I'm Isaak and I am looking for some assistance from those of you with experience for a scenario that I am going to find myself in a month from now.
I have already done some research online, but I feel most of what I'm turning up is ads instead of actual info that can help me, so please pardon me if my questions seem rather silly to some of you.
In about a month my family and I are going into the mountains of northern California, west of Reno, near Rattlesnake Peak. We will be roughly 6,000 feet above sea level and I am looking at getting an internet connection there.
Mostly I plan on some general internet surfing, and some casual online gaming, the most detailed game being http://www.spiralknights.com/. I would never expect to play anything really system intensive with any amount of speed, just some smaller stuff to pass the time.
The previous owner of the plot of land we will be at had said that cell phones work up there, and that he has only had problems with AT&T, but he has not elaborated with any other details and he is hard to get in contact with.
It's not a vacation and I will be there for roughly 5 months, and I don't need to have the fastest connection possible, but I would prefer it to not be the worst either. I also don't have a ton of extra cash to spend and I was personally hoping that I could keep the initial equipment purchase around $100 with $50 per month, preferably without a contract or some sort.
Though I do realize there may be nothing that fits that description, does anybody know of anything that would be appropriate for me? I do understand that I'll have to be flexible with what is available.
In my research so far, and after calling many companies, I have found one solution that might work for me as a non-satellite alternative. Out of all the things I have searched so far http://www.autonetmobile.com/ looks very promising to me, and the person I talked to on the phone says they have coverage up there, but its a little spotty.
My biggest fear right now is getting everything purchased, including service, and then finding it doesn't work while I am up there, as I will have no opportunity to test anything at the location until I'm already stuck there for five months.
So reading over my first post, I'd like to think I've done a good job and I hope that those of you who respond will have some awesome information for me to research further.
Thanks for your time, Isaak
Posts: 6 | Registered: Apr 2012
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As has been answered on other forums you have posted, satellite internet is going to be the most expensive option and is not good for most any kind of gaming other than something like poker where split second decisions are not required. If the game you reference requires live, on the spot decision making you will not do well with satellite. To get a reasonable level of service you are also going to be paying around $80/month for service that will be slower than a good 3G connection. The problem is that you don't know what your cellular connection would be and no one but you can answer that. If the cellular is no good then satellite is the answer (but not cheap). You can likely get a good used satellite internet setup for $200-$400 plus the monthly fee and you would not have to sign a contract if the modem is used and proven to have been cleared by Hughes for reuse (no left over unpaid bill associated with the modem). Since you will be at one fixed location this setup might be OK as it's going to take you quite some time to learn how to setup and manually point and adjust the antenna to be able to get on-line. You will need a dealer to setup an account and likely to activate the modem as well which will add some additional expenses. Once it is up and pointed and running you should not have to deal with any issues there unless you have not secured the tripod setup properly and a storm blows you off signal. I would recommend against autonet and it is just a cellular card-in-a-box with a router and an wimpy external antenna. You can do much better for much less money by just buying an air card from Verizon (my recommendation if you know it will work in that area) or Sprint (which will give you more bandwidth if you know it works in that area). If you need to share that one air card with multiple users you can buy a Cradlepoint or WiFi Ranger setup and if you find that you can't get a great signal then you can also buy a good external antenna that will help with your throughput.
-------------------- Bill Adams Winegard Company Posts: 15677 | From: Traveling the Western US | Registered: May 2003
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I have no idea where Rattlesnake Pass is in California so some GPS coordinates would be helpful. Looking at Verizon's 3G coverage in the area west of Reno, looks like a 40% chance that they would cover it. If you don't have 3G coverage, you don't have any data coverage per their map. The nearer you are to I-80 the better the chance you would have coverage. By the time you get to west to Highway 49, if you are not very near I-80 you have virtually no coverage. I suspect that the other carriers are similar. ATT looks similar.
Your only hope is finding one of the carriers whose maps show that they do have coverage at the location you are looking at OR getting HughesNet satellite which would be a little pricier even with used equipment (tripod/fixed mount). Mountains can be a problem for cell/data coverage.
-------------------- Michael Day F1|D3|7000 5.8.0.72|Currently no Hughes|1 Laptop: XP Home|1 Desktop:Vista, 1 Win7|Cradlepoint 1400|Verizon MiFi 4GLTE| Newell Coach, PT Cruiser Turbo Find Me Here (Map) Donations Help Support This Site Posts: 2814 | From: Everywhere (home is Austin, TX) | Registered: May 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Bill Adams: As has been answered on other forums you have posted.
