Ginny1 Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Hi, I am thinking about purchasing a directional antenna to increase my wifi reception at campsites. We often park under trees away from the bar/office so I am wondering if they work very well or do you really have to have a clear line of sight. I would welcome anyone's thoughts on these. I have seen a little cheap tplink one that plugs into the usb port on the pc, does anyone have one and how effective are they. Also does anyone know if an antenna on a mifi improves performance. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veletron Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 An antenna on a MiFi makes a MASSIVE difference to performance (eg no bars vs 3 bars, 2g vs 3g), but as usual, it depends on what you buy. Directional antenna's on a MiFi aint worth the hassle. For WiFi, a directional antenna is only worth it if you know where the signal is coming from - eg can point it at the facilities block on a campsite. See my guide with some suggestions here: https://www.veletron.com/motorhome-internet-access-guide/ Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 The cheap directional WiFi antennas off eBay work surprisingly well compared to a laptops internal on, they don't need direct line of sight and even if grossly misaligned will give a good boost. I plug mine in and if signal is still a bit low rotate it whilst looking at strength meter which is on the laptop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginny1 Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 I have just looked on eBay. Do you use the flat panel type or the omni directional antenna from wifi-antennas.co.uk that cost about £24. I presume you just plug it in to a usb port? Thanks for your fast reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginny1 Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 Hi Nigel, Thank you for your reply. At the moment your website is unavailable, not from the link below or from goggle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginny1 Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 Also, from your reply I presume you mean an antenna on a mifi works well, but the wifi antennas are a waste of time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 This sort of plug-into-usb aerial is all you are likely to need: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WIFI-900Mbps-Wireless-Adaptor-Antenna-802-11-G-N-LAN-Network-USB-Dongle-Adapter/253320578461?epid=1557006209&hash=item3afb15459d:g:GtEAAOSwv~1aNrvJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginny1 Posted January 25, 2018 Author Share Posted January 25, 2018 Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 I use the flat panel 'directional' type. As I posted above seems to work quite well, but I never had any other aerial to compare it too. 332090077013 is a similar one, it came with a mini CD with installation software, and instruction not to let it self install, after a lot of head scratching I found that you have to ignore instructions and just plug it in and self install. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veletron Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Ginny1! - 2018-01-25 4:12 PM Also, from your reply I presume you mean an antenna on a mifi works well, but the wifi antennas are a waste of time? Sorry, router issues, should be back online now! External (eg roof of van or stuck to a window) antenna's are definitely not a waste of time for either WiFi or MiFi - in both case HUGE gains are made vs the antenna built into a laptop or built into a MiFi. I meant that Directional antenna's on a MiFi are a waste of time. However, if you usually stay on campsites, then a directional antenna for WiFi might be useful. Line of sight is not required - its just better if available. The alternative to a directional antenna (and the ones that I use) are omnidirectional antenna's they sacrifice some performance for extra convenience - ie, you don't need to worry about where the signal is coming from. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Autreacher Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Is this the only one way to have a wifi in my trailer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tar-Ten Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Hi everyone, although not in a van but mostly camping I have found that the little Huawai mobile wifi things are great... If you do a lot of traveling to different areas just buy a high data only sim... Check the area you are going to for what has best coverage... These can last from 1 -12m from activation... Amazon do some good deals. I normally go for EE 6gb data £15 which lasts for 90 days or until all the data is used... You sometimes get deals of 2 for £25. EE has great 4g uk coverage and is pretty much BT. These wee boxes are good as you don't have to attach them to anything and you can place anywhere in the van or awning....even in a plastic food bag and just bung it outside..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 Autreacher - 2020-04-14 5:50 PM Is this the only one way to have a wifi in my trailer? Once again an unusual post by new member 'Autreacher'. If there any more I will report him/her to the forum admin for action. Please let this post drop back into the history it came from. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Keithl - 2020-04-14 7:43 PM Autreacher - 2020-04-14 5:50 PM Is this the only one way to have a wifi in my trailer? Once again an unusual post by new member 'Autreacher'. If there any more I will report him/her to the forum admin for action. Please let this post drop back into the history it came from. Keith. Can I suggest you do a search using 'Autreacher'. Have you thought that the Aut might stand for Autistic? On another motorhome forum I am on there is a regular poster who seems to be badly Dyslexic and his posts often make little sense. Nobody is trying to get rid of him and I suppose that it would badly upset him if he were banned. It seems Autreacher is American or possibly Canadian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebishbus Posted April 16, 2020 Share Posted April 16, 2020 While this is still with us ,could anyone answer my query ? I have a Nexus 7 wi-fi only tablet and would like to increase its pick up range.Does anyone know if one of these wi-fi aerial extenders would work with it. It has a mini USB socket, but will this connect to an external aerial ? Brian B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 thebishbus - 2020-04-16 6:37 PM While this is still with us ,could anyone answer my query ? I have a Nexus 7 wi-fi only tablet and would like to increase its pick up range.Does anyone know if one of these wi-fi aerial extenders would work with it. It has a mini USB socket, but will this connect to an external aerial ? Brian B. Hi Brian. Unfortunately tablets and phones will not work with WiFi extenders. They don't provide enough power from the USB socket to drive the antenna nor are there any apps for them. You would be better off using something like the Alpha R36 range extender. With that you can plug in either a USB mifi unit or a USB antenna. That way you can use it for on site reception of site WiFi via the antenna or plug in the USB mifi unit to use mobile internet. You would need - 1) Alpha R36 2) A USB mifi stick and SIM card 3) A USB antenna - there are many around with gains ranging from 3db up to 36db Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebishbus Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 Thanks Bernie. I have now found that if I open up the the Nexus 7,I can solder a new lead to the aerial connections for an external aerial,I will try this first.Thanks again . Brian B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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