Sharing Wifi in van

[ricky_s]

I've signed up to the CC WiFi for a year and I am thinking about getting a Wifi repeater and setting that up with my CC login details, then if I set it up to have the same SSID as my home network I could in theory connect with any of my devices at the same time and not have to change anything on them.

I appeciate the bandwidth means I wont be able to do streaming etc. and don't intend to abuse it.

Anyone tried this?

Cheers,

Ricky

 

[MichaelE]

The extender (repeater) should use the same SSID, security type and password as the CC WiFi network. If you change the SSID to match your home network then then it wont connect to the CC network?

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

I don't know if this FAQ from the CC is any help:

14 Can I use more than one device?
Caravan Club members can only use one device at anytime. The user must log off first to then use a different device.

 

[Gafferbill]

...........this type of restriction can usually be circumvented if you have a device that is capable of becoming a hotspot.
Login into the wifi with that device and create your own local wifi hotspot network with a password.
You can connect your other devices to this network using your unique password.

Whether this is against CC rules whilst on their property is another matter.

 

[ricky_s]

...........this type of restriction can usually be circumvented if you have a device that is capable of becoming a hotspot.
Login into the wifi with that device and create your own local wifi hotspot network with a password.
You can connect your other devices to this network using your unique password.

Whether this is against CC rules whilst on their property is another matter.

That's my thought. I have a device in my hall that connects to my main router but can have a different SSID it might work and will probably have a better WIFI connection than my phone.
Unless the CC club has some way of blocking this (I can't see how) then I think it will be okay.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

The CC connections tend not to have much bandwidth and if several caravanners are streaming at the same time then it's next to useless other than lightweight surfing eg where to go, what's the weather like, emails, and other tourist things.

 

[ricky_s]

The CC connections tend not to have much bandwidth and if several caravanners are streaming at the same time then it's next to useless other than lightweight surfing eg where to go, what's the weather like, emails, and other tourist things.

I know it's very slow, I tend to use the internet little and often when out and about and the need to keep reconnecting every time is inconvenient. SWMBO and kids do the same.

 

[MichaelE]

Adding multiple devices through the extender will only increase the load , you will be all trying to grab the bandwidth resulting in an even slower connection?

 

[RayS]

I'm currently using an iboost device on site in Spain. The available bandwidth varies considerably but anything above 1 Mbs allows us to use 2 ipads each running tv via Filmon at the same time, thus avoiding domestic disharmony.
We have run up to 4 simultaneous tv streams using a laptop as well, all without undue buffering.
For the mostpart the connection is 24/24 which avoids having to renter logons for each session.
The device claims to boost the range of signal which can be received and certainly from the wide variety of connections which appear on the set up screen it appears to be getting signals from way outside the campsite.
What appears to be the same device is also used by a local contractor who supplies longstay campers with a service independent of the campite, and the majority of thses are shared between two or more users, each able to use more than one device at the same time. So they do seem to work.
You can easily check available bandwidth using a checker such as that at www.speedtest.net which keeps a history of your tests, enables you to try different main servers etc.

 

[MichaelE]

There difference is an extender will boost the signal to areas that are not covered or the signal is low but will not increase the bandwidth so if you bandwidth is good you wouldn't have an issue.

 

[Thingy]

Why would you need to connect more than one device at the same time. Streaming is technically forbidden on CC sites for good reason. It surely is no hardship to logoff and back on with another device.

 

[ricky_s]

Why would you need to connect more than one device at the same time. Streaming is technically forbidden on CC sites for good reason. It surely is no hardship to logoff and back on with another device.

As I mentioned earlier I have no intention of streaming or hogging the bandwidth from other users on site. Just want to allow more than one device to be able to pick up its emails and perhaps the odd look at Facebook. Probably not at the same time but it is possible they will overlap slightly. We have four iPhones between us and it isn't very practical logging out and then in again.

