WIreless Speeds and capacity at The Fort

[Eyeeore]

I've searched on the WiFi at the Fort. We spent last winter there and watched them installing the various hardware, cables, and such but left before it was turned on.

We're coming back this winter and I'm wondering how I need to prepare. We tend to watch movies & other programming over the internet if we miss it while wandering the parks. We also connect back to home for various files, etc. that we need.

Our camper has it's own storage server that is connected through a secured wireless router that we use for pictures, etc. I connected the cable modem via the WAN connector last year so we could see stuff on Amazon Video and other programming.

It looks like I may have to invest in a HooToo or similar to make the bridge between my network and the park network. From the tests others have posted, it looks like there may be sufficient bandwidth to allow this but from experience, that is a moving target at best.

I suspect that at some point I'll need to put in a hardwire connection in the from the router to the TV, BluRay player, AppleTV and printer but for now I'd like to stay with the internal wireless and bridge the networks.

Suggestions and comments are appreciated.

Thanks

 

[bama_ed]

Eeyore,

I was at the Fort the night this past March 2016 when they cut over to the WFI. Here is a screen shot of my speed test:



My DD18 had no trouble watching Netflix and YouTube on her tablet. Others can report more recent data.

We did have multiple reports from back before Halloween that pictures were not uploading and the WIFI was spotty. Don't know if that was particular to one area or more widespread. So doesn't sound to have been seamless.

Bama Ed

 

[Eyeeore]

Bama Ed, thanks for your reply. The report of pictures not uploading & spotty WiFi aren't a huge surprise. I did WiFi networks until I retired and it's an art form to get it right, the problem being is that it's a totally moving target. Wire networks are much easier in that aspect.

I wondered when this was going in if 2 access points per loop were going to be adequate. The only way to make sure that you don't have a loading issue is to overbuild but that's really expensive. What most did (and I was no exception) was to try to hit the 75-80% level and then take data. As more people come in with multiple wireless devices, the load increases. Then the address space issue starts to creep in and that can cause issues as well.

Marriott handled this in their vacation properties by putting an access point in each villa. They missed it in that a lot of folks like to display pictures on the TV's using either a USB stick or some other way to link their camera to the TV but didn't provide any mechanism to connect the two. There is a private wireless network for use with AppleTV and Roku but it doesn't allow a laptop/tablet/phone to connect. The subnet filtering locks it out.

Thanks again. if you're in Ft Wilderness in January or February, maybe we can meet each other face to face.

Take care.

 

[garneska]

Will let Bert report back, but right now I am not thrilled with the wireless. At least on the weekend it seemed to have a lot of traffic. It's Monday so I will see if it gets better. I suspect it will.

 

[hgarnes]

I'll agree with garneska (a rare event ) the wifi was poor over the weekend. This morning I ran two tests with readings of 7.6 and 4.8 Mbps. This is also going through a vpn. I'll try a few more tests and different times and see what happens.

Bert

 

[peg110]

When I was there in August, I had a HooToo in my TT. Once I finally got it connected and working, it worked okay, but I hit times of slow connectivity and would just hotspot my Cell Phone.

For us, we didn't spend a lot of time streaming video's (netflix, etc...) However, I was doing some "Work" while down there. (Work decided 2 weeks ahead of time that they wanted me to travel to St Louis the day I came back to work. I had to get travel, hotel and rental car plus approval while on vacation. Ugh!)

 

[tmoo]

Are the wired routers still available, or are they completely gone now that wifi is working?

 

[garneska]

As far as I know they are gone, but I will try and stop by the settlement and see what they say. I am pretty sure gone though.

 

[hgarnes]

Ok, so I tried a speed test tonight around 8:40p EST this evening. Download speeds for the two tests I performed were 0.16 and 0.31 Mbps respectively - just 4% of the speed we saw in the afternoon. To your earlier point, the network here isn't designed for peak usage.

Bert

 

[bgula]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but maybe someone here can help me. I like to bring my Ooma with me to the Fort. Before wireless came, it worked great as I could have a hardwired internet connection. This past August, as there was only wifi, I had to use the bluetooth dongle to access the wifi. The connection was terrible. I had to constantly reset the Ooma just to get it to connect. If I was lucky enough to be able to make a call, the person at the other end could never make out what I was saying because of the bad connection. Ooma CS tested the line from their end and basically confirmed that the connection was terrible. I'm heading back to the Fort for Christmas and would like to be able to use the Ooma. Any suggestions as to how I can make the Ooma work properly? Is there a way to harness the wifi signal and turn it into a solid wired connection for the Ooma in my trailer?

