After a well-timed delivery at the Grand Canyon, bMighty's "Tech On The Go" correspondent is cruising eastward sporting a spring-mounted cellular trucker antenna -- he hasn't lost signal in a thousand miles.
Our "Tech On the Go" correspondent Scott Koegler will be filing his column from the road this summer as he crosses the country with his family over the next six weeks. Though there's bound to be some "vacationing" along the way, Scott will continue to operate his small business from the road. Throughout this adventure, he'll share tips, tricks, and insights about how to keep a business running smoothly when you're on the move while maintaining a virtual connection to his office network, server, desktop computer, and video surveillance system.
Scott and his wife, Donna Marie, are traveling in a Ford E-350 van, pulling a travel trailer, accompanied by their dogs Cody and Mac. They left their home in Wilkesboro, N.C., on June 16 bound for the Rocky Mountains. After crossing the Continental Divide, they'll stop off in Las Vegas, peek into the Grand Canyon, and visit family in New Mexico before heading for home along Route 66 (and more modern byways).
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Nashville, Tenn. -- One of the things I take for granted when working from my non-mobile office is having products shipped to me. That all changes when I'm on the go and not in any one location for more than a few days. When I'm traveling, it's tough coordinating timing and location. It's complicated by the fact that some of the campgrounds don't accept deliveries for their campers. I lucked out recently when I needed to receive a package containing a product to review.
Wilson Electronics wanted to schedule a delivery of its new SignalBoost Mini-Mobile Amp to try out on this trip. The problem was that I was between locations (of course), and the longest stay in the next couple weeks would be at the Grand Canyon campground. After checking with the camp office, we decided to try shipping the box to the guard shack at the campground. Calling the location remote is an understatement, but that doesn't mean there aren't modern services there. Even though it seemed that things would be delayed, and the package might have to be rerouted to our next destination, it did finally arrive on the morning we were scheduled to leave ... just in time.
When I opened the box I found two devices. The first was the SignalBoost Mini-Mobile Amp, as promised. This was a quick and easy install, requiring only routing the exterior antenna out one of the van's windows, and placing it on the roof, where the magnet in the antenna's base held it in place. Next, plugging the cord into a spare 12-volt socket, and mounting the interior antenna (which doubles as a cell phone cradle) near the driver's seat. Installation was complete in about 15 minutes.
But the best part of the installation is that it works wonderfully. Over the most recent thousand or so miles, I haven't lost signal while driving. To be honest, we have been driving the interstates, where cell signals are typically pretty decent. But both my AT&T and Sprint connections have been rock solid the entire time.
The second part of the package included an external RV/Trucker Spring-Mount Cellular Antenna, an internal antenna, a booster/amplifier, and some cables. This package was to be used in the camper, and runs on 120 volts, so would only be useful when "docked." I took an afternoon, while we were parked in Moriarty, N.M., and installed the booster combination as a permanent part of the camper. Installation itself was simple, but deciding where to put what, and routing the cables took a little planning.
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I mounted the antenna on the camper's main slide, then routed the cables under the storage areas. I put the amplifier inside one of the storage bins, where I had previously run an electrical outlet. I then mounted the inside antenna (the one that rebroadcasts the boosted signal), inside the other storage bin. The two antennae need to be separated by about 20 feet, and the indicator lights on the booster turn red if the two antennae are too close.
Once installed, the booster began doing its work, and now pulls whatever cell signal exists into the camper. My unscientific testing shows that in those locations with marginal coverage, the booster increases the signal by either one or two bars on the cell phone. That's usually enough to make a difference for both voice conversations and Web connections.
Even with these boosters, there is only so much one can expect when working at the edges of cell coverage. The good part is that there has not been a time or location where I've been completely unable to get an Internet connection. However, several of those connections have been weak enough that I have been unable to upload images or video, though e-mail and Web browsing were generally acceptable.
The best of all arrangements is finding campgrounds that supply Wi-Fi. However, don't count on all connections being equal. Wi-Fi was free at our last campground in West Memphis, and the connection was good enough to do most of my work. Today, in Nashville, the connection is excellent.
See you on the road!
See more "Tech on the Go" columns by Scott Koegler
