Slashdot Mirror
(Near) Constant Internet While RV'ing?
Neilio writes "What systems would Slashdotters recommend for staying connected while RV'ing across the US and Canada? While a 3G data plan seems obvious, the intrepid RV'er wants to get remote and into those parts of the coverage map that are usually gray (no coverage). But satellite can be expensive, includes high latency for VoIP and gaming, and requires a clear view of the southern sky. I've come across some intriguing products that use an amplified 2G/3G signal and bridge to WiFi, like WiFi In Motion, and CradlePoint's MBR1000 (I have no affiliation with either). Do folks have any experience with these, or can you recommend another approach (even homebrew)? While I am an electrical engineer by degree, you have to go back a few decades since I last expertly sported a soldering iron, so the less DIY the better. My wife and I now run a web-based business, so nearly daily connectivity is a must, no matter where we are."
What exactly is RV'ing?
Very slow and very expensive, but as they have lots of satellites in polar orbit, you just need a clear view of the sky. Maybe use it only where you can't get a cellphone connection.
Big spools of Cat V... it's cheap
Inmarsat BGAN performs well however it is pricey for the setup and monthly fee. The advantage is that you can get coverage basically everywhere. There's also setups that allow tie-in for a phone, fax etc.
Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
I have been using them for almost a year and the speed is OK (~1 M), the latency a bit high (~100ms). It is a 3G wireless card, plugs into a PCMCIA slot. I created a home router, but you can buy one that fits the card. If they ever get their act together, they might bump it up to 4G. All you need is one of their cell towers. And they have a map.
netstumbler?
THL phish sticks
If you want constant internet access, you must not go where there is no signal.
If you want to go enjoy remote places with no signal, you cannot have constant internet coverage.
Pick one.
You say "the intrepid RV'er wants to get remote", but you want to remain in constant internet contact. You claim it's about your business, but you worry about latency's effect on gaming.
Why exactly are you heading out anywhere? Cuz it sounds to me you're not gonna to see anything that's not reflected in your computer screen...
#DeleteChrome
most people (ie, non-slashdotters) take the RV to get away from the constant barrage of tech and telecom, to see sights not (web)sites, to look out the window and not at Windows.
Get a 3G and a satellite. When you're within range of a cell tower (which is almost everywhere, these days) you get the high speeds you want. Outside, you still have basic Internet connectivity via the satellite.
Or give it 20 years and I can almost guarantee you that you'll be able to pick up a high-speed, low-latency connection from anywhere on the continent.
My parents used a 3G card while driving around the country, but it had a built-in antenna. I'd look for a 3G device with an antenna jack and connect it to a directional antenna on the roof. There are rotating TV antenna devices for RVs which could be altered to hold a suitable directional antenna. Or might an RV satellite dish mount be adaptable to focus on a 3G antenna?
Have you heard about 4G - this is very interesting thing.
You don't want to use satellite and you say cellular coverage isn't good enough. What exactly are you expecting? If there's no connectivity, there's no connectivity. No amount of homebrew can fix that.
You also seem confused by WiFi In Motion and Cradlepoint products. They don't amplify anything, they're just access points that you can plug your phone in to get wifi coverage. A laptop and a router can do the same thing.
You have two choices:
1) Pony up the dough for satellite coverage
2) Get a cellular data plan and live with no connectivity in dead zones
I don't believe there are any other alternatives.
You might want to get a Starbucks gold card as a fall back plan. It costs $25/year. You can get 2 hours of wifi at any starbucks with it per day. (I don't work for Starbucks and I don't own any of their stock).
Not the cheapest or the fastest, but proven technology.
Product requirements;
- Decent latency
- Decent bandwidth
- Available everywhere
- Reliable
Solution; none. There is no product out there that will meet all four requirements.
It now falls to you to decide what your priority is. Given that you need to stay in contact because of business concerns, I'd guess you'd make the following priorities
1) Reliable
2) Low latency for voip purposes
3) Enough bandwidth for voip/email/image uploads
4) Available everywhere.
If that's the case, then the obvious answer is to simply NOT travel anywhere without 3g coverage. No other solution you are going to find will match your requirements otherwise.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
I'd say your best bet (short of sattellites with their insane latency) is to get yourself a mobile broadband card or router, and get yourself a really nice antenna on the top of your RV. A good directional yagi can provide a massive signal boost, and if you point it towards the nearest town or highway, i'd be willing to bet you close in your grey areas by quite a bit. And its a fairly cheap solution, at least compared to irridium and company.
The downside, of course, is that you need to be stationary and actually point the antenna at each location... but an intrepid RVer such as yourself wont have any qualms climbing up to your roof and aiming an antenna, right?
Implementable anywhere an RV can go. Latency leaves something to be desired.
Where law ends, tyranny begins -- William Pitt
intrepid RV'er
I may have a different definition of "intrepid" than you but to me there's nothing intrepid about any location you reach by road unless you're talking about hostile countries or might-wake-up-without-your-kidney parts of Mexico. Especially if you're on your laptop having a conference call while your TV dinners cook inside the RV.
Do yourself a favor and get out of the position where your business can't function without you. If you have you have to be a single point of failure I'm sorry you picked that profession in life and it's great that you make twice what I make but I would not trade places. If you want something moderately challenging then leave at home all your electronics and canoe/portage 50 miles into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area for an intrepid vacation. Trust me, to see land so pristine was a near religious experience and I definitely went back.
Go white water rafting or mountain hiking or get dive certified. I'm sorry if your health doesn't permit this but I personally don't find anything intrepid about a recreational vehicle.
My work here is dung.
As one who has just returned from camping, Mammoth Caves NP and Blue Ridge, I can say that cell service is most definitely ubiquitous, neither are Star Bucks. We did find one coffee shop with free WiFi. Of course we weren't looking very hard. About the only thing I needed my laptop for was storage for my camera cards. Leave the internet at home, it WILL be there when you get back. BTW, ditch the RV too much more of an adventure in a tent.
Meddle thou not in the affairs of Dragons, for thou art crunchy and with most anything.
I will have to continue the trend of most posters and say none. If you are wanting just basic connection to load a page or two in a browser, you can do satellite in the places where 3G is no an option, but if you need things like VoIP and gaming, then forget it. Even over 3G the latency is too high for gaming unless you are playing some turn-based RPG. VoIP might be ok as long as you turn up the compression on the codec, but over all I think your best option is to either stay put, or stop frequently to plug in your laptop to a wired network.
Loading...
It won't give you 100% completely continuous coverage, but in areas where there is even weak 3G coverage outdoors but just not inside the RV, you could use a repeater. That allows you to put a really big antenna outside (it can even be directional) and the unit acts as a small local cell tower giving you full bars inside the RV.
Of course, if you go outside of 3G coverage, your phone will fall back to an older technology which is slower, and if you get out of data areas altogether you're screwed. However, you can supplement this in a lot of areas - many parks now offer WiFi.
I use a repeater at my house because, while I have half-decent signal outside, I have an aluminum-sided house and inside there's no signal whatsoever. I just use the included el cheapo antenna, but you can add some really powerful receiving antennas for some extra dough. My repeater cost about $300, and is a ZyXel unit, but Wilson and several other companies make various iterations of them with various antenna designs.
You'll still have to stick to at least fringe areas where signal is actually available, but it would significantly increase your range at least. Short of satellite, which you've already said you don't want, that's about it at the moment.
"This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
2-way sat modems are very tricky to set up the dish. You can't just point them with a compass and azimuth guess like you do with DBS...you have to get feedback about how well the satellite is receiving your uplink. And if you do get it pointed correctly, every time you walk around the RV you'll move the dish a little bit and lose the uplink. Also, the "flat" dishes you see on top of escalades that work in motion are receive only. You cannot use a 2-way sat modem while in motion, period.
I think 3G is your best bet. I'd go with a cradlepoint and have a tetherable 3G phone (on a different network) as a backup. ( Possibly, you can plug two different providers' USB modems into the same cradlepoint and make handoffs seamless; you'd have to ask them to be sure.)
If you can park near someplace near civilization you'll probably spot an open wifi in about 30 seconds.
Final thing is if you're running a web-based business and can afford an RV and 3G phones and stuff, perhaps you can afford some employees to run the business for you while you go on an actual vacation.
You just need really long cord, and plenty of repeaters.
It won't help if there's NO signal, but in weak signal areas, signal boosting equipment can give you better cellular reception.
I work in the cellular industry, and Wilson Electronics' stuff is well-respected.
Disclosure: my company is a dealer. We have been told by carrier engineers that the carrier itself recommends and uses this equipment, though. And notice that I'm not giving you a link to our site.
This kind of equipment is expensive - somewhere around the $600 range - but you can get one setup that will work simultaneously for AT&T, Verizon and Sprint (and probably others), because it depends on frequency, not encoding. And of course it's a one-time purchase, not an extra monthly fee.
If your travelling in Canada & using 3g, factor another $4.87 for vaseline becuase your going to be raped by the cell companies. We are known as the most expensive & overcharged for cell & data plans. $25/month gets you about 500mb or $80 for 5gb and .03 per mb after that. Oh yah that doesn't include the $6.95 (were going to charge you cause you'll take it) access fee. Im sure your web business is going to go through alot more than 5gb/month without considering voip usage.
Depending on where you go, you can get some extra single inside those areas using a booster/amplifier. Search for SmoothTalker, they sell 3 watt boosters and amplifiers, you can also do a search and find Wilson products, but those are not *true* 3 watt transmit.