 

[peg110]

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but maybe someone here can help me. I like to bring my Ooma with me to the Fort. Before wireless came, it worked great as I could have a hardwired internet connection. This past August, as there was only wifi, I had to use the bluetooth dongle to access the wifi. The connection was terrible. I had to constantly reset the Ooma just to get it to connect. If I was lucky enough to be able to make a call, the person at the other end could never make out what I was saying because of the bad connection. Ooma CS tested the line from their end and basically confirmed that the connection was terrible. I'm heading back to the Fort for Christmas and would like to be able to use the Ooma. Any suggestions as to how I can make the Ooma work properly? Is there a way to harness the wifi signal and turn it into a solid wired connection for the Ooma in my trailer?

I have an OOMA too (and love it btw). I don't bring mine, It can be configured so that if you don't have an internet connection that it will automatically forward to another number. I have it set to automatically go to my Cell. The nice thing is that OOMA knows if you are connected or not, so it's not that it will try and call the OOMA and when it fails, it will then forward to your cell (like some other services do) so it's fairly quick and reliable.

As far as a Wired Connection, there are other "Routers" you can purchase to help with that. I have a HooToo Tripmate which allows me to connect to the Fort's Wireless and then Route it to my mobile devices (also wirelessly but on my own Private WiFi). This also has an advantage of being somewhat like a range extender as my range is now defined by the HooToo location. You could put the HooToo as close as possible (within the confines of your site) to the Wireless Access Point (WAP) at the Fort and then use the Wireless with the HooToo. In the end, however, you are still at the mercy of what ever signal strength or bandwidth at the weakest point along the path. So even if you have EXCELLENT signal strength between the HooToo and your device (OOMA, Cell Phone, Tablet, Laptop, etc...) and the speed between the WAP and the Internet is blazing fast, if you connection (in this example) between the HooToo and the WAP is horrible, your overall experience is horrible. This is one of those "Your Only as strong as your Weakest Link" things. So short of having a DIRECT wired (all the way) the best you could hope for is something like a range extender/booster (wired or wireless)

 

[PaHunter]

Amazing you can't upload pictures at the fort some times, but NASA can download crystal clear pictures from Jupiter no problem. Too much technical stuff for my brain.

 

[bgula]

I have an OOMA too (and love it btw). I don't bring mine, It can be configured so that if you don't have an internet connection that it will automatically forward to another number. I have it set to automatically go to my Cell. The nice thing is that OOMA knows if you are connected or not, so it's not that it will try and call the OOMA and when it fails, it will then forward to your cell (like some other services do) so it's fairly quick and reliable.

As far as a Wired Connection, there are other "Routers" you can purchase to help with that. I have a HooToo Tripmate which allows me to connect to the Fort's Wireless and then Route it to my mobile devices (also wirelessly but on my own Private WiFi). This also has an advantage of being somewhat like a range extender as my range is now defined by the HooToo location. You could put the HooToo as close as possible (within the confines of your site) to the Wireless Access Point (WAP) at the Fort and then use the Wireless with the HooToo. In the end, however, you are still at the mercy of what ever signal strength or bandwidth at the weakest point along the path. So even if you have EXCELLENT signal strength between the HooToo and your device (OOMA, Cell Phone, Tablet, Laptop, etc...) and the speed between the WAP and the Internet is blazing fast, if you connection (in this example) between the HooToo and the WAP is horrible, your overall experience is horrible. This is one of those "Your Only as strong as your Weakest Link" things. So short of having a DIRECT wired (all the way) the best you could hope for is something like a range extender/booster (wired or wireless)

Thanks for the info. I don't have a cell that I would want to forward to as I just have a basic cell for the US and if I leave the Ooma in Canada, this will cost a fortune!
I'm trying to wrap my head around the HooToo that you indicated. I see that it has an ethernet connection. If the HooToo accesses the Fort's wifi, does this mean I can hook the Ooma to the ethernet on the HooToo? Or is that just for hooking to a hardwired internet connection? Basically, I think the HooToo just creates a separate private network using the Fort's wifi, correct?
I'm not great at network stuff... so does this mean that if something's not great about the Fort's wifi (i.e. lost packets, or whatever was causing the problem), this will continue to be a problem, even using the HooToo?

 

[peg110]

Thanks for the info. I don't have a cell that I would want to forward to as I just have a basic cell for the US and if I leave the Ooma in Canada, this will cost a fortune!

