How do U get on this site (1 Viewer)

harryoxford2

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Calling all funsters who are mobile.....continental touring, full timers, wild campers.


Just for the benifit of the rest of us...how do YOU log onto the funster site or use the internet when you are out and about?

ie: from a mobile phone or tablet? computer via campsites so you can only communicate when on a site? internet cafe? use the bt dongle to jump onto hotspots?

whats your method?.......
 
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harryoxford2

harryoxford2

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my laptop or Mobile phone, have used internet cafe's but not too keen on doing that.

Its the connection from your laptop to the net im curious about? can you only connect on sites with wifi or do you use something else.

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Calling all funsters who are mobile.....continental touring, full timers, wild campers.


Just for the benifit of the rest of us...how do YOU log onto the funster site or use the internet when you are out and about?

ie: from a mobile phone or tablet? computer via campsites so you can only communicate when on a site? internet cafe? use the bt dongle to jump onto hotspots?

whats your method?.......

The foxy funsters ... park near a Mac Donald and have a free Wifi connection, in France that is !

Never tried myself , but I know a Magician who used the trick each time when crossing France


Amicalement

Frankie:Smile:
 

Brisey

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We use a 3 MiFi with a pre-paid data Sim Card. There was a thread about this a few days ago.

Broken Link Removed

Brisey.
 
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harryoxford2

harryoxford2

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The foxy funsters ... park near a Mac Donald and have a free Wifi connection, in France that is !

Never tried myself , but I know a Magician who used the trick each time when crossing France


Amicalement

Frankie:Smile:

wow..thats a good one..I never thought of that. Thats exactly the info I needed ty Frankie.

.

just looked it up and some you have to ask staff for the password so its more secure.

a chat and a mcdonalds....heaven

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harryoxford2

harryoxford2

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Campsite, if it's free !!! Marjal on Monday !!!!!:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

dead dead dead jealous...im so trying to get there but need an op ..only a minor one. thinking of putting it off he he

Have fun and I hope to see you all there. Cant set off now till after 25th feb as its g/f birthday.
ty for the info
 
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harryoxford2

harryoxford2

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Iphone
Laptop - home
Laptop away -external ant
Abroad - Kindle

Ty Shiftz,

just to clear it up..as Im thick as a plank...

1.laptop home to your provider..ok that one I understand lol

2.Iphone?...via a data allowance on your provider package?

3.lapptop away external ant...but what does it connect to? random things like Frankie suggests like mcdonalds? or are you meaning a 3g dongle set up? did I get right if not can you expand pls

4.Kindle? is that one of those little note books? does it jump onto the net or do you have to pay a provider? can you expand this for me pls


ty buddy...
 

Snowbird

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Mornin Arry. I use a 3 pay as you go dongle in the UK a Vodaphone pay as you go dongle is Spain and am currently using a Maroc Telecom pay as you go dongle in Morocco. This system is both cheap and I don't have to stay on campsites or eat disgusting food to use it. All prices are available on my Overwintering in Morocco thread.

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Aug 27, 2009
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If you don’t have another set of wheels with you then parking at the Mc Ds could be a problem. You have to be very close to the restaurant for a signal. All the car parks I’ve seen are pretty tight.
 

old-mo

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Campsite WiFi... but as we found to our expense and trouble... not always 100% secure..

Or most of the big shopping mals abroad have free WiFi area`s..:thumb:

Did have a T-Mobile dongle... Thought it was £40 a month for unlimited access... "Wrong"... I used the £40 up in a 2 days... and had a thing come on screen out of credit,,,,, to buy more do this... NO THANKS TO BLOODY DEAR .... :Doh::cry:

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harryoxford2

harryoxford2

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Campsite WiFi... but as we found to our expense and trouble... not always 100% secure..

Or most of the big shopping mals abroad have free WiFi area`s..:thumb:

Did have a T-Mobile dongle... Thought it was £40 a month for unlimited access... "Wrong"... I used the £40 up in a 2 days... and had a thing come on screen out of credit,,,,, to buy more do this... NO THANKS TO BLOODY DEAR .... :Doh::cry:
Part of the reason I asked the question was because of your experience.
As we are all meant to be in europe youd think the providers would get their acts together, we should all be able to use dongles cheaply anywhere..but alas every time i ask in the providers stores they say..nope not yet.
 

old-mo

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dead dead dead jealous...im so trying to get there but need an op ..only a minor one. thinking of putting it off he he

Have fun and I hope to see you all there. Cant set off now till after 25th feb as its g/f birthday.
ty for the info

You had better get there Harry, you owe me a drink... :Sad::winky:

And I have laid on this cycle race for you to participate in... :winky::ROFLMAO:

The girl`s are looking forward to it.. :Cool: =

 

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TDH

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I have a T Mobile dongle which is OK for home at £15 per month although you need connectivity - sometimes a problem if you are wild camping.

