Cradlepoint router and USB dongle

[Mark3101]

I have the MBR1000 ordered and it should be here tomorrow. I can get either AT&T or Verizon for about the same discount (24 or 22 percent) and the same price for the USB dongle. Has anyone here used both that can give a good idea of coverage while on the road.

I have had Verizon up until last June for cell service. Switched to AT&T for the iPhone 4, and have not had any real issues. Do the USB devices pretty much mirror the phones for coverage?

It appears from the advertising hype, that Verizon may have a jump on AT&T for the 4g stuff, but advertising is hardly reliable.

[phorner]

I also have the MBR 1000 router with a Verizon air card. No issues with service availability nation wide over the past 7 years. However, I usually don't stay in really remote areas. Recently upgraded from the 3G card to the 4G card.

4G service is not yet widely available on Verizon, but I've been happy with the upgrade.

[Mark3101]

I also have the MBR 1000 router with a Verizon air card. No issues with service availability nation wide over the past 7 years. However, I usually don't stay in really remote areas. Recently upgraded from the 3G card to the 4G card.

4G service is not yet widely available on Verizon, but I've been happy with the upgrade.

Can you tell me which USB device you are using on Verion. I am looking at the LG one as it seems to have better reviews.

[phorner]

I went with the LG usb aircard. LG has a pretty good reputation and I've had good experience with them in the past.

[Mark3101]

I went with the LG usb aircard. LG has a pretty good reputation and I've had good experience with them in the past.

Thanks. I think I will go the LG route. I can get it with either AT&T or Verizon. Slight difference between the two, but similar enough. I just have to figure out which carrier to go with...!

[phorner]

Since our phones were already on the Verizon system, and I had no issues with their service, we stayed with Verizon for our internet as well. As full-timers, we depend solely on our aircard for internet service.

Good luck....

[Trendycat]

Mark,

I've had all of the cards - ATT, Verizon and Sprint as we travel full time. I've settled on Verizon since it has the broadest coverage footprint throughout the US (although no always the fastest speed.) I do have both an iPhone and an iPad for ATT backup in case I hit an area with no Verizon data service.

I would suggest checking out the Verizon service through Millenicom. http://www.millenicom.com/ They offer 20Gb bandwidth per month for $59.99- no additional taxes or fees and no contracts. I've been using them since last October when my original 2 year commitment with Verizon expired and have been very pleased.

Feel free to PM me if you'd like more details.

Bruce

[stevet903]

I agree with Bruce, my experience is that Verizon has better data/voice coverage than ATT. Barbara has an ATT Iphone, and my Verizon phone has data/voice coverage in 90% of the places that hers does not. With that being said, there have been several good threads about cell phone amplifiers with a roof antenna - if you install one of these, the differences might not be so great.

[Seabyrd]

I have the MBR1000 with a Sprint Express Card.. I have NEVER been anywhere that it didn't work.. That being all over Florida, Texas and in between... it has been amazing. I have had friends travelling with us that would lose reception all the time with an AT&T card. We also switched our cell phones to AT&T from Sprint just to get iphones and the reception doesn't compare to the reception we had with Sprint. With AT&T we have dropped calls all the time and horrible reception in so many areas. I'm so glad I kept my Sprint Card. It's awesome. The Express Card I have is the Merlin 720. I also have an external antenna on the bus. I had Gary Swaim (POG Member) install it when we were in Kerrville as my signal was weaker there than anywhere we had ever been ... most people had NO signal in there as the park was in a hole so to speak. The antenna made a big difference and wasn't too expensive.I also keep my software up to date on the router and the card. Good Luck !!


I have the MBR1000 ordered and it should be here tomorrow. I can get either AT&T or Verizon for about the same discount (24 or 22 percent) and the same price for the USB dongle. Has anyone here used both that can give a good idea of coverage while on the road...

I have had Verizon up until last June for cell service. Switched to AT&T for the iPhone 4, and have not had any real issues. Do the USB devices pretty much mirror the phones for coverage?

It appears from the advertising hype, that Verizon may have a jump on AT&T for the 4g stuff, but advertising is hardly reliable.

[Mark3101]

FWIW, if anyone cares, I got the Verizon VL600 by LG. After looking everything over, I decided to go with a 4G card now and hope that Verizon rolls out their 4G in a timely manner. I actually got two, one for home and one for the bus. The home one replaced our old Wildblue satellite system that has been getting worse for latency and speeds for some time now. It was great for the first year or two, but it just doesn't cut it any longer. The 3G Verizon speeds blow it away, and the 4G will really be something.

Cradlepoint's routers are really easy to work with. It took about 5 mins to get it up and running. Can't beat that. It is nice to have internet in the bus. I did a firmware update for the Blu-ray player already, and I am sure we will be using it lots during the summer keeping up with things here like Jerry's toilet problems etc. <G>!

[Jerry Winchester]

While I have had the Cradlepoint router with AT&T card, I just upgraded my iPhone 4 with the new software to turns it into it's own wifi hotspot. Has anyone done that yet? I'm going to test it out this evening, but if it works, between Rae and I both having iPhones in this mode and I went with the iPad2 with Verizon, I may nix the aircard if this all works out.

I also had a chat with the guy who hooked my iPad to the Crestron unit and he asked if I had any interest in hooking up my iPad or iPhone to the 4 cameras on the coach where I could view them all at the same time? How sweet is that? I'm at the POG happy hour and my phone is watching the Hitler Youth at the same time. Is this a great country or what?

Can you spell "Sheep Repellent"? Now if I could hook the Vorad system up with the key off, I would get parameter Country Coach assult warnings as well.

And since I was so respectful of the CC guys at POG 9 and they dogged me so badly, my only comment for POG X is, "You tell them I'm coming and hell's coming with me..."

