Not sure where to post this, but here goes. We took delivery of our van last sept and so for have only done one trip which took us to our sons at robina, our daughters at noosa, and our friends at nambuca. As we were staying with friends and family we have not yet stayed in a c/park, so my question is do most parks have wifi available and if so is it free or for a fee ?
We have an ipad2 and a galaxy tab2 and will need wifi connection for both so I am wondering what is going to suite us best for when we are'nt at family etc.
I don't use caravan parks very much so can't really comment on their WiFi but I doubt if many would have it.
In our situation we have a laptop and a iPad and we use wireless modems from Telstra. My laptop one is a 4G USB dongle and I also have a antenna on the roof of the van to connect to if the signal needs boosting. The iPad is used with a 4G wireless modem and is very successful.
I haven't stayed at many CPs either and one only one with free wifi. I have a prepaid phone plan which includes 6 gig a month of internet and can use the mobile phone as a wifi modem. I also have unlimited phone calls and messages. Lots of offers out there of various structures, wifi only as well.
You can use a wifi modem dongle or sim card depending on the tablets and if 3g.
Coles have a Telstra Wi FI modem for $10 till the 2nd July must spend $30 in store to buy modem, comes with 1 gig of download for 30 days then buy recharge, the modem will support up to 5 devices.
I was going to get a small Telstra wifi modem. But after needing our mobiles anyway, I have decided its cheaper to just up the data plan on my phone and use the phone as my wifi modem, or it can be plugged in. We have an iPad and laptop to take with us.
I bought 4 of the Coles Telstra 3G USB WI-FI's deals @$10 which were normally $49.95...had to spend $30 four times, Lol....the included 30 day 1Gig only starts from when you activate so really is a very good deal not to be missed before 2/7....when I activated the first one and spoke to the inevitable Manilla/Phillipines, the obliging bloke gave me an additional 3 Gig...so in total I have 7 Gig and 4 USB WI FI's and USB cable came with each for total $40 plus 4 fuel discount vouches for each $30 spend.........I think they are doing the deal to get rid of the 3G now there is 4G but here in Bendigo 4G is a waste of time in either case.....I already had 2 Telstra Elite USB's with Telstra Antenna for travelling however could not buy additional 7 Gig top up for only $40...sometimes you wins and sometimes you lose....McDonalds is your best free source and they are in most larger towns....Hoo Roo
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I would be getting my own set up...Regarding c/ parks and WiFi if they do have it it will not be free ,it will be calculated into the price they charge.
Free WiFi in CP would be a securily issue, as well as paided CP WiFi esperically if doing banking, etc. Same, same McDonalds, etc. OK for just general looking at the internet! Best to have your own and Telslra wireless is the one to use, if travelling our great land! Other carriers just not in the country towns.
I do both CV Parks and Alternative camps, I have an iPhone 4s that I use as my modem through the personal hot spot setting for my iPad and Laptop. I have not had any CV Parks with WiFi.
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On the odd occasion I have stayed in a CP with wi-fi, it has been that slow - frustrating. Have a 3g usb-wi-fi Telstra dongle on prepaid, at the moment two of us are using it - and is excellent - also have an aeriel that we can mount outside for difficult areas.
Would not be relying on wi-fi in caravan parks.
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jules "Love is good for the human being!!" (Ben, aged 10)
Hi FirstTimer lots of CPs have WiFi, one trouble is that they are often from different providers, so you need different accounts at each one of the providers. While some are free have found it more reliable to use my own dongle/WiFi where signal is available and use the van park option where there is no coverage. Otherwise the other free options above from the bigger towns are good for email checking.
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Get your own system most of the C/P ones I have connected to are slow and unreliable and when it crashes they have to wait for the in town techo to come and reset it, got caught a couple of times and left the park having paid but not used their system.
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Thanks everyone for your informative replies. After going down to coles this morning and finding the wifi deal they have is operating on usb, which is no good for what I want,I have decided to get an iphone 4 and use it as my wifi hotspot. Thanks and Regards Ashley
Free WiFi in CP would be a security issue, as well as paid CP WiFi especially if doing banking, etc. Same, same McDonalds, etc. OK for just general looking at the internet! Best to have your own and Telstra wireless is the one to use, if travelling our great land! Other carriers just not in the country towns.
I don't think that there is a security concern when using Wi Fi as all banking sites use encryption so all data transmission is protected if you use a public computer such as in a library you have to take care as there may be a keylogger installed on the computer, but this can be overcome by using the on screen keyboard.
Thanks everyone for your informative replies. After going down to coles this morning and finding the wifi deal they have is operating on usb, which is no good for what I want,I have decided to get an iphone 4 and use it as my wifi hotspot. Thanks and Regards Ashley
Hi Ashley
The Wi Fi modem from Coles, does not have to be plugged into a computer to work, it just needs a USB power supply this can be either 240v or 12v.
Many battery chargers supplied with devices now have USB socket into which you plug the charging lead for the device.
Sounds the same as my little dongle - it can be plugged into the computer, but it came with a lead and a 240v plug that has a usb thingy in it - can use that instead of plugging straight into laptop.
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jules "Love is good for the human being!!" (Ben, aged 10)
I bought 4 of the Coles Telstra 3G USB WI-FI's deals @$10 which were normally $49.95...had to spend $30 four times, Lol....the included 30 day 1Gig only starts from when you activate so really is a very good deal not to be missed before 2/7....when I activated the first one and spoke to the inevitable Manilla/Phillipines, the obliging bloke gave me an additional 3 Gig...so in total I have 7 Gig and 4 USB WI FI's and USB cable came with each for total $40 plus 4 fuel discount vouches for each $30 spend.........I think they are doing the deal to get rid of the 3G now there is 4G but here in Bendigo 4G is a waste of time in either case.....I already had 2 Telstra Elite USB's with Telstra Antenna for travelling however could not buy additional 7 Gig top up for only $40...sometimes you wins and sometimes you lose....McDonalds is your best free source and they are in most larger towns....Hoo Roo
Bloody hell! I paid $29 for mine & they only have 1 gig for 15 days.
The last couple that I bought were supposed to have 3 gig but only gave 1gig when activated so the nice girl in the Philipines gave me an extra 2 gig for each. Might try that with the latest one.
Think that I'll try Coles for our next grocery shopping & pick up a couple of the $10 deals.
As to the original question, I used to depend on the free sites at Libraries and tried the frustrating Maccas ones .. All a bit of a pain in the A. Far more convenient to sit in the van with your own access.
Many CPs had wifi. The free ones were very hit & miss, slow and gave limited access. The pay to use & extra access on the free ones was very expensive IMO.
These days I watch for the specials like the current Coles one & pick up a couple of Telstra 3G dongles. By far the more reliable & convenient.
(I have Bigpond Cable at home & no smart phone. Wish that there was a 'product' that allowed to use that account when on the road .. maybe one day).