I'm sorry, but you must have me confused with someone else, as I have not been to any other forums with this subject, I came to this forum first on a recommendation from another gentleman.
quote:Originally posted by fulltimingman: I have no idea where Rattlesnake Pass is in California so some GPS coordinates would be helpful.
Not a problem at all. Latitude: 39.672500° Longitude: -120.783000° This is the location of the area we will be working, but I'm not positive on the location we will be parking our 5th-wheel.
quote:Originally posted by Bill Adams: You can do much better for much less money by just buying an air card from Verizon (my recommendation if you know it will work in that area) or Sprint (which will give you more bandwidth if you know it works in that area).
I checked into both Verizon and Sprints coverage maps and it turns out they both do not cover that area, I guess it safe to assume that the AutoNet Mobile wouldn't cover that area either.
quote:Originally posted by Bill Adams: You can likely get a good used satellite internet setup for $200-$400 plus the monthly fee and you would not have to sign a contract if the modem is used and proven to have been cleared by Hughes for reuse (no left over unpaid bill associated with the modem).
With my funds I could make something like this work. Would you recommend any particular make and model of satellite dish and modem? How would I go about finding if a used modem is cleared by Hughes? Also after looking into what you said above I did some more research and found this eBay guide: http://reviews.ebay.com/Hughes-Internet-Satellite-Systems-On-EBay-New-and-Used?ugid=10000000009387312 Inside he mentions how you can get a new Hughes system for cheaper than a used one, but after looking a the Hughes website I wonder if they stopped doing that.
I'm going to email the gentleman who wrote the guide now, and then I'm going to give Hughes a call and see what else I can come up with.
Thank you both for your time, some of this stuff is becoming more clear for me already.
posted
Life in the satellite world is complicated. Things like latency (there is over 1/2 second delay in every round-trip just due to speed-of-light limitations, plus there is switching delay of variable amounts) and FAP. The latter refers to limitations on throughput. Hughes is daily, Starband is weekly, and Exede (what used to be called WildBlue) is monthly.
Then there is the issue of whether you can point it yourself, which would be critical if using a used system/modem - you can do that with a Hughes 7000s, but not with a 9000, and you can't do it with Exede.
If you go new you may be able to get installation rebates, but you will lock into a 2-year contract if you do. The main advantage of that is that you could get the latest Exede system, which can provide very high speeds (but has a relatively low monthly cap, so with the high speeds it is possible to get into trouble quickly).
If you decide to go with a used system you will need to get it activated; simplest is to use a dealer, and the one dealer left who routinely will activate self-installers is Montana Satellite.
Note that everything that the E-Bay seller will sell you with one of his CDs is freely available on the internet, including all of the programs he includes. I wrote those, and they are in the articles section here.
posted
I have lots of used equipment and could set you up with a portable system and teach you how to point it. Call me.
-------------------- Steve O'Bosky Dealer/Installer Datastorm/MotoSat TV 559-901-9044 sro54 at yahoo.com F1 DataStorm |D4|7000S|99W/1370|Linksys WRT54GC Windows 7 premiumSee our location Posts: 1082 | From: Visalia, CA | Registered: May 2003
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Well my phone call to HughesNet left me a might disappointed, and ended up finding out from from one of their service people that they only handle permanently secured dishes on homes or businesses in a $1,500 to $3,000 dollar range.
But the service person did mention three dealers that handle HughesNet equipment, 'Motl', 'Mobile Satellite' and 'Ground Control'. I'm going to start looking into these three and try and find out the differences among them.
Otherwise, I emailed the gentleman from eBay, his name is Jim, and he is already offering me some equipment and has recommended a specific Modem.
Also, DonB mentioned above about a Hughes 7000 dish, so do dishes and modems need to be paired specifically with each-other with matching series numbers?
So that is my update to my quest so far, Steve O'Bosky I'm sorry that I haven't contacted you yet, I'm not quite in the area where I'm ready to purchase anything just yet.
Thank you all again for your patience and assistance.
Posts: 6 | Registered: Apr 2012
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To activate you can't use Hughes, you have to use a dealer. Steve might be able to do it, and Montana Satellite can do it.
