We have been using a Hughes.net tripod type system with a manual rooftop mount on our bus for several years now. We have deploying the dish and aiming it down to a science now and can usually be online in about 15 minutes.

However, the system has it limitations, including the danger of being on the roof of the bus (we have an escape hatch over the bed, so getting up and down is not a real problem, but slipping and falling is always a possibility), having to go up on the roof in rain or bad weather when we need to lower the dish, needing a clear line of sight to the southern sky to get a signal, etc. Also, we can't get online quickly, such as when pulling into a rest area for lunch or on a quick overnight dry camping stop at Wally World.

I did a McAfee speed test tonight and it says my DW6000 modem is getting speeds of about 300 to 372 Kbps. Some of the numbers for the aircards I am seeing on the evdoinfo.com website are quoting as much as 650 Kbps down. How accurate is that? I know the speeds are slower in fringe and rural areas.

I've read a lot of the threads here on aircards and have a basic understanding, but now I need some real world info. We will need to upgrade our DW6000 modem soon, it just seems to get slower and slower. The modem is free, but we have to sign up for another 12 month contract. Currently we are out of contract and can drop our service anytime we want to.

We've considered switching to a DataStorm automatic system, but $5,000 for the dish and installation is a lot of money. Yes, we could get a used one, and that is an option too.

Or we could go the aircard route. If we did, I'd want an external antenna and amplifier, and a router. I use a year old desktop HP computer with Windows XP and Terry has a new Compaq laptop with Vista. We use a Linksys router so she can WiFi off the system.

We have Verizon cell phone service now, we don't download videos or music, but I do maintan three websites, upload a daily blog, do a lot of internet research, and between us we get close to 100 e-mails a day. (Some are even real, not spam!).

So okay, all of you techies out there, and please remember that I'm not technically inclined, give me your input. Aircard? Upgrade the Hughs.net modem, step up to an automatic dish?

If we switch to an aircard, which card, antenna, router, etc do you recommend?

Nick,
The aircards are getting better every day with more towers being added, roaming and interconnect agreements signed.... and what with all the additional Wifi systems being installed in campgrounds across the country, the 'Aircard' is certainly coming of age. But I think the deciding factor is still, do you need an internet connection everywhere you travel and is cell service always available in those area's.

If you travel in/through area's where cell service is always available... then an Aircard should work just fine for you. On the other hand if your like some of us that tend to travel off the beaten path or into other countries [Canada/Mexico] staying with Hughes is the only surefire option for internet.

I've had my direcway/Hughes system for 5 years now and travel throughout the U.S., Canada and all of Mexico. I can count on one hand the number of days I didn't have an internet connection. As you know it works everywhere you have a clear shot at the satellite, from big cities to boondocking on the Mayan coast it's always available.

I started out with a tripod and direcway service and upgraded to a used DataStorm. I purchased my used DataStorm from a dealer who installed it, total cost $2,000. I also took advantage of the modem upgrade from Hughes, they sent me a new, self install modem for buying into another contract.

One day, perhaps, there will be usable cell service everywhere in the U.S. and free roaming in Canada and Mexico.... but until that day satellite internet is the only option for me to continue getting my internet fix.

I've been in Northern California for the past couple of months.... the closest cell tower is 70 miles away. Needless to say I've had no cell service while here but continue to have access to the internet

quote:

I am seeing on the evdoinfo.com website are quoting as much as 650 Kbps down.

Nick, the 650 kbps can & does happen but speed and consistency of service are in direct proportion to signal strength. We use a Wilson Trucker ext. antenna mounted to the luggage rack on our 5er(I take it down when we move--a pain) and another one on the mirror of the truck. We also spent the ca$h for a signal amplifier. Most of the time we don't need the amp while moving cuz most highways have good coverage. We do use it when parked---what the heck, I already bought it, why not plug it in?

quote:

We have Verizon cell phone service now, we don't download videos or music, but I do maintan three websites, upload a daily blog, do a lot of internet research, and between us we get close to 100 e-mails a day. (Some are even real, not spam!)

