Wifi speed - Camping & Caravanning Club Main Club sites?

[Eldorado]

As per title really, its over 20 years since we were C&C members - Wifi probably wasn't even a thing back then

Be good to know roughly what speeds you typically get on sites - does it vary a lot? Any particularly slow?

 

[Mel]

I know nothing about how WiFi works; for all I know it is carried by Pixies. However my experience on sites of all sorts is very variable. Two factors appear to affect it. One is coverage by the WiFi masts( the thing the pixies fly from)- in some places being at the edge of a site, for example, means the WiFi is rubbish. The second is how many folks are using it. Some places don’t have enough pixies to go around so it is poor when the site is full.
Haven’t been on enough C&CC sites to be specific about those.
Mel

 

[Dustydog]

The site I have just used boasted free Wi Fi.
Nothing where we were pitched. But at the reception desk yes🙉
They need a booster antenna further up the site. That won’t happen😵‍💫

 

[Buckman]

I know nothing about how WiFi works; for all I know it is carried by Pixies.
Mel

Don't you mean fairies? 🤣 🤣

 

[Mel]

Don't you mean fairies? 🤣 🤣

Could be! I know nothing about WiFi. 😀
Mel

 

[Eldorado]

Pixies, got it. Glad I asked

 

[Eldorado]

Sounds like I will have to consider Starlink if I am working away

 

[Mel]

Sounds like I will have to consider Starlink if I am working away

I think that the bottom line is that you cannot rely on site WiFi; wherever you go. Sometimes it will be great, sometimes not.
If work depends on it, then you need your own system.
Mel

 

[GUMPY]

Sounds like I will have to consider Starlink if I am working away

I use my own 4g system and often get speeds faster than starlink mobile.
Provided you can set a 4g system up properly there is no reason to give money to elon.
I have gone back to 4g rather than 5g as depending on the router the upload speeds are usually higher on 4g plus it's sometimes difficult to find a 5g cell.

ETA I am a total anorak when it comes to mobile interweb having spent almost all of my connected time using radio connections not fixed lines.

 

[birdman101]

Haven’t used club sites for a few years now and Wi-Fi usually pretty useless. I remember one site where a lady used to take her chair down to reception and sit outside to get a signal. Wherever we go we take our wireless hub from home with us and never fails. Get just as good signal speed as when at home and costs us nothing extra than our normal monthly charge.

 

[otherclive]

Haven’t used club sites for a few years now and Wi-Fi usually pretty useless. I remember one site where a lady used to take her chair down to reception and sit outside to get a signal. Wherever we go we take our wireless hub from home with us and never fails. Get just as good signal speed as when at home and costs us nothing extra than our normal monthly charge.

Some years ago at CCC Tavistock the source of wifi was an adjacent small park home site. Being with BT I could stand outside in the lane alongside one park home and ride piggy back on their internet connection as it was BT.

 

[Buckman]

One of the worst sites we used for wifi was Stowford Meadows even when you sat right by the reception area. We went to PC rally there.

 

[RogerL]

I imagine there's wide variation in the wifi bandwidth drawn down by each caravan - many will just use it for wifi calling, emails and forum surfing - while others will want to stream HD TV and films for hours on end - so it doesn't surprise me that site owners limit their spend on wifi equipment or start jacking up pitch fees to cover the cost.

This year we're using a TP-Link mifi to pull in the mobile signal from proper aerials and generate wifi within the caravan for our phones and PC.

 

[Buckman]

We have always used the mobile phone for wifi connection to watch movies as generally site wifi is very limited and slow.

 

[CrewOVtwo]

There are 2 options for c&c WiFi currently.
We have used both, and found both to be inadequate for our needs (streaming movies etc).

The first one they have is free, and is very limited but you can check your email, and it is limited to a one hour time slot - although when that runs out, you can just sign up for another hour.

The second one is chargeable. From memory, per day, per 3 days, per week, per month, per year - and it transfers to any sites you visit, so if you buy per year it will still be valid at any c&c site you visit....... BUT.....

ITS RUBBISH, and can be very variable depending on where your pitch is in relation to the WiFi units on site.

We purchased our own WiFi unit following advice on here, and it's been superb. They vary in price and the SIM cards vary in price but you can set yourself up depending on your budget.

 

[GUMPY]

It was the case the one time I used CMC site WiFi that if you used a VPN it thought you had the paid for it.
I obviously disconnected my VPN as soon as I became aware of this.

 

[CrewOVtwo]

It was the case the one time I used CMC site WiFi that if you used a VPN it thought you had the paid for it.
I obviously disconnected my VPN as soon as I became aware of this.

