Internet access

[LAW]

i have a Motorola Q from Verizon, i am very impressed with the service.
most of the places i work are very remote, the only place it didn't work was up by the yukon. i usually get up to 500k downloads when its on the EVDO network (kinda interesting having high speed internet in a tent)

for my "office" we just purchased a direcway dish (mostly for voip), so far it works pretty well, it only takes about 20 mins to setup and point.

 

[OS-Aussie]

Great topic guys !!!

I have been looking for a while also and still I am not sure, there has been a lot of growth on the EVDO space and link below to the Lightning Rod is a good step.

http://evdo-coverage.blogspot.com/2005/06/evdo-lightning-rod-jolts-v620-v650-and.html

The big issue with SAT is still the latency, but looking at the EVDO they are not that great either, so Skype is maybe not that good of an option. Then again these guys have a SAT phone service but KB rate plan.......

http://www.kvh.com/



Has anyone been using any of these options, for something like teleworking using a VPN connection ??? and been somewhere a little remote ???

 

[Pskhaat]

CO Ron, there is packet radio where speeds are somewhat limited. Much of this has to do with the signalling frequency. The 2.4 WLAN band overlaps a Ham band and this can be an option, though unfortunately with restrictions.

 

[gary in ohio]

What about HAM radios? Im not expert, but I thought I heard somewhere that you can tap into the internet or email or something? Any HAM out there have more info? I could have swore I was reading a webpage from a guy sailing around that was updating from HAM? Maybe I was wrong? Anyone?

You can send email via ham radio, but your not really internet connected. Several issues you will contend with if you do use it. The email is SLOW, typically no faster than 9600 baud and often 1200 baud or slower so messages must be very short. Its often not real time and more store and forward. No guarantee on delivery. The big gotcha for some, all ham radio rules apply, NO business communications, MUST be G rated language and you will also need a license for every country or be in a country with mutual licensing agreements to use the radio's to make the connection.

 

[efuentes]

You can use hughes.net in most of northern Mexico and its not too bad, also you can use blackberrys as wireless modems if you are close to a highway (10-20 miles or so) throughout Mexico, ill cost you about 30 bucks a month for unlimited GSM data plan.

Saludos

 

[TxRider]

A buddy of mine is installing this...

http://www.wildblue.com/aboutWildblue/index.jsp

Seems it wouldn't be too hard to use for your home high speed internet and pack the dish with you if you can deal with the space and setting it up/aiming it.

I used my old cell phone that did TDMA and analog roaming, I've very rarely not been able to get a signal anywhere in the US, including Arizona deserts, big bend down on the border etc. Cingular is shutting down all TDMA though so I got an 8525 PDA phone. I'll grabbed an external antenna for it, which I'll be testing this weekend from a remote site that usually gives me trouble and will probably get a booster amp for it soon.

The phone I got can provide internet for a laptop through 802.11, bluetooth, USB or infrared as well, if it can get a signal.

 

[Robthebrit]

A buddy of mine is installing this...

http://www.wildblue.com/aboutWildblue/index.jsp

Seems it wouldn't be too hard to use for your home high speed internet and pack the dish with you if you can deal with the space and setting it up/aiming it.

from their FAQ:

Can I get WildBlue service in a mobile vehicle like an RV or boat?

Not at this time. WildBlue service was designed for stationary locations like homes and small businesses. We do not offer broadband service for mobile
vehicles at this time.

I have a friend who tried it a while back with Huges-Net in his RV and it kinda works.

The problem is when you change transponders on the satellite, there system is not setup to handle it. They know what physical area each transponder covers and they direct your traffic to the transponder covering your area (based on your address). This prevents them from blasting every byte of data from everybody over the entire country, it better utilizies their bandwidth.

If you stay within your area you'll be fine, as soon as you move into an area covered by a different transponder it'll not work and they'll know you have done it (whether they care or not is unknown). The trick to making it work is knowing what area you have to stay in but I doubt the company will tell you anything about the setup. On the old Huges-Net system you could use it for mobile if you paid more. The reason for paying more is they have to send your data to multiple transponders and that costs them bandwidth.

This is the jist of it. In reality the system is more complex because transponders overlap, they each use a different frequency, there are multiple satellites etc, although these other factors may make it work in your favor.

EDIT: I just called and asked him and he said it was not worth it - get an Air Data card. He also said DirecTV is a pain in the ass if you have a phased array antenna which allow you to receive it while driving. When you go in the menu and setup your dish you are basically picking a set of frequencies (tuning it) which locks you to a transposnder (or set of transponders). As you drive around you have to change it, DirecTV is a one way system so they have no idea you have moved.

Rob

 

[TxRider]

That makes sense.

I wondered as my parents had dish network I believe, but they traveled all the 50 states and he just set up the dish at every place they stopped for the week, and packed it back up in the RV when they left the campground.

I wasn't really thinking mobile internet per say, but having to set it up after you stop to camp on the roof or some such like you can do with Dish. I figured it would authenticate itself in to whatever transponder it found when you aimed it to a satellite.

Speaking of antennas and booster though, anyone tried any high gain directional antennas for a cell phone or booster? Are there any parabolic antennas that could be aimed for distance at a remote cell tower?

 

[Big_Geek]

TThere's not much on the amateur radio front for high-speed Internet access, but they are the MASTERS of getting through when no other method will. If you're into HF at all, check out Winlink 2000.

http://www.winlink.org/

This is used in many areas as the emergency communication method of choice.

You can also gateway things like APRS and packet to Internet email, but that can be a bit sketchy.

I use the antenna that MountainPete recommended and have had GREAT coverage with my cell phone. I can blue-tooth to it and use it as a modem to dial in to work when needed. I have also used the cell phone PCMCIA card from Cingular with excellent results.

 

[bc_fjc]

TThere's not much on the amateur radio front for high-speed Internet access, but they are the MASTERS of getting through when no other method will. If you're into HF at all, check out Winlink 2000.

http://www.winlink.org/

This is used in many areas as the emergency communication method of choice.

You can also gateway things like APRS and packet to Internet email, but that can be a bit sketchy.

I'm in the middle of setting up winlink for my local Emergency Program. I'll let you know how it go's once I figure it all out but from what I have tested so far it looks like it will work great for basic email between the radio and internet.