Nationwide wireless internet sucks.
Stay at campgrounds that offer Wifi, problem solved.
KOA has tons.
http://koa.com/
I have set up an internet connection using the cradlepoint mbr1000. A very cool little device.
I set this up for an OHL team we that we drive around into a 56 person coach along with a 3000W inverter. This allows up to 18 people (18 outlets) to plug in their laptops and get high speed internet access.
The setup was a snap, I just grabbed a rocket stick, plugged it into the router, gave it juice and followed the setup instructions. Setting up the security, and (yes) parental controls was a snap. So long as there is a cell tower they have access to the internet, and most importantly has yet to drop the connection at highway speeds. I'll keep an eye on this thread and answer any questions.
"Every security scheme that is based on secrets eventually fails." - Steve Jobs
If speed and latency aren't priorities and you can deal with unencrypted transmission, I'd recommend getting an amateur radio license and operating a packet radio.
The first RV stops at the edge of 3G connectivity. The 2nd goes on into the bush and uses WiFi and cantennas on masts to achieve connectivity to the 1st RV and thus the 3G network.
All ideas^H^H^H^H^Hprocesses in this post are Patent Pending. (as well as the process of patenting all postings)
First post!
This is a problem I have been faced with in several projects in and the message is...there is no silver bullet. You cannot magically construct backhaul where there is zero infrastructure. It's just not possible. The only thing you can feasibly do is work within the confines of available technologies, and maximise the usability of these. For example, I am using a home-made gateway in my most recent project, using Squid + Cellular dongle (HSPA/EDGE/GPRS). However, in this case the difference is that several users are using the network, thus a caching proxy makes perfect sense because my users are using separate terminals to access the same data. As someone else has mentioned, you can also pick devices that give you the best chance of getting a signal. in my experience, cable loss on most devices is such that unless you plan on taking directional equipment with you and spending a few mins aiming it, this is pointless. Make sure your adapter supports receive diversity as many of the cheap Huawei models vendors like to give out just don't. Going back to SW approaches... you can maximise speed by utilising server side compression at your ISP end (mostly enforced on you though to be honest). This way you're pulling down as little as possible - and really that is the key. Alternatively I floated a concept I disgustingly labelled 'cloud caching'. Basically the premise of using a VPS or dedicated server to do this content compression using FOSS, and then using the VPS as a gateway - http://up-stream.co.uk/2009/05/rabbit-web-proxy/ Before I cut away from that point, if you don't fancy rolling your own, and you don't know if your operator has any data compression you can hook onto Opera Turbo, which does the same thing but you're at the mercy of their servers - http://up-stream.co.uk/2009/05/opera-turbo-testing/ I can only speak for cellular, and not for satellite. Other /.'ers will be able to help there, but what little experience I do have leads me to believe your connection will be a bigger running cost than the petrol you put in your RV... easily.
Also, sorry for using links to my own work. By all mean look for other resources RE the stuff I have pointed out. Google is our friend.
Not sure on what your budget is but in offshore sailing (and other offshore activity I'm sure), we use products from immarsat (http://www.inmarsat.com/), essentially using sat phones to get access. Again, not sure if it fits your budget, but perhaps combining this with a 3G data plan will keep you online while you RV across NA.
Could you imagine a future where RV-based internet combined with flash, google street view, a rack of graphics processors connected to a grid of LCDs could provide an incredible view of the road with resolutions as high as VGA with refresh rates possibly higher than 2 or even 3 times a second!!! Super-low latencies of 30,000 milliseconds should be able to guarantee a revolution in RV'ing turning a pedestrian pursuit into a heart-stopping thrill-ride!
Stay on topic. Everyone here has to toss their two cents in every chance they get, which detracts from the topic at hand.
Was I the only one who read the description and thought to myself "Good internet connection, in an RV, web based business... sounds like a recipe for a porn site" Run live shows each night for your subscribers, but do things in remote locations.
I live out in the woods myself, way off track for ANY ISP to want to touch me. I grudingigly opt for 3G because it seems like the best I can get, and Verizon's service is sometimes slower than dial-up, sometimes not.
What you're asking for sounds like a technological holy grail. Good internet access anywhere in the world that can be used by anyone who can RTFM.
get a linksys wireless router upgrade to dd-wrt set it up as a repeater/bridged and use the iPhone third party tethering to broadcast the signal to the router... it works!
Half the comments have some portion dedicated to criticizing the idea of RVing and "being connected'. Why is it so hard to understand that liking the outdoors/road and having internet are not opposites. Everyone that is asking why he even needs internet should ask themselves why they want phone service when not at home. The internet is just as much a tool as a frying pan or a tent these days, and having access to it at all times is very useful. Not to mention that one could spend all day hiking around and doing activities outside only to retreat back to camp and want an hour or two of connectivity. Not totally insane if you ask me. As for how to do it? Well I am not an expert in that area so I will let someone else help out.
I have a Sprint MiFi and like it but you should know Sprint and Verizon do not have data everywhere they have voice. AT&T does but I dont think they have a MiFi right now. The mifi is from novatel and gives you a wireless hotspot that provides data for up to 5 devices. Way cool and no software to install. I just love mine.
Contrary to popular belief, Unix is user friendly. It just happens to be particular about who it makes friends with.
The very size of a typical RV is going to limit the roughing it. You won't be driving it cross country, you'll likely be on Interstates and staying in campgrounds. Many campgrounds already offer WiFi, as do most bookstores and restaurants. Map out where you are going on the internet, and identify chain stores that offer WiFi. Stop in their parking lot, walk around and get something to eat and get access. Picking campgrounds that offer WiFi isn't difficult either.
With a motor vehicle, sure, your point about roads and trepidity is fair. Under your own power, however, I'd say biking a few good mountain chains, even on a road, is decently intrepid.
The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
Loft your 3G bridge with a tethered balloon or kite.
All ideas^H^H^H^H^Hprocesses in this post are Patent Pending. (as well as the process of patenting all postings)
I drive to some pretty remote places storm chasing, and use a Cradlepoint CTR350 with a Verizon USB727 aircard hooked up to an external wilson mag mount dual band antenna. This is about the best you will do without using expensive satellite.
I'm going to create my own nerd website, with blackjack.. and hookers.. In fact, forget the site
This fits all the criteria except for price... Do a search on BGAN DSL. I wish this technology would come down in price, as I"m sure it will eventually. This seems to be the BEST solution out there if you can afford it.
I did some research on this a while back and it costs about $5K to get a satellite dish installed that will allow you to travel and rotate the dish for you each time you reach your destination. In addition the satellite internet providers charge around $100+ per month to support this solution. The site http://www.rv-satellite-internet.com/ shows how you can manually set it up and align the dish yourself. The pros are that it only costs $45 per month and you don't have to pay an outrageous price for the install. The downside is that you have to align the dish yourself each time and there is no tech support. I've heard you can expect around 400Kbps - 900Kbps on the down and 100Kbps on the up. Latency will be around 100ms as it is for most wireless-based solutions.
I have to agree with the BWCA suggestion. Used to go there with my father when I was in high school (mid-90's). The first day was the roughest, but after that you adjust quickly to the physical aspect of it, and the lack of technology. Its very refreshing to cleanse the system of overexposure to EM and computers.
I just spent a week driving through rural Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, with two friends. When we weren't on the Interstate, we had, during the entire week, a grand total of less than an hour when any one of the cellphones could pick up enough signal to talk. When we *were* on the Interstates, we had cellphone coverage less than half the time. In any of the towns of under 2000 people, I never saw any wireless access using kismet and the standard laptop pcmcia card antenna. In larger towns, like Bozeman or Billings, there was great cellphone coverage and even some open access points, especially near big hotels. But once we were out of sight of towns that size (and there are only about 12 of them in the whole area) there was absolutely nothing.
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
I admin a number of servers and work from home most days. My wife and I would love to live further out in the countryside without all the noise and light pollution. Most people that I mention this too have an instant solution: satellite. The problem that most people don't understand, and the problem I find myself explaining, is the concept of high latency. As I use SSH for my livelihood, low latency is extremely important.
Most people don't understand the negative effect of latency on interactive real-time communication until I use the example of gaming. That's when people "get it"...even though I haven't playing anything online in a couple of years.
The most important service to my life right now, and the way I earn my livelihood, is via SSH.
Could it be that because he runs some webservers, he _might_ need SSH...that, and he might have kids and/or a spouse that likes to game?
Seems reasonable to me.
Just FYI, I do agree with a post from another thread that explains it this way:
1. user wishes to be out in the sticks
2. user wants connectivity
3. connectivity isn't always available in the sticks.
4. therefore user isn't always able to get connectivity when in the sticks.
5. profit?
Sig Return: 204 No Content
Pretty simple. Dialup to a wide area provider or one that has 800-number access. Earthlink or other similar providers like netzero come to mind. Anywhere you are going to take a larger RV you are going to have some type of wired phone access, though cell/tethered smartphone is still going to be available in most of those areas and provide superior speed. All you need is a modem, a decent length phone cord and a LOT of patience. I might suggest a remote access service on a PC left at home, like Teamviewer as a possibility. The teamviewer interface will work well enough on a dialup-speed connection to allow you to remote control the home unit for better browsing speed. Gaming is pretty much out of the question on dialup at this point, and remote control of the home pc will have too much latency to keep up, but for the types of other access you are talking about, this will provide an acceptable solution and should be available pretty much anywhere you are going to go with an RV.
