Readers write : WiFi Ranger Range extender & Gryphon Router

November 21, 2018 by Marlan at Rv52 Leave a Comment

From the RV52.com mail bag:

Our greatest struggle was with technology. We have finally cleared that hurdle with having Dish on the go TV, a WiFi ranger for free WiFi, & Verizon mifi for other situations. Our plan is $50 per month unlimited, & throttled at 25G, through FMCA.

The young man who put our TV in our living room after we bought our coach highly recommended [WiFi Ranger]. We had that 1st TV installed to get us going on the road, right after we purchased it. We had all the old TV’s in here when we got it. I have since added 1 in the bedroom. We have a 2007 Travel Supreme Alante. 45’ , 500hp Cummins, & we love it! Have done many upgrades, & maintenance. It is a very well made coach, unlike what we see on the Entegra’s of today. I have talked with support on the ranger many times, & they are always very helpful. It is a quality product!

RV52.com notes on just looking over the WiFi Ranger:

Looking at the WiFi Ranger web site, it looks to be a really solid product. Weak signals are common when you are RVing and I had a reader write earlier about using a range extender from Ubiquiti quite successfully.

The WiFi ranger looks to be purpose built for RVing with the idea of mobility and permanence built into the product. One neat feature I noticed is it seems to have an autologin feature for 1000’s and 1000’s of wireless pubic networks which is very cool.

One more neat feature is that its router box, that the antenna unit plugs into, has a USB LTE modem “fail-over”. This would be VERY nice if you have to work remote and you have WiFi working most of the time but sometimes you need to have LTE because you can’t stop working. I had also found very good router that I want to try very badly by MOFI and sold via Amazon . This router would have a stronger LTE backup concept I believe.

I like how there are some really good options for RVers like WiFi Ranger and the Ubiquiti’s.

Another reader gives me a headsup on a router I’d never heard of!

This reader asked for a few ideas for different WiFi solutions and he wrote back with a very short little statement.

try looking at a gryphon router

So I did a quick check on Amazon and found the Gryphon router .

I did a quick snapshot of the Amazon page ESPECIALLY with the rankings from Amazon. It is rare that you see so LOW of a 1 star set of reviews – less than 2%. I estimate that any Amazon review with a decent amount of ratings *AND* 1-stars less than 5% is very good.

Some really really neat features from this router are:

Attention to security – making security easy to use
Attention to setup – making setup easier for everyone
Attention to performance

Will RV52.com switch to this router anytime soon? Probably not. Why? Because even though our Apple Airport Extreme might be skinny on nice features, it is fast, reliable, and it backs up our local computers seamlessly. Plus I think we would likely go for the MoFi first as having the LTE fail-over would be more important to us.

How have you solved YOUR WiFi/comms issues in your RV? Put in a comment and lets add to the conversation!

Extending WiFi Range and Adding Security to RV Park WiFi

November 13, 2018 by Marlan at Rv52 Leave a Comment

WiFi Range Extender for RV Park 802 Improved Reception

One reader wrote in with ACTUAL EXPERIENCE, FEEDBACK, INFORMATION, and INSTRUCTIONS on extending WiFi range in an RV park. As an added bonus, this reader was also able to increase security.

(Dan this is you. Let me know if you want more credit with your last name. We didn’t talk about it at length! :-) Sorry it took me so long to publish this. )

I had also spoke at length with this reader and he was a smart cookie so I really liked his inputs and trust a great deal of what he says here. I did take some editing liberties, but tried to retain the spirit and sense of what he wrote me.

— start of Dan’s writeup —

Recently, my wife and I sold our house in Spokane, WA and hit the road in our new RV, with the intention of living and working from the road for an entire year. We work from home, so our computers are important to us, as is the security of our computer network.

We were hesitant to simply connect our computers directly to any RV park’s WIFI for our connection, worrying about the security of our connection. My goal was two-fold; To put a firewall between us and any RV park’s WIFI, and to have the ability to connect to WIFI networks further away than our computers can see.

This article lays out what I did to arrive at what I feel is the best solution for RVers in similar situations. Here’s what I did;

After surveying the selections on the internet carefully, I bought the NanoStation M2 from Ubiquiti Networks, easily found at Amazon here . It’s a fantastic and inexpensive product, at around $85.

