On The Road Communications & Connectivity

[ol trunt]

What's a satellite?

[JoeyBigBlind]

I've had Wild Blue/Exceed satellite internet service and it was expensive. And slow!

I just changed my AT&T plan to unlimited data, but can't use the phone as a hot spot or use MiFi adapters on this plan. But I can stream all the data/video/music on my phone and cast it to my TV.

[mikeypj]

I've had sprint for years and have traveled the desert SW and I've been off road 20 miles from major roads and farther from the cities. I've had no problem with service. The one place that was a dead zone was Utah. I haven't done the PNW yet but I figure it will be like the old days...no phone no internet and if SHTF I'll do like I did 30 years ago..deal with it myself..lol


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[GreyCoyote]

If you want free email access anywhere in world, with no fees, and no "provider" to turn-off your account, all it takes is an amateur radio license (General or Extra class) a cheap computer and an HF rig.

If interested, google "Winlink 2000".

Many blue-water sailors use this system to great advantage. It is just about bulletproof. And when not running in a data mode, you can talk voice all over the globe. (I bagged McMurdo, Antarctica from Texas the other night with just 100 watts and a wire antenna).

[ol trunt]

GC, I just read the following-- http://tcares.org/tcares/images/ARES...uide_jun09.pdf
Does this pretty much cover the subject?

[GreyCoyote]

Originally Posted by ol trunt

GC, I just read the following-- http://tcares.org/tcares/images/ARES...uide_jun09.pdf
Does this pretty much cover the subject?

That is an old version, but its 98% correct and it is an excellent overview. Good find!

Note that equipment cost isnt trivial, but basically ANY HF rig made in the last 20 years will do splendidly. You can pick-up very servicable "boat anchor" units for next to nothing on FleaBay, eHam, etc. Or get a cheap, new Chinese rig for a couple hundred bucks. Its all good.

As many folks on here tend towards radical self reliance, this may be a good subject for a new thread. However, until then, if you want to start on the path towards becoming an amateur radio operator, check-out the ARRL (American Radio Relay League). You can also tap into your local ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) group. The latter folks will certainly be experts on Winlink (we all use it), and part of their mission is to "Elmer" the noobs, so they will be an excellent resource.

Becoming a ham may sound scary and technical, but its not. No Morse code is required and there are only 35 questions (need 26 to pass) on the Technician exam. There are lots of (free!) study aids and the test is only about $15. I'm an FCC Volunteer Examiner and I can tell you that the pass rate is huge: Only 4 of the 86 people I have tested failed to walk out of the test session without a license.

So... Go for it! Having free remote-access email as well as a skill that will be supremely useful if (when?) the grid goes down is a winner in my book.

[AlleyCat67]

I've held a Technician license since 1995... have been out of the hobby for a while (when my old Icom HT died and I didn't have the funds to replace it)... consequently I've never felt the need to upgrade my license (though I have renewed it when it expired), but maybe now I should in light of this.

73 de KF4FOY

[Motrukdriver]

When I used to drive a big truck over the road I found lots of free wifi locations. Iowa rest areas have free wifi. Ohio turnpike travel plazas have free wifi plus free showers. There are many others and hopefully folks can post what they've found. You can also purchase a wifi card from Pilot/Flying J truckstops you can reload once a month. I used to run with a Verizon usb modem unlimited data on the 3g network. Gone now but I could connect anywhere, except Woodward Oklahoma. For television I just carried around a basic 18" satellite dish for directv and set it up at night when I shut down, maybe 3 minutes max to find the signal. Over the air broadcasts are getting much better nowadays too. I cut the cord here at the house and I just use a 150 mile range antenna. It can pick up about 30 channels. As long as I have MeTV I'm a happy camper.

[Tango]

150 mile range? Sounds great...what kind of antennae?

[Motrukdriver]

Originally Posted by Tango

150 mile range? Sounds great...what kind of antennae?

This is the one I bought.

https://www.amazon.com/Amplified-Dig.../dp/B004NQMCDK

[Tango]

Looks like part of the Death Star's weapons systems! Thanks. Would love to see some pix of your install.

[milkmania]

Originally Posted by Motrukdriver

This is the one I bought.

https://www.amazon.com/Amplified-Dig.../dp/B004NQMCDK

I'm interested and want to pull the trigger!
There are 2 part #'s... 2608 & 2805.

How does it fare with travel at speed? Or do you take it down?
Where do you have yours mounted?
I have an old dishnetwork tri-pod I can use with a sizable length of conduit mast, if I need to keep it on the ground.

Also, I could actually mount an old dish swing arm at back of bus, and pull the antenna down as part of "breaking camp"

[Motrukdriver]

When I drove the big truck I just used a 4' 1 1/2" diameter ABS pipe mounted to the west coasts using U bolts. When I stopped for the night I just tossed the dish up on the pole and did the zip code thing to find the satellite. Took maybe 3 minutes to set up. Be just as easy to toss one of these long range antennas on a similar setup. I hung the coax out the window but I do have a coax bulkhead fitting and maybe a short push on type coax cable from the antenna to the fitting that is hard wired inside would be a cleaner option.


https://www.amazon.com/JR-Products-4...JN7M2P6XB32QNN

Also, I'd definitely take the antenna down before I rolled. No telling what might fall off from vibration. Those long range antennas are pretty small and very light.

This site might help as well to determine what channels are available and what direction to point your antenna.

TV Fool