Internet for Chasing

[Brett Roberts]

So, yesterday i went to a verizon store to get this non-contracted mobile internet. they tell me there is no such thing. i have to have a 2 year contract. and there is a shut off and turn on fee every stinking time.
so i leave and go to best buy. i told the the dude that worked there what i was looking for and he goes "well have you looked at verizon?" i told him what had happened and he goes "of course they did...."
so he guided to verizon 4g mobile hotspot jetpack. which is non-contract and prepay month by month. HOWEVER! the only monthly options they have are $60 for 3gb or $90 for 10gb.
my question is, how much data do it need? i would be using my laptop for radar on different sights and sometimes mapquest. but i'll try to always use my tomtom.
could i survive on 3gb?

The in-store Verizon rep was either lying to you or clueless. No surprise. There's a reason I absolutely never walk into any of the telecoms' brick and mortar stores to do or buy anything.

You absolutely can go month-to-month without signing up for the Prepaid plans, which are overpriced and potentially present roaming problems. All you need to do is order a cheap used modem on eBay with a clean ESN. When it arrives, call Verizon, and they'll get you set up with a $50/mo. plan for 4 GB, no contract. The only downside is a $35 activation fee, but it's still substantially cheaper than Millenicom.

General rule of thumb: the route I just described is ideal for anyone who can live with 4 GB/mo. If you're a heavy user who wants a higher data cap, that's where Millenicom shines, but it's a little pricier.

Personally, I think 4 GB is more than sufficient unless you're going to be chasing 15+ days per month and/or want to stream NetFlix on the road or something. Plus, even if you occasionally bust the cap, it's only $10/GB extra (I think). Honestly, activating a used modem directly through Verizon is a no-brainer unless you envision yourself using something like 8-10 GB/mo.

 

[Shawn Camp]

ok I've got a question

I was in the At&t store yesterday and I was asking about there internet service on the road for next season. turns out they do offer a plan you buy the laptop accessary and there is a $50.00 a month fee for internet access and no contract but here is the kicker it's 5gb and the expense is higher depending on if you want more gb. So my question is very simple. What gb do alot of you chasers use for programs like stormlab and chasing in tx and OK ?????????. please let me know what you think ????


"MYFOXDFW.COM"

Shawn C.


"Fox 4-Warn StormTracker"

 

[Shane Adams]

You'd pretty much have to have your connection live 24/7 for the entire month to use that much. We chased in 2010 with a 5GB/month limit and averaged maybe 200MB/month. We didn't even come close to it, just using it while mobile on chases.

 

[Bob Schafer]

I've been a post-paid under-contract Verizon customer since 2007, so--though I don't know for certain--I may have a grandfathered deal that is slightly better than what a new customer can get. I pay $50/mo for a 5GB plan. It is my ONLY internet service. I haven't had any (data usage) problem running GRL3 while chasing. There are a couple other issues to note, though: 1) The data card has spent something like 30,000 miles plugged into the USB slot of my laptop while moving. In retrospect, that is torture on the motherboard, even though the data card is pretty light, and for a long time I used an extension, too. (Take any laptop with something plugged into the USB slot and shake it continually for 500 hours [30k miles divided by 60 miles per hour] to simulate this treatment, and then expect it to not break??) This season I ran into some serious problems because the motherboard is now partially broken............................ I have been told by the guys at Notebook Mechanics in Wichita that a few years ago it became law for the OEM computer companies to stop using lead solder on the motherboards. So now, they are more brittle and fragile than before.................................. For next season I am either going to ship my computer to them to resolder the whole motherboard with lead solder (they are not prohibitted from that), or I am going to switch to a MiFi setup....................2) 5GB is plenty of allowance for my at-home everyday needs, but I am totally aware that if I start streaming stuff--even radio--or watch tons of videos I will blow through that 5GB in no time at all.

 

[Shawn Camp]

OK Great stuff to know and I did talk to at&t and I think that that might be the way to go . I want to thank you both for the info and I will be watching to see if anyone else would like to post on this topic. Looks like I may have finally found a way to get internet and run spotter network as well as stormlab and OH that was the other thing I wanted to ask has anyone had any problems running spotter network with stormlab,GR3 or any other radar with the 5GB plans or any other plan and what are your thoughts on that ?????? Shane and Bob and any other chaser that would like to chime in on this topic. I know that these may seem like silly questions but my mother always said "the only silly questions is the ones that are never asked" and I always listened when mother would talk. .


