it is twice as wide, but squashed vertically. The extra width on all sides is called

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

“gain” out toward the sides. Radio energy starting at the antenna will now be

stronger toward the sides than up and down, and stronger than the round

balloon energy toward the sides. It transmits and receives omnidirectionally,

360 degrees on a flat surface, but is usable further away straight out from it.

The balloon is the antenna pattern. See Antenna Gain, dBi

Base station

Often used by RV park literature when referring to an access point with antenna

that has both a transmitter and receiver set up to connect laptops to the local

network and on to the Internet.

Client bridge

In WiFi RV park usage, a small box to connect a wired computer to a wireless

network, using an Ethernet cable between the computer and bridge. An

advantage is that the bridge can use higher power and higher gain external

antennas than the computer, and be located up to 100 yards from the computer,

in a position favorable to access point communication. A drawback is that it

requires some network expertise to set up and troubleshoot, and must be

configured for each different RV park.

dB

A way of expressing a ratio between two power levels. 3 dB is double or half, 6

dB is four times, and 10 dB is ten times. If a section of coaxial cable between a

WiFi client device and antenna had a 3 dB loss, half of the transmitted and

received power would be lost, cutting the maximum usable range by about 25%.

dBi

A measure of antenna gain often found in ads and specifications. It expresses

how the antenna pattern compares with a very tiny “isotropic” theoretical

antenna that radiates radio energy equally well in all directions. See Antenna

gain and Antenna pattern. 2 dBi is the normal gain for an 802.11b/g WiFi

antenna 2” to 3” long. 5 dBi is a normal gain for an 802.11b/g WiFi antenna 5” to

6” long. An RV park omnidirectional antenna about 12 inches long may have 5

dBi gain, and one 48 inches long around 12 dBi.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

A useful rule of thumb is that for every 6 dB antenna

gain, you can get twice the distance for both receive

and transmit. RV park antenna gain is usually

between 5 dBi and 12 dBi. If you are in the best

direction from each, the same laptop WiFi

configuration will work about twice as far away from a

12 dBi RV park antenna as from a 5 dBi antenna.

DNS

Domain Name System is a set of server databases that look up your computer’s

request for news.bbc.co.uk and provide a numerical address in Internet

Protocol, which for news.bbc.co.uk is 212.58.226.20. This lookup can be

responsible for several seconds delay the first time you request site name.

Some web browsers indicate this with a message at the bottom of the browser

window like “looking. . .” instead of “transferring”, or “loading”.

Effective Isotropic Radiated Power (EIRP)

This is the technical power term meaning the addition of transmitter power radio

energy output plus the antenna pattern shape in the most favored direction.

Some WiFi manufacturers are stating their transmitter “power” by including

antenna gain as if it is the transmitter power alone. Their use of “power” to

mean EIRP could be misleading if you forget that their “power” applies only to

one very narrow direction at any one time.

High power client

Client transmitter power can be stated in thousandths of a watt, which is written

milliWatts, or mW. For laptop computers this has to be sufficient to make itself

heard at the access point (base station). Using a high power client is like using

a loud survival whistle instead of yelling. It is louder and can be heard further

away. Laptop clients often have output power in the 40 mW range , while these

high-power clients are about 200 mW. The SRC 300, with the 5 dBi antenna

supplied with the adapter, has an effective omnidirectional power output (EIRP)

of more than 600 mW.

Sometimes power is given as dBm instead of mW. Here are several common

power levels.

40 mW =

16 dBm

100 mW =

20 dBm

200 mW =

23 dBm

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

600 mW =

28 dBm

Unless the power difference is double (3 dB) between two adapters using the

antennas of the same gain and type, there will likely not be a noticeable

difference. The reason for saying likely is that some radios perform better,

based on their hardware and their software drivers. The antenna gain, in dBi, is

added to the adapter power output in dBm to get the maximum effective radiated

power in the best direction. (EIRP)

IEEE 802.11a/n

WiFi using frequencies and methods seldom, if ever, used in RV parks for

customer connections. 802.11n is newer and allows longer ranges and faster

connections than 802.11a/b/g.