My wife and I are considering an RV next spring and plan to take 1-4 week trips all over North America.
I did some research and concluded that a combination of satellite, 3G, and a WiFi repeater would give us reasonable results. The difference is that we DON'T have a business to mind, don't need low-latency links for gaming, and don't plan on going to the middle of nowhere. I figured that even the TiVO would work while driving, with a $2500 mobile satellite antenna rig on the roof.
You're asking for a "perfect" solution, which is your case, does not exist.
The simple solution is the 7P rule; "Proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance".
Decide which is more important on any jaunt...going where no man has gone before OR grinding some quests in WoW.
Put another way...and most technology adheres to THIS rule; the three variables are GOOD, FAST, and CHEAP - pick the two that are most important for YOU to have.
I am my own gestalt.
I have used a Android phone tethered for 3G via USB, Wi-Fi tethering was also possible. I had an app that would automaticly detect and connect to open access points. I actually hadn't tested that, but it would be possible to leech nearby open hotspots as required.
After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
If you want something moderately challenging then leave at home all your electronics and canoe/portage 50 miles into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area for an intrepid vacation. Trust me, to see land so pristine was a near religious experience and I definitely went back.
My uncle and a few of my cousins do that once a year. They do rent a satphone to take with them, but it's for them to call out, not for people to call them. At $2/min, they're not doing much calling out either.
I'm interested in the best solution, but all I'm reading is a bunch of posts on why this guy shouldn't want what he's asked for. I'm a geek and I like to have an internet connection. I also like to use my houseboat in the Northern California foothills. I used to have no connection and now have Edge. 3G or wifi from the marina are my goals. I like nature AND the intertubes. Chillax...
I just drove from Richmond, VA to Burning Man in an RV. In the RV I installed:
Wilson GSM/TDMA DirectConnect Signal Booster - $180
Wilson Trucker Dual Band 18" RV Roof/Hole Mount Antenna w/Spring - $50
Linksys Wireless-G Router for ATT&T/Cingular 3G/UMTS Broadband WRT54G3G - $120
Sierra AirCard 881 Wireless Unlocked High Speed PCMCIA Card (plugs directly into the router) - $55
I ran all of this off of the 12V system in the RV, I just cut the wall wart off of the router power cord and wired it directly. We had good, usable internet from the time we left Richmond until we pulled off of the road onto the playa.
New Trailways buses use WAAV (www.waav.com) for uninterrupted wifi (unless you're in a tunnel) - works great and is fast.
I donno, these are pretty #&$**!@ intrepid. Or at least, built to allow for some rather intrepid RV'ing. So, you know, it could happen. We live near the hospital that commissioned this particularly ridiculous piece of machinery, and every time I see it, I get filled with the desire to drive over some shit. In a very manful way.
Mod my comments down. It'll be fun.
I telecommute 40 hrs / week from a rural area in the US. I use a Sprint 3G connection (Novatel USB727) through a Cradlepoint MBR-1000 as my sole Internet connection because no one sends lines to where I live.
Pros:
1. High-speed connection and get to live where I want. Download speeds can be as high as 130KB/s (not kbps) from my home, higher if you are in good range to a tower.
2. No download cap if you were grandfathered in / have a business plan. But I think even then, this has changed. My employer pays, but my overage is at a lower corporate rate.
3. Mobility is awesome. My wife and I often travel, and my Internet comes along. We've considered RVing, but use the carrier's web site to find if 3G coverage exists where you want to go
4. Cradlepoint can do failover / load balancing with latest firmware. If you take it where you travel, you can use it as a traditional router or get some throughput boost. I have used it in the past with a slower but more stable fixed wireless (point-to-point radio) connection to solve one of the "cons" below.
5. I have a friend with a nearly identical setup who games on his XBox 360. Don't kid yourself that there won't be lag, but he enjoys himself and is fairly competitive.
Cons:
1. Beware the 5GB/mo. cap if you do much of anything. This gets VERY expensive if you go over.
2. Upload speed is not good. Can be painful, even.
3. I have coverage at home, but my nearest tower is flaky. Connection can drop 6-8 times per day, or start spiraling to 13000 - 18000 ms ping times (not a typo). Usually, problem self-corrects in about 20 minutes. Sprint / hardware replacement has not resolved, continues to be a phantom problem, usually bad about 2 or 3 times in a 1-2 week period.
4. Roaming to Canada may be problematic depending on your US data plan. Unsure about how Canadian data plans would work.
5. Latency is a pain. Unless you're near a good 3G tower, don't think that you can do much with video or voice.
Overall, I think 3G would be a good solution if you can live with speeds that were considered "high speed" 5 or 10 years ago and can live within the cap (e.g. no iTunes HD movies for you). With a mix of 802.11 connectivity if your campground / coffee shop supports it, you might not even care that at other times you are going a little slower. I've lived out here for a few years, and while I go into town to a wifi hotspot to download large OS updates, i get by and don't really have trouble working from home.
You're not impressing anyone...
As much as I love the BWCA, it does make me sad that it is as close as we can get to 'ruffing it' here in the US.
so, you run a business that can't last one day without you? oh? and it's web-based? me smells an mlm.
if not - take a freaking vacation and get disconnected.
Yes contrary to some of the feedback here, you can have it all. I have a 4 wheel drive RV and get miles off the beaten path and still maintain connectivity. These days you have your 9-5 work life on a canyon rim, an empty beach or a mountain top. Your views beat these cubicle monkeys' and once you're off the clock you can climb, bike, swim or hike outside your front door.
I have redundant systems "just in case". I use a Cradlepoint CTR350 router with a Verizon USB Modem and a Wilson 3 amp booster when I've got some cell service, but break out a Starband Satellite when I'm really out of reach. Yes there is some latency and I don't game, but for most purposes it works great. It's a little pricey but the freedom is worth it. Enjoy the great outdoors and still get paid, it's the only way to live!
The BWCA is primitive, but if you think it's pristine you don't know its history.
The simplest and easiest way to get service on the road is with a 3G setup. The major phone carriers in the US all offer pretty descent data service. Verizon probably has the single largest, although Cingular is getting close. T-mobile is almost non-existent. Check their coverage maps and compare it to where you want to go. Also, note that you don't need to be in the 3G/high speed area to access the internet. The equipment will work anywhere you can get a cell phone signal. If you are out of the 3G area, it falls back on the standard 2G/Voice system. Expect the speed of this service to be slightly better than an analog phone modem. In other words, if you want to email and surf pages that are mostly text, it's perfectly fine. If you want to do a lot of video, then the 2G service will be very frustrating and take a long long long time to upload or download the content.
The best thing you can do for coverage, if you're planning on going on the fringe is use an external amplifier/booster and put a reasonably high gain antenna mounted high on the RV. With this, you'll pull in a good solid signal where the standard issue equipment won't get anything. You can find them any number of places online. Make sure it works with the high speed/3G service - usually on the 1.9 ghz band. You can get even better distance if you put the antenna on some kind of expendable telescopic pole. An antenna mounted high with a descent amplifier will get you many miles of added coverage.
If you are really really out in the boonies, like in the badlands of Death Valley or the isolated ravines of the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming, then there is no service that you will be able to rely on other than satellite. There are two basic kinds of satellite internet: Mobile satellite services and DBS type satellite systems. The mobile satellite services include Inmarsat, Irridium and Globalstar. These systems are explicitly designed to operate in motion and to be used in extremely remote locations. Irridium, for example, works on all points on the earth, even Antartica. The equipment is small and portable. There are a couple disadvantages: they are generally slow, and in the case of globalstar and iridium, they are absolutely snails pace - think 2400 baud under good conditions. Inmarsat has a service called BGAN, which is about 128kbps per channel. It is also astronomically expensive.. just stunningly expensive. Think 5-7 dollars a megabyte expensive. It's so expensive that if you can rack up over a thousand dollars in traffic just by casual internet surfing for a couple of weeks.
Then there is the other kind of satellite internet: the DBS/VSAT type. This type is really designed primarily for residential and small buisiness use. It is offered in areas that are lacking DSL, FIOS or Cable. You wouldn't ever want to install this in an area that did, because its generally inferior to those kinds of connections due to latency. The latency is not so bad that you can't surf the web - usually it's acceptable but don't expect to do online gaming with it, because it has ping times of 400+ ms. The equipment for this is small dish and a residential modem/gateway. It's on par with DirecTV or Dish Network in terms of the size of the dish. It costs anywhere from 50-150 dollars a month for the service. Although the dishes are generally intended to be fixed mounted, you can attach them to a tripod or something for portability. If you want to use it while you're in motion, then you can do that too, but expect to pay more than $1500 for an in-motion tracking system.
If you go with satellite, I'd recommended Wildblue, but you can also look at HughesNet and Starband. Expect to pay a few hundred for equipment and maybe 75-100 a month for the service. It will work anywhere in North America that has a clear view of the South.
Wifi? You have got to be kidding me. If you mean to use it within the RV to allow you to move freely with your laptop, then that's one thing, but to a
Why bother driving away from your network connections, when all you want to do is use the internet? Park your RV behind your house, then you can use your WiFi to your hearts content, without needing expensive equipment, or needing to waste a lot of gas going somewhere you don't care to be.
Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.
with your cell phone can be an expensive proposition if you do not have access to a plan that covers both countries. I commonly use a boat in the San Juan Islands north of Seattle. The western edges of these islands is closer to Victoria (on the southern end of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada) than it is to any US locations and boaters commonly "roam" into Canadian cell systems. Friends who have done some internet browsing without noticing that they are roaming have reported incredibly high charges - in the thousands of dollars - for data. This can also apply to Canadians who inadvertently roam into the USA cell systems.
So whatever you do don't blithely cross the border while naively relying on your 3G network. You might get a big surprise when you get your next bill.
No one ever had to evacuate a city because the solar panels broke!
How to do it:
My system is commercial grade: iDirect, 1Mbit down, 256Kbit up. $10k system + about $400/mo.
2 1/2 years, no problems. Works anywhere I can see a specific "hole" in the Southern sky (from the Northern hemisphere). Unless I am in a serious jungle I can always position the dish/RV to hit that hole.
High latency but you can reserve guaranteed minimum QOS for VOIP or streaming video (like the news trucks do). Even without reserved bandwidth I have used Skype just fine.
Want one? Here is my ISP:
http://www.mobilsat.com/
There are cheaper satellite solutions available but they have bandwidth caps that no geek could live with (Ex: Hughes "Fair Access Policy")
Why to do it:
For you folks who think one has to be crazy to take the internet with them while "getting away from it all", you are obviously not considering extended travel -- months to years long.
Shocked that nobody has suggested downloading the internet. I mean really... if I want to take files with me, I download them. So why can't he just download the internet and take it with him?
I used to be a buyer for a company that used a lot of wireless... we used cellular, satellite, 802.11 a/b/g. even proprietary microwave. Ubiquity sells some systems that can span some huge distances.
http://www.ubnt.com/
Give them a call, see if they have something to suit your specific needs.
...works great for me. I have my EV-DO Kyocera KPC680 (Verizon) card with me everywhere and a Kyocera KR2 camps out in the car with its requisite DC-DC power adapter. Install a nice high-gain antenna (Wilson [eBay] has some decent +9/+13dB gain antennas for EV-DO/1xRTT and GSM/W-CDMA/UMTS bands) on the roof of the RV and make sure you have a decent groundplane if your roof is fiberglass (no worries if it is aluminum) and you should be fine for something like 95% of US roads traveled (you will drop to 1xRTT/EDGE in some areas, but 3G (EV-DO/W-CDMA/UMTS) is pretty well covered on most interstate routes, based on Verizon and at&t's service maps).
For Canada... I'm not too sure there as I'm a Yank and have not had a need to visit our friends to the north yet. You might be able to get a roaming data plan that includes Canada from your US cellular provider though.
FWIW, I work for Kyocera International, parent company of Kyocera Wireless.
As I walk through the valley of death I fear no one, for I am the meanest sonova bitch in the valley!
If you've got a decent level ham license (or still remember enough EE stuff to get one easily, which shouldn't be much of a problem), you could try D-STAR or setup something similar:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-STAR
While you can technically use D-STAR with only a technician license (which should cost you...I think $15 and an hour of your time), you would likely need a fairly high powered setup, and I think you can broadcast at higher power levels if you have a higher class of license. A directional antenna would be a good idea as well. Also, if you have a high license class you could possibly set up your own radio to internet gateway using a much lower frequency, which would give you a better range - though depending on where you are you may be better off with D-STAR. From what I've heard the coverage in the southern US is curently extremely good, but if you're in the north it may be a bit spotty - which is why I suggest a low frequency with _very_ big antennas. While it'd be very slow, you should theoretically be able to get it anywhere on the continent if your antenna farm is big enough - though I'm not entirely sure about the FCC rules, especially when it comes to using it for internet access.
As someone who owns an RV park in Iowa. I think you are mistaken. First and foremost I don't think we're talking about a guy who wants to take a week long vacation. It sounds like we're talking about a guy who is selling his house, and is going to be traveling via RV for the next 10 years. We have $500,000 RV's towing $80,000 cars behind them stop in. One of our biggest attractions in having free wifi over the entire park.
He isn't looking for a quick e-mail fix, or checking guild chat. He most likely wants to run his entire business from the road for the next decade.
My recommendation would be using something like an iNetVu RV satellite package, and a 3G wireless card with an amplified external antenna. If there isn't 3G coverage the satellite will still get them connected. I would even go so far as to say get two wireless cards from two different carriers. He also mentioned Canada so you're definitely going to want to get a Canadian cellular card/satellite solution for while you're there otherwise roaming costs would be absolutely outrages.
There is no single solution that will guarantee coverage everywhere. Plan your routes to include stopping regularly at camp grounds or rest stops that have solid wifi so you can use them as emergency backups.
Hey, you're right. Everybody SHOULD be exactly like you! Maybe the submitter just wants to take his/her RV up to northern Alaska, park there for a month, and enjoy the blackflies while getting a little work done. What's the harm with that? It's a lot easier than trying to work out of a tent, or a kayak. Perhaps, gasp, he also takes vacations where he doesn't try to work.
I'm self-employed and I can't say whether or not I make twice, or half, what you make, but if I want to go somewhere for a couple months and work half the time and be on vacation half the time, what's the problem with that? By your rationale, should I stay home one month and work, and then leave for a month of vacation? Why should I be limited to doing my work only from my home office? That's one of the main reasons I continue to be self-employed!
www.clarke.ca
no really get an amateur radio license and set up a manned relay station that is connected to the net. No it will not be blazing fast but coverage will be great.
insert inflammatory comment here!
If it was me on this trip, and I've thought about it, I'd get both a 3G system and satellite backup.
Your order of preference would be this:
1. Wifi or cable/DSL hookup. Useful for when you're parked next to somebody with better internet access than you have onboard.
2. 3G or other cellphone-based technology.
3. Satellite.
Bridge whatever your transport technology is into your local network and retransmit as wifi if you want. Then you have always-on internet access as you have satellite as your fallback.
Another thing to consider is cost. I believe (you'll have to look into this) that satellite will work from Mexico-Canada. 3G, however, will likely work but you will pay HUGE amounts of data roaming charges if you leave the United States. For this reason and apart from the fact that it is by no means continentally available, it is not a single solution for you.
www.clarke.ca
if you want to see how the allied navies do it, check out ACP200 ...
http://jcs.dtic.mil/j6/cceb/acps/acp200/ACP200B.pdf
adapt for your personal choice of Inmarsat, or VHF/UHF repeater, or if you're really remote and high latitude, HF amateur radio ...
but, then it depends on what you mean by Internet access ... mail? chat? video? HD movies?
Just last month I drove across the Western USA (Wyoming, Utah, AZ, NV, Dakotas etc.). Very Minimal (often zero) coverage in Yellowstone. Used Verizon USB 760 modem with cradlepoint CTR500 and roof mounted antennae. If you really want MAXIMUM coverage, I HIGHLY recommend adding an amplifier. There were times that our cell phones said no service but the Internet VERY marginally worked. When had a good connection, my Vonage VOIP adapter plugged into the CTR500 with a standard touch tone phone worked very well (at RV park with AC power - but adapter itself is 12V so you can make adapter to work on 12V if you want). But overall, I found that I wished that I had the extra amplifier. Sometimes when actually moving(driving) connections seemed a bit unstable. For maximum coverage, there could be value in a directional antennae and sometimes you find you are down low amongst heavy trees that block signal. All around - it works! Now that my trip is done, I carry the Modem/Router along with a battery pack in my work bag so I am now connected independently where ever I go.
The campground I manage has free WIFI, Shorts Brew pub, North Perk Coffee, Bellaire Bar also all have free WIFI the only local business that charges for the WIFI is McDonnalds. The only reason for a campground to not offer WIFI is a lack of a high speed provider.
If you have a Windows Mobile Smart phone you can try http://www.wmwifirouter.com/ for use in places where you have 3g coverage.....
If you want to stick to the strip of Canada that contains > 90% of the population, 3G is probably the way to go. It should cover most of the trip. If you want to stray beyond that area, you're basically out of luck unless you go with satellite. Keep in mind that Canada is larger than the US (area-wise), with about one tenth the population. As a result there are vast areas that simply have no economic justification for having wireless internet access (or even cell phone access). Imagine Alaska writ large.
linquendum tondere
There will be several modes that you will have use. As with anything else a fulltimer faces, no single solution will work all of the time.
Stick with 12volt hardware. This should be obvious. You will not need to run your genny to have internet access.
Pending where you are going to be this is what I have found to be the most flexible.
Buy a cradlepoint or something similar that can take multiple brands of 3g cards/dongles, with a secondary ethernet wan port. Make sure the 3g cards/dongles have external antenna connectors.
Buy an outdoor directional wifi CPE that has power over ethernet. Try to make sure it is 12v.
Buy a wilson outdoor antenna, extension cable ( if needed) and connector dongle for each 3g card. I prefer makeing a custom mount that attached to the ladder, than penetrating the roof, but that is your choice.
Buy a wilson amplifier, this is critical.
Buy a motorola cable modem, and a at&t wired dsl modem.
Locate a spot in the cabin that can wall mount the router, amp, and router the cables. I installed a separate lighted power switch for each of the 12v supplies, to make sure that the system had power and that I could cut it off and make it wife proof.
Install the wifi CPE on a pole and make a mount that will mount to the ladder or other strong point. I would not bother will any fancy ethernet jacks on the outside, just have the cable go through the basement into the cabin.
The problem with 3g is their 5gig limit. I would have a sprint and AT&T card. This should give you 3g over most of the US.