This WiFi Range Extending device has an interface allowing you to see all the WIFI networks nearby. You can either mount the M2 on the roof of your RV for the best results, or (like I did) simply place it near a window inside your RV. Window mounting should be totally sufficient in most situations.

The M2’s interface lets you connect to any nearby WIFI network. It has a nice interface that lets you enter the WIFI connection’s password, then save it as the default, so you only have to do this once, initially, at each RV park you visit. Then, when you arrive at another RV park, you simply change it to that park’s WIFI.

Configuring the Ubiquiti WiFi Range Extender Nanostation M2

First, you need to configure your M2. Your Ethernet port must be configured on the 192.168.1.x subnet, or you’ll probably struggle to log into the M2, so you should permanently configure your Ethernet port with a static IP on that subnet, because this is how you’ll always need to connect to your M2, now, and later in order to connect it to a different wifi network.

Once you’ve done that, follow the instructions in the M2’s documentation, but in general, it’s as simple as connecting it to your Ethernet port, logging in, and browsing for a network in the SSID location on your Wireless tab, then locking the SSID to the AP. (You’ll see a button for that.) Remember when you’re on the Wireless tab to enable security, so your connection to the park is encrypted!

Configuring your router to work with the Ubiquiti WiFi Range Extender – Nanostation M2

Secondly, make sure your router is not on the 192.168.1.x subnet, as some routers (especially Netgear routers) will automatically change their subnet IP’s to 10.0.0.x (with the router on 10.0.0.1) when the router sees it’s ISP (in this case the M2) is on the same subnet.

This will totally mess you up, so before you begin, just put your router on the 10.0.0.x subnet (with the router on 10.0.0.1). It’ll save you some hair pulling and frustration!

Once you’ve done the above items, here are instructions on how to connect the cabling of the M2 to your router;

Connecting the cabling of the M2 Nanostation Range Extender to your router

When you receive your M2, you’ll notice it has no power cord, as it’s powered over Ethernet (POE). This just means some of your Ethernet cables will run through a POE dongle that’s included with the M2. Here’s how the cabling connects your router, M2, and the POE dongle:

Cable 1: Connect a cable from the Internet port of your router to the LAN port of the dongle.

Cable 2: Connect a cable from the POE port of the dongle to the Main port on the M2.

Cable 3: Connect a cable from the Secondary port of the M2 to the Ethernet port on your computer. (You’ll only connect this cable when you need to log into the M2, to connect it to a different wifi network.)

A few extra notes;

– Your router should be set to Bridge mode, which is the default mode, so don’t touch that setting.

– The Ubiquiti Networks website (see link below) has excellent support if you use their chat feature.

– The folks at Ubiquiti Networks may tell you that you need a switch between your Router and the M2. That’s not true in this configuration.

– You may be tempted to buy the NanoStation M5 instead of the M2, but I figured it was safer to use the M2 since the M5 has a 5 ghz signal which might not work with my wireless printer. The M2 was the safer route as it’s on the 2.4 ghz signal that works on all devices.

– Don’t buy the Loco M2 as its smaller and won’t do as good a job at picking up WIFi networks further away.

– The folks at Ubiquiti Networks told me that I didn’t technically need to use my router, and that if I wished I could simply connect directly to the M2 with my laptop(s), and that the M2 had an encrypted connection which offered sufficient security, but I figured it was best to have that added layer of protection offered by my router’s firewall (which Ubiquiti Networks said the M2 and M5 do not have). Plus, I like the ability of having a router that I can connect printers to, tweak ports on, etc., so this was the best route for me.

– You may find it useful to install the ‘Ubiquiti Device Discovery Tool’. You shouldn’t need it if you use the above methods, but in case you do; Go to https://www.ubnt.com, click on Support, then on Downloads, then Utilities. Download the ‘Ubiquiti Device Discovery Tool (Java – All platforms)’, unzip it, then just open the executable file to run the tool. (FYI, you need to have the lastest version of Java installed for it to work.)

Good luck and happy RV’ing!

Dan

— end of Dan’s write-up —

Some things that might even help you more. Dan uses a Nighthawk router and he raved about it separately in an email to me. One more thing he didn’t bring out in the article is that by having your router connecting to everything, you can isolate changes to accommodate an RV Park Wifi network separately from the router. Here is a link to the Nighthawk router on Amazon .

