Mobile Hotspots

[Randy Jennings]

I just got the Netgear AC791L on Verizon prepaid, but haven't taken it on a chase yet, so I can't comment on actual performance myself yet, but I can say what made me choose it. Reviews on it where much better than other hotspots. It supports carrier aggregation and simultaneous dual-band (2.4 and 5 GHz) 802.11ac WiFi for up to 15 devices (which I probably don't need the latter, but carrier aggregation supposedly fixes a lot of the issues folks have with these type of devices). I strongly considered the lower cost Verzion models, but every review I read said the AC791L was worth it. I chose Verizon mainly because my chase partner has AT&T so we will have carrier diversity. Personal experience and comments by others have convinced me that AT&T and Verizon are the only networks that a chaser should consider. I used to use my phone hotspot, but I have a low-cost carrier who's coverage stinks. I went prepaid, as I don't want to pay Verizon's prices for my entire family for the entire year - I will just supplement with a prepaid Verizon during chase "season".

As for bandwith, I used over 50MB in under 15 minutes without even firing up Gibson Ridge or doing anything bandwidth intensive. I suspect that Windows 10 decided to update something. It might have been the Jetpack itself downloading an update. I will say if you have moved to Windows 10, that Windows Update is a problem, as Microsoft will not let you turn it off. You are supposed to be able to into the advanced network settings and set a connection as metered to keep it from downloading updates on that connection, but there are problems with that. To begin with you have to first establish the connection as an admin user (just once - not every time you boot and connect - if you create it as a normal user you need to "disconnect" and "forget" the connection and reconnect from an admin user). Normal users have the metered connection option greyed out. Even when you do that, it will still be greyed out and look as though metered connection is off. Doing netsh command in a shell will show you that the connection is in fact metered even on the normal user account, so the display just seems to be wrong. We'll see. I sure hope that it doesn't download updates while I am chasing.

I'm curious for those who have used Verizon prepaid in the past - did you suspend service and reactivate or just not buy more data until the next season.

What exactly is the benefit of using GR3 over RadarScope?

I use both RadarScope and GR when chasing. The big advantage with GR (besides a bigger screen on my laptop) is the ability to import detailed map shapefiles. I don't know how I lived without that. I am able to stay with the storm a lot more now. There are some other nice things about GR like being able to set your own color tables (although the default ones in RadarScope are nice), VAD (vertical wind profile), etc. GR was worth the investment, and I'm not ditching RadarScope either. Both are valuable tools to me.

 

[GPhillips]

I'm wondering if the new "time range" placefiles with GR3 could also be using up some sig bandwidth. I'm not sure how it databases previously downloaded observations for example. Or does it go and get a couple hours of observations every time it polls for a placefile update?

Also, I assume you are turning off the "Show Background" option under GIS so it's not downloading the NAIP files at various zooms for places you haven't been?

Meso-SAILS was in place before last severe weather season. So, it should have been noticed last year if that was the sole cause of bandwidth problems. Perhaps more NWS offices are using SAILSx2 and SAILSx3 this year?

 

[Mark Blue]

It supports carrier aggregation and simultaneous dual-band (2.4 and 5 GHz) 802.11ac WiFi for up to 15 devices (which I probably don't need the latter, but carrier aggregation supposedly fixes a lot of the issues folks have with these type of devices).

This in and of itself makes the AC791L worth the ticket price. The fact that it's a category 6 LTE device puts any owner on the leading edge of technology as far as carrier aggregation, LTE Advanced technology, and combining channels for increased throughput are concerned. With the firmware update rolled out late last year (software version 02.08.59.0) it now supports every band Verizon currently has deployed, so it's actually a pretty sophisticated device. Here's some additional information on the new features available with the last major update that explains these features more in depth. It also appears there are no new firmware updates available yet, so the features as described do appear to be the latest and greatest on offer. All in all it's a very attractive package if you're in the market for a mobile hotspot.

 

[Mark Blue]

I ran across this video going through some old emails. Looks like a pretty nice hotspot if I may say so. Hope it gives you some additional options Bob.

 

[Bob Hartig]

This in and of itself makes the AC791L worth the ticket price. The fact that it's a category 6 LTE device puts any owner on the leading edge of technology as far as carrier aggregation, LTE Advanced technology, and combining channels for increased throughput are concerned. With the firmware update rolled out late last year (software version 02.08.59.0) it now supports every band Verizon currently has deployed, so it's actually a pretty sophisticated device. Here's some additional information on the new features available with the last major update that explains these features more in depth. It also appears there are no new firmware updates available yet, so the features as described do appear to be the latest and greatest on offer. All in all it's a very attractive package if you're in the market for a mobile hotspot.

I ordered the AC791L Friday through Amazon for around $135.00 new. It appears Verizon now has a brand-new model that blows everything else out of the water for speed, but it's hard to get hold of right now, I doubt I could get it for the same price, and the AC791L still has the big edge on battery life. I don't much care about blazing speed as long as I can get radar updates dependably.

 

[Dennis Deitchman]

I have phone service with them and no issues. I always have the best coverage (across Oklahoma) but the others that ride with me have t mobile, and at&t so we are covered at all times. We just use our hotspots and works great. If you already have phome service with them obviously. I switched to Verizon for the great coverage and we'll worth the little extra I pay.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Stormtrack mobile app

 

[ericjkelly]

So need some advice. I bought a MIFI a year ago. How can I get this activated on verizon the cheapest? I hate their "access fees" "activation fees" etc. Any good advice?

 

[Ben Holcomb]

Try calling and refuse to activate unless they waive the fees. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't I guess. I just paid the 30 bucks or whatever it was to activate.

 

[ericjkelly]

Thanks Ben...and do you pay a monthly fee to have it active? Just convinced them to add 2GB of data every month for free so I certainly dont mine asking

 

[Ben Holcomb]

I pay $20/month to keep it active, but it's part of my phone plan and shares my 10G of data.

 

[ericjkelly]

Yea I would add it to my existing plan. Worth the extra $20? Right now I tethering my phone.

 

[Ben Holcomb]

I think it is worth it.

 

[B. Dean Berry]

I have a prepaid Verizon Jetpack that I use as a backup, and only pay for it when I need it. For primary use, I'm on an AT&T GoPhone plan with a Sierra Wireless Elevate 754S that lives in my truck full-time, and has two NMO-mounted LTE antennas on the roof. I can't say I've ever dropped service with it, nor had problems with handoff.