I am about to go tent camping for a few months and need to have Internet access. I have been using a Verizon mifi while traveling around the US by car, which has been excellent, but it has obviously limited me to staying within Verizon coverage areas. My goal is to tent camp for a few months in the deeper woods, but I still need Internet access. I have solar power for my laptop and for the dish.
I'm glad to have found these discussion boards. I've done some preliminary research and have spoken to some satellite service providers, but most people are only familiar with RV/marine setups where there is an installation and expensive auto-positioning dishes.
What I'm looking for ideally is: - A used dish - the bare minimum that will work (which would be what?). No tripod needed. - No-commitment / month-to-month contract? I only plan to camp for a few months and would rather pay a higher rate for that period than eat a huge early termination fee. - Just Internet. No TV needed. I know about FAP, no games, no VOIP, etc. - No install fee, since there shouldn't be anything to install. I know the FCC requires 2 way dishes be installed, so what does one do in a case like mine?
I don't have several grand to put into this, which is why I'm trying to see if I can buy used equipment (e.g. those plain dishes, not the fancy/expensive super mobile solutions I've seen), and if there are month-to-month contracts.
I've also been told that I should be able to position the dish pretty easily myself (using provided software?).
I'm eager to hear any suggestions and advice about what is possible, and any vendors, links, etc. Thanks everyone.
Matt
Posts: 3 | From: San Francisco, CA | Registered: Sep 2010
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You will need a tripod or similar mount for the antenna. You can't just hold it in your hand! Your camping destinations may also be the biggest challenge. Satellite internet and trees are like oil and water, they simply don't mix. You will need a clear view of the Southern sky in order for your antenna a connection. This is also a very large and heavy dish (26" X 39") with a long arm and LNB so storage will be an issue as well.
-------------------- Bill Adams Winegard Company Posts: 15681 | From: Traveling the Western US | Registered: May 2003
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Bill is right about the dish being heavy as we like to see the Heaver fiberglass dish used with a tripod. If they fall over they don't bend. How ever,if you are very careful and use a good anchoring system like the "claw" you should not have that problem. I have all the components you would need,all used. If you are interested contact me off line and we can talk.
-------------------- 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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Matt, Using solar, you will likely need a good 12v battery for power storage, an inverter to convert it from 12v to 120v so you can use the power, and lots of sunlight. I have 220 watts of solar on my motorhome, it's high noon, under cloudy/rainy skies. I am getting 1.3 amps of 12v power out of my panels. With full sun, this time of day, I could expect around 12-14 amps. My solar output is stored in 300 pounds of batteries (you can get by with less, but solar is only optimal for around 25% of each 24 hour period), so I have power 24/7, if needed. Unless you buy a 12v power supply (HughesNet has them), you will need an inverter to change the 12v battery supply into 120v power your sat receiver can use with it's 64 watt 120v power supply.
Your best/cheapest solution would be to stick with the aircard and camp where you have a signal. Gary
-------------------- DSL & Verizon Jetpack - formerly F1 Datastorm w/2-Watt BUC | D3 3.9.6w | HN7000s 5.8.0.82 | AMC9 - 83W/1290 H/H | 33Msps | BOW SL3 SWM HDTV | Linksys WRT54GS See my current location Posts: 1187 | From: Debary, Florida | Registered: May 2003
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Another idea would be to get a light weight cell phone amp (2-3 lbs) and a good high gain cell antenna. Wilson is a good brand.
-------------------- 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: 3367 | From: Eugene, OR | Registered: Jun 2004
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Point taken and agreed about the tripod. I have tried to keep my pack weight down but it looks like the tripod would be worth the weight.
Gary,
Yeah I just bought my solar a month ago and got as much as I could afford based on my power consumption (as measured by a Kill-A-Watt, including when charging and when not, etc.). I got this awesome system from Powerenz with a 60 watt foldable solar panel instead of the 36w it comes with, in case anyone is interested: http://www.powerenz.com/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=152
I asked about power consumption here ( http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/RVInternetBySatellite/message/21838 ) and it looks like people are seeing anything from 10-50wh load for the modem. Eek! One's perspective really changes once you go off the grid. Heh. That might be a deal breaker for me. I guess I'll just be *really* conservative about when to hop online.
Don,
Great idea! I had just started to look around for these. Hopefully one of these would at least give me another few miles into a forest. I will read more now that I have a good brand to research. Thanks!
Matt
Posts: 3 | From: San Francisco, CA | Registered: Sep 2010
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As you sensed, it is time for a reality check. A 60 watt solar panel is not going to do much of anything for you. It might keep a charged battery charged but not much more. The 60 watts is under ideal conditions in full sunlight. That will not occur often. About the only time you will see that is high noon on a clear day. 60 watts is about 5 amps DC or 1/2 amp of 120 volt AC. Of course you will lose some power in the inverter so the actual AC power available will be very small.
As has been stated, you will need a battery. There is no getting around that. A 5 amp battery charger (remember that is under ideal conditions) will take a very long time to charge a battery.
I know what I'm talking about here. I have 800 watts of solar panels on my RV and 6 golf cart batteries. Of course, I use a lot more power overnight than you do, but I understand what solar is capable of.
Unless you are ready and willing to buy a lot more solar panels and batteries, a small generator, or you're willing to charge the battery by connecting it in parallel with your auto battery and driving a few hours each day, you just won't be able to do what you want to do.
The best advice is still to stay with the cell phone modem and look into an amp. and external ant.
Posts: 145 | Registered: Sep 2003
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I hear you, and thanks for sharing your experience/advice.
The kit I have has a 22 amp-hour Li-Poly battery, which based on my calculations and power consumption measurements (using a Kill-A-Watt while in a house) and discussions with Powerenz would be enough to power a Macbook Pro (~30wh when not charging, 80wh when charging!), an iPad for my girlfriend (6wh when not charging, 12wh when charging), and a Verizon mifi (~3.5wh when not charging, 8wh when charging). Padding that consumption with the loss from the inverter, plus some extra because of the gradual voltage drop from the solar battery (which causes the laptop to stop using it and use its own), sunlight conditions permitting I should be able to get 4 hours a day of work in. I've been doing some field testing in parks around here and so far so good.
That said, the system would certainly not be able to tolerate another 30-50wh load out of nowhere unless I severely cut down on the laptop usage (e.g. 3 hours per day, then 1 hour per day of Internet).
Thanks, Matt
Posts: 3 | From: San Francisco, CA | Registered: Sep 2010
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You may want to look at the Wilson Sleek. It's a small (nearly pocket sized) amp setup that would work with your existing MiFi and is powered by USB.
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