If you need more help on installing your router technology – you might consider this 24/7 online service to help you with technology.

Improve your WiFi reception at RV Parks economically

December 5, 2016 by Guest Author Leave a Comment

ubiquiti wifi nanostation for extending range to your wifi

(Editor’s pre-amble. This is a guest article from an RV52.com reader Dan Wilcox -THANKS DAN- about his real world experience. Minor edits by RV52 along with added Amazon links.

Dan wrote RV52.com due to some of my articles on managing the WiFi in your RV. He wrote a great article and I hope it is of great use to you. Please comment and share so everyone can benefit from his experience.)

Why I wanted better RV Park WiFi

A month ago my wife and I sold our house in Spokane, WA and hit the road in our new RV. Our intention is to live and work from the road for an entire year.

Ability to Work Remotely and the need for security

We work from home, so our computers are important to us, as is the security of our computer network. We were hesitant to simply connect our computers directly to any RV park’s WIFI for our connection, worrying about the security of our connection (editor’s note – very wise, very wise indeed).

My goal was two-fold; To put a firewall between us and any RV park’s WIFI, and to have the ability to connect to WIFI networks further away than our computers can see.

Solving the RV Park WiFi Signal Strength Problem

The rest of this article lays out what I did to arrive at what I feel is the best solution for RVers in similar situations. Here’s what I did;

After researching and discussing with several people, I ended up buying the NanoStation M2 from Ubiquiti Networks. It’s a fantastic and inexpensive product, at around $85.

Positioning the M2

You can either mount the M2 on the roof of your RV for the best results, or (like I did) simply place it near a window inside your RV, which is totally sufficient.

Connecting the M2 Cables

Here are instructions on how to connect the cabling of the M2 to your router; When you receive your M2, you’ll notice it has no power cord, as it’s powered over Ethernet (POE). This just means some of your Ethernet cables will run through a POE dongle that’s included with the M2. Here’s how the cabling connects your router, M2, and the POE dongle:

Cable1: Connect a cable from the Internet port of your router to the LAN port of the dongle.
Cable2: Connect a cable from the POE port of the dongle to Main port of the M2.
Cable3: Connect a cable from the Secondary port of the M2 to a normal port of your Router. (For example, ports 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. Just not the Internet port.) The reason for this cable is, it allows you to log into your M2 from your laptop once you’re connected to your router’s WIFI, which you’ll need to do to change the M2’s WIFI settings from RV park A to RV park B as you travel.

The M2 Configuration Interface

The M2 has an interface allowing you to see all the WIFI networks nearby. The M2’s interface lets you connect to any nearby WIFI network. It has a nice interface that lets you enter the WIFI connection’s password, then save it as the default, so you only have to do this once, initially, at each RV park you visit. Then, when you arrive at another RV park, you simply change it to that park’s WIFI.

Tricky Configurations with your Router and the M2

My goal with my router, which is a Netgear Nighthawk (an awesome router BTW), was to use it both at home and in my RV. Therefore, I didn’t want to change ANY of my router’s settings for using it in my RV. My router is on the 192.168.0.1 gateway (not 192.168.1.1, which is how the M2 is configured when you receive it).

I had to change the IP and Gateway of the M2 so the 3^rd digit is a 0 and not a 1, to match my network. I made my M2’s gateway 192.168.0.100, the IP 192.168.0.50, but you can use different IP’s that make sense to you. Remember that you’ll use the IP address you assign to the M2 to log into it, to change the WIFI network you’re connecting to.

A few notes; The Ubiquiti Networks website has excellent support if you use their chat feature.

The folks at Ubiquiti Networks may tell you that you need a switch between your Router and the M2. That’s not true.

You may be tempted to by the NanoStation M5 instead of the M2, but I figured it was safer to use the M2 since the M5 has a 5 ghz signal which might not work with my wireless printer.

(editor’s note: The wireless printer would be on the Nighthawk’s wireless network completely unaffiliated with the RV Park WiFi and the M2.)

Final notes

The M2 was the safer route as it’s on the 2.4 ghz signal that works on all devices. Don’t by the Loco M2 as its smaller and won’t do as good a job at picking up WIFi networks further away.

