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We are presently helping a campground set up a webiste ( in exchange for a free site) He wants to set up wifi for his 93 site campground. ( little less then quarter of a mile I would guess). Have been checking on line for wide range routers, i.e. Bountiful, Extreme router, I am wondering if he will still need 2 antennas mounted on office roof to washroom roof? We certainly are not capable of setting this up. One guy wants $85/hr +mileage, to do it. Anybody have any advise?
Posts: 31 | From: Bayfield, Ontario Canada | Registered: Aug 2007
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Maybe they have a dealer nearby that the owner can work with
Posts: 439 | From: Elias Calle B.C.S. Mexico/Raleigh, NC | Registered: Dec 2004
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Remember that even if you have a good antenna but at only one location, the wi-fi signal is pretty much line-of-sight. If one RV is parked between the antenna and another RV that 2nd RVer is dead in the water. To setup a profession wi-fi network you are going to need professional help and multiple antennas mounted as high as possible so they can "see" over the RV's.
-------------------- Bill Adams Winegard Company Posts: 15675 | From: Traveling the Western US | Registered: May 2003
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Thnak you, this is exactly what we thought too. Needs to be done right. They do have a good sz. bathroom/shower building that will have line of sight to everyone. Will investigate for a proper installer near Why-Ajo area....
Posts: 31 | From: Bayfield, Ontario Canada | Registered: Aug 2007
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Such a system requires a WiFi amplifier along with multiple antennas placed for best coverage. It may be possible to cover the 93 spots with one antenna IF the office would be centrally located in the park.
I have parked my rig in the middle of 300 coaches (tightly packed) and was able to reach the farthest coach. I use a 1 watt amplifier and a 15db gain antenna.
-------------------- Don Marr WWW.OREGONRV.NET 541-683-5361 See where I am Country Coach Concept 40' F1 - D3|7000s|99W|LinkSys wireless with 1000mw WiFi amp & Ext. antenna Posts: 3364 | From: Eugene, OR | Registered: Jun 2004
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Just a caution - coax loss is horrendous at these frequencies. If you put antennas up high, you will have to put the wireless access point up there with the antenna, and figure out how to power it and weatherproof it.
-------------------- Terrestrial Wireless (finally found an alternative!) Posts: 233 | Registered: May 2007
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quote:Originally posted by Don - Oregon: Such a system requires a WiFi amplifier along with multiple antennas placed for best coverage. It may be possible to cover the 93 spots with one antenna IF the office would be centrally located in the park.
I have parked my rig in the middle of 300 coaches (tightly packed) and was able to reach the farthest coach. I use a 1 watt amplifier and a 15db gain antenna.
Don,
Just curious about your setup with the 15db gain antenna. I understand how having such an antenna makes it so that you can transmit signal out to the users 300' away... but what about their signals back?
We're at an RV park right now that's having a problem with their wifi system, and it seems to be an issue of the users wifi cards/antennas not having the oomph to get signals back to the antennas (about 150-200' away with direct line-of-sight). Even with external wifi antennas mounted in the window.
Appreciate any thoughts on this.
-------------------- - John '05 Newmar Mountain Aire DP 4304 F1/D2 v3.7.6/DW7000SM/89w/1170V/Apple Airport Extreme N/Secure Wireless Apple 17" MacBook Pro & Dual Quad Core Mac Pro (OS X 10.7.x) Posts: 146 | Registered: Mar 2005
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The 15db antenna mounted on the roof of the rig also increases the signal coming back. The amplifier also increases the transmit power AND amplifies the incoming signal.
200 ft with not external antenna or amplifier is a stretch. If the park system was any good it should work and be able to make up for the weaker signals. The park antenna needs to be high enough that obstacles are not an issue. Usually on a roof top works okay.
-------------------- Don Marr WWW.OREGONRV.NET 541-683-5361 See where I am Country Coach Concept 40' F1 - D3|7000s|99W|LinkSys wireless with 1000mw WiFi amp & Ext. antenna Posts: 3364 | From: Eugene, OR | Registered: Jun 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Don - Oregon: The 15db antenna mounted on the roof of the rig also increases the signal coming back. The amplifier also increases the transmit power AND amplifies the incoming signal.
200 ft with not external antenna or amplifier is a stretch. If the park system was any good it should work and be able to make up for the weaker signals. The park antenna needs to be high enough that obstacles are not an issue. Usually on a roof top works okay.
Don,
That's what I thought. In 5 years of full-time RV'ing, this is THE WORST-working WiFi installation I have seen in a large park. It's a mesh node repeater setup that I think (1) is underpowered, (2) is NOT amplified and (3) has too few towers/repeaters to cover the park completely. It's primarily a mobile-home park, so the 20+ foot height of the mesh antennas is only clearing the roofs by about 6'... plus the metal roof and walls are seriously blocking signals.
The web browsing experience is a hair-pulling combination of blazingly fast speeds, to pages hanging mid-load or not loading at all. The manufacturer is pointing fingers at Qwest (the Internet connection is an, admittedly, feeble 1.5Mbps DSL connection... the fastest available to this location), saying it's too small for the network, has DNS resolution problems, etc. Seems like scapegoating, since the computers connected via Ethernet to the DSL modem fly online... no problems.... all day. It's only the WiFi users that are suffering (and complaining... VOCALLY).
We're trying to work with the park managers and owners to figure out what, if anything, can be done to improve the system... but we're running out of hope that it's possible without sinking significantly more money into it (they're about $6K in already).
Thanks for the response... and any other feedback/input!
-------------------- - John '05 Newmar Mountain Aire DP 4304 F1/D2 v3.7.6/DW7000SM/89w/1170V/Apple Airport Extreme N/Secure Wireless Apple 17" MacBook Pro & Dual Quad Core Mac Pro (OS X 10.7.x) Posts: 146 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Here is another possible solution! http://meraki.com/oursolution/hardware/ Best dollar value I've found. I have installed several systems using this technology. Here's a link to view my most recent installation: http://public.meraki.com/network/CLRVR Click on the "satellite view" to see the Google Earth view. Last year they got a quote for $50k to put Wifi in this park, and with volunteer labor I put this system in for a little over $2000 using the Meraki Outdoor Pro nodes. Here's a link to another network I set up using the same hardware: http://public.meraki.com/network/LWRVC
All other factors being equal it can also RECEIVE farther. The gain is "Bi-directional"
Does this help?
If not I'll make it easy.. On the roof of your motor home or trailer is most likely a Winegard tv antenna, Odds are it is the one with the amplifier in it.
Turn the amp OFF and tune in a weak TV signal, lots of snow on the screen, now "Increase the gain" of the antenna by turning the amp on.
See how the signal cleans up.. Your antenna now receives farther.
quote:Originally posted by John Davis: Regarding Gain antennas.
An antenna with higher gain can transmit farther
All other factors being equal it can also RECEIVE farther. The gain is "Bi-directional"
One other factor worth mentioning, is that with increased gain also comes narrower vertical beamwidth. A high gain antenna may increase distance, but it may also jump right over someone close in. A 2db antenna will have a vertical beamwidth of 35-40deg, while a 15db antenna will only have about 10-12deg of vertical beamwidth. Therefore someone close in will not be in the optimum path. Antenna height also is a factor. The optimum height for a wifi network is 20-25 feet. If directional antennas are used, they should have about 1-2 degrees of down tilt.
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