Making Sure Your Wi-Fi Isn't Haywire
11-23-2015
Author: in RVing Ruminations by Russel
“Free Wi-Fi” is listed among the amenities on the park's billboard coming into town. Great you think, we can check our email and let the kids know where we are. Just to be sure as you are registering you ask about internet service. “Yes, you should be able to get it everywhere in the park,” says the young man checking you in. Here is the code, he writes it in the space provided on the site map/guest guide (most frequently supplied by Southeast Publications) he hands you. Twenty minutes later, you have parked, gotten your power, water and TV all hooked up and started cooking diner. It has been a long day and you are glad to be an RVer with all the comforts of home around you for the evening.
The computer boots up just fine and you click the necessary icons to connect to the internet. After a minute or so you get the message box, “There are no signals within range.” You try again. Same results. You are scratching your head, reviewing how you have hooked up dozens of times before. Yep, doing everything the way it is supposed to be done. You check your settings. Yep, should work. You try again. Same results. You grab the cellphone, find the office number on the site map and dial it. Busy. OK; a few minutes later they answer and you explain the problem. They start to try to make sure you have followed all the elementary procedures, as if you have never used a computer before. You assure them you know what you are doing. They ask if you have entered the code. You tell them you haven't connected so there has been no where to enter it. “OK, let me reset the modem here in the office. Try again in about ten minutes.” You do. I won't continue with this frustrating little vignette. Save it to say that solution didn't work either. So rather than frustrate your entire evening you turn your attention to supper.
I would be surprised if anyone has not gone through some variation of the above scenario. The internet and WI-FI access to it is unfortunately still in its infancy in many parks throughout the country, particularly in smaller towns off the beaten path. Most larger campground chains such as Kampgrounds Of America , have worked out the bugs and service is reliable. Someday (we can hope) all parks will have made the investment in the necessary infrastructure to ensure all guests have this service available. In the meantime, here are a few tips I have gathered to increase your chances of having a hassle free experience.
Right off the top, this one comes to mind. As soon as I am parked in my space, before I hook anything else up, except the power if I need it for the computer, I fire up the computer in the space I normally use it and see if I can get “on.” If I can't, I try to figure out why before I go any further. There are a few things though to do while checking in that will increase your chances. I ask, when they assign me a site, “Is internet reception good in that site?” Then I listen very carefully to the answer. If it contains phrases like, “You shouldn't have any problems,” or “most people get it pretty good there,” or “Every place in the park gets it.” or “no-one has reported any problems,” or “If you can't, you can always come up here to the office and use it here.” I ask a few more questions. Is it free? Do I need a code? (clerks are human, and sometimes they forget to give it to you.) Particularly, if that is hand written, verify the upper or lower case requirements. Then I ask, “Where are your antennas located?” If they say they don't know, or point to a little box over near a window that faces toward the park beware. Most systems rely on a clear line of sight between the antenna and the user. If they say something like it's right up here on the office roof and it is a park with maybe 150 sites, particularly if there are trees, I can guarantee you that there are many sites that just don't get it. Many parks have figured this out and installed enough antennas with sufficient power so they do indeed have the problems solved; but there are many that are in the process of still figuring that out. Again, if they can point out on your site map where the antennas are, you can look at the site they want to put you in and access to some degree what your success might be. However, the first thing I do once I am at the site is look and see if I can see at least one of the antennas. Maybe I can from the front of my RV but not the back. Sometimes moving just a few feet will solve this problem. On the other hand if you can barely see the antenna due to a huge oak tree, that is more often than not going to be a problem. If there is a problem, look around, especially if the park isn't too crowded, and see if you can spot a space where conditions might be better. Most parks, if there aren't reservations on the site you have spotted, are happy to allow you to change. I have been in some parks where service is just fine until a huge motor coach pulls into the space next to me and then it is bye-bye connection. If it is free service, there is not really much you can do about it. If you paid for it, a discussion with the park manager is probably in order. Oh and right underneath an antenna is no guarantee either, as there may be a small area close to it that does not get the signal.
Free is a wonderful price, however there are many parks that are hooked up with services where you will need to pay, usually very dearly for short term. Beware, some companies monitor your usage and either turn off your service or severely restrict the speed if you go over their limits. (Limits that were set long before video became such a large part of the internet.) Some services, if you still have time left on your agreement allow you to carry it over to another park that has their service.
For the casual traveler perhaps most times lack of service is a slight inconvenience, especially if you will just be there over night, but for some one who has work to do over the internet or is going to be in the park for an extended period, it is more problematic. I hope this helps both in making the experience smoother.
If your experiences has taught you other tips for obtaining good internet service during your travels, I and many others would enjoy hearing about them and learning from them, so please feel free to leave a comment in the space below.
Until next time, walk in beauty and keep it between the ditches,
Russel
Though from my travels I have come to roost
I hope my experiences will give yours a boost
About the Blog Author
Russel Micnhimer is retired after twenty-five years of full time RVing. During that time he was a sales representative for Southeast Publications selling advertising on Site Maps (aka Guest Guides) for RV Parks and Resorts and Fairgrounds. He traveled in a pickup truck and travel trailer primarily in the Western United States logging nearly 500,000 miles. In his blog he shares many experiences and insights in hopes they will be helpful to others who pursue the RVing lifestyle.
