lennyhb Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Tracker - 2009-06-18 12:25 PM Could this apply more so in weak signal areas, in which case could any advantage gained by using a cable to get the dongle into a better location be lost by the very cable itself? No it will not have any effect on the internet connection . Try to imagine the dongle as 2 sections, the first part talks to the outside world via radio waves & then it passes the information to the other part that converts the information into computer language (data), this data is sent down the cable to the PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevandali Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Have managed to get a 12v car charger for my mac and was hoping to use a 3 dongle just for uploading text for a blog and using skype to phone home from france.Am I right in believing that the dongle won't work in France and/or is too expensive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 If it's a PAYG dongle it won't work, if you have a monthly contract it will work fine but don't be surprised if you get a bill for a few hundred quid when you get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whisturx Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 I am using the internet on a site at Burgos,Spain at a cost of 2 euros for 6 hours which I think is reasonable. returning from a month in Portugal where all the Orbitur/ACCSI sites have free WiFi although you have to use your laptop in a general area near the bar which is another excuse to have a drink in the evening. Works OK untill the Portugese have 4 bank holidays while down there and the bar can be a bit noisy for using Skype!! Spanish sites have Wifi at a small charge. France is a bit hit and miss especially if you use municipals or obviously nothing on aires. I passed on the free WiFi password to people we met wild camping in Portugal,and the side road was full of vans next day so the information must have spread !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derek500 Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 whisturx - 2009-06-19 7:28 PM all the Orbitur/ACCSI sites have free WiFi although you have to use your laptop in a general area near the bar which is another excuse to have a drink in the evening. That's why I'm getting a long range wifi antenna and mounting it on my TV aerial pole (instead of the aerial). Soon pay for itself!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Tracker - 2009-06-18 12:25 PM Thanks Lenny - we live and learn! Without wishing to seem pedantic, but my natural curiosity (I've always been a bit curious - even my Mum said so!) makes me wonder that if the maximum length of a USB cable is 5 metres beyond which visible corruption may occur, would it follow that proportionally even a short length of cable could cause some data loss or corruption? Could this apply more so in weak signal areas, in which case could any advantage gained by using a cable to get the dongle into a better location be lost by the very cable itself? For USB1 5m is often recommended as max cable length, but you can get USB to Cat5 adaptors to increase lenght up to 150m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Highe Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Hi 1. USB cable - it depends what you are using it for - I tried a 15m length (3X5 metres) on a printer and it didn't work, but did with a camera connected! 2. Campsite WiFi is growing, especially in Northern Europe, and the CCC have a growing network, though all is not yet well, we forked out for a years subscription but have only used it twice (out of six attempts) - they'll get there in the end. 3. Dongles are getting cheaper all the time and we shall invest in a three month "3" Dongle when next in the UK, but beware, coverage in large towns and cities is fine but I'm for the wide open spaces and the coverage is poor to non-existent. Abroad, roaming charges for data are still far too high, though you could buy a local dongle I suppose. 4. Alden Netmaster. This is our final option and download speeds are fine but uploading (such as changing pages on a website, banking etc.) is painfully slow. It does support Skype (telephone over the Internet) and email is OK but don't attach photos. The Netmaster certainly works as far south as Gibraltar and as far North as the Baltic coast of Germany but I understand that it won't work much further North. The cost of the kit is high and usage is 7€ a day (when you use it) but you get freesat TV channels thrown in. Talk to VanBitz if you are interested. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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