 

[Thingy]

Sorry Ricky, I didnt mean to sound pedantic over that. The rule is one item per connection, but is aimed at the type of person that would continually stream programs at the front, whilst the kids were playing online games or downloading on another device at the rear.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Doesn't every item of end equipment (be it PC, ipad, etc) have it's on unique IP address that is used to communicate over the Internet? And this is why, for example, the PC of users sending certain emails can be traced even when going through routers, servers, switches, etc. The CC wifi software may detect the IP address of the first end equipment used and may inhibit the others.

 

[Woodentop]

Doesn't every item of end equipment (be it PC, ipad, etc) have it's on unique IP address that is used to communicate over the Internet? And this is why, for example, the PC of users sending certain emails can be traced even when going through routers, servers, switches, etc. The CC wifi software may detect the IP address of the first end equipment used and may inhibit the others.

Er, no. The IP address that is seen by the outside world is that allocated by your ISP to the first item on your WAN chain, usually your router. The items connected to your router LAN side have a different address structure completely that does not go out of your side of the system.* As any communications will be initiated from your side, not by your ISP, the router learns what has been sent through which LAN connection (be that cabled or wi-fi) and routes the returned reply to that sender.

The CC site will have a high capacity router that talks to the outside world and does NAT on anything on the site side. The outside world will see the CC site IP address, not yours.

*This is known as NAT or Network Address Translation and is in effect a hardware firewall which means that any scroat trying to access your system will meet with 100% failure. That is why they always get at you by using Trojans in downloads or infected email attachments that do the damage as soon as you open them.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

Are you saying the CC wifi can still differentiate which end item is in use?

 

[Thingy]

Under standard conditions no. It simply states "you are already logged in, please logout and login again with this device.

What the OP is looking for is a way around that, i.e. his own hotspot that all his devices can log in to at the same time. At home, I use a wifi extender that has its own SSID and all my devices log into that rather than direct to my router. However, I doubt that one of those would have the range for a CC site unless you were directly under the repeater.

 

[Gafferbill]

........the thing is this is the ever changing world of the internet and this type of restriction as imposed by the CC has been circumvented.
A good way to understand it is to think of it being like the mains hook up.........you can have as many appliances as you like in your caravan but there is only one supply and that has limits.
However you create your own hotspot, all the traffic will travel through your host computer / router and it is this computer / router that the CC system will see not the others......the supply limit will be the same.

I find it easier either to use sites with free wifi or use the data that is included in my mobile phone monthly bundle.
The phone can also be a hotspot allowing other devices to be used.
I also sometimes use an external wifi aerial signal booster as often where wifi is provided for free, the signal maybe weak at your pitch location.

 

[ricky_s]

However, I doubt that one of those would have the range for a CC site unless you were directly under the repeater.

Oh I don't know, I would have thought it would be at least as good as an iPhone?

 

[craigmason71]

you might be better getting a Huawei mobile broadband http://consumer.huawei.com/au/mobile-broadband/mobile-wifi/tech-specs/e5331-au.htm

 

[Woodentop]

you might be better getting a Huawei mobile broadband http://consumer.huawei.com/au/mobile-broadband/mobile-wifi/tech-specs/e5331-au.htm

Er, no, the OP wants a E5776 for two reasons: it does 4G which is significantly faster than 3G that the 5331 does (albeit 4G coverage is still in its infancy) and more importantly because the E5776 will connect to an external aerial (TS9 connector.)

For those not in the know, the Airwave digital radio system used by the emergency services in the UK is being replaced by a 4G-based system provided by EE. To get the geographical coverage (as distinct from the usually quoted 'population' coverage) EE has to install 348 new base station sites over the next couple of years. As these will be accessible to everyone, not just the emergency services, it will doubtless improve coverage considerably. Once BT/EE get going with that sort of coverage VF and 3/O2 will have to pull their socks up as well or get left behind as users flock to EE.

Interesting times ahead indeed.....