Not sure. I have a vpn, but haven't connected/ attempted to connect to CMC WiFi since we got the mifi unit.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Whatever system you try to use will depend on the availability of the signal the system utilises. The only one that I am aware of that will most likely cover all caravan sites in the UK, will be Musk's Starlink system which uses orbiting satellites which provide all sky coverage.

MiFi continues to use the digital phone network, and as such it can still have trouble if your in a poor mobile reception area, and the same applies to using a mobile phone as a hot spot.

 

[Buckman]

Whatever system you try to use will depend on the availability of the signal the system utilises. The only one that I am aware of that will most likely cover all caravan sites in the UK, will be Musk's Starlink system which uses orbiting satellites which provide all sky coverage.

MiFi continues to use the digital phone network, and as such it can still have trouble if your in a poor mobile reception area, and the same applies to using a mobile phone as a hot spot.

Spot on. Not many people seem to realise that no matter whether they have a fancy outdoor aerial or not, if in a poor reception area no matter what you do, the reception will still be poor.

 

[GUMPY]

Spot on. Not many people seem to realise that no matter whether they have a fancy outdoor aerial or not, if in a poor reception area no matter what you do, the reception will still be poor.

In over 25 years of using mobile internet* I have yet to find a location where there was no usable signal on one of the networks.
If you find yourself in a black hole either you are on the wrong network or your equipment is sub standard.

* For the avoidance of doubt I am counting back in the 90s using dial up over a mobile phone as mobile internet.

 

[Buckman]

In over 25 years of using mobile internet* I have yet to find a location where there was no usable signal on one of the networks.
If you find yourself in a black hole either you are on the wrong network or your equipment is sub standard.

* For the avoidance of doubt I am counting back in the 90s using dial up over a mobile phone as mobile internet.

Like yourself we have never had an issue with reception when when in France or Spain, but we do research the site first to make sure that there are not trees a mile high surrounding the site. Got caught like that once on a CC site near Woodstock. Never been back to that site.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Spot on. Not many people seem to realise that no matter whether they have a fancy outdoor aerial or not, if in a poor reception area no matter what you do, the reception will still be poor.

Not quite true, Every reception device (Phone or MiFi) will have a "sensitivity" which needs a minimum signal strength at its aerial connector to be able to resolve the transmission. Aerials are designed to be able to collect signals, and some have additional elements that can produce a higher "gain"

This means in an area where a normal phone may struggle to receive enough signal strength, an aerial with a high gain design, might fair better.

However whilst a high gain aerial might be able to resolve a poor signal, it can't compensate for a situation when the signal looses integrity and drops packets of information. This can happen when the weather, buildings or tree foliage breaks the line of sight transmissions. At best this can slow down data transfer rates and make apps glitchy, or worst, cause incomplete data transmission which might make it unusable.

I have definitely been at sites where there is no usable mobile phone signal (some other networks might be better), Site WiFi has been glitchy or non existent. Realistically you won't know the situation until you get there and try it. With that level of uncertainty for terrestrial transmissions, If you need a reliable digital communications facility, you have to look to satellite coms, and presently I am only aware of one commercial operator.

 

[GUMPY]

I'd rather go without than pay money to Elon 😲
There is a European Satellite internet system but it's not available to peasants like us only the corporate mob.
China is launching a system as well, we shall see what that brings, says the man whose internet kit is 99.9% Chinese 😱

 

[Buckman]

Not quite true, Every reception device (Phone or MiFi) will have a "sensitivity" which needs a minimum signal strength at its aerial connector to be able to resolve the transmission. Aerials are designed to be able to collect signals, and some have additional elements that can produce a higher "gain"

This means in an area where a normal phone may struggle to receive enough signal strength, an aerial with a high gain design, might fair better.

However whilst a high gain aerial might be able to resolve a poor signal, it can't compensate for a situation when the signal looses integrity and drops packets of information. This can happen when the weather, buildings or tree foliage breaks the line of sight transmissions. At best this can slow down data transfer rates and make apps glitchy, or worst, cause incomplete data transmission which might make it unusable.

I have definitely been at sites where there is no usable mobile phone signal (some other networks might be better), Site WiFi has been glitchy or non existent. Realistically you won't know the situation until you get there and try it. With that level of uncertainty for terrestrial transmissions, If you need a reliable digital communications facility, you have to look to satellite coms, and presently I am only aware of one commercial operator.

Apologies I as not aware that you were also an expert in digital technology?

 

[Sam Vimes]

Why is it that you need to reply to the Prof's posts with sarcastic comments. Its really not necessary and does nothing to take the discussion forward.