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First World Camping Problems
Mar. 9th, 2012 08:22 pmThe camping season hasn't begun yet but there have already been developments of the interesting kind.
The past two seasons, there has been wifi available from the dining hall and fellowship hall. It wasn't an especially speedy signal but it was good enough for casual web browsing, and it was free. The signal though didn't reach to our trailer so I spent some time at the end of the 2011 season trying to devise means by which I could extend the coverage enough that we could browse the Interwebz from the comfort of our own trailer.
Earlier this week, there was a broadcast announcement from the campground that they've contracted with an outside provider to provide pay-per-use wifi services. Because of the terrain, they can't assure complete coverage over the entire campground, but if it's a strong signal from the dining hall or there's a repeater somewhere on Rose Hill, odds are good we'll be able to tap into it from our trailer.
The downside is that it will cost: $10/day, $15/week, $100/six months. There are 30, 60 & 90 day rates as well but those don't really matter: if we bought, it would be the six month interval.
We stil have questions: Is our trailer within the area of coverage? What's the overall bandwidth? If they cancel the contract, can we get a refund for on a pro-rated basis? Is it tied to a single device exclusively or can one's use be moved from one device to another so long as only one device is active at a time? Is there a usage limit or all-you-can-eat?
If we don't like the coverage, another option for us is to get some sort of cellular signal booster/repeater so I could use my mobile phone as a wifi hot spot. Equipment for that won't come cheap, but could pay for itself within 2-3 years. The downside is the extra expense, that the equipment basically travels with me so my guys & co-trailer trash would be SOL if they're at the trailer without me, and the extra headache of maintaining the system ourselves (presuming it works at all).
At the moment, our plan is to de-winterize the trailer next weekend. I'll sign up for a day rate to run some tests and we'll see how it goes. More news as it develops.
The past two seasons, there has been wifi available from the dining hall and fellowship hall. It wasn't an especially speedy signal but it was good enough for casual web browsing, and it was free. The signal though didn't reach to our trailer so I spent some time at the end of the 2011 season trying to devise means by which I could extend the coverage enough that we could browse the Interwebz from the comfort of our own trailer.
Earlier this week, there was a broadcast announcement from the campground that they've contracted with an outside provider to provide pay-per-use wifi services. Because of the terrain, they can't assure complete coverage over the entire campground, but if it's a strong signal from the dining hall or there's a repeater somewhere on Rose Hill, odds are good we'll be able to tap into it from our trailer.
The downside is that it will cost: $10/day, $15/week, $100/six months. There are 30, 60 & 90 day rates as well but those don't really matter: if we bought, it would be the six month interval.
We stil have questions: Is our trailer within the area of coverage? What's the overall bandwidth? If they cancel the contract, can we get a refund for on a pro-rated basis? Is it tied to a single device exclusively or can one's use be moved from one device to another so long as only one device is active at a time? Is there a usage limit or all-you-can-eat?
If we don't like the coverage, another option for us is to get some sort of cellular signal booster/repeater so I could use my mobile phone as a wifi hot spot. Equipment for that won't come cheap, but could pay for itself within 2-3 years. The downside is the extra expense, that the equipment basically travels with me so my guys & co-trailer trash would be SOL if they're at the trailer without me, and the extra headache of maintaining the system ourselves (presuming it works at all).
At the moment, our plan is to de-winterize the trailer next weekend. I'll sign up for a day rate to run some tests and we'll see how it goes. More news as it develops.