The reason for the WIFI, is that almost all decent parks have some form of either pay wifi or free wifi. Turn it on, turn off the 3g and you win.
All major truck stops have wifi, traditionally I always spent the night at flying J. I think their yearly price is not that bad.
If you plan on spending more the two weeks at a single spot. Look for parks that advertise cable television. So far all but one of them, I found that I could get my cable modem working. None of the parks will be aware of this. All you do is plug the modem up and if it gets sync, try to surf. Usually there will be a redirect to the cable companies customer disservice line. If not call the customer service line. Usually you give them the mac and you will be online in minutes. Make sure that there is no contract since they are not supplying a modem. Cancel service when you leave.
You can do this also with DSL on site supplied phone lines, but it takes days to weeks for the line to get turned up. I usually use dsl as a last hope.
While on the road use 3g, for the parks, plan ahead and call the parks office. They usually will know if they have wifi and sometimes will know if their cable supports cable modems. Always have 2-3 parks ready, and pay the daily rate until you have verified which park is the best for a fulltimer.
Good luck.
dhh
I have to agree with the BWCA suggestion. Used to go there with my father when I was in high school (mid-90's). The first day was the roughest, but after that you adjust quickly to the physical aspect of it, and the lack of technology. Its very refreshing to cleanse the system of overexposure to EM and computers.
If you want to get away from EM I'd suggest you stay out of view of the sun :\
Very well said! This post deserves a score higher! Yes it's language, it's human, and it's not logical :-)
Fascinating...
Bow-ties are cool.
That's an excellent idea for general "stay in touch" communications, and even blogging about their travels, but he also mentioned a business, and commercial use of ham radio is prohibited.
I live in my RV full time and use Verizon EVDO card while on the road. It works fine as long as there is phone service. If you use a cellular amplifier you can extend the distance you need to be from cell phone towers quite a bit - costs around $200.00 Most RV parks and truck stops have WiFi available, but it usually sucks. Most people I know who have/had satellite on their RV don't like it - too slow and too many issues with it and most now use EVDO cards. You can check out my blog at www.dereketnyre.com for more full time rv information. Derek
I'm sure the airlines aren't using iridium?
Some of the cruisers (as in boats = RVers on water) use BGAN with moderate success.
I live in a rural area and I use the MBR1000 and the Sprint Broadband card to do my daily work. It works well and there are several machines at my house connected to this setup. I can even watch movies from Netflix this way. However, Sprint does have a 5GB limit until they start charging you extra, so you need to monitor your usage to keep from getting huge bills or just get a couple of cards.
None of the current options are going to give you better bandwidth than simply loading up the RV with backup tapes and taking them with you...
Bow-ties are cool.
No, it is not. Since I telecommute and I homeschool my child, I have seriously considered packing up an RV and traveling the country. When we want to study the Civil War, we could go spend some time actually visiting historic battles sites. When we want to study the Revolution, we can go to Boston and look at the Boston Harbor. When we study desert ecosystems, we could go to the desert. In fact, for me, I don't want to go RVing to get away from it all. I want to go RVing to get TO it all.
Since there's a "Starbucks" on every corner, just use their service.
This is exactly what you're looking for: http://autonetmobile.com/
Verizon (was alltel here until recently) works better in remote areas due to the CDMA technology working better in dense trees and the like, and their CDMA2000 based EV-DO technology is available even in my remote area (3Mbits/sec downlink, and about 1.5Mbits/sec uplink). AT&T (aka Cingular) on the other hand sucks here, drop outs everywhere and has only the slower EDGE (maxes out around 240Kbits/sec downlink and about 60Kbits/sec up). Out here where dsl don't reach and cable don't either, way out in the boondocks where they pump in sunshine, those of us that are in the know use Alltel EV-DO (now Verizon) instead of the slow AT&T EDGE service...not to mention the AT&T GSM don't work this far out anyway, can't even make a phone call outside, with CDMA phones you can even still make a call outside, and even indoors if you want to. So in the remote areas, in cellular, it is no contest, and CDMA EV-DO is available in canada also... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Evolution-Data_Optimized_service_providers
"Man who want to get away from it all want's it all to be there when he arrives."
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Forget the RV and the hotel, I want to hike, with my camera equipment and laptop. With wireless access I could then upload photos and updates.
And the distance from the hotel to "nature" is typically only half-an-hour.
I want to get hours if not days away from buildings and wiring. At least something like hiking the Appalachian Trail. Hike it not drive it.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
Actually, the whole "clear view of the southern sky" is because those direct broadcast satellite systems use *geostationary* satellites. In case you hadn't heard of those, they are satellites in a very particular orbit, by virtue of which they are at rest relative to the surface of the earth.
The thing about it is that there is only one geosynchronous orbit, and it is approximately 36,000 km (22,000 mi) above the equator. It is physically impossible to have a geostationary orbit over any point other than the equator.
If the satellites are not in geostationary orbit, you cannot use a high-gain directional antenna unless you have active tracking (which is certainly beyond the scope of consumer products). Instead of using high-gain antennas with individual satellites, systems like GPS (except the WAAS satellites), Iridium, and such use multiple satellites ("constellations") for their coverage. This has significant impact on operational efficiencies for bidirectional communications.
(As an aside, considering the high latitudes involved in Russian satellite communications, they have implemented a very cool pseudo-geostationary satellite system. By placing three satellites 120 degrees apart in the same high-inclination orbit, they can have at least one satellite always within a small cone of the sky. It is not quite as precise (and therefore not capable of quite as high gain) as true geostationary orbit, but it allows for non-tracking relatively high gain satellite systems.)
If I could somehow get 2-3 weeks off, and friends that could do the same, and just to the 'iron-butt' ride around a good bit of the US.
In the US horse would be better. And llamas in South America's Andes.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
An Alltel USB Receiver w/ unlimited Broadband plan(hint:now running on the Verizon network). I traveled all of the Southwest and most of the Northwest Spring of 2008 for work w/ my VZW phone and VZW unlimited Broadband with more connectivity than I had hoped for...you'd be surprised how often a usable signal can be found in the middle of nowhere in eastern Oregon or BFE, New Mexico. IE: I rarely/barely went more than an hour or so without signal on my travels, longest had to be from Ontario, ID to Bend, OR. Talk about desolate beauty.
Today I now use the Alltel service at home outside Phoenix metro b/c Qwest DSL here blows, no other hard-line option available and VZW implemented the 5GB cap shortly after I canceled to test drive Sprint's(VZW broadband blew Sprint away in my travels, despite what I had heard to the contrary). I was on a borrowed VZW USB when I moved in to my rural dome home and have found since that Alltel's broadband(still no cap on new plans, yay!) is actually more reliable and faster than VZW...and it's VZW's network, go figure.
One more plug for VZW's network(I love/hate them, btw): I spent 3 weeks in July 2008 camping in Chevelon Canyon, AZ(up around the north crossing), and found a signal on a rise in the forest road 30 rough miles from the nearest civilization. I walked 1.6 miles from base camp every other evening to check messages and make calls. Mom didn't have to worry and work required me to VNC twice by driving to the site and using my laptop, a cheap 400w inverter and my truck's battery. Talk about getting away.
Imagination drew in bold strokes, instantly serving hopes and fears, while knowledge advanced by slow increments...
3G is really the best you can hope for. It's quick and easy to set up. You don't have to point a dish every time you stop. And you can expect some coverage while you're driving down the the highway.
Now the part I hate to admit. You're best bet for 3G would be with a company called Millenicom. You can get service on either the Sprint or Verizon backbone for 59-69 a month with no contract. The Verizon network will get you a 5Gig cap, people on Sprint are still unlimited, and they have a new unlimited plan with limited coverage.
advocating common sense on Slashdot!?
Except it's not common sense. Common sense says a person doesn't need to be always connected. I know when I'm out hiking, with my camera equipment and laptop, I'd like to be able to upload photos and updates occasionally. I oppose being always available but connecting perhaps once or twice a day may be good.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
No, it is not. Since I telecommute and I homeschool my child, I have seriously considered packing up an RV and traveling the country. When we want to study the Civil War, we could go spend some time actually visiting historic battles sites. When we want to study the Revolution, we can go to Boston and look at the Boston Harbor. When we study desert ecosystems, we could go to the desert.
In fact, for me, I don't want to go RVing to get away from it all. I want to go RVing to get TO it all.
And what about when you want to study the moon landing? You gonna fly the Mystery Machine through space? I'd like to see you try reaching escape velocity in your RV, you fucking sackless coward.
Expect the same in Canada, with a LOT more space in between the big towns.
If you can afford the RV, then you can afford the satellite connection.
If the RV is being purchased with a loan, then get thee to: http://www.DaveRamsey.com, sell the RV and take a vacation you can afford to pay for with cash.
If you are renting the RV, then you may be able to afford the satellite Internet, otherwise wait until your back in town and use the WiFi or cellular services.
If you borrowed the RV, then you are fortunate indeed! You may be able to afford the satellite Internet, otherwise wait until your back in town and use the WiFi or cellular services.
If you have stolen the RV; found it by the side of the road; or otherwise invoked the rule of "finders keepers", etc., then get thee to the nearest Highway Patrol office for a nice meal and a good nights sleep!
If you have built your own RV, you may be able to afford the satellite Internet, otherwise wait until your back in town and use the WiFi or cellular services.