(editor’s note: The Loco has a +5 km range, approx 3 miles, where the non-Loco has a range of 13 km, approx 7 miles. The price between the 2 types is about $40)

Lastly, the folks at Ubiquiti Networks told me that I didn’t technically need to use my router, and that if I wished I could simply connect directly to the M2 with my laptop(s), and that the M2 had an encrypted connection which offered sufficient security, but I figured it was best to have that added layer of protection offered by my router’s firewall (which the M2 and M5 do not have). Plus, I like the ability of having a router that I can connect printers to, tweak ports on, etc., so this was the best route for me.

Ubiquiti Products from Amazon

CLICK HERE IF YOU DO NOT SEE A NICE SET OF AMAZON SEARCH TERMS RELATED TO ubiquiti nanostation BELOW

RV Entertainment System Overview with Sonos Play and Bridge

Last updated on September 25th, 2016 at 09:02 pm

May 20, 2014 by Marlan at Rv52 Leave a Comment

(Note – this article is a pseudo-excerpt from the book The Spartan RV. Learn more about living life more fully, without STUFF in that book)

A reader asked about a simplified RV Entertainment system…

I thought I would elaborate while spending some time talking more in depth about how to get the internet in and out of the RV. I did not dive in deep enough on that subject on my earlier video.

If you don’t see the video below this text, then you need to click on the title of the article until you see the video.

Transcript here:

Hello, friends of rv52.com and Fitty. I had a reader write in and ask me if I had a simplified RV entertainment system. Also, she wanted to know if my system has been updated. She felt that maybe my components were old and some of that. So, I thought I would address the question.

Here’s the entertainment system that I’ve had for a long time. What has changed? Really, not too much. We’ve switched out of the Clear wireless for the modem, and I’ll explain a little bit of that later. But, the biggest change in our system is we upgraded the Mac Mini in the center right, and we got rid of the Western Digital USB because the Mac has a plenty large disk drive to save movies.

That’s it. That’s really almost the only change. We even added more devices on the left hand side. This network still stands pretty much as it was.

Let’s start with a blank slate here. I’m going to draw a line that’s going to divide us between outside the RV, which is the Internet, and inside the RV. This addresses a lot of the questions I get. Most of the inside the RV questions… There aren’t that many. Quite frankly, people I think are fairly confused about all the choices about how to get Internet and what they mean. So, let’s go over some of that.

First off, outside the Internet there are really only two kinds of Internet
– wired and wireless. There are really only two ways. It’s, you could argue, a big oversimplification, but let’s go into this a little bit.

On the wired side you have what’s called cable, which is Cox Time Warner, and it refers to a special type of wire which the cable companies have run. They’re able to send Internet signals over the same wire that the send the TV signals. There’s also twisted pair which is AT&T and the phone companies. They’ve been doing DSL. Now they’ve got U-verse. And, I’m sure there are all sorts of similar things. They go over a type of wire called twisted pair. There are probably others, but the first two I mentioned are really the big dogs.

On the wireless side you have WiMAX which is in some ways sort of rare. We purchased it. We had it through Clear, and then Clear was purchased by Sprint. The neat thing about WiMAX is I had no usage limits, which I’ll talk about later, and we were able to do movies and things like that over the WiMAX connection. But, I don’t think they actually went out to a lot of cities.

I find WiMAX very confusing because Sprint called it 4G, but there’s also 4G cellular and they’re not the same. It’s very, very confusing. The 4G you see on your phone, if your phone says 4G, is simply not the same as what Sprint was claiming. Very confusing. The technology is called WiMAX.

Then, there’s cellular where you have Verizon, AT&T, Sprint’s cellular. Those typically are the same technology as your phone. There’s a 4G LTE, those are the type of technologies you’ll see. That’s another wireless technology.

You can get these little boxes. They’re about the size of a wallet maybe. They bring in a cellular signal. They put Wi-Fi out which could be very good for an RV, but that’s not what I’m going to recommend for a number of reasons.

There’s satellite like HughesNet, for example. It’s a really, really, really good choice for RVers as long as you don’t do movies. Movies change everything. There are probably other radio systems that I left out. But, those are the three big systems that come to mind.

