RV Wireless Solution

Hey,

Last year I bought an RV and my wife an I have been travling across the
nation since. We have a laptop and found that we had trouble picking up
the wireless networks offered by the RV parks because of low signal
strength. I looked for product to help increase the range of my laptop
and came up with a nifty solution. I used a USB wireless adapter with a
removeable antenna, and combined it with a strong outdoor antenna that I
mounted on the roof of my RV. The products I used were an 'HWUG1'
(http://www.gohawking.com/store/produ...roducts_id=237) and
an 'HAO9SIP'
(http://www.gohawking.com/store/produ...roducts_id=208) from
Hawking Technologies. I have been very happy with this configuration
for about a month now and just wanted to share with my fellow RV'ers.

Rob


------------------------------------------------------------------------
View this thread: http://www.wirelessforums.org/showthread.php?t=23201
http://www.wirelessforums.org

On Jun 11, 7:02 pm, RobbieWinter <RobbieWinter.2s1...@no-
mx.wirelessforums.org> wrote:
> Hey,
>
> Last year I bought an RV and my wife an I have been travling across the
> nation since. We have a laptop and found that we had trouble picking up
> the wireless networks offered by the RV parks because of low signal
> strength. I looked for product to help increase the range of my laptop
> and came up with a nifty solution. I used a USB wireless adapter with a
> removeable antenna, and combined it with a strong outdoor antenna that I
> mounted on the roof of my RV. The products I used were an 'HWUG1'
> (http://www.gohawking.com/store/produ...roducts_id=237) and
> an 'HAO9SIP'
> (http://www.gohawking.com/store/produ...roducts_id=208) from
> Hawking Technologies. I have been very happy with this configuration
> for about a month now and just wanted to share with my fellow RV'ers.
>
> Rob
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> View this thread:http://www.wirelessforums.org/showth...lessforums.org

I'm glad your solution works in your RV. I too am an RVer but I want a
wireless solution so I can move about inside and outside my rig.

Any thoughts?

BTW, does the documentation for the Hawking adapter give any hint that
it will work with USB 1.1? Everything I could find says 2.0 only.

Cheers, Joe

Joe Bedford <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> BTW, does the documentation for the Hawking adapter give any hint that
> it will work with USB 1.1? Everything I could find says 2.0 only.

Anything that works on USB 2.0 should work connected to a USB 1.1 port.

The Hawking HWU8DD "Supports USB 2.0/1.1/1.0 interface".
"Note: to obtain the best possible wireless data speeds you must attach the
device to a hi-speed USB 2.0 port on your computer. If the device is
plugged into a USB 1.1 port it will work at a lower speed."

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

On Jun 13, 1:08 am, d...@22.usenet.us.com wrote:
> Joe Bedford <joebedf...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > BTW, does the documentation for the Hawking adapter give any hint that
> > it will work with USB 1.1? Everything I could find says 2.0 only.
>
> Anything that works on USB 2.0 should work connected to a USB 1.1 port.
>
> The Hawking HWU8DD "Supports USB 2.0/1.1/1.0 interface".
> "Note: to obtain the best possible wireless data speeds you must attach the
> device to a hi-speed USB 2.0 port on your computer. If the device is
> plugged into a USB 1.1 port it will work at a lower speed."
>
> --
> Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

Thanks. I just looked at the spec sheets for the products the OP
mentionned.

I suspect if I have to be stuck with a wire, I'll be better of with,
say, a gaming adapter attached to my ethernet port rather than the
old, slow USB 1.1 that I have.

Cheers, Joe

Joe Bedford wrote:
> On Jun 13, 1:08 am, d...@22.usenet.us.com wrote:
>> Joe Bedford <joebedf...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> BTW, does the documentation for the Hawking adapter give any hint
>>> that it will work with USB 1.1? Everything I could find says 2.0
>>> only.
>>
>> Anything that works on USB 2.0 should work connected to a USB 1.1
>> port.
>>
>> The Hawking HWU8DD "Supports USB 2.0/1.1/1.0 interface".
>> "Note: to obtain the best possible wireless data speeds you must
>> attach the device to a hi-speed USB 2.0 port on your computer. If
>> the device is plugged into a USB 1.1 port it will work at a lower
>> speed."
>>
>> --
>> Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5
>
> Thanks. I just looked at the spec sheets for the products the OP
> mentionned.
>
> I suspect if I have to be stuck with a wire, I'll be better of with,
> say, a gaming adapter attached to my ethernet port rather than the
> old, slow USB 1.1 that I have.
>
> Cheers, Joe

You may want to rethink that.. The speed you get is going to be limited by
the slowest speed device in the system ( usually the connection to the
internet, think water, you may plumb with 3/4" pipe, but if you had a 1/4"
feed, that would limit the 3/4 pipe to the amount of water a 1/4 pipe can
transfer).. Point is that whether it is cable or DSL (usual max around 6-8
Mbps), it is still going to be way way slower than USB 1.1 (about 12
Mbps).....
Just an aside, to maximize the sales of usb 2.0, you always see the term "up
to" in regards to it's speed.... guess what..... "up to" are weasel words,
actual speeds are 3-20 MB (24-160 Mb).. a far cry from 480

Peter Pan <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> > I suspect if I have to be stuck with a wire, I'll be better of with,
> > say, a gaming adapter attached to my ethernet port rather than the old,
> > slow USB 1.1 that I have.