"MYFOXDFW.COM"

"FOX 4-WARN STORMTRACKER"

"WEATHER ONLY ON FOX 4"


Shawn C.

 

[Bob Schafer]

I use GRL3 with SN. With my previous data card I used an external antenna, and also tried an amplifier. While driving I found that the fewer products I was downloading the better I was able to keep my data updated. i.e. If I tried to run GRL3 with reflectivity, velocities, echo tops, VILs, and maybe something else, there was just too much to download for the data to get updated. The way it works is that if they can't ALL update then NONE of them do. It would vary depending on the location, of course, but when you're on the road try to make do with just a couple products. My preference is usually just reflectivity and VIL, or even reflectivity ONLY.... plus SN and storm attributes. The amplifier didn't seem to help at all, so I sold it.

I got the 4G card a couple years ago, and the woman at the store (Sue at Ensignal in Lamar CO) told me I probably wouldn't need the external antenna, because the new card works so much better than the old card, and she was right. I don't even bother with the external antenna anymore, and I rarely find my GRL3 failing to update for more than a few minutes at a time. In fact, many times I LOL when I find that it has updated in the most impossible of places. I think one such place was halfway between LaJunta and Kim Colorado.

The 5GB limit has NEVER been any issue with me, but I try to not waste my allowance. Be sensible. Don't run GRL3 under blue skies, except to maybe keep an eye on the visible satellite imagery for cu when initiation may be imminent. When you get checked into motel rooms, use their WiFi to save your data usage, especially for checking out everybody's latest YouTube postings. You know, common sense stuff like that.

I did exceed my limit a couple times, due to extenuating circumstances. The first was when my TV broke, and I had no other form of entertainment at home for a couple months. I spent so much time online my useage was almost 6GB in one month. The other time was when I was archiving GRL3 data and satellite imagery for a hurricane chaser who was chasing a hurricane. He likes to save that stuff for about 24 hours before landfall, so I was downloading the GRL3 data as well as 6 different flavors of satellite images, every single one, for about 24 hours. Then, I also uploaded all that stuff to his DropBox account. That also put me over the 5GB for that month, but it only cost me an extra $10, so no biggie.

BTW, if you do a little math, you can see that 5GB is a lot. Assuming each reflectivity image is 100kb (and maybe I'm way off with that, I dunno...), and also assuming you have to download 8 per hour for 6 hours per chase day, and you chase 20 days in May, then (just for the reflectivities ONLY) 100 X 8 X 6 X 20= 96000mb..... ballpark. That would be only approximately 2% of your 5GB monthly allowance.

 

[Matt Tottle]

Don't forget to multiply that by each product you have GR3 set to receive.. Each tilt of each reflectivity/velocity, plus tops/VIL/etc is a separate download. Then there's Dual-Pol.. From what I understand each of those update packages are massively larger than their standard counterpart. And then your dynamic placefiles which (even though they'd also be small) update every minute or two..

The biggie that nobody thinks about is the streaming music. I measured data use during my last trip back to NJ over Christmas.. I do an iron-man drive, straight through, 1,467 miles in 24 1/2 hours - and with Slacker in 'regular quality' mode, I used 3.4GB in 24 hours. Even just with the random internet stuff I use my phone for (directions, googling random factoids, etc) I still use a few gigs a month.

And one more thing, beware of AT&T and T-Mobile's new "no contract" and "1 year upgrade" gimmicks. If you pay close attention, you will see that they are really no different than if you were to sign a 2 year contract and then break it - what you have to pay extra up front and per month for the phone is the same as paying an ETF. And those programs require you to turn in the phone or else you pay a hefty additional 'buyout fee', which is basically paying for the phone in full.

AT&T/T-Mobile add $20 per month to your monthly bill for the "privilege" of not having a contract, plus require you to surrender the phone if cancelled or upgraded before 2 years or else pay 'buyout'.

Sprint/Verizon charges an ETF of $20*#months remaining when you break the contract, no obligation to return phone.

Either way, it's just the same $#!+ in a different box.

 

[David Wolfson]

FWIW, the consensus I hear listening to the SiriusXM long-distance truckers' channel lately is that Verizon is the clear winner for reliable connectivity on the road.

 

[Shawn Camp]

hello all


Thanks Bob I will take it under advisement but I ran across this post by Jason russell in which he is talking to some canadians that want to come down and storm chase during the season and he says that they might look into this.