On the inside of the RV, regardless of what you pick on the outside, wired or wireless, you have to have a box that takes the outside Internet and converts it to something that you can use inside the RV That’s usually called a modem. The modem usually attaches to a router. Sometimes they’re all one thing. Sometimes they’re two boxes.

In my case they’re two boxes. But, you almost always have this combination. I want to stay with those green boxes in this whole presentation. So, just watch the green boxes.

On the output of the router you have wired or wireless. The primary wired is Ethernet, and the primary wireless is Wi-Fi. Let’s move on. Remember this, though, this is a very important diagram.

Let’s talk about the people who might want to use these technologies to watch movies. Let’s say they are convinced they’re going to use Netflix or they’re going to use Amazon and they’re going to watch streaming movies. I’m going to outline what I think is the most sensible path based on a couple of things.

The first thing and most important thing is fair use. All the wireless people… Because a signal that contains your Internet going out on wireless goes everywhere. Everybody can see it. It’s like one big wire and everybody has to share it. So, there are limits on what you can do.

Because of that cellular, satellite, they all have this thing called fair use. If you go over it it’s either going to cost you a boatload of money or they’re just going to shut you down. We’re on T-Mobile. If you go over the fair use limits on T-Mobile they slow you down. But, when I say slow you down it’s almost stopped.

Let’s look at the most sensible path that you’ll have for getting your movies in and around your RV Inside the RV I haven’t seen too many RVs wired for Ethernet. That’s really not what people do and it’s not what’s convenient. So, I’m just going to take that off the list.

Inside your RV you’re probably going to use a wireless technology called Wi-
Fi, sometimes called 802.11. Outside the RV I’m going to cross WiMAX off in a blue line. We used it very successfully. If you’re able to talk to Sprint and buy the WiMAX service that used to be called Clear, more power to you if you can do that. That’s pretty good, and you can watch movies through that.

I’m only going to cross it off with a blue line. It’s what I used for a long time, but I am going to cross it off as my recommended path for this presentation.

Cellular, honestly, is full of fair use limits. I’m going to take it off the list. But, I do see with T-Mobile and AT&T you can buy extra gigabits for pretty high rates. They really don’t want abusers on the system.

Then, I’m going to cross off satellite. Because if you thought it was bad for cellular, satellite’s even tougher on fair use.

I’m going to put a blue line through other radio. Because there might be other systems that are worth considering. I’m just not going to do it here.

Basically, because I’ve got two blue lines, I’m still going to cross off wireless. So, what I’m going to say to watch… If you’re going to watch movies… Everything else is viable unless you watch movies.

If you’re going to watch movies you really need to stay with cable or twisted pair on a wired connection side, which means it’s going to be hard if you’re mobile to be doing this – if you’re very, very mobile. If you’re going to sit and stay a month you can probably get stuff hooked up in a day or two if you carry an AT&T modem or a cable modem with you. Those are standardized. That’s pretty possible.

My reader said, “Hey, I got a smart TV, what can I do?”

Okay. If you do nothing but use the RV antenna inside your RV you’re really only going to get over the air TV in HD You might have a cable connection if you’re at an RV park and may be able to bring the cable into the smart TV through the RV’s existing cable connections. I’m not showing that here because it’s really not much different than RV antenna.

Secondly, I notice that most RV parks still are running not HD. So, don’t expect a lot there.

Let’s go to the next thing you can do. Well, first off, you’re going to have to have a modem. This is the same green box, and I’m showing my Clear modem here.

You’re going to have to have a router. I use the Apple AirPort Extreme. I tested a lot of them and this, for me, has been the best. The little red radio signal thing, this is Wi-Fi. This is exactly what I have drawn on the prior slides.

Now, if I do that with just my smart TV, just by adding these two components my smart TV.. And, I looked up your smart TV and it has built in Wi-Fi. You can get Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, [inaudible 00:09:39],
VUDU, all sorts of neat stuff. You can even play with Facebook.

So, basically you can watch the Internet TV now in HD You can get the majorleaguebaseball.com, Amazon, and just all sorts of neat things.

And, if you don’t mind typing letters using a remote control like on a TV you can surf the Internet, although I will say that typing thing is pretty painful. I was able to get an app for my smart TV which controls my smart TV via my iPhone. That works reasonably well.