Anyway, enjoy your vacation and AVOID THE IDIOT MORON DEMOCRATS THAT LEAVE THEIR DUNG TRAILS HERE ON SLASHDOT!
It is great that you can take off work for months at a time and still be able to afford to pay your bills. For the vast majority of people, that is not the case. This submitter is looking for a way that he can continue to work, while at the same time travel the country. The fact that this person could even consider this means that they already have far more leeway in their travel time that the vast majority of people.
/.er A who gets two weeks away from it all, and 50 weeks of travel where every other week he gets to explore a new part of our country, or /.er B who get two weeks away from it all?
The above sarcasm about you not having to have a job aside, you are probably just missing the point do to lack of imagination. This person isn't trying to take work on his 1 or 2 week vacation that he gets a year. He is trying to get an extra 6 or 12 months of travel and exploration ADDED to the 1 or two weeks a year that he already takes that don't include work.
So, who is in the worse position.
I would highly recommend getting the Cradlepoint router and attaching a Mobile Broadband card from Verizon. Here are my reasons:
1 - Verizon currently has the best coverage. Even if you do not always get "broadband" speeds, you should almost always get a connection.
2 - The idea would be to be prepared for Verizon's new LTE network, which should be available everywhere over the next 18 months - Coverage with this will be even greater, with great penetration since it runs on the 800MHz band.
3 - Satellite is expensive for a 2-way setup and very difficult to use reliably while mobile.
Hope this helps!
So you are wanting continuous internet coverage while driving a motor home?
Sounds dangerous to me. You should be watching the road instead of playing online games/surfing porn/posting on slashdot.
It would be as bad as a teenage girl driving while texting.
Plus an out of control motor home can do a lot more damage to other road traffic and roadside structres.
Either avoid Canada or don't expect to have coverage while driving across it. Before I start getting flamed, relax I am Canadian and we all know that we get COMPLETELY SCREWED by Bell, Rogers, Telus, etc. for cellular coverage, data plans and internet usage.
His momma has to dance for the money they throw...
I'm late so no one is likely to see this, but if you only needed email there are other VERY cheap or almost free options, initial equipment aside.
If you dont mind paying and do not want to take a HAM radio operators exam, there is something called Sailmail: http://www.sailmail.com/
You install a single side band radio and pactor modem and you get email coverage anywhere on earth for about $250 a year.
If you don't mind the amateur radio exam, you can just use Winlink: http://www.winlink.org/
This is free, only having to pay the initial costs of the SSB/Pactor.
Lots of info on both sites as far as setup etc, and the coverage is global.
It's easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.
Satellite Internet powered by WildBlueâ
DIRECTV delivers high-speed Internet (up to 1.5Mbps) powered by WildBlueâ to any home, virtually anywhere in the country. You don't even need a phone line. For as low as $39.99 a month for 12 months (up to 512 kbps) you can keep an "alwaysâ"on" connection â" watch videos and download photos and music. This is the best offer you can get on satellite Internet. And it's available only from DIRECTV. Call 1-800-531-5000 to order
Float a weather balloon up about 2 miles and antenna/repeat off that.
It should have line of site to several cell towers.
Would this be the Neil from Geekbrief? I thought the Big Trip was abandoned.
Mike @ The Geek Pub. Let's Make Stuff!
Did this for years. Here are the results. You want an antenna adapter for your EVDO card and a Wilson Trucker Antenna. This will bring a moderate signal to five bars. Next step up, a good amp will bring a weak signal to five bars but it will not take "no signal" and make it into a good signal. Even if you have a portable 40' tower (been there done that) you will not operate outside the timing boundary for the cell tower. Summary, unless you are staying inside the people hive, you will need to have a motosat system and all the complexity, power draw, etc, that this involves. Have fun.
Like they could even if they wanted to, what with all that dick in their mouths.
Have you thought about bringing your RV to Australia instead?
While Telstra advertise that their network "works better in more places" I'm not sure if that includes Canada. YMMV.
http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/nextg/
Thank you for your blog,your blog have a lot of very important knowledge and information.After i read giving me a good experince of all the articles at your site.I will always visit your site in future and i hope i will have a special experince after reading all your important article in your site/blog.Thanks you very much.From business advertising is a effective way to grow your small business plan for consumer products ,industrial supplies & mlm business.
hclim@all-business-advertising.com
http://www.all-business-advertising.com/
I highly recommend you check out Red Ball Internet hxxp://www.redballinternet.com They have some pretty sweet highspeed mobile wireless solutions.
The only technology that blankets the planet is satellite. No other signal has the reach. It's that simple.
It isn't just HughesNet anymore, there are other companies in the space (get it?) now too, like WildBlue, Skycasters and some others.
I would highly recommend picking up a portable satellite setup like you'll find by clicking on my signature. I'm not really shilling for it, it's my father-in-law's hobby business, but he has come up with some pretty cool stuff.
If you use a Windows phone running an unofficial (meaning not from a regular wireless carrier) ROM from the likes of xda-developers.com, you can tether your smartphone to your PC using USB or Bluetooth without paying extra for those ungodly $60 plans... And if you own any other kind of smartphone, you could use PDANet (works on any smartphone, but you'll have to jailbreak your iPhone if you use it.) The software's 20 bucks but I hear it's worth it. But if you plan on being outside of GSM/CDMA coverage areas, you'll need something like HughesNet. The only problem is that it works only if you're stopped.
That thing's nicer than my house.
Comment of the year
I'd say you CAN be intrepid while using a motor vehicle. Sometimes you can't use the vehicle again afterwards though.
Of course, your point about the bike is right on too. I've been a couple of places where you could barely use the bike again afterwards.
Their vehicles may be intrepid, but their web server is pretty #&$**!@ Slashdotted at the moment.
Using the PC Engines ALIX platform - http://www.pcengines.ch/alix.htm an Atheros based AR5413 802.11abg 500mW mini-PCI card
External omni-directional antenna
8GB CF card
rugged case
Sprint USB card
External cellular antenna
Ubuntu 8.10
Picture here (opened) http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougnaka/3921609717/
I think costs were about $500, but would probably be under $300
I've had one in my car for the past couple months, and it's been constant, roving Wifi.
Don't take the Sprint cards to Canada though, $5k in one month roaming fees isn't fun
My Linux Command of the Day site : LCOD
Try these for answers to your questions from people who've been there and done it already:
http://www.datastormusers.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi/index.html -- primarily mobile satellite internet crowd
http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showforum=33 -- primarily RVing crowd
I second the comment on BGAN. If your business relies on it, you can use 3G/EDGE/GPRS or an EVDO modem where you can, and skip the big Hughes setup (even though VSAT is way cheaper) and go right for a neat BGAN unit. They're quite versatile.
Regularly is one thing. I like having an iPhone that can get my e-mail every few days when I hit some coverage. The "daily connectivity" the poster wants is going to limit where he can go unless he takes a sat phone along.
A laptop with wireless access can replace the phone. And with IM and or video conferencing, which phones don't do, they can even do more.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
You know your webserver's got problems when you can't even handle a comment-slashdotting. Apparently you sell $400,000 RVs that can survive a nuclear apocalypse, but you can't afford anything better than GoDaddy for your hosting. Bravo Global X Vehicles.
Mod my comments down. It'll be fun.
Heh. you really need to play with some all-terrain fire fighting equipment.
http://www.gimaex.eu/?Mod1=artikel&MainMenuID=2&Sprache=GB&MenuID=556
Now convert that into an RV and you have an intrepid vehicle.
As to the OP, hire some good employees, or get an arrangement with someone you trust, and then drive like hell until you have no cell coverage. That's what I do.
[true story] we hired a new engineer, first hire. Left on a 3 week vacation to Europe, left him in charge. He's the only person in the office. No sweat, this guy was really competent. Except that a week after we left, a hurricane hit and he had to evacuate the office, with all of the files, computers, and such. And after that, he couldn't get the network going again. So he calls us - in the Czech Republic. Gets our neighbor who speaks no English. He babbles on in broken Russian - our neighbors speak no Russian either; after a while they figured out he must want the Americans next door.
Bottom line, he did fine, we had a great vacation, and we all had a great laugh about it when we came back.[/true story]
Hire good people and go away. Far, far away, or the business will eat your soul.
as a fall back plan. It costs $25/year. You can get 2 hours of wifi at any starbucks with it per day. (I don't work for Starbucks and I don't own any of their stock).
In cooperation with ATT Barnes and Noble offers free unlimited wifi.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
You might want to forward your question(s) to these folks:
http://wilsonelectronics.com/
I don't have any affiliation with Wilson, and I don't do Internet in the field, but their cellphone amps and antennas have enabled me to establish voice service with cellular towers many miles further away than what I normally could when I'm out doing nature photography in remote parts of the U.S. Southwest. Their gear is also said to be popular with long-haul truckers who need cellular access in remote areas. They may just be able to recommend a setup (typically an amplifier/antennna combo) that will put you in business for terrestrial 2G/3G services. Do note that even with my kit, I still find black holes; they're just not as huge as they would be with a non-amplified phone.
* * * * *
Error 416: Sig not found.
The whole idea of "roughing it" is over your head, isn't it?
Why don't you try to raise your threshold for boredom just once and see what happens?
I haven't been in the Boundary Waters area except driving up the North Shore between Duluth and Thunder Bay.
If you want something moderately challenging then leave at home all your electronics and canoe/portage 50 miles into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area [wikipedia.org] for an intrepid vacation. Trust me, to see land so pristine was a near religious experience and I definitely went back.