I recommend Millenicom Wireless:

http://millenicom.com/plans/

Their unlimited plans allow 50GB/month


does anyone know anything about them ??????????? are they a ligit thing or company ???????? has anyone of you guys used them before for internet ????????????????? I would like to know more about them as I continue to assess my options for next season and the future seasons to come ?????????. would this be a better way to go in terms of internet with more gbytes ?????????. If any of you spotters or chasers can tell me more on these people that would be AWSOME ?????? . I would sure appreciate it alot.



"MYFOXDFW.COM"


"Weather only on FOX 4"


"FOX 4-Warn StormTracker"


Shawn C.

 

[Skip Talbot]

does anyone know anything about them ??????????? ... ligit thing ... ???????? ... internet ????????????????? . ... gbytes ?????????. ... AWSOME ?????? .

Millenicom is a legitimate reseller of Verizon and Sprint data with decent customer support. Lots of chasers, myself included, use them. Their 20GB 4G LTE plan uses Verizon and would be the popular pick since Verizon has the best coverage on the plains. The unlimited plans use Sprint, and would be a popular pick if you need a ton of data without a monthly contract. Keep in mind you pay for the device and there is a $50 activation fee with these plans. The prices are still attractive seeing that you can get 20GB of Verizon data for $70/mo, whereas you'd pay $90/mo for 10GB going through Verizon's prepaid data site.

 

[Dan Robinson]

You'll never get close to 5GB with normal weather data, but any video watching (Youtube) will put you over the limit very fast. One afternoon of watching Youtube videos waiting for the cap to break can use up half of your data allowance. You'd be surprised how much data even a short YT video uses up. This is why using a cellular card for full time internet at home doesn't work very well. You have to really ration your use.

 

[Matt Tottle]

Millenicom is a legitimate reseller of Verizon and Sprint data with decent customer support. Lots of chasers, myself included, use them. Their 20GB 4G LTE plan uses Verizon and would be the popular pick since Verizon has the best coverage on the plains. The unlimited plans use Sprint, and would be a popular pick if you need a ton of data without a monthly contract. Keep in mind you pay for the device and there is a $50 activation fee with these plans. The prices are still attractive seeing that you can get 20GB of Verizon data for $70/mo, whereas you'd pay $90/mo for 10GB going through Verizon's prepaid data site.

Just keep in mind, Sprint has lost a crapload of coverage in the plains. I don't know what Millenicom does in this case but when you are a Sprint customer, most of the time when you go outside Sprint's network it falls back to Verizon 1xRTT speed. There's very little 3G roaming unless you run a hacked PRL. Basically when Sprint struck their free roaming agreement with Verizon years ago, Verizon didn't want Sprint customers sucking down unlimited 3G while on their network, so they made it that the phones would fall back to 1xRTT when they connected to Verizon towers.

 

[Shawn Camp]

Dear Skip


Hello sir

I hope that you and family are doing well. I wanted to ask you more about Millenicom ?? wanted to know which plan has the 20gb 4g LTE of Verizon they have 3 plans is it plan 1. the HOTSPOT plan ?? the other 2 look like they are the unlimited plans ??? just curious about which one it it is so I know. Really considering it for Spring 2014 get back to me when you can no rush and Thank You for all of your advice and all of you guys and gals on here for all of your advice. I really appreciate being a part of this weather family not just during the storm season but all year round.


"MYFOXDFW.COM"


"Weather ONLY on FOX 4"


Sincerly

Shawn C.


"Fox 4-Warn StormTracker"

 

[Skip Talbot]

which plan has the 20gb 4g LTE of Verizon they have 3 plans is it plan 1. the HOTSPOT plan

Yes
http://millenicom.com/plans/#hotspot-plan

The unlimited plans are on Sprint

 

[J Tyler]

Adding onto a fairly OLD thread, but wanted to stick this on here. It seems that Millenicom is no longer doing business with Sprint, and has migrated those customers over to another reseller. They are stilling doing the 20g deal with Verizon. BYOD does not work with Verizon, so you have to buy their MiFi. If you stop service, it is only $20 to restart.

Straight Talk has JUST started reselling Verizon internet. Only one device is offered (a hot spot), and it does NOT have an antenna port. This service is interesting to me because you pay $50 and get 5gb of data. You have 60 days to use that data. The $50 is also the TOTAL price, not $50, plus another $23 in fees. When you want to buy more data, you just buy another refill card at WalMart, OR you just tell it to give you more data and it charges your card. You can buy data in other increments as well.

Already looking into what I want to do for next year ,and wanted to share what I'm finding out there....