I tried to connect via my Samsung phone in France - I pay a fiver for 250mb per month. Naturally, the bundle doesn't work abroad and I used up all the credit on my phone just going through the rigmarole of trying to sign in to a 'free' hotspot. Lesson learned there!

Decathlon also has free WiFi at its stores and the carparks tend to be a bit bigger than MackieDee's.

Kindle comes with inbuilt connectivity, WiFi or3G, although with the earlier ones, if you want to browse rather than just connect to Amazon you have to ferret around in the 'experimental' menu.

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harryoxford2

harryoxford2

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You had better get there Harry, you owe me a drink... :Sad::winky:

And I have laid on this cycle race for you to participate in... :winky::ROFLMAO:

The girl`s are looking forward to it.. :Cool: =

not sure if I should race ahead male prowess, or lag behind and enjoy the view or be in with the pack and enjoy the comeradery..amongst other things...I do hope the race is over cobble stones:Eeek:
 

Jaws

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when out and about away from any wifi the UK I use the laptop and I pap by tethering to my Galaxy S ( although the ipads are 3G I see no point in putting a card in when I am getting unlimiter internet on my fone package )

When on the road abroad we find hot spots ( plenty around ) if needs be,,, though to be honest while travelling and stopping one night here and there we do not usually bother

And then of course there are the long term places we stay in such as Zahora etc that have free wifi

I did invest in a decent Wifi antenna and booster which means it is fairly rare not to find a hot spot when in the UK
 
Aug 27, 2009
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when out and about away from any wifi the UK I use the laptop and I pap by tethering to my Galaxy S ( although the ipads are 3G I see no point in putting a card in when I am getting unlimiter internet on my fone package )

When on the road abroad we find hot spots ( plenty around ) if needs be,,, though to be honest while travelling and stopping one night here and there we do not usually bother

And then of course there are the long term places we stay in such as Zahora etc that have free wifi

I did invest in [HI]a decent Wifi antenna and booster[/HI] which means it is fairly rare not to find a hot spot when in the UK
Could I have some more info on these please, how they connect etc...:thumb:

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Welsh girl

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I have one of those wi fi boosters but haven't found an open wi fi yet, all have security to get into so haven't really investigated that much into it.
Did buy it to use abroad but haven't been back yet due to our little dog unable to travel abroad (cannot have rabies booster)
To be fair I haven't used it at all in the uk as I have a healthy allowance from "3" on my mi fi and a fair allowance on my phone so use the mi fi mostly to use internet on mine and terry's phone as well as the laptop.
 

icantremember

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I have one of those wi fi boosters but haven't found an open wi fi yet, all have security to get into so haven't really investigated that much into it.
Did buy it to use abroad but haven't been back yet due to our little dog unable to travel abroad (cannot have rabies booster)
To be fair I haven't used it at all in the uk as I have a healthy allowance from "3" on my mi fi and a fair allowance on my phone so use the mi fi mostly to use internet on mine and terry's phone as well as the laptop.

I have used one for a while now and being a BT broadband customer (I know many will scorn) can normally log on for free to another BT user's Fon or Openzone WiFi hotspot at around 1/2mile away subject to obstructions.
 

JJ

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Good morning Harry and Funsters following this thread...

The internet has changed my life...

It is now a major part of it...

As I am now in the most enjoyable stage of my life, it makes that life many times even more enjoyable for me.

Given the above and having lived in a van since the invention of the internet became available to the public, I have developed methods to feed my addiction. Of course I am only talking about access in a van, I know zero about it in a house.

My first belief is if you want access to the internet all the time and without limit you have to pay.

If you only need a connection some of the time you don't need to spend so much.

Here in Portugal there are many many places that have "free" wi-fi... many towns have it available... libraries are often a good bet and, as someone else mentioned, shopping centres in the bigger towns and cities often have it too.

In the old days I would park the van outside a place with free access and do all my internet stuff there... sadly this just meant I missed the internet even more when I did not have access...:Sad:

So, after a lot of thought and based on how much a connection brought to me, I went for a internet package with Portuguese Vodafone. Unlimited access at the fastest speed available for the area I am in. Initially this was brilliant but there was now the problem of having to have the computer on (and using precious electricity) every time you wanted to have the use of the internet.

So to back up my Vodafone package, I also have a smart phone (Nokia E72) which has Google mail, Skype, Motorhomefun etc on it. With the smart phone I can use wi-fi or the 3g network (€2 a day) if desperate...

Then came the final piece of the jigsaw...

The Vodafone Sharing Dock... almost as if it was designed specifically for me...:thumb:

Now my Vodafone "dongle" is plugged into the sharing dock and makes a private wi-fi hotspot in and around the Wagon. So up to five "gizmos" can be connected at the same time. (Friends find this useful if parked within 30 metres of me).

So I can make Skype calls from my bed using the phone and also check the Fun site and send texts and make voice calls though my Skype Out accounts to any phone in the world that I have the telephone number for (without crawling out of bed!) all through my already paid for data package.

I also download podcasts from the BBC onto the phone to listen to when I choose.