The modem you MUST have is an HN7000s and only that modem. Earlier ones can't be activated, including DW4000, DW6000, and DW7000 (which is not the same as HN7000S), and later models like 9000 and 9200 are spot-beamed only and can't be activated by an individual. There are a few dishes that will work with it, and a few that won't. A package deal would be best.
posted
You said that you're flexible so here's another idea. If you can get by with a single connection with 3G speed (Verizon says 3G covers that area ... but only testing will verify) AND you are sure that you DO have a cell phone connection at your location I can see 2 options. #1, get a smartphone with a data plan and run it's USB cable to your computer giving you an Internet connection. I wouldn't count on Multiplayer Gaming, but for surfing and email it will work fine. The 2nd option (as Bill Adams pointed to) would be to purchase a modem like the Verizon Pantech UML290 USB Modem and plug it into a USB slot on your computer for your Internet connection. This 2nd option will free up your phone if you're carrying it around with you during the day. Both options will require a 2 year obligation (if you want to acquire the device at the lowest price) .. Once again ... be sure you have a cell signal at the location you'll be staying at. If you have networked computers then you'll need a router that you can plug the modem into (as Bill mentioned also).
-------------------- Jim ------------------ F1 DataStorm | D2 | HN7000S | 89W | 1170 MHz | SL3 HD LinkSys WAP | SFF PC & LCD | SandPiper TT | Located Posts: 322 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Yes, I do like to think that I'm flexible, but from the information I've gathered from you guys so far, and then doing searches and reading from that point, I can think I'm seeing that I will have to go the satellite route.
The thing is Jim, that I'm not sure if I can get a cell phone connection up there, by the time I would get to test, it will be too late. I also definitely don't want a 2-year obligation, especially for a trip that's only going to last a quarter of that time.
Well I think its settled on what modem I'm going to get, lol, the one I linked in my post above looks like a good buy, just waiting on a response from Montana Satellite Supply on more details about the pricing for the HughesNet Account Service they provide with the modem.
Otherwise, the Jim on eBay I've been talking to mentioned a tripod, wireless router, transmitter and the low-noise block downconverter. I believe I can save some cash and get away without the router by just plugging straight into the modem.
But what about the transmitter and this low-noise block downconverter? I assume those are the components on the armature sticking out from the dish.
Otherwise right now my mind in on the actual dish itself, and I'm curious as to any particular dish models that I should be looking into.
Posts: 6 | Registered: Apr 2012
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I may be off base here but you really need to be talking to someone with a complete setup including the Off-Set Adapter for use with a tripod. No one should be selling your parts for use but rather a setup ready to go for Hughesnet. A low-noise block down-converter is just the long name for an LNB. You need a transmitter and receiver (LNB) along with the correct dish (reflector) and then something to hold it all up, make and keep it level and prevent it from toppling over.
-------------------- Bill Adams Winegard Company Posts: 15677 | From: Traveling the Western US | Registered: May 2003
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Thanks for clarifying that for me Bill, I definitely would intend to purchase a complete satellite dish and not have to put anything together that I shouldn't have to.
Otherwise I just finished a very enlightening call with Steve O'Bosky, and among other things he made me aware of some stuff as far as the Modem and getting the account that I'm going to need to mill over for a bit. A lot of information to think about.
Posts: 6 | Registered: Apr 2012
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Just to add, for the 1st setup you will most likely need onsite help and advice, especially since phone support may not be available at that location. Any snag at all you will be down unless you have technical onsite support. There are lots of small things that you will be unfamiliar with. But once setup .... you'll be good to go.
-------------------- Jim ------------------ F1 DataStorm | D2 | HN7000S | 89W | 1170 MHz | SL3 HD LinkSys WAP | SFF PC & LCD | SandPiper TT | Located Posts: 322 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Steve would be an excellent source for info. Stay in touch with him and he should be able to get you set up with the necessary hardware as well as provide you with the support you need to get going. As mentioned earlier, there is one, and only one, modem that you will want to get and that is the HN7000S.
-------------------- Bill Adams Winegard Company Posts: 15677 | From: Traveling the Western US | Registered: May 2003
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Whew, it looks like it's been almost a whole month since I last posted. But now I finally have my HN7000S modem, as well as my dish and stand. Hopefully this next Friday will be the perfect time to start setting it up and make sure everything works and I can learn to set it up.
Right now I'm looking through the downloadable utilities list in the articles section of the website, and after going over the list about four times I think I've downloaded the correct ones.
hnFAP-Alert PC-OPI Look Angle Calculator
Just to double check on myself, are these the correct programs I should be using? Any I'm missing or should replace?
I'm also curious about proper cleaning and maintenance of the dish and, more specifically, the armature. The fiberglass dish itself and the metal stand pieces will clean up just fine, but I understand the arm is a sensitive piece of equipment.
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