Satellite Internet

Exploring satellite internet, does anyone use this with their travels. Equipment, expense, reliability, speed etc.
John
former 3023 Owner

[Bill]

Look for old posts by Rocky Mtn Ray. He had some pretty good experience several years ago, though it may have been cell-phone Internet rather than satellite.

Bill

Originally Posted by Factor

Exploring satellite internet, does anyone use this with their travels. Equipment, expense, reliability, speed etc.
John
former 3023 Owner

I've not actually used satellite internet, but I do know that latency is a problem for many uses. With the satellites 22,000 miles away, it takes appreciable time (in computer terms) to get the signal to and from the satellite, and the "handshaking" that is part of every session, page request, etc. involves several round trips of signals before the page can be displayed. Once it starts arriving, though, it'll arrive quickly.

So, depending on your use and your patience, it may be perfectly suitable, but you certainly can't play online games very effectively with it, and you'll find many delays that will bug you, especially with sites that use javascript or flash. Simple html text wouldn't be much problem, and it's not the size of the page nor the amount of data on the page that is the problem -- it's the communications back and forth the computers must do prior to displaying a page.

That being said, I've known people who were happy with it and those who felt dial-up was better.

I use it, and it works fine for normal web browsing.

Things that use secure web pages (HTTPS) are very slow, so are things like VPN to access work stuff, due to the latency others mentioned.

It works almost anywhere you can get a good view of the sky (no trees in the way!). It's your ONLY option in places like Yellowstone.

The main downsides of the satellite:
1. The dish is fragile and bent easily. If it is bent, even very, very slightly, it won't work.
2. It takes a lot of room to transport the equipment if you are using a tripod option
3. It is kind of a pain to set up. I can do it in about 20 minutes, but I run a large computer network for a living and enjoy things like aiming antennas.

I also take a Verizon Blackberry with tethering option (works like an Air Card), which I feel is much simpler to use, setup, and generally gives me better performance. But when it doesn't work, I use the satellite.

If you camp in places with cell phone coverage, get cell phone internet - you'll find it much less effort and the equipment is cheaper. If you don't camp around cell phone coverage, your only option is satellite.

I'm currently a guest here as I do not yet own a TM. I hope to have one in the near future. I currently have a 33ft Allegro motor home. My wife and I have used the Hughes Satellite system for about 6 years now back when it was known as Direcway. My wife, who is now retired, used it for her work everyday and it's great after you become accustomed to setting it up. It is not as fast as DSL or Cable modems but works at about 60% of DSL speed. With the new DM7000 modem that you use, you now have VPN and can use telephone programs like Vonage, etc. The dish is fiberglass and the probe can be removed for handling and storage. I used a 100ft cable with a tripod so I would use my sight viewer and find where I could get a signal, then I would set my tripod up there and then install the dish and probe on top of that and go from there. If you are interested you can e-mail me and I'll forward you photos and details where you can purchase everything. The cost isn't cheap but my wife and I used it so we could continue our work while camping wherever we traveled. Cost varies but roughly $2000. for everything, plus 59.00 per month for the service. I hope this helps some.

Although I hate to respond to an obvious advertisement, let me suggest an alternative.
We use Verizon's MiFi router, that uses the cell-phone network's data service, both in the trailer and on the road in the truck cab. Several people can log into its Wifi net to access the internet simultaneously.

Driving from Seattle to Sault Ste Marie, we had internet at every campground but one that was in a steep sided Rocky Mountain valley in Montana.

What really sold us as Canadians, is that you can disable the service (3 month max) and not have to pay the monthly charges until next time you enter the U.S. This extends the contract by the same amount of time though. And you do initially need a US address to set it up. After that everything can be done via internet.

We use the Verizon MiFi as well. Works great. Verizon's coverage area very good. A lot of RV camp grounds offer wireless internet. Having said that, I agree that setting up a Hughes Net dish is a pain. MotoSat has a automated dish, but the dish is 1.2 meters diameter and spendy. WildBlue and Skycasters are two other satellite internet providers. I installed a Skycasters system in the wilderness this past summer. The equipment coast was $1995.00 for a 1.8m fixed dish. The speed is 4.5 Meg's down and 1.5 Mgs up at a cost of $499.00 per month without going over the 7.5 GB. There is a overage charge if you go over. This is also a spendy solution if you want fast internet.

Long story short...the Verizon MiFi is a very good solution unless you are camping in the weeds and seeds. Even then, you might be surprised with coverage

A number of friends here in Maine have tried the HughesNet satellite internet with very poor results. We have Verizon cell phones and have had Verizon wireless internet for several years now. We like it so much we have dropped our land lines and dsl service. Wherever we have cell phone service we have internet, and that is almost everywhere in the US.