> You may want to rethink that.. The speed you get is going to be limited by
> the slowest speed device in the system ( usually the connection to the

Most hot spots are still 802.11b, so the adapter doesn't need to be any
faster than that, and the connection to the Internet might be satellite in
some RV parks, which I think is around 700Kbps. Even a moderate cable
connection won't be faster than a slow WiFi link.

You will also not achieve maximum radio rates at a distance from the WAP.
I have a USB 1.1 WiFi 802.11b dongle that used to be capable of the same
speed as a wired connection. Recently my cable has gotten faster, so
that's no longer true, but the"b" dongle is still plenty fast enough for
surfing and downloading most things.


It used to be that the USB gadgets were much cheaper than the Ethernet
client gadgets. The more "powerful" units are about the same price, but
the USB gadgets are self-powered, essentially, where the Ethernet gadgets
will need separate power.

My most recent engagement isn't resolved yet. A Thinkpad built in
adapter gets a signal from the desired hot spot, but my DWL-120 dongle does
not, even when I add a coffee can reflector. The desktop that I want to
connect is more than 15 feet away from the window where I hope to get
signal, but when I add a second repeater USB cable to the cost of a USB
adapter like the HWU8DD, I exceed the cost of an Ethernet gaming adapter.
The gaming adapter wouldn't already include the antenna, so that would
raise that cost. The desktop is USB 1.1.

The Hawking HWBA54G might be the ticket, in client mode, with a
freeantennas.com EZ-12 Windsurfer reflector. I will have power available
at the window, so that's not a problem. The reviews look bad, but then it
seems that the only reviews are written by unhappy users "I'm on hold for
customer support as I write this".

The complaints about the manual are not true of the manual downloaded from
the web site today, and the complaints about the "new" firmware that needs
to be downloaded seems to refer to firmware dated 8/24/2005. If that's
still shipping in current boxes, that's bad, but now that you know, updating
to the latest firmware before doing anything else seems wise.

There are gaming adapters, and there are some other routers that have a
client mode. The Hawking just caught my eye today.


--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 05:08:07 +0000 (UTC), (E-Mail Removed) wrote in
<f4nu3n$hs5$(E-Mail Removed)>:

>Joe Bedford <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> BTW, does the documentation for the Hawking adapter give any hint that
>> it will work with USB 1.1? Everything I could find says 2.0 only.
>
>Anything that works on USB 2.0 should work connected to a USB 1.1 port.

Most will, but some won't (e.g., my NEC DVD burner).

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:59:38 -0400, "Peter Pan"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
<ududnY_FTqPDm-(E-Mail Removed)>:

>You may want to rethink that.. The speed you get is going to be limited by
>the slowest speed device in the system ( usually the connection to the
>internet, think water, you may plumb with 3/4" pipe, but if you had a 1/4"
>feed, that would limit the 3/4 pipe to the amount of water a 1/4 pipe can
>transfer).. Point is that whether it is cable or DSL (usual max around 6-8
>Mbps), it is still going to be way way slower than USB 1.1 (about 12
>Mbps).....

That's 12 Mbps raw. Actually throughput will be quite a bit less than
that.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

John Navas wrote:
> On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:59:38 -0400, "Peter Pan"
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
> <ududnY_FTqPDm-(E-Mail Removed)>:
>
>> You may want to rethink that.. The speed you get is going to be
>> limited by the slowest speed device in the system ( usually the
>> connection to the internet, think water, you may plumb with 3/4"
>> pipe, but if you had a 1/4" feed, that would limit the 3/4 pipe to
>> the amount of water a 1/4 pipe can transfer).. Point is that whether
>> it is cable or DSL (usual max around 6-8 Mbps), it is still going to
>> be way way slower than USB 1.1 (about 12 Mbps).....
>
> That's 12 Mbps raw. Actually throughput will be quite a bit less than
> that.

My notes say 20 Mbps raw, and about 12 Mbps actual... Either way it's faster
than the cable or DSL modem... guess I should have just said way faster,
rather than way way faster....

On Thu, 14 Jun 2007 01:37:59 -0400, "Peter Pan"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
<(E-Mail Removed)>:

>John Navas wrote:
>> On Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:59:38 -0400, "Peter Pan"
>> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
>> <ududnY_FTqPDm-(E-Mail Removed)>:
>>
>>> You may want to rethink that.. The speed you get is going to be
>>> limited by the slowest speed device in the system ( usually the
>>> connection to the internet, think water, you may plumb with 3/4"
>>> pipe, but if you had a 1/4" feed, that would limit the 3/4 pipe to
>>> the amount of water a 1/4 pipe can transfer).. Point is that whether
>>> it is cable or DSL (usual max around 6-8 Mbps), it is still going to
>>> be way way slower than USB 1.1 (about 12 Mbps).....
>>
>> That's 12 Mbps raw. Actually throughput will be quite a bit less than
>> that.
>
>My notes say 20 Mbps raw, and about 12 Mbps actual... Either way it's faster
>than the cable or DSL modem... guess I should have just said way faster,
>rather than way way faster....

12 Mbps raw. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Serial_Bus>
Figure about 4-6 Mbps throughout on bulk transfer with a good
implementation, which could be a limiting factor, particularly if the
implementation is actually worse than that.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>