WiFi experiences

Fi-Wi is Short for wireless fidelity and is meant to be used generically when referring of any type of 802.11 network, whether 802.11b, 802.11a, dual-band, etc. The term is promulgated by the Wi-Fi Alliance.


Steve, CDN Wrote: Though I know what WI-FI is, I'd like to know from what words is WI-FI contracted?

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I have not use the Wi-F in a KOA since I have never stayed in a KOA.
I have used Wi-FI at Terrible's Lakeside Casino & RV Park in Pahrump, NV where they have Wi-Fi by  Coach Connect.
Pricing
$3.99/daily*
$18.00 one week
$29.99/monthly*
$149.99/6 months
*a $3 set-up fee applies to daily and monthly plans
The system has worked great for me & I have used it the 3 times I have stayed at Terrible's.

;D

{{Fi-Wi is Short for wireless fidelity}}

Thank you for the info, Mike.  The word "fidelity" came to mind but I could not see the connection in terms {smile}

Hello Tom:

Tom said:

I'd be interested in hearing other folks' experience with Hotspotzz or any other WiFi service. This might be useful for others who are looking for ways to get online.

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Was in Laughlin a few weeks back and that is where the transmitter on my 2-way dish went south. While waiting for delivery of a new one, I was reduced <g> to finding a hot-spot in the area. Was at the Riverside and all they have is a dedicated line to LV to plug your laptop in -- for $2.00 a pop. Bummer. So I sat my laptop on the seat beside me in my Jeep and went looking for freebee hotspots. Found about 15 total and only 2 that were open.

One was at an internet bar next door (north) to that shopping center thing a block south of the Riverside. If they supplied the compter, it was $5.00 per 1/4 hour -- and according to a local patron, free if you had your own computer. The other one was at the Riverview RV park a block or so north of the Safeway shopping center in Bullhead. First I located the hotspot, then zeroed in on where it was coming from. I chatted with the manager to get her OK to use it. She responded that I pay them so she didn't care either way.

The service was supplied by The Wireless Web out of San Antonio. I parked in the vacant lot west of the park adjacent to 95 and got on line very quickly. The rate for 24 hours was $2.50 and reasonable for weekly or monthly rates. Was most impressed with the speed. Have never seen my mail come down from Mail Washer so quickly. Here is a web site that appears when access is made. It contains a map of other locations useing TWW.

http://mail.twwmail.com/index.asp

After using the service for awhile, I talked with the manager a bit more for details. She said that the park received no income from TWW - only the benefit of telling folk that they have the service. I then asked if she was aware that the entire vacant lot next door, a number of rows in the two other parks across the street, and a block or so of houses east of their park was also benefitting from the wi-fi installed by TWW. And that that was good for TWW because the more users the more profit, of course. She was surprised to hear this and is going to check it out <g>.

Anyway, if in Laughlin or Bullhead - that vacant lot is the place to go for Wi-Fi.

Thanks for the report Bob. Maybe we should start a WiFi friendly CG list.

Thats goo information for those tha need it for sure.  My neighbor here at Coyote Ranch let them put their antenna on his lot and in return he gets free access to there system where  ever they have it set up.  No wonder he thought it was a good deal for him.

Must be a pretty good company.  Here in Coyote Ranch RV park they have three antennas to cover the park and everyone that wants it seems happy.

We are in Mountain View RV Park in Pendleton, OR tonight and using their WiFi provider.  It is "The Wireless Web.com" and costs $2.50 for 24 hours from your start time.  I'm very satisfied with it and the price!  Their email is: [email protected].

--Steve & Jodie Crouch

Tom, I have used a few.

One park in Amarillo TX has free wifi and it was very good. He rigged it himself and he is also near a Flying J and couple of other truck stops I could have used but his was free.

Also, the old KOA in Gallup NM, which is now privately owned, has free wifi. I was on the back row and it was iffy, but he was fixing that with another antenna out there. I could go up to office area and get it five square.

I hinted about a birthday gift idea and here appreared an new Proxim card with an external antenna. I have not used it on road yet but it does wonders here in neighborhood with getting some networks that a more than 500 yards away!

On the downside, the free network at Emerald Desert RV park in Palm Desert is free but its very poor and they were working on it last fall. I will check it out next week.

I  was a few days at Perchanga Casino RV park, and here was a guy with Directway wide open and he was never around for at least the four days I had a terrific connection! I have found a couple of other ones open.

I have used FJ and Starbucks with terrific results. Also some airports have free access, like Long Beach here and Springfield MO and used them on my son's PDA to check my mail when we were travelling.

