Good morning, we are looking to purchase a WiFi antenna, any suggestions as to type or model?

So this is my hobby. Long story. I have purchased and tested general purpose WiFi routers as well as purpose built. I have purchased and used Alfa Camp pro, Redport Halo, WiFi Ranger, and Peowave. I can say that WiFi Ranger is simply the best, the Pepwave BR1 Mini with antenna is great and easy to use. The others were reflective of there less expensive cost.

Keep in mind, only 1 in 10 campgrounds has had good internet. But even slow internet is better than n internet. There are some real advantages to keeping a local router running Security is one and ease of use is another.

I love my connected coach.

John, you are definitely the expert in this area, and you should be a presenter at the rally because we all have so much we can learn from you.

I would follow John’s recommendation to a tee.

John, do you have any recommendation for cell phone booster? We have typically given up trying to use park wifi but could frequently be connected if our cell signal was stronger. We have Verizon.

Thanks for the kind words Paul. I’ve just been fortunate enough to survive more mistakes and I love technology.

Cell boosters are a different animal. My experience is that there are really only 2 ideal providers. Wilson Electronics makers of the Weboost, and SureCall. I have used both and both performed admirably. I have settled on the SureCall 3.0 for a couple reasons. It came with both an RV antenna, and a truck antenna. For me that meant I could move the booster to my truck if I needed to quickly and easily. The Weboost OTR is actually a truck antenna that you use on your RV. Wilson also has a directional setup but it was for people who get way out on the fringe of coverage.

The important thing to know about a booster is that it can only boost a cell signal, not create one. If your see no signal on your phone or hotspot then chances are you will not see anything with the booster. If you see one bar, then the booster may boost that to 3 or 4.

So why do you care. If you can make calls with 1 or 2 bars you will get data as well. Data speed relies on clear and constant signals. The stronger the signal the faster the data opportunity. So by using a booster often times you are able to see exponential increase in data speeds. My AT&T hotspot will go from 4 MBs to 20 MBs just by boosting a weaker signal from 2 to 4 bars.

Then back to OPs original question, that’s why I love the WiFi Ranger. It allows you to use you cellular hotspot and campground WiFi with each other. For example, Disney’s Fort Wilderness has pretty good WiFi, except in the evening when everybody is using it to stream, email, and make plans for the next day. In our Redwood, everyone and everything is connected to a WiFi network called REDWOOD (that’s the WiFiRanger). When the networks get slow at night the WiFiRanger automatically switches to my AT&T hotspot so we can keep the speed up for streaming movies or watching IPTV. After we go to bed it switches back to the local WiFi from Disney. Saving my AT&T data for use again later. All of this happens without anyone knowing. The just connect to Redwood and assume the internet is coming from somewhere.

Sorry for the extremely long answer.....but you asked.

Paul, maybe I won’t be in the hospital this year and we can meet at The Fort over Xmas.