Got it! That makes sense. Of course you COULD get a "Disposable" cell phone (when you get into the US). An "unlimited plan" (for a month) I think can be gotten for about $40 plus a cheap $20 phone. (that could be used NEXT time too), but I digress...

I'm trying to wrap my head around the HooToo that you indicated. I see that it has an ethernet connection. If the HooToo accesses the Fort's wifi, does this mean I can hook the Ooma to the ethernet on the HooToo? Or is that just for hooking to a hardwired internet connection? Basically, I think the HooToo just creates a separate private network using the Fort's wifi, correct?

The particular HooToo Device can be used to "Bridge" a wireless network or a Wired Network, but your devices must use the Wireless network that the HooToo Provides. So you are correct, it essentially gives you a Private Wireless Network. The advantage is for travelers who, sometimes in hotels, have to PAY for each device that connects to the Hotels network (wired or wireless). This allows a SINGLE device to connect while Multiple devices can connect to that Single Device (and in technical terms they will get "NAT'd" to the Internet or other resources outside of the Private Wireless Network). You can connect to the external network either by the HooToo Wireless or the HooToo Wired (ethernet) but NOT both. The Ethernet port is solely for connecting the HooToo to another network.

I'm not great at network stuff... so does this mean that if something's not great about the Fort's wifi (i.e. lost packets, or whatever was causing the problem), this will continue to be a problem, even using the HooToo?

You are greater at networks then most because you nailed it. You are correct. If the forts WiFi is acting up (poor speed and/or bandwidth) no device you add will help. What it CAN offer, since WiFi strength, among other things, is dependent upon distance, you can shorten the physical distance before the next "Hop" of network devices.

I know, it's confusing. Sorry.... I am a techy kind of guy.

 

[Eyeeore]

Bgula, I'd second Peg110's suggestion about just getting a pay-as-you-go phone (Tracfone, etc.) for the time you are here. I do that when we travel out of the US & get a local number (SIM) for the time we're there. It works out better.

 

[bgula]

Bgula, I'd second Peg110's suggestion about just getting a pay-as-you-go phone (Tracfone, etc.) for the time you are here. I do that when we travel out of the US & get a local number (SIM) for the time we're there. It works out better.

That's currently what I have with AT&T - I pay 10 cents per minute and add funds whenever I want. I've managed to convince them to allow me to keep my minutes on the phone each year rather than have them expire after 30 days. I have a free trial of Ooma prime available, so I will probably activate that in order to do the call forward option. I'll also activate the international option on the cell phone for $5, so I don't think I should incur any long distance charges thru the call forward option. Still need to check it out, but I'm hoping this will work for me. Still rather have the Ooma with me, but until the Fort clears up their internet, I'll see if this works.

 

[garneska]

Bert is asleep so no speed test, but at 7:15 am before the parks open, the internet is SLOW. Killing me slow. No need for a speed test struggling with email and disboards.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

1) Fortunately, not many people actually complain about the speed.
2) They realize that when lots of folks are on, the speed drops significantly.
3) The access points work fine, but the routers get overloaded.
4) People using their own phone links worked far better during peak usage hours.

NOTE:
I do remember one weekend when a kid complained his game wouldn't run well.
His dad mentioned that movies were more like a Still Life Painting.

 

[garneska]

TRS, you think we should complain? Will it help? Again we find peak times to be unusable, like last night around 9pm. During the day time when people are at the parks or the pool seems to work fine.

 

[sirenia88]

If you need a fast or reliable internet connection, just get a hot spot. Your cell phone may have it configured with your carrier. Over the summer, my DW needed internet for the FPs and we were camping. I bought a Straight Talk Hotspot for 50 bucks at the local walmart. 15 bucks for 2 gigs of data. Problem solved. It took about 10 minutes to add this to my account. Tested a couple of days prior to the trip and no problems. If I know I will need data on a camping trip, I will just refill the account. Personally, after my last trip to the land of the mouse, I never had a problem with the Wifi at Wilderness Lodge, Villas, or any other public location even at the Fort for a brief stop there. Then again it was Halloween morning at Trails End. I thought the coverage for the most part was excellent no matter where I was located in the parks or otherwise.

To the OP, a media server in a trailer? Damn. That's cool but I personally like less tech when I am camping. I hear it enough when I'm on the phone and such while camping. We bring the computer when we know there is going to be a need for it. Otherwise. Laptops, tablets and like stay home for the short trips.