Also I see the trend is for more free. I was staying at the Marriott in Calsbad CA last week and it was free, which is not the usual case with Mariotts. But the Ramada next door had a huge banner out that said free WiFi so guess that is why Mariott had to put out their password access for free use. Also same a few miles down the road, with a Mariott Courtyard, with big banner free WiFi. You see a lot of hotels with those signs out now.

Bob

Sounds like a reasonable price Steve, thanks.

Thanks Bob. Sounds like you've had some really good success.

Tom said:

Sounds like a reasonable price Steve, thanks.

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Free access is really exploding. The most recent I seen was at the SC State House where one can go into the Visitors Lobby or on 2nd floor between the two chambers and the state is providing wide open access.

You can't beat free!

It will be pretty hard to beat the wifi availability at Portal RV park 1 MAy to 11 May during the Moab Ralley. let see about 7 or more Sat dishes on line with wifi. ;D ;D ;D

Ron said:

It will be pretty hard to beat the wifi availability at Portal RV park 1 MAy to 11 May during the Moab Ralley. let see about 7 or more Sat dishes on line with wifi. ;D ;D ;D

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With RonM not coming will we have to rearrange the parking spaces to insure full park coverage ??? ??? ??? ;D ;D ;D

I hope not. Guess we won't know how well everybody will be covered tll we get there.

One thing to consider when rating Wi-Fi expierences is your own hardware.

When I first got a router it had Wi-Fi ability (D-Link DI-514, Basement class router, which is good cause it's in my basement (Ok, Ok, bad pun)

When I wanted a wi-fi card for the laptop I naturally got a D-Link DWL-650 (Also the basement end of the line) which turned out not to be such a good idea cause I almost never use the laptop in the basement... The 650 would connect to the DI-514, but that was and still is the ONLY router it ever connected to.  NO joy with any other router (never tried with another D-link)

Finally I happened to be in a hotel with free wi-fi in Baltimore... My D-link card, of course, refused to connect

So I got a card from them... (They loan them out) and guess what... It worked (Thus I knew a few things. 1: Computer good, 2: Software good, 3: Card not good)

I got a netgear

Works great

I did have to write a short batch file though  here it is

ipconfig /all                  Note: This is just for my informaiton, has no effect on connection
Pause                        Wait for a key push, give me time to read
ipconfig /renew_all      Renew the connection get new IP addresses and display the reslut

When I change from one router to another I have to run this batch file

OS is win-98se    I understand the commands in NT based (IE: eXtra Painful) are different but my XP box does not wi-fi (the router sits next to it, wires make sense, about 3 feet long wires)

As a followup I was down at Emerald Deserti in Palm Desert  last week and was put near the main clubhouse. as the snowbirds have pretty well left.

I fired up my computer and did not get their network. So dug out my external antenna with my Praxim card, and wow, had full high speed internet 24/7 for five days! Their system is very weak but still free! So I am a believer in this external antenna. Believe this is one of the only cards now that has an external antennal connection.

Bob

If you can find an Orinoco Silver (64 bit WEP) or Gold (128 bit WEP)PC Card, they'll accept an external antenna.

Ned said:

If you can find an Orinoco Silver (64 bit WEP) or Gold (128 bit WEP)PC Card, they'll accept an external antenna.

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You have to be a little careful here. They use the the same silver/gold terminology on cards that do not have external antenna capability. Specifically the combo cards (a/b/g) do not. The b/g cards do. The numbers are 8470WD or 8471WD. They are now labled as Proxim Orinoco and available for ~$60 at many places.

There was an article here mentioning that Michigan will now be offering Free Wi-Fi at some of it's state parks.

I do have the page bookmarked and the list but one of the "State Parks" is, in fact, the visitor's center on I-69 near Coldwater Michigan (just north of the state of oHIo) I forget what the others were, there were only a few listed.

Oakland County wants to put up free wi-fi all over the place, it's encourging businessess to host wi-fi access spots, this will likely be a combiation of B, G and N versions

However... Before we get too excited we should all read the Kevin and Kell comic strip from a month or so ago.  Hare Link (The ocmpany Kevin founded) is given the contract for installing city wide free Wi-Fi in the city of Domain (Where they live) and just as they get it up to the test level they get thier first E-mail on the new free Wi-Fi system... IT's from the mayor of Domain saying "Contract cancelled"

Seems the big ISPs (Hare Link is the smallest) Sued under "Restraint of trade" and got an injunction

I can see this happening  Bill Holbrook clearly did some research before writing that strip.  We already have cases of people sueing and wining in some other things where the claim is restraint of trade but the trade was never there to restrain.

Lots of legal stupidity this decade