IEEE 802.11b/g standard

Specifies technical information about how radios transmit and receive data at

base rates of 1 Megabit per second to 54 Megabits per second. If conditions

are good enough for a client and access point to communicate at 54 Mbps,

internet packet data is actually being transmitted at about 26 Mbps, seldom over

half the stated rate. At its fastest, this is much slower than wired Ethernet

connections found in offices.

Interference

Interference is any radio energy on the same frequency, or close enough to it, to

affect the operation of the WiFi network. This can come from other WiFi devices

on adjacent channels, such as a laptop and access point using channel 5 and a

laptop and access point using channel 6, and they are physically close together,

within 20-100 feet. Or other energy such as a microwave oven in your RV or the

next RV.

IP/Internet Protocol

A particular format for packets to transmit information through networks. IP is

used worldwide for a majority of all long distance and local network connections.

IP subnet

A method of subdividing networks so computers and other network devices can

be grouped and not have each device hear and screen all packets from all other

devices. Without the correct IP address range and subnet mask your computer

cannot participate in a network. In RV park wireless networks, the access point

provides or forwards IP address and subnet information to each connecting

client using another protocol abbreviated DHCP.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

Power

Client transmitter power can be stated in thousandths of a watt, which is written

milliWatts, or mW This is often about 40 mW for laptop computers. It can also

be written as dBm, which is 16 dBm (=40 mW). Some WiFi adapter

manufacturers are confusing this issue by including their antenna gain in their

power figure. When transmitter power and antenna gain are added together, it

would be more correctly called Effective Isotropic Radiated Power, or Equivalent

Isotropic Radiated Power. Keeping the two separate allows easier comparison

of transmitter output power and different antennas. It is a fair comparison,

however, to use effective radiated power for each adapter plus antenna, to get

an expectation of relative performance in the best direction of each antenna.

Repeater/range extender

In one current implementation, the Hawking Hi-Gain Wireless-300N Range

Extender is actually an access point and a client bridge. This means that you

must be able to configure the client bridge having knowledge of IP subnets and

addresses. The Extender will connect to the RV park base station and then

allow wireless connections to itself as an access point. This means more

interference for all users. More of each second of the same WiFi channel is now

in use for a single client for each byte of data sent to and from the Internet -

remember that all simultaneous users of the same access point and channel

share each second of available time.

SSID

The identifier used by all of one RV park’s access points, normally visible in a list

in your client software window. This is broadcast from each access point, and

the access point and your client adapter software will decide which one of the

available access points to associate with, based on signal strength and number

of existing client connections.

Throughput

Total amount of data passed each second over a network connection. This is

often expressed as bits per second (bps), Kbps for each thousand bits, or Mbps

for each million bits. See WiFi Throughput Explained

WiFi

In RV parks, wireless Internet connections are usually in the 2.4 GHz range,

using the IEEE 802.11b/g standards, so that clients and access points of

different makes can all communicate successfully. The Wi-Fi Certified

(trademarked WiFi with a hyphen) interoperability mark should be on each piece

of WiFi gear you buy.

Accelerate Your RV Wireless Connections: Step by Step Photo Tutorial

About the author

Charles Preston started working with radio when he got an amateur radio

license at age 13. He obtained a Federal Communications Commission

Commercial Radiotelephone Second Class license a few years later, which was

required for work on 2-way radio base stations and mobile units, and worked

briefly in Land Mobile Radio as a technician.

He is an instructor for wireless classes including the Certified Wireless Network

Administrator, and he has designed wireless networks for large hospitals and

warehouses as well as smaller buildings. Some buildings required over 100

wireless access points to provide reliable and fast coverage.

For additional details

http://www.comsec-wireless.net/index_028.htm