Help this nomad achieve internet

[Azure Flame]

Does anyone know of a good way to find cheap and good mobile internet?

I work in a gym and I COULD hook it up with comcast or a direct connection, but that would be hella expensive. I'm looking for cheap alternatives.

At the moment I use my samsung galaxy S3 to tether my laptop, but its very slow, only works sporadically, and also only has so much data before it cuts off.

What would be the best option for an entrepreneur nomad?

 

[Lexicon]

Does anyone know of a good way to find cheap and good mobile internet?

I work in a gym and I COULD hook it up with comcast or a direct connection, but that would be hella expensive. I'm looking for cheap alternatives.

At the moment I use my samsung galaxy S3 to tether my laptop, but its very slow, only works sporadically, and also only has so much data before it cuts off.

What would be the best option for an entrepreneur nomad?

try a high-gain usb wifi antenna, they're like $20-$30. TP-Link makes some good ones.

This is the one I recently bought so I could access the free wifi my city offers (I was juuuust out of range with my laptop's internal antenna)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00416Q5KI/ref=pe_385040_30332200_pe_309540_26725410_item

It works pretty well for my needs, but I may have been a bit hasty buying it. I think there may be stronger ones out there. May depend on what's around you, as well, in terms of unsecured networks you can access.

I'm by no means great with technology.. I got this advice from an ISTP in the past, haha. Anyway, hope this helps.

 

[kyuuei]

^ I was about to suggest this, it's the cheapest way to get free internet that many people already pay for in your area.

Should you want to have a more private, dedicated connection.. They do have mobile hot-spots you can buy. I never owned one personally, I always tethered too, but I think they were a bit more reliable and you could get more data out of it with that.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Internet-on-the-Go-Mobile-Hotspot-3G/20665535

Something like that its I believe $35-40 for 3GB a pop, and you just use it up until the GBs run out and then you pay for more. So if you don't do much downloading or games or things like that, it seems like a cheaper set up.

I'd definitely still get an antenna though especially if there's some restaurants close by--those are super useful for traveling anyways. Some army dudes I know raved about them. Again, don't own one personally, but it's on the "I want it" list for sure.

 

[Azure Flame]

woah cool!

There's a mcdonalds like, 200 feet away. I wonder if I'd be able to pick that up while sitting in the gym? I'll definitely look into this.

 

[Fluffywolf]

woah cool!

There's a mcdonalds like, 200 feet away. I wonder if I'd be able to pick that up while sitting in the gym? I'll definitely look into this.

Whilest a high gain receiver will make it much easier to pick up on signals, the wifi sender is also a pretty big factor for obvious reasons. I don't know how it is in your area, but the Mcdonalds I know near me that I've tried wifi have really crappy routers.

Still, if you can buy something with waranty to try it out to see if its what you look for, it never hurts to try I guess.

 

[Lexicon]

I wanna add to this thread that any nerds who understand this shit, speak up. I'm trying to find a stronger/more effective wifi antenna than the one I purchased (getting annoyed w/the patchy reception- scroll up to see my link to the one I bought).. I don't understand tech specs, so I don't really know what I'm really looking for, that would be an upgrade to my current device.

Posting here, as the info may be useful in the OP's quest, as well.

 

[Bamboo]

Should you want to have a more private, dedicated connection.. They do have mobile hot-spots you can buy. I never owned one personally, I always tethered too, but I think they were a bit more reliable and you could get more data out of it with that.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Internet-on-the-Go-Mobile-Hotspot-3G/20665535

Something like that its I believe $35-40 for 3GB a pop, and you just use it up until the GBs run out and then you pay for more. So if you don't do much downloading or games or things like that, it seems like a cheaper set up.

I'm thinking of setting up a home security system, something like that would be pretty cool for connecting to a camera to get the (text) alerts while mobile...


FWIW:

I don't have internet and live in the middle of the woods, I just tether with cell phone and I'm happy enough. I just use limited internet, turn off image loading