You may not but I would want my electronics with me, as well as broadband wireless access. I'd want to photograph and write about it.
Go white water rafting or mountain hiking or get dive certified.
One of the certs I want to get, to get my master cert, is photography. Years ago a friend used to dive and chart caves, and I thought of making that another cert. Combine the two, cave diving and photography, and having broadband wireless would be terrific.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
If you want to get away from EM I'd suggest you stay out of view of the sun :\
Well, you can get out of the sun in the Boundary Waters area. I don't know if it is a virgin area but the area is pretty well forested.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
I would like to point out. like hotels. RV parks offer wifi for free.
so you're probably a newb RV user. and havent actually been to rv parks, nor turned on a laptop and scanned for wifi at one either.
the technical solution is always the simplest.. park it where WIFI is free. and quit being a newb.
if you want while your in motion, cell phones will give you email capability.some web but it's shotty at best. and that's enough.
I'm so glad I'm retired and know all the in's and out's of vacations...
did you know they had wifi on most cruise ships for a crisp 50 you get about 30 minutes of it. but it's worth it if you have to upload your shit to flickr.
RVing? Seriously? Just don't and the environment will thank you.
Does KOA have campgrounds with wifi along the Appalachian Trail?
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
I just think you're insane. You want to go into the remote wilderness in an RV and you're actually worried about latency for your freakin' GAMES? My suggestion: just stay home.
Y'know, the real reason why they built this thing is probably to inspire behavior that results in increased demand on the hospital.
Car accident treatment plan? One low monthly price with reasonable overages?
I would recommend a fixed wireless terminal like the Ericsson W35 unit: http://www.ericssonw35.com/ They support 3g and 2g networks. 2100/1900/850mhz and 2100/1900/900mhz 3g flavours available depending on your preferred carrier. Built in wlan and lan switch makes it pretty easy to connect all your devices. Best of all you can hookup an external antenna to boost your signal. We use these a lot on remote mine sites etc. and they're quite robust and solid enough to keep up an ipsec tunnel 99% of the time.
Isn't "the intrepid RV'er" an oxymoron?
You simply can't get all of what you want, but here's my advice, based on building a number of mobile networks for a variety of business clients:
Forget satellite unless you *really* need connectivity anywhere. It's expensive, complicated, expensive, the latency sucks, and it's expensive. Seriously, if you want to remain connected in Southeast Louisiana (which we judged as "more remote" than the Arabian desert for one project), then satellite's your solution, but the drawbacks are such that even then, it's an adjunct, not a primary solution - if any other network is available, you'll want to use that instead, anyway. Oh, and did I mention it's really, really expensive?
Wireless 3G is your best bet right now. Based on real-world experience (designing networks for deployment to restaurants nationwide), I *strongly* suggest a CDMA network: Sprint first, followed by Verizon as #2. I looked and tried a number of options, and Sprint definitely offered the best chance of a stable, high-speed network connection. Verizon wasn't bad, but fast connections seem much harder to come by on Verizon than Sprint, especially in remote areas. (Also, remember that Sprint now offers combined 3G/4G aircards, so you can use WiMax, if you ever expect to find yourself in a WiMax city. I'd be thrilled just to have Austin as a WiMax city, myself...) Avoid AT&T like the plague of iPhones that has their network gasping for its last breath. Seriously, even before the iPhone, AT&T's data network was far worse than Sprint's, and although it's much better now, I think they've slipped even further due to not keeping up with the iPhone hordes. IMHO, T-mobile and other carriers don't really have the broad footprint required to be an "almost anywhere" solution. You'll still have no connection in remote areas, but the only fix for that is satellite, with all the problems noted above.
I've deployed many Cradlepoint MBR-1000s, and recommend them highly. This is the "professional" approach as opposed to the "consumer" type MiFi devices - this approach gives you much more smarts in the router, plus using an external aircard lets you add an external 3G antenna, which can make a *huge* difference. Yes, you could also roll your own and save a little bit. No, it's not worth it. IMO, the Cradlepoint is worth twice what it costs.
With a good external 3G antenna, the MBR-1000 and a good aircard is the best solution available today for remote high-speed Internet. BTW, I recommend Sierra Wireless aircards for a couple of reasons: 1) They work better with the Cradlepoints than other brands, and 2) some Novatel aircards are a royal PITA to set up. I've had good experiences with 3Gstore.com for external antennas and Cradlepoint support. Make sure your aircard supports external antenna connections, and that you can get a connector for it (these are far from standard right now). Finally, although 3G latencies are orders of magnitude better than satellite, they are still much higher than landline networks - VoIP isn't really practical, for instance. Fortunately, these networks natively support voice traffic for cellphones as well, so it's really not much of an issue. ;-) BTW, speed on these networks is pretty decent - in my last startup, we used a Sprint 3G/Cradlepoint connection as our primary Internet connection for a small office (3-6 users) for a year and a half, with only occasional bandwidth snarls.
I'd never want to travel again without my Cradlepoint PHS (kind of like the MiFi, but uses an external USB aircard)- it's just way too handy to be doing the multitasking-in-the-car thing like what's shown in that new Sprint commercial...
"The future's good and the present is nothing to sneeze at." - Roblimo's last
I tried to do this back in July going from Arizona to Montana and back. My weapon of choice was a *cough* tethered *cough* iPhone and a Macbook Pro. The results were spotty at best. You don't get 3G anywhere but in the confines of a major city. In my case that was Salt Lake. Everywhere else you had to have Edge at least or you got nothing. When I did have Edge I found I was at the mercy of limited bandwidth. In one campground I barely got anything because there were a couple of teenagers next door texting constantly (my theory). As soon as they went to bed I got usable performance and by usable I mean I could check my e-mail but that was about it. Many campgrounds now have WIFI which is good...when it's working and if you're parked in a space that's far away from the office, you're SOL. I have heard of a satellite system that has the ability to track while moving but I imagine that it's not cheap.
> I'm sorry if your health doesn't permit this but I personally don't find anything intrepid about a recreational vehicle.
I am sorry you are limited in your thinking.about what an RV is, and what you can do with one. As a rather extreme example see here http://www.unicat.net/en/pics/EX70HDQ-MANTGA6x6-2.html
Not all RVers are old people keeping to the main roads and RV parks.
"Consistency is contrary to nature, contrary to life. The only completely consistent people are the dead." A. Huxley
>>>I want to get hours if not days away from buildings and wiring.
There's no such place in North America. Even along the Alaska Highway, which is pretty desolate, you're never more than a half-an-hour's drive away from humans and their buildings. And you mentioned the Appalachian Trail - well almost the entire length of that trail is only a short drive from the nearest interstate (I-81) or state highway.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
Because amateur radio bands are narrow and would be quickly swamped by commercial traffic. If you want to piss somebody off by using their frequencies I suggest you co-opt analog TV channels.
Ah, there's the riddle, er problem. Originally the airwaves, with court approval, were homesteaded. In any given area people could set up transmitters and broadcast on an unused frequency. In short courts were assigning homesteader's rights to those who first broadcast on a frequency. If someone else came along and started broadcasting which interfered with the first broadcaster then they could be forced to stop the interference. Big companies came along and didn't like the competition and so were successful in lobbying the government to require broadcasters to be licensed.
So radio frequencies were taken away from homesteading broadcasters and given to large businesses.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
On the last trip I was on it was kind of a novelty to be able to grab my e-mail when we paddled to an inshore island, and the phone is small enough to actually take along. I'm not going to take a notebook on anything more adventurous than a cushy weekend car camping trip.
And I think you misunderstood my point. I used to carry backpacks weighing about 100lbs and hike all day long. As a college student I rode my bike 8.6 miles to campus, and other places, carrying a backpack weighing 50 or more pounds. Back then weeks I didn't ride at least 100 miles was more unusual than weeks I rode 200 or more miles. And that was in addition to other physical activities such as practicing martial arts, running, and swimming and diving.
It's nice to have something little like a phone so every few days, if you happen to find a sniff of cell service, you can grab your e-mail. There's definitely no wireless. If you need the whole notebook/video conferencing thing and pretty much constantly connectivity then you're going to be severely limited in where you can go.
It's also nice being able to document trips and being able to upload those docs once in a while. Constant connectivity isn't needed but connecting once or twice a day to upload photographs or a hiker's blog update would be terrific.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
Just because you take 8000 pictures, doesn't mean you need to upload 8000 pictures, or that anyone really cares about 95% of them (if that isn't the point then why upload them?)
Even if it's only one photograph that's uploaded it still needs connectivity as well as a way to upload the photos. I suppose a digital camera and cellphone both with Bluetooth could be used to upload individual photos, if there is cellphone access. However the practical speed of Bluetooth 2.0 is 2 megabits per second whereas the cheaper camera I'd like to get has a 21.1 Megapixel sensor and can generate files 60MB. At 2mbs it could take a while to upload a photo. Bluetooth 3 may offer faster speeds however it was only approved in April 2009 so there aren't many products with it, then the cellphone and service has to support the same speeds and I haven't heard of one. Verison's and ATT's wireless offerings are faster but they require the card to be plugged into a laptop. Once plugged in will there be connectivity though?
I also am a technophile and photo buff (not very good, but I try), but also don't mind the lack of connectivity, I actually find it somewhat refreshing. I am also sure that most of my friends like it as well, since it gives me time to select only the pictures that I like.