The computer boots up just fine and you click the necessary icons to connect to the internet. After a minute or so you get the message box, “There are no signals within range.” You try again. Same results. You are scratching your head, reviewing how you have hooked up dozens of times before. Yep, doing everything the way it is supposed to be done. You check your settings. Yep, should work. You try again. Same results. You grab the cellphone, find the office number on the site map and dial it. Busy. OK; a few minutes later they answer and you explain the problem. They start to try to make sure you have followed all the elementary procedures, as if you have never used a computer before. You assure them you know what you are doing. They ask if you have entered the code. You tell them you haven't connected so there has been no where to enter it. “OK, let me reset the modem here in the office. Try again in about ten minutes.” You do. I won't continue with this frustrating little vignette. Save it to say that solution didn't work either. So rather than frustrate your entire evening you turn your attention to supper.
I would be surprised if anyone has not gone through some variation of the above scenario. The internet and WI-FI access to it is unfortunately still in its infancy in many parks throughout the country, particularly in smaller towns off the beaten path. Most larger campground chains such as Kampgrounds Of America , have worked out the bugs and service is reliable. Someday (we can hope) all parks will have made the investment in the necessary infrastructure to ensure all guests have this service available. In the meantime, here are a few tips I have gathered to increase your chances of having a hassle free experience.
Right off the top, this one comes to mind. As soon as I am parked in my space, before I hook anything else up, except the power if I need it for the computer, I fire up the computer in the space I normally use it and see if I can get “on.” If I can't, I try to figure out why before I go any further. There are a few things though to do while checking in that will increase your chances. I ask, when they assign me a site, “Is internet reception good in that site?” Then I listen very carefully to the answer. If it contains phrases like, “You shouldn't have any problems,” or “most people get it pretty good there,” or “Every place in the park gets it.” or “no-one has reported any problems,” or “If you can't, you can always come up here to the office and use it here.” I ask a few more questions. Is it free? Do I need a code? (clerks are human, and sometimes they forget to give it to you.) Particularly, if that is hand written, verify the upper or lower case requirements. Then I ask, “Where are your antennas located?” If they say they don't know, or point to a little box over near a window that faces toward the park beware. Most systems rely on a clear line of sight between the antenna and the user. If they say something like it's right up here on the office roof and it is a park with maybe 150 sites, particularly if there are trees, I can guarantee you that there are many sites that just don't get it. Many parks have figured this out and installed enough antennas with sufficient power so they do indeed have the problems solved; but there are many that are in the process of still figuring that out. Again, if they can point out on your site map where the antennas are, you can look at the site they want to put you in and access to some degree what your success might be. However, the first thing I do once I am at the site is look and see if I can see at least one of the antennas. Maybe I can from the front of my RV but not the back. Sometimes moving just a few feet will solve this problem. On the other hand if you can barely see the antenna due to a huge oak tree, that is more often than not going to be a problem. If there is a problem, look around, especially if the park isn't too crowded, and see if you can spot a space where conditions might be better. Most parks, if there aren't reservations on the site you have spotted, are happy to allow you to change. I have been in some parks where service is just fine until a huge motor coach pulls into the space next to me and then it is bye-bye connection. If it is free service, there is not really much you can do about it. If you paid for it, a discussion with the park manager is probably in order. Oh and right underneath an antenna is no guarantee either, as there may be a small area close to it that does not get the signal.
Free is a wonderful price, however there are many parks that are hooked up with services where you will need to pay, usually very dearly for short term. Beware, some companies monitor your usage and either turn off your service or severely restrict the speed if you go over their limits. (Limits that were set long before video became such a large part of the internet.) Some services, if you still have time left on your agreement allow you to carry it over to another park that has their service.
For the casual traveler perhaps most times lack of service is a slight inconvenience, especially if you will just be there over night, but for some one who has work to do over the internet or is going to be in the park for an extended period, it is more problematic. I hope this helps both in making the experience smoother.
If your experiences has taught you other tips for obtaining good internet service during your travels, I and many others would enjoy hearing about them and learning from them, so please feel free to leave a comment in the space below.
Until next time, walk in beauty and keep it between the ditches,
Russel
Though from my travels I have come to roost
I hope my experiences will give yours a boost
About the Blog Author
Russel Micnhimer is retired after twenty-five years of full time RVing. During that time he was a sales representative for Southeast Publications selling advertising on Site Maps (aka Guest Guides) for RV Parks and Resorts and Fairgrounds. He traveled in a pickup truck and travel trailer primarily in the Western United States logging nearly 500,000 miles. In his blog he shares many experiences and insights in hopes they will be helpful to others who pursue the RVing lifestyle.
Comment
[email protected]June 2, 2016 | 03:28 PM
does adding a router in the coach help at all? We go to a couple of parks a lot, and if I sit outside in direct line of site, I usually can get on, but sometimes I have to walk over or move the truck to have a work space.
Author: Russel Micnhimer
