WIFI REVISITED

[Jon Miller]

With the 2004 chase season pretty well in the history books - was wondering how well WIFI worked for you in the field and what model WIFI cards you do or don't recomend based on experience ?

Jon Miller

 

[Jason Montano]

I use an Orinoco Gold card with an 8in external ant. I liked it very much this season. I found that I was able to find WiFi access in virtually every town I drove through. I could pick up an access point from as far as about 200yds away. I used Net Stumbler to easily show connection strength and to pinpoint good access points. It was a lot of fun b/c I would set up in a town and watch the latest info while talking on AIM to people back home. Then set out when something would fire.

 

[Tony Laubach]

WiFi was a great tool for me this year! This was my first season with Wifi and it was very valuable. Many times, I was able to fuel, food, and data in one quick swoosh from the same area. Salina, KS; Ogallala, NE; Newton, KS; Limon, CO.. just a few places out of many where I was able to get all done in one stop. I still found libraries useful during week chases when in smaller towns that don't have Wifi, but overall, it was a very useful tool. I intend to broaden my WIfi horizons and actually work in GPS to make a working list (much like a few of you have) of available Wifi in areas that may not seem so obvious! Also, the price.. $6/day was well worth it when being out. Although I would consider the monthly subscription next season being as often as I was out in May. We'll see!

 

[Jay McCoy]

I used WIFI every chance I got from free "hotspots" to www.truckstop.net which I used a ton. There are truck stops everywhere and it was very convenient. Now that Texas and some other states are placing WIFI in their rest stops it will be even easier to get information on the go. it will be a few years down the road but a new technology is coming out that operates like WIFI but has a much greater range and will impact chasing in a big way in the next 5 years or so. I will try and find the article on that new technology they are coming out with and will post it.

Between the WIFI and WxWorks I had my most successful year ever and that covers 19 years.

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Originally posted by Jason Montano
I use an Orinoco Gold card with an 8in external ant. I liked it very much this season.

Do you use the 802.11b card or the 802.11g? I use the Linksys WPC54G card and it connects to distant networks quite easy. I also have a US Robotics 802.11g Turbo card along with the mini PCI card as backups. How much of a gain do you get from the external antenna?

 

[James Conrad]

a new technology is coming out that operates like WIFI but has a much greater range and will impact chasing in a big way in the next 5 years or so. I will try and find the article on that new technology they are coming out with and will post it.

http://www.cherokee.org/TribalGovernment/S...age.asp?ID=1081 It looks like Tulsa and some other small towns are comming soon.

 

[Jay McCoy]

a new technology is coming out that operates like WIFI but has a much greater range and will impact chasing in a big way in the next 5 years or so. I will try and find the article on that new technology they are coming out with and will post it.

http://www.cherokee.org/TribalGovernment/S...age.asp?ID=1081 It looks like Tulsa and some other small towns are comming soon.

The new technology I am talking about isnt actually WIFI. it is a broadband military technology that can be sent over a large area (more than 50 miles per repeater and is actually faster than WIFI. I am still looking for the article.

 

[Jeff Snyder]

Jay, are you talking about WiMAX?

If so, there's lots of info about it if you Google "WiMAX"... Intel did have plans to begin including WiMAX capabilities in motherboards starting late next year, if I remember correctly. It certainly does appear to be the next wireless technology, but we'll see how it goes.

 

[John Gnuechtel]

Here's an interesting article on WiMAX technology.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20041...41012-4301.html

 

[JR Hehnly]

Orinoco Gold 802.11b purchased for $20 on ebay like this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=5725706455
External magnet mount antenna on roof. Had to get 2, first one sucked and broke before chasing use. Second one is awesome, strong magnet, and works great. The seller is still offering it:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=5131484417

Had very good luck finding service while chasing, turned off the windows wireless config and use the Boingo utility, makes it easy to choose which signal to connect to.
http://www.boingo.com

 

[George Flickinger]

The WIFI I used at McDonalds near Stroud, OK was quite slow. The speed was comparable to a 28.8 modem. Boingo sites have been slow for me as well.

The Flying J's and other truckstops in Oklahoma and South Kansas have been quite fast.

 

[Mike Peregrine]

I used the same setup as Jason and JR (along with Netstumbler) with good success this year. Good range - was able to sit outside several libraries (among others) and access the net easily, even in several pretty small towns. I use the card occasionally now at coffee shops, etc. - but for chasing next year will likely be switching over to cellular high speed technology due to accessibility and coverage issues.

 

[Matthew Havin]

Two words = Panera Bread...... easy to set up Wi-Fi access that is FREE and they are sprouting up all over the place. Not the greatest coverage in chase areas, but there are a few in bigger cities in the Plains.

 

[George Flickinger]

Matthew, I'll make sure to stop at the one in Medicine Lodge.