What’s the next thing you could do? Well, if I add my MacBook Pro to this, this system like you see here, I can’t really do too much more. I can still surf the Internet and watch Internet TV from my Mac.

It’s not the same thing as the smart TV. They’re not linked. There’s no real way to link them at this point. There may be through apps that are on the TV But, in general the answer is really no.

If I add an Apple TV to the mix I can now put pics, music, and video from my Mac onto the TV. And, if I control it from my Apple TV this is kind of intermittent or spotty. Because a MacBook Air is not on all the time. You close it. You take it with you. Whenever the Macbook Air is not turned on you’re not going to be able to do things with your Apple TV like the pictures, music, and video from your Mac.

The flip side is whenever your Mac is open you can actually project your screen on the Mac onto the big screen TV using Apple AirPlay, and that is super slick. Those are two things you can do. It’s a little bit different perspective on the same thing. But, anything you see on your Mac screen you could put on your big screen TV pretty much at full speed, and that’s pretty cool.

You told me you had a SONOS Bridge. So, you’ll hook the SONOS Bridge up onto your Apple AirPort Extreme router. Then, once you do that with your SONOS Play:1 you can put your SONOS Play:1 speaker anywhere within range of the SONOS Bridge and you’ll be able to play music.

But, with your SONOS Play:1 and your SONOS Bridge, I looked around, and I don’t think you can play any of the sound from your TV onto your SONOS Play:1 speaker. But, you can stream Internet music to your SONOS and you can play iTunes music on your SONOS. Of course, the limitation there is if the iTunes is on your MacBook Pro that’s not something that’s on all the time because it’s a laptop.

So, one big sound improvement would be if you added a Play:5 to your system, the Play:5 got its audio from the big screen TV, and now you could have nice big screen TV sound coming on your SONOS. And, it would also go to your SONOS Play:1 speaker. Then, simultaneously you’d be able to get music off the Internet on both your Play:5 and your Play:1.

There’s your system. Thanks for watching. Hopefully, this’ll help you get a more fun and more useful RV entertainment system. Thanks.

Sonos equipment from Amazon:

CLICK HERE IF YOU DO NOT SEE A NICE SET OF AMAZON SEARCH TERMS RELATED TO sonos BELOW

RV Control Panel

Last updated on February 23rd, 2019 at 03:16 pm

April 16, 2013 by Marlan at Rv52 9 Comments

(excerpted from the book – Your 5th Wheel RV – The Interior)

Almost every RV has an RV Control Panel. You might hear it called rv command center, rv control center or any one of 20 other names, but it is in ADDITION to the fusebox or RV electrical panel.

The RV Control Panel is a central location where all the RV-centric switches and buttons go that are unique to RVing and the RV.

Your RV control panel might be as simple as an on/off switch for the hot water heater OR it might be incredibly complex and sophisticated like the control panel on a Newell, Prevost, or high end Monaco.

If you have small children in/around your RV, I might HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you put a lock or other safety mechanism on the door. Otherwise, things could get pretty exciting.

Typical items you’ll find in the RV Control Panel are:

Hot Water Heater Controls (on/off for electric – on/off for gas)
Different lighting controls (porch, hall, other- such as accent lights)
Fresh Water Pump – provides pressure for water system when operating with self contained fresh water only
RV Slide out controls
Tank Fluid Level monitoring system – black tank, gray tank, and fresh water tank
Battery Monitoring and control system – can be simple monitoring or much more
Awning Controls
Super Fan or Fantastic Fan Controls
Air Conditioning Control – for example on/off for the circuits for the 2nd air conditioner so you don’t blow 30 amp circuits

There are so much more that can go in these control panels, I only listed what was in our 5th wheel’s control panel, but I think this gives you an idea of what to expect.

Inspecting this control panel actually gives you an idea of what kinds of systems you would have in your RV. One thing right off the top of my mind you might find extra is a generator controls in this panel. But I think you get the point.

RV Command Center showing controls for slideouts, lights, hot water heater, water pressure pump, super fans, and monitoring system.

CURRENT items related to rv control panels

CLICK HERE IF YOU DO NOT SEE A NICE SET OF AMAZON SEARCH TERMS RELATED TO rv control panel BELOW