There may be tymes I would find the lack of connectivity refreshing but I want to be able to decide when that is and as long as connectivity is available and the equipment that allows it can be turned off I can have it. I do that now, it's not often but I occasionally turn off my cellphone, such as when I go to the movie theatre.
Only if other's would do the same, if they have to have the phone on then turn the ringer off and use the vibrator then when a call comes in leave the audience to answer the phone. As you can probably tell that pisses me off. Which is why I turn mine off.
If you can't upload or transfer photos what do you do when your cards are full?
I'm not insulting your preferences, I'm just questioning the universality of them. Pictures (and blogs, surprisingly enough) benefit then most from not being able to harbor your "post it" influences.
As a professional photographer, I'm not now but I want to start a photography business, I'd like to be able to upload photos while out in the field. Just because I upload them doesn't mean I'll use or even keep them, however by uploading to my server when I get into the studio I can weed out those to be deleted from the keepers. It reminds me of a saying I like, "the only stupid question is the question that goes unasked."
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
Seriously, I traveled in and RV for 2 years while working. I used the Verizon broadband card and, if that didn't work, used the rv resorts' wifi. Verizon kicks you off frequently though. IMO, it's not practical to boonedock in the middle of nowhere and expect signal. most of the national forests have rv parks, which in turn have wifi. so either don't travel to "nowhere", or expect a day off now and again.
I am doing exactly what the OP wants to do. I've been living in my RV (29' 5th wheel trailer) for 6 months, and I'm typing this post over my satellite connection from the northern Cascade mountains in Washington. Here is what I have learned:
1) Satellite is the only way to go when you get out in the boonies. When we started this trip, I had an Openmoko phone as a backup ISP, but I dropped the data plan 2 months later because I almost never had connection.
2) Hughesnet is the only affordable satellite provider. Some other companies resell Hughesnet service. I use Motosat, which caters to the RV market. You will probably have to use a reseller, as Hughesnet's own TOS doesn't allow mobile use and they don't want you as their customer.
3) You can get an ordinary residential Hughesnet dish and mount it on a tripod, but aiming that dish is a royal PITA. www.maxwellsatellite.com sells dish, tripod, and pointing gear as a combo for IIRC $500. But it's still a PITA to point (the record holder from their user's group did it in 5 minutes), and vulnerable to theft. I wouldn't consider it an option if you are going to be moving frequently. A better setup is a roof mounted tracker, like what Motosat makes. Their motorized, and usually acquire the satellite in under 5 minutes with no help from the user. But you're going to have to pay: new systems cost $5k. I got mine used off eBay and installed it myself for $2k. Soldering Iron not required, but expect to cut and crimp a little cable, and of course you have to do the roof mounting. The hardest part was lifting the dish up onto the roof, because it's 80lbs with mount.
4) Contrary to what some other poster said, these dishes are NOT comparable size to TV dishes. They are larger, because they need to transmit info back to the bird. They start at 0.74m diameter. This means that pointing them is harder than pointing a TV dish, and they absolutely cannot be used while in motion.
5) Do not buy an RV with a rubber roof. Just don't.
6) Are you using solar power? I do, and it's worked out quite well. I could give you some tips if you want.
My recommendation would be Hughesnet with a motorized tracker, and a 3G phone if you need connection while moving on the highways. You can learn more about my experiences with the technomadic lifestyle at http://lauralan.livejournal.com/
>>>I want to get hours if not days away from buildings and wiring.
Even along the Alaska Highway, which is pretty desolate, you're never more than a half-an-hour's drive away from humans and their buildings. And you mentioned the Appalachian Trail - well almost the entire length of that trail is only a short drive from the nearest interstate (I-81) or state highway.
True* but there are in other parts of the world. Even as a teenager, a lifetime ago, I wanted to take a trek through the Himalayas. Now I'd like to trek through the Andes and Siberia as well. Right now I'm hoping I can go to Brazil as part of a study abroad program in college, and while there I want to go into the Amazon and hike the Andes.
*Oh and I just mentioned the Appalachian Trail because people still hike it. And as another poster said above there are places out west, I think parts of Montana was specifically mentioned, without even cell phone access.
Falcon
Should there be a Law?
Cellular data. And an amp, *if needed*. Don't look at AT&T's coverage map, their 3G coverage is a joke. Look at Verizon's. (Note, Sprint roams on Verizon too, so you could get a Sprint data plan if you prefer; both have the same 5GB cap and same price though, so unless you have a discount with one or the other it really doesn't matter.)
Get a Mifi, this is an EVDO device that shares the connection via wifi. This is like $100 any more (with 2 year contract). An amp is like $500. If you look at the CDMA coverage maps, there's not THAT many areas that are uncovered AND have roads running to them. But, the amp will improve your speeds when you are in fringe -- my EVDO speeds stay pretty uniform on my aircard when my phone shows anywhere from 1-4 bars.. when the phone drops from 1 bar to 0 bars, the aircard drops from ~1mbps to 256kbps.. (Then just a bit further, the phone and card lose EVDO and I get like 64kbps from a fringe 1X signal.. Before my area got EVDO, I'd get 80-128kbps usually on 1X.)
Walmart to sell Wi-Fi in its parking lots!
Seen the ups and downs of users with the Monostat and Hughes satellite dishes. Got offered one to put on my rig and refused it. I pretty much use the verizon broad band system. very few times I have been out of luck without having to drive a few miles to a major highway if no cell towers around and pick up the single there. Been in several areas with folks that have the satellite dishes. when we travel in groups we do make up own net with these units so folks can piggy back I stopped at a big rv show and verizon offered me the 3G Mifi broadband card since a loyal users for 5 yrs now to test. Impressed Had three computers up today on one card (mac and pcs). Only draw back if you use a vpn account you need to hook the Mifi card directly with the laptop. So I upgraded to this unit. As for campgrounds or other public areas there are ups and downs to that. Unless there is a good secure system then I would have worries. Set up as a volunteer a secure system with a limit on up loads and downloads so all could have decent speed and was not expensive to do There is an outfit in New York that has what is needed to boost just about anything for incoming or outgoing signal Using a broad band card or iphone etc this system could be handy for some. We are talking a boost of several miles. Some of us work as remote workers on call across the country so this life suits us well even with the budgetary ups and downs as a result of some added expenses like fuel- Not many places we cannot be. Do not need a fancy dancy rig or trailer.
Between 1983 and 1986 Steve Roberts travelled around America on a bike with a laptop (Tandy) 5w solar panel and a packet radio. Used payphones for dial-up. May have been the 'inventor' of texting while driving.
and between 2002 and 2004 Teresa and Sterling were road warriors in a modified 2003 Lance 1121 on a 2004 Ford F-550 (they upgraded while on the road). Their primary network connection was a MotoSat DataStorm which seemed to work well when stationed.
As for VoIP while on the road - carry a cell or sat phone and use call forwarding when not in range of a decent Internet signal. With some verification of priorities (sacrifices) you can be mobile and the envy of geeks everywhere.
I'm in my right mind and I have the answer to everything!
I get infinit network access on my PDA, because the network and DNS is all cobbled to a multi-roughted real-time peer information service where as long as the long chain of PDA's are within range of eachother then one of them can pass the packets back to a DSL router to breakway into the WLAN Internet of commercial crap that we all remembered when left for nature. Only now what works better is some nerds decided to use weather balloons of Linksys solar-powered UPS'd routers to span the globe. Works wonderfully well.
Hell, the callSIGN given facilitated through FCC is a muniment of title to make and distinguish commerce of it. What exactly do you mean by commerce? You don't need a Ham Radio License when you are using the tranceiver to coordinate assistance (for which FCC refers to as "help"). I can use the radio for whatever the fuck I want to use it for. First they tried to regulate Ham, but there were too many obominably proud faces that a bunch of old men would blindly bequeaf to some foreign corporation in a foreigh state. Then they tried to regulate VHF, and I don't own VHF because it's cancer-nasty. Then while they were raping VHF operators for Feedom, they came for CB Radio but noooooo -- ol' John Rebel, Mud Duck, Smokey, Cuntpuncher, and Wingnut over-pulled the FCC's push into a trench of profanity and jettisoned those Regulatory Litigious suckers of Satan's cock into a blackhole so fucking goatse-deep that they/FCC lost control over the more polite and undomesticated VHF tweens. But oh no, the ol' men on Ham radio just keep asking for that FCC cock to screw the more the merrier for the sake of orderly communication in a disguised copyleft comercial medium of code exchanged by craft FCC legislation.
Like I said before, the legislation on Ham Radio operators is that they explicitly don't need to be regulated or need a license if someone is requesting "help", so I always begin my transmittals with a circular sentence of assistance to break the radio silence;
Cuntpuncher: KFC1337 or anyone monitoring, this is Cuntpuncher requesting help to test a theory of operation?
KFC1331: KFC1331 monitoring.
KFC1337: this is KFC1337 how may I help you?
Cuntpuncher: Help suck my vulva. Help me paint my house. Help me eat a strapon cock. Help me find out what time it is. Help me pick up my kids from school before the ex-husband gets there first. It's urgent to the schedule as expected. Help me..now.
The only thing concerning commerce is communication maid on someone's behalf or aquiring a rate of for-sale time secured by someone for monetary gain. But consider this scenarior occuring;
Wimpy: I will balance your time given me on a Tuesday if you help me take-out the trash today.
Cuntpuncher: You can help my scale in CJ's, not VJ's (those give me rug burns).