WiFi Booster Install

[pmhellings]

I spent some time searching for a WiFi booster and router so that we wouldn't have to log in multiple times, on different devices at a campground. Having a little better chance of getting a signal at the TM is a nice thing too.

I decided to go with Techno RV's product, WiFi Camp Pro Kit. It comes with the router, 110 and 12v power supplies, 60' long cable, amplified antenna and a suction cup mount.

Early on I decided that I didn't want to attach an antenna and run cable every time that I set up and I also didn't want the router just sitting on a counter with wires and cables attached to it.

I decided to mount the antenna on the Winegard TV antenna and rout the cable thru the roof of the front shell. After measuring and thinking and then measuring again, I decided the best place to mount the router was in the upper cabinets in the front of the TM. I was able to get a hole in the roof that led to the cabinet interior, but was still on a flat enough section that my Cordmate 2 conduit could conform to the roof shape with the help of a scribed 90 degree elbow at the leading edge. The USB wire is protected by a corrugated wire loom cover until a few inches inside the Cordmate. Where it exits the roof inside the cabinet it is covered with the wire loom cover again to protect it from damage from the edges of the hole.

The router sits between two of the doors and it's antenna goes through a hole in the cabinet stile ( the upright wood divider in the cabinet frame. I was able to pick up 12v at the driver's side under cabinet light. This is the circuit that is switched on and off at the curbside hatch.

The system was easy to set up and pulls in a lot more signal than my phone or tablet does. With the cabinet doors closed you can just barely see the antenna. A pretty clean looking system that is functioning well.

Paul

[tentcamper]

Very nice install. Please let us know how it works at camp sites. I have been wondering if there is a solution for the poor reception. A reliable reception at poor transmitted campgrounds. I would love to hear about your experiences.

Thanks for the update.

[pemc4279]

Originally Posted by pmhellings

I spent some time searching for a WiFi booster and router so that we wouldn't have to log in multiple times, on different devices at a campground. Having a little better chance of getting a signal at the TM is a nice thing too.

I decided to go with Techno RV's product, WiFi Camp Pro Kit. It comes with the router, 110 and 12v power supplies, 60' long cable, amplified antenna and a suction cup mount.

Early on I decided that I didn't want to attach an antenna and run cable every time that I set up and I also didn't want the router just sitting on a counter with wires and cables attached to it.

I decided to mount the antenna on the Winegard TV antenna and rout the cable thru the roof of the front shell. After measuring and thinking and then measuring again, I decided the best place to mount the router was in the upper cabinets in the front of the TM. I was able to get a hole in the roof that led to the cabinet interior, but was still on a flat enough section that my Cordmate 2 conduit could conform to the roof shape with the help of a scribed 90 degree elbow at the leading edge. The USB wire is protected by a corrugated wire loom cover until a few inches inside the Cordmate. Where it exits the roof inside the cabinet it is covered with the wire loom cover again to protect it from damage from the edges of the hole.

The router sits between two of the doors and it's antenna goes through a hole in the cabinet stile ( the upright wood divider in the cabinet frame. I was able to pick up 12v at the driver's side under cabinet light. This is the circuit that is switched on and off at the curbside hatch.

The system was easy to set up and pulls in a lot more signal than my phone or tablet does. With the cabinet doors closed you can just barely see the antenna. A pretty clean looking system that is functioning well.

Paul

I hear a lot of talk about wifi boosters. Forgive a stupid question... Is this simply boosting the wifi available at a park? Does it increase quality of streaming Netflix/Hulu?

[ThePair]

I like your ideas a lot, especially the location of the inside antenna.

[pmhellings]

Originally Posted by pemc4279

I hear a lot of talk about wifi boosters. Forgive a stupid question... Is this simply boosting the wifi available at a park? Does it increase quality of streaming Netflix/Hulu?

The boosters purpose is to strengthen a weak signal. It will not increase the speed. Imagine that you are in a campground that has a good wifi connection at the office, but your device doesn't "see" it at your camper. The booster will likely be able to pull it in and make it useful at your TM. A side benefit is that all of your devices will only "see" your TM's router and all use the same password. Only the booster will have to log on to the campground wifi.

I never stream movies or video unless I know that the wifi has sufficient bandwidth ( like if you are connected to a friend's network) Too many people on a campground signal can make it unusable for everyone.

Paul

[BrucePerens]

Actually, a booster can increase speed. The prerequisite for this to happen is that there is more bandwidth available to the wireless access point than it can serve over a low-strength WiFi connection. This is not usually the case in your campground, but will be when you are connected to a less busy access point. WiFi comes in a number of different modulations and bandwidths, and switches from one to another depending on the signal strength. The highest bandwidth connections require a strong signal. When the signal is poor, WiFi will go down to less than 1 megabit per second, and the maximum performance possible is over a gigabit per second.

The speed can further degrade because every transmission must be perfect or it must be repeated. So, if two stations try to send a packet at the same time or if there's noise, packets will be dropped and will have to be retransmitted.

We also have complications like the Hidden Transmitter Problem. A booster can help with that.

This video

shows some of the different modulations.