Wifi ???

QUOTE(popup @ Nov 16 2008, 03:14 PM) [snapback]13959[/snapback]

Something that rarely comes up is the simple fact that WiFi is a radio signal. As such, it is subject to a variety of disturbances. You essentially have multiple transmitters operating all at the same frequency, colliding with one another. You have electrical wiring, reflective metallic surfaces, other signal noise from thing such as microwaves. Throw in a high power router between you and the target wifi antenna. The wifi radio system was not really intended for wide area, outdoor use. Think about microwave towers, they actually transmit point to point, not wide area broadcasting, and wifi is a microwave signal. It has been adapted to it, but it has certain limitations simply inherent to its nature. It is greatly affected by leaves, pine needles, weather etc. as they scatter the signal. Think about your cell phone, sometimes you have to find the just the right spot for it to work. It's no different for wifi. Radio signals of all kinds are also subject to its weakest link. Most wifi systems broadcast at a higher power than your laptop does. The wifi system antenna is exposed. Your laptop antenna is either inside the computer or at best sticking out on one side or the other. Your laptop broadcasts at a much lower power. That is why you can often "see" the wifi system but cannot communicate with it. Your signal can't get to it. Add to the mix the signal being digital, it's all or nothing. Unfortunately, the weakest link is usually at the users end, not the campground. You can't typically increase your transmit power, but getting a better antenna that sits outside, even aimed at the wifi repeater/router/node (cantenna), can eliminate much of the trouble. I don't care how many repeaters, nodes, antennas are out there, simply because it is a radio signal means you can guarantee 100% coverage 100% of the time with 100% signal. Oh by the way, sitting directly under the wifi antenna is a radio signal dead zone, referred to a the cone of silence, or blind cone. It's not the place to be to test your connectivity.

Now, look at the different ways of providing wifi. An open system that allows anyone and everyone connect all of the time without any modifications. Password protected open systems allows users to access an entry page only. WEP, WPA, ssid on or off, wifi channel, and more. Master/Node systems. Signal boosters. repeaters. A,B,G,N systems. Is your computer default set to connect to only one system? Just look at the variety of options in the Windows wifi connection properties screens. Is you computer updated? Does it even have a wifi card? the possibilities are endless as to why there may be a connection problem. The details on this part of wifi are out of my realm of expertise

This is really an oversimplification of wifi, but I hope it gets the idea across. This is why it works perfectly at one spot and not so good at another, or one day but not the next. Anyone else out there with radio background can surely attest to the variety of anomalies that effect radio signals. The variety of settings. The number of variables. It just isn't as cut and dried as we all would like it to be. As an adapted system, we the end users, must also be willing to adapt with it as well, that is if we really want it. Understanding what you're trying to use, what it really is, the equipment involved and all of its limitations, understanding that things sometimes break, remembering our own experiences with a variety of electronic products that do strange things every now and then, can go a long way to preventing undue stress over wifi. It's my computer. It's my responsibility. I have no expectation of the campground to fix my computer to connect to their network. I have been to many campgrounds that provide a simple setting sheet for their wifi to assist in connecting. To me, that's fair. I undertsand most campgrounds don't have an IT department. I do not believe that wifi is a priority over cleaning the bathrooms, and that often resources at a campground are very limited and require prioritization. I have no expectation of a campground to run around at 2 pm knocking on doors to explain the wifi is down for whatever reason. Save that for when the guy 4 sites down backs over the water spigot and into the electric box, knocking out half the campground.

If I absolutely had to have mobile connectivity, knowing what I know, I would not rely solely on wifi anywhere. I would have a backup, or better yet, wifi would be my backup. A hard line still provides the most reliable connection.


Thank you for great information. We often forget WiFi is a two way communication and forget the importance of the Computer to Acess Point leg. Wonderful informative post

 

And one of these days, someone is going to find a cancer link among RV'ers directly related to all these "microwave thingies" floating around in the air at the RV parks. We're doomed......

JJ

 

First thanks to everyone, especially popup and westernparkowner, for such great explanations in language that I can actually understand. I appreciate your help.

Interestingly, in reading all these responses I began to see another aspect of Wi-Fi service—the attitude of the park’s staff. How they handle a situation will make a big difference in how the customer reacts.

Now I understand that not all staff members will be tech savvy nor do I expect them to be. I also do not expect someone to come to my RV to troubleshoot problems, but when I report that I’m having trouble I do expect the staff to be patient, polite, and respectful. I realize there may have been 100 idiots before me who have complained that they can't connect when they don't even have a Wi-Fi card in their computer, but the staff should not automatically put me in that category, too. We once stayed at a park that I could not get my computer to connect no matter what I did. When I called the office the owner answered and politely told me that we were parked about 15 feet from a repeater (I'm not sure that is the right name of the equipment, but it was something that was a part of the Wi-Fi system), and I should be getting a very strong signal. He asked me to try several different things, none of which worked. However, at no time did he make me feel stupid or that the fault was with my computer. He just tried to solve the problem. Finally he drove down to our site and discovered that someone had flipped off the switch on the equipment. When he turned it on everything worked fine. I tell this story to show that sometimes it is the park that has the problem not the customer, so the staff should at least consider that possibility and not assume or act like it is the customer’s fault.

Also if a staff member is not knowledgeable enough to give me help they can at least be sympathetic and say they are sorry they can’t help more. If they know they are having trouble with their system they should admit it, apologize, and let me know they are working on it (if in fact they are). Ideally if a park knows in advance their service will not be available due to upgrades, repairs, etc. then the customer should be informed at the time a reservation is made or at check-in especially if the customer askes about the Wi-Fi service. This would save everyone a lot of grief down the road, but I know some parks will not do this if it means the customer might go somewhere else.

I guess the bottom line is it doesn't matter how good your Wi-Fi system is, there will be problems at some point, and how the park’s owner and staff handle those problems will make a big difference in how their customers react. If the owner/staff express their regret that the customer is having trouble, and if they do what they can to fix it or let customers know they are trying to get it fixed, then I think most customers will be tolerant and probably won’t slam the park with a 1 rating.

 

QUOTE(JVR @ Nov 12 2008, 06:16 AM) [snapback]13856[/snapback]

Unfortunately, the parks I have visited that advertise WiFi have never delivered a reliable connection to my site, if one at all. I don't expect it to work, but it would be easier for most campers to accept if the advertisement stated "WiFi may be available"

I opted to buy an Ntelos air card $20/month, but it's not much better, the Verizon card is $60/ month and I haven't decided if it's worth it just to have internet on the road, it's actually nice not to have a connection.



We arrived at a campground near Asheville, NC on Saturday and plan to stay 7 days, the campground advertises WiFi at site, as fate would have it, it has not worked, even after repairmen were on site yesterday.
Again, I only consider it a bonus if it works; apparantly WiFi technology used in outdoor campgrounds is not reliable at this time. It is hard to believe that the campgrounds I've visited bought the system and had it installed and have to constantly deal with the problems and receive poor ratings because WiFi is not reliable.

On another note, the Verizon air card works.