Verizon allows us 5GB/month. We don't come close to that, but we are not maintaining 3 websites either. You'd have to do the math, but your blogs & emails (I'm assuming no attachments) are measured in tiny KB's, so 5GB might be OK for you as well.
Mark

I have the Alltel Aircard. Alltel has a working agreement with Sprint and Verizon to use their towers wherever Altell does not have a tower. That arrangement gives Alltel the most coverage area of all. I have not used mine extensively throughout the US but I did convoy with a friend this past winter to the southwest who used Alltel Aircard and he was able to get online most everywhere we traveled, even out in the desert at Quartzsite and Yuma, AZ.

I am sitting here at Outer Banks, NC using my Aircard. Alltel Aircard it unlimited in usage; time and data. The information for my Aircard, Kyocera KPC680 list connection speeds up to 2.1 Mbps via Axcess Broadband network. This is an ExpressCard 34 Hinged Antenna Rx Diversity Windows 2000, XP, Vista Supported EVDO and comes with a PCMCIA adapter. At the moment they have a $50.00 rebate offered

I do plan to purchase the Wilson Wilson Trucker Mirror mount antenna, and their 801245 Amp. and 301127 inside antenna. I also expect to purchase their Yagi antenna for those very difficult area in my travels.

quote:

That arrangement gives Alltel the most coverage area of all.

while i (somewhat) agree with your assessment, it would seem that the same could be true of either verizon or sprint, can it not? i mean, the roaming agreements are reciprocal. thus, whatever coverage one has, they all have.

Here's where it differs: sprint's roaming agreement with alltel allows customers to roam at high speed EVDO wherever they have it. Verizon customers can only roam at 1xrtt on alltel and vice versa.

Add to that fact, that Sprint has larger native Rev-A network, and if a customer's objective is finding the carrier with the largest network of true High Speed EVDO coverage, then it would seem to be Sprint.

I realize, this being an RV forum, that most just care about coverage footprint, regardless of speed.

In that respect, my opinion is that the three are quite equal because of the roaming agreements at 1xrtt level.

quote:

Some of the numbers for the aircards I am seeing on the evdoinfo.com website are quoting as much as 650 Kbps down. How accurate is that? I know the speeds are slower in fringe and rural areas.

In case you have not seen it yet, you might want to check out http://EVDOmaps.com

Its not a 'coverage map'... it represents speedtest by actual members of http://www.EVDOforums.com (therefore the accuracy is only as good as the members themselves)

With 800 submissions thus far, its safe to say that its the single largest collection of mapped 3G speedtests of any kind.

quote:

If we switch to an aircard, which card, antenna, router, etc do you recommend?

The hot setup for my RV customers is the Sprint Aircard 595 with wilson omni external antenna, wilson 3watt direct-connect dual-band amp, and a 3G router to allow multiple computers to share the connectivity.

On average, 3gstore ships one of these setups per day to an RVer somewhere out on the road.

I have both a Datastorm and Sprint aircard with the LinkSys mobile router. Air card goes right in the router. We also use a Wilson Trucker antenna and 3w amp.

*Aircards*

There are three service level zones available with aircards (well, actually 4 or 5, but only 3 matter). 1xRRT, EVDO-O, EVDO-A. Your data card will be able to operate in all 3.

Aircards in EVDO areas are usually faster than Hughes, especially on uploads, and especially on secure sites like banks and other financial sites. Many major cities and highly populated areas will have EVDO coverage. You can see it on the coverage map, but be sure you know what you're looking at because those maps can be misleading.

Outside these areas, but still inside the provider's basic coverage area, you'll get 1xRRT, which is usually about dialup speed.

There are many LARGE areas of the country where you'll get NO service with the aircard, zip, zero, nada, nothing. That's why we still have the Datastorm. We can get online just about anywhere with it.

*Ideas*
For the Hughes, you might try changing to a tripod on the ground. This would avoid climbing on the roof, and also allow you more flexibility in moving the dish to avoid trees, etc.

You might find a 7000 modem cheap and be able to upgrade without a new commitment, but if you're getting the modem free from Hughes that may be the best deal. If you're going anywhere close to Tucson, AZ the Datastorm user group is having a rally there in a few weeks; www.datastormusers.com They support tripod users too.

Some people with both aircards and satellite suspend their Sat service when they're in a EVDO area for a month or more. This probably wouldn't work for you the way you travel.

good luck with it, give me a call or email if you'd like.

Mac

A couple of thoughts on Aircards...