[Mark3101]

While I have had the Cradlepoint router with AT&T card, I just upgraded my iPhone 4 with the new software to turns it into it's own wifi hotspot. Has anyone done that yet? I'm going to test it out this evening, but if it works, between Rae and I both having iPhones in this mode and I went with the iPad2 with Verizon, I may nix the aircard if this all works out.

I also had a chat with the guy who hooked my iPad to the Crestron unit and he asked if I had any interest in hooking up my iPad or iPhone to the 4 cameras on the coach where I could view them all at the same time? How sweet is that? I'm at the POG happy hour and my phone is watching the Hitler Youth at the same time. Is this a great country or what?

Can you spell "Sheep Repellent"? Now if I could hook the Vorad system up with the key off, I would get parameter Country Coach assult warnings as well.

And since I was so respectful of the CC guys at POG 9 and they dogged me so badly, my only comment for POG X is, "You tell them I'm coming and hell's coming with me..."

So how is the iPad and Crestron stuff working out so far? I think that is something I would like to do as well. I don't have any cameras to view yet... I have seen the info on turning the iPhones into hotspots, but have not done it yet. If I recall, wasn't it like an extra $20 per month from AT&T or something? The main reason I went with the USB card is to have actual internet access through the ethernet stuff on the bus...like the Blu-ray player etc. so I can do firmware updates and the like as well as just surf on our laptops. So far it works well even in the garage with steel siding.

[Jerry Winchester]

I think the iPhone just works off your normal data plan. It was just a software upgrade to kick it off. I get your point about the dedicated line. I'd have to have the same thing if I had a DVR like the one that programs thru my iPhone.

So far the Crestron stuff works fine. But since my wife is a bandwidth hog, I have to make some concessions to work around that. Go figure.

[Mark3101]

I think the iPhone just works off your normal data plan. It was just a software upgrade to kick it off. I get your point about the dedicated line. I'd have to have the same thing if I had a DVR like the one that programs thru my iPhone.

So far the Crestron stuff works fine. But since my wife is a bandwidth hog, I have to make some concessions to work around that. Go figure.

I just looked at the menu in my iPhone4 that turns on the personal hotspot and it says that I need to call AT&T or logon to att.com/mywireless to enable it. I would bet it ain't free. I think I read that if you have an iPhone that is jailbroken, there may be an app that will do it without paying. Neat idea if it works.

[Trendycat]

I have the tethering plan on my iPhone 4 and it's working great when I need it to. (Mostly when I'm away from the bus and need a quick way to get my MacBook Air online for a few minutes.)

The monthly charge is $45 for the tethering plan and includes 4Gb of data month over the iPhone (either directly or through the hot spot).

Being able to leave the Millenicom (Verizon) air card in the bus and travel away from it while still getting internet access on demand (no need to hunt for local Wi-Fi) are well worth the monthly cost for me, anyway.

Bruce

[Jerry Winchester]

So Bruce,

The data on your tethering plan counts wether you use it on the phone or teathered to the computer? You don't have two data plans, just one that allows tethering?

[Mark3101]

I would like to know that too...please elaborate on the plan (s). Thanks!

[Jerry Winchester]

I'm such a dumb ass. I just had my cousin the cellphone / IT dude on the phone and didn't ask him. He'll call back tomorrow and I'll ask.

[Mark3101]

I'm such a dumb ass. I just had my cousin the cellphone / IT dude on the phone and didn't ask him. He'll call back tomorrow and I'll ask.

Actually, I thought Bruce would have responded to your question by now, that is why I was asking...<g>. No rush, I can wait till tomorrow. Thanks.

[Mark3101]

I'm such a dumb ass. I just had my cousin the cellphone / IT dude on the phone and didn't ask him. He'll call back tomorrow and I'll ask.

Did you ever get that answer?

[Jerry Winchester]

The answer is there is no clear answer. It's about $45 or so to go to the hot spot w/ 4GB monthly. But of course we have an enterprise account that gets you a lower rate and a 25% discount, so I think Bruce is right for the average account. Out corporate account is so complicated they could only give me an estimate (we only have 60,000 employees, with half of them on company cell service).

But I am going to upgrade to a 4G air card for the router.

[Mark3101]

That is what I did and it seems to work great so far in the 3G coverage here. We leave in a couple of weeks for our first trip of 2011 and should run into a couple of 4G Verizon spots. Should be interesting to see if it really is as fast as they claim.

Thanks for the info.

[Seabyrd]

Jerry..
Do you have an external antenna on your bus for your aircard?
I do and it works very well..
I just wondered how many people use an external antenna and how well they think they work?
Diane


The answer is there is no clear answer. It's about $45 or so to go to the hot spot w/ 4GB monthly. But of course we have an enterprise account that gets you a lower rate and a 25% discount, so I think Bruce is right for the average account. Out corporate account is so complicated they could only give me an estimate (we only have 60,000 employees, with half of them on company cell service).

But I am going to upgrade to a 4G air card for the router.

[Jerry Winchester]

I don't have one. What do you have and how is it rigged up?

[Seabyrd]

Jerry...

The external antenna is a flexible roof mounted antenna ...(EnGenius SN-ULTRA-AK10L External Cell Phone Antenna) I think that is the one I have. Gary Swaim ( POG member) installed it... he has Custom Coach Connection... The antenna coax goes through the roof and is attached to a wireless remote amplifier (Wilson) that is mounted in the bedroom looking at my Router and aircard. The difference in the signal is unreal...I have the router mounted high on the bedroom wall pretty much out of sight and have my printer in the cabinet under it which is connected to my router also... All the wires are hidden.
It all works very well together.

[rahangman]

That sounds like a win/win situation, hello Gary?