So, if I am in a wi-fi area I use that but if I am not I use the Vodafone network. Of course if I am out of the country I have to resort to method one and if I am in a "no signal" area here I have to read my Kindle. :Eeek:

To overcome the last situation I need a satellite internet connection through a dish on the roof... I have been waiting for years for the price of these systems to become affordable...

So the modern, techy, internet addicted motorhomer needs a laptop with wi-fi, one of the smart phones (with wi-fi) and a "data" package that allow VOIP calls, and a "Sharing Dock" system...

Then you can chat to your friends (and girlfriend) where ever you are and you have coverage...

In my next episode I will reveal how Alan The Caravan is able to do most of the above for less than half the cost... but now I must on with my "other" life...:winky:

JJ :Cool:

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harryoxford2

harryoxford2

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Thanks JJ Jaws and the rest of those who contributed.

Ive never heard of a wifi boost before..very interesting.

J Js set up is rather cool too as he adapted and overcame.

Lots of room for thought here Ty Ty all
 

Jaws

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Hi Harry,
afraid I cannot remember the name of the one I have.. It is an outside 'panel' jobby that measures about 8" x 6" or so.. I have it permanently bolted to my television aerial pole ( so the tv aerial is up by about 7" ) it allows me to rotate it for best signal strength.

Most laptops have a built in WiFi antenna and some, like mine, you can simply switch off my a little switch... but if you cannot switch it off it does not seem to matter. you just see two of all the hot spots available, one of which will be MUCH stronger than tother.

It is attached to the laptop simply by plugging it in to a USB port.. The supplied software was easy to install and worked straight away.

If, like me, the mounting point is too far away from the place you usually use the laptop, you can buy an extension, boosted lead that is its self powered from the USB port..

I was VERY sceptical and believed in my hind brain I was just chucking away £35, but I am suitably impressed and it has allowed me to use the internet in all manner of unexpected places.. Often using a .. ahem.... hot spot normally only available to those who have a broadband package from a certain company that claims to have err 3 million I believe I just saw on telly .......................

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Sundowners

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We have a 3 Mifi in the UK - that's where we can both use our computers at the same time using one sim card which we transferred from our dongle into the mifi (purchased from Maplins for about £50 three years ago).

We are at present on a campsite in southern Spain, using their wifi which is included in the campsite price. Before we came here we were in Portugal and are going back next week, we both purchased a Portuguese dongle - €20 each plus we put on €20 to use - but beware if anyone purchases these they €1 per hour - the €20 is not for the month (we found this out to our cost), they also have a use-by date too. So if on the net and you want to go to the loo, log-off, as it will cost you whilst going for a pee. We allow ourselves about an hour a day each, hard to get used to, but we are prepared to do this so that we can have our fix for the day.

We also purchased a booster aerial in Portugal for €29 to pick up wifi hotspots.

Another item we bought was an unlocked phone from Tescos for a tenner and then bought a Portuguese sim card for €10 (with €5 free usage), we found this useful as we have a few people we needed to contact who live in Portugal.

Nigel and Pamala
 

callumwa

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In UK I now use my iPhone on "3" with truly unlimited "all you can eat data" included, so we don't have to worry about finding wifi to connect with. Also we now do not need to pay for separate sims for the phone and separate data sims for a dongle or Mifi.

We use the iPhone as a mobile (wifi) hotspot so we can connect both iPads and laptops, up to 4 max at a time. (2 young kids as well). Good enough to watch live Sky Sports on 3G signal.

Abroad I have a few options.

Free wifi if available, campsites, Mc Donalds etc.
I also have a USB wifi antenna which I can use with a 10 metre USB extension cable so I can elevate it outside the van.

I also have a USB dongle which I have unlocked, and or my unlocked 3 Mifi, so I can put any sim cards into them. My iPhone is also unlocked so I can pop any sim in there as well if out and about walking or in town etc.
.
These are some of the local Sims I have.

For Belgium, I use BASE network, €10 for 500 mb allowance over 30 days.

For Holland, T-Mobile, €10 for 1Gb allowance over 30 days.

Germany, Fonic, €2.50 per day (0000-2359) unlimited but speed throttles back after 250 mb but still usable. After 10 days of use it does not charge any more (in a 30 day period), so effectively you can have a month unlimited for €25.

I'm still looking for a cheap PAYG data sim for France, France seems to be my stumbling block for a cheap local sim with a decent allowance. If any Funsters know a good option please share it...

If all else fails in any EU country, I can use my UK Vodafone PAYG sim, in my iPhone which allows me 25 mb for £2. I re-set my data counters so not to go over the allowance as that is very expensive, but you do get a warning sms. The 25 mb allows me to check and send e-mails, pop into MHF, use my Yahoo messenger App for a while as well and surf a little if needed.


Hope this helps....

Callum
 

Madmark62

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We have a "3" mifi , which we use all the time, as we live on a boat, when in the van we take it with us, use the tablet and laptop.
Also used the mobile phone to set up a wifi hotspot as well.

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