I have Verizon with the Kyocera aircard (with an amp and router for wireless). I've only had two or three occasions in the last year where I didn't have coverage -- only in deep Colorado valleys. Speeds vary from ~100kps down and up when you only have 1x to very high speed down (250 - 1600 kbps) with EVDO. My upload speed, even with EVDO, is limited to 130 kbps.

One distinct advantage to the aircard is being able to use it driving down the road...it's nice to be able to look up campgrounds, Flying Js, rest stops, Wal-Marts, or whatever. It's also nice to be able to pull into a shaded rest stop and do your email.

Another advantage is that it's a much simpler system. I've traveled with DataStorm guys and, even though they had automatic systems (or maybe because of that), there was a lot of "fiddling" they had to do to keep their systems operating. (Maybe these were anomolies.) With the aircard, it just works.

I'm not saying one system is better than the other...but the aircard has been a good solution for me and I'd do it that way again.

/Jerry

Nick, whether or not you'd be happy with an air card depends a great deal on where you travel.

We, too, use a HughesNet tripod-mounted satellite Internet system. This spring, before we left Quartzsite, we decided to give the Sprint air card a try to see how we liked it.

We don't.

We did hit several EVDO areas on our way up to the Spring Escapade in Stockton. From there, we drove I-80 to Cheyenne, WY, I-25 north to I-90, and then I-90 east to Sturgis where my husband renewed his driver's license. The only other place we found EVDO speeds along this route was in West Wendover, NV. We had NO service AT ALL along the major Interstate highways in Evanston and Rawlins, WY or in Sturgis, SD. The only other places we've had EVDO service was in Cheyenne, WY and Colorado Springs, CO.

We've had *regular* (read dial up) speeds in other areas, which would be OK if we could count on getting service. However, since we've been visiting the New Mexico state parks this year, we've run into only one park where we've had ANY service at all. At all the other parks, we've had NO service at all.

Since most of our camping is out in the boonies far from any cell phone towers, we've come to the conclusion that -- for us -- an air card isn't going to be a good choice.

Nick,

We have been very happy with Verizon for the past two years, and have rarely been without coverage for the air card. We are usually at the 1x speed, which averages about 100bps. But it is surprising how ofter we find the EV coverage. That indeed averages above 600bps.

Use the Verizon Coverage Locater to check the coverage for your locations over the past year. That should tell you how practicable it will be for you to switch to the air card.

Nick:

We can give you some real world information. We use the Sprint network and most of the time are on the 1X network. Speeds are slower than what your speed tests showed, but that isn't the whole story. The latency, (lag) on a satellite system is higher than on an air card system. Therefore, the speed test isn't always a good indicator of true speed.

My niece has Wild Blue Satellite, and another friend of mine has Hughes, and there are many times that I can get web pages to load faster than either of them, even though the speed tests show otherwise.

Most of the time you will be on the 1X network, and not broadband, so you need to gear yourself for those speeds. In and around larger cities, there is broadband available, and it makes a huge difference. Verizon and Sprint's networks will be similar speedwise on the 1X networks, and not all that different on their broadband side either.

My wife downloads work for her job, and it will take about 1 hour to download 30mb of info on the 1X network. On broadband, 10 minutes or less, for the same size job.

Something to keep in mind, Sprint has unlimited data for their aircard plan. Verizon has a 5 gb limit per month. Verizon advertises unlimited access, Sprint advertises unlimited data. Not the same thing.

I will include a couple of links below to speed tests that I ran with our setup. We use Sierra Aircards, with the Wilson Truckers Antenna, and I also have the 3 watt booster, that I have been glad for on a couple of occasions.

We did find that driving around the campground a little with the computer on, yielded significant differences in signal strength, sometimes only a couple of sites apart.

The links below will give you an indication of speeds.

1X network

Broadband Rev 0

Broadband Rev A PLEASE NOTE. Since this test was run, Sprint has decided that we do not need all of this upload speed, and has cut the upload speed down to between 60 and 120. These tests were run near Lancaster, Pa and are Real World.

I know without question, broadband aircards will be faster than your satellite, but the 1X will probably be slower, but you will have to be the judge. You should be able to try it out for 30 days and compare the 2, but I would recommend doing it in a 1X area, so you are not disappointed when you hit those areas in your travels.

