12 volt WiFi for in the van? Forums

thieawin

As part of the preparation for half timing next year I have taken the plunge and bought an Alden satellite Broadband system. It is being fitted now.

I would find it easier to have WiFi in the motorhome than pl;ug in cables every time I want to use my laptop , any reccomendations?

I have ahad regional BGan for 3 yeras but the system is withdrawn from 31 December rendering my transceiver box U/S

Of course I could use that in the motor home or at the farm in Spain (no broadband)

I looked hard and long and as the purcahses are for business and I can claim back the VAT I have bought a second one for the farm. The on all time charge with only fair usec limits is actually resaonable.

My Telefonica Broadband for an apartment costs about €60 per month and the non stop unlimited satellite is €700 per annum

I just hope it works. Thanks to nukeadmin/outdoorbits for supplying the equipment so quickly and reasonably and not even batting an eyelid about transporting it to the IOM.

AberdeenAngus

You need a wirless network 'Bridge'. Pick em up anywhere. Have never seen one that doesn't run on DC though of course you'll need to check the voltage.

Sometimes they are called wireless access points such as this one

http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=2DMH&CategorySelectedId=11178&PageMode=1&NavigationKey=11178&InMerch=1#specifications

just checked and this one is 12v Very Happy

MalphasWats

Most wireless access points already run on 12V DC, so you should be able to hook it up to your system without too much trouble at all.

I imagine people will suggest that you must have a voltage regulator to make sure it still gets 12V even when the battery is a flagging a bit, or when it's hot off a charger and putting out more, but at only about £30, I'd stick it in and see how it goes. If it fries, buy a new one and get a voltage regulator.

Of course - I'm not an electrician, and I am a software engineer (who any hardware engineer worth his salt would be quick to point out knows nothing about how real computer systems work) so take that advice with a pinch of your condiment of choice.

You'll be looking for a Wireless Access Point, or Wireless Bridge, you don't need a 'broadband router' as this will include the ADSL modem bit which is no good to you and occupies the 'network uplink' port that you *will* need, I would also steer clear of any that boast "Draft-N" or 802.11n compatibility for a whole list of geeky reasons that mostly boil down to "Really not worth the extra money".

-Mike

eddievanbitz

Hi Thieawin

As you seem such a good bloke and offer help were you can I will tell you the best one to use with the Netmaster Smile

We have now installed probably more Netmasters than any one else, and we install it with a choice of either Wireless or LAN as standard, and have found that the on that Lnksys W151G is great.

You can wall mount it and it is easy to set up with the iCopter box

PCWorld sell them but never have them in stock but Staples Office supplies also stock.

JQL

I have added a small Wireless Router (Draytek Vigor 2910 VG) to my NetMaster 90 which runs off a stabilised 12v supply (which I bought from RoadPro). This gives me WiFi throughout the RV and up to about 100m away – sit outside under the awning surfing and drinking wine!

The other main benefits of the Draytek are:

• VoIP – I have a UK telephone number anyone can call from the UK at normal UK rates (not international) and I can call anyone in the UK and Europe for 1p per minute! (Providing the dish is up and logged on)
• Hardware Firewall and NAT– This makes it much more difficult to get Viruses, Trojans and Worms so helps protect your system where ever you are
• Secure WiFi – most WiFi is unsecured. The DrayTek gives VPN tunnelling via WiFi which is extremely secure. Online banking etc. can be done in the knowledge that you are as secure as you can be (much more secure than at Home and in most offices!).
• Secondary Internet Connection – You can plug in a 3, Vodafone etc. USB Dongle and use that to access the internet without having to put up the dish (only of any use in the UK or if you buy a SIM for the country you’re in). This is very useful if you just want a quick check of your email, or if you’re parked where the satellite is hidden behind trees, buildings etc. or it’s too windy to raise the dish.
• You can use a WiFi printer with it so you could leave the printer setup in a cupboard and use it without a lot of rigmarole!

There's a load more stuff available on the Draytek so PM me for more info

Patrick_Phillips

We are using the Netmaster 90 with a D-link DIR-635 router and find this works well and gives me the wireless-N. However the router is 5v at 2a so I am using a Maplin A79GW. This variable regulator cost about £20 but it gives me a LCD screen monitor for the leisure battery as well as a guide to the actual power drain. I have not seen it go beyond about 750ma yet.
We started off with a D-link access point but we are using a desktop on Vista and a UMPC on XP. I wanted a peer to peer network and the access point was unwilling to share with both and the IPcopter modem at the same time. I confess that I ran out of patience with it after a couple of hours and just went for the router as a simpler solution!
We also use Skype, both In (£10 pa and Out £10 for 3 months which gives me a UK number for people to call me and free calls to any European landline.
Works for us but I suspect there are many other solutions...
Patrick