I have also found, when we hit a certain signal strength, adding an antenna and amplifier, made very little difference in speed.

quote:

The hot setup for my RV customers is the Sprint Aircard 595 with wilson omni external antenna, wilson 3watt direct-connect dual-band amp, and a 3G router to allow multiple computers to share the connectivity.

I have that setup, except I'm on Verizon, since my business accounts get me steep discounts on everything Verizon. Alex and the 3G store team helped me with a modem (MB6800)capatible with both my AC595 card and U720 usb card. So when I do have evdo coverage, via the card in the back of the modem, I'm wireless from wherever I chose to sit inside or outside my MH.

quote:

I am seeing on the evdoinfo.com website are quoting as much as 650 Kbps down. How accurate is that?

Very accurate in my experience. In evdo rev A coverage areas, I frequently get well over 650kbps, sometimes over 1,000 kbps down & slightly less up. I do notice that speeds in some high use areas are slower during daytime peak business hours, then faster after hours.
A good anntena and amp definitely help in fringe areas. I see 200 - 300 kbps improvement with the antenna/amp combination when I'm in between towers. The attenna can not give you coverage where no signal exists, but it does very well at improving a weak signal.

The air card data service is cheaper, simpler and convenient for sure. However, it is still location dependent, and carrier dependent, with wide variations depending on where you travel & camp. The major cell carriers have ongoing service & coverage expansion projects. So the coverage gaps are being narrowed, and the evdo areas are growing, except for the most remote boondocking locations.

In my current extended but part time RV travels, I always have some level/speed of Verizon data service, frequently evdo speed, but ocassionally 1X slower speed. My business use of air cards is extensive and we find them very reliable in most areas. Our projects(industrial construction) are never in urban areas where cable or dsl service is readily available, so the air cards have become our backbone to the internet and home office intranet for many of our field project teams.

still not a perfect solution, but good and getting better

Jim

We use Alltel service with a Kyocera 650 card and KR1 router. We get speeds up to 1.3M downloads and 300k up on good days. We have not traveled west much but have never been out of signal. Great in the laptop going down the road. Card was free with the 2-year agreement and $59.00 per month.

I'm completing a 4 month trip Fl to KY to WA and back to FL - 9000 miles - with a Verizon aircard. Underwhelming!!! On a very few occasions I have gotten the advertised speeds. When that happens it's great. Mostly I've had dial-up down to even more primitive speeds. I've had a half dozen spots, near interstates, with no connectivity at all. In Bardstown, KY I had to use a cell phone to pay my Air Card bill!!! My Verizon Cell phone and Mobile Office, which I used for the last 3 years, was almost as good, and much cheaper.
I was a Starband user years ago. (If you can see the southern sky -- you've probably been burned!) Too much hassle, but manual mount systems are much improved. I agree that climbing on the roof for each setup is not a good idea, but the tripod systems solve that, and the "view of the southern sky". I may bite the bullet and pay the cancellation fee on my air card and return to a satellite system.

The good news this year is that most of the RV parks I have stayed in have had WiFi, most free, and it actually worked most of the time. Had I not had WiFi the Air Card would have been a totally unsatisfactory solution.

My first modem was a whopping 300 baud. Not having to deal with Pop Up's and useless graphics, it was at least as good as my Air Card has been most of the time.

Tonight is an exception: in SE AL I'm getting 800 down and 116 up.

It's a really mixed bag for connectivity now. I have strong reservations about the competence of the phone companies to get their act together before WiFi makes them irrelevant. Sorta reminds me of DSL, which could have locked up the market 15 years ago, if only.....

quote:

Originally posted by EVDOalex:
The hot setup for my RV customers is the Sprint Aircard 595 with wilson omni external antenna, wilson 3watt direct-connect dual-band amp, and a 3G router to allow multiple computers to share the connectivity.

On average, 3gstore ships one of these setups per day to an RVer somewhere out on the road.

Nick,

I have the exact gear Alex mentions except I gotthe Verizon card and it works great. I haven't even used the amplifier yet, and still get "DSL" speeds with the system.

I did it because I'm not planning to do a lot of boondocking away from cell towers anyway. With your travels it might be different.

BTW, it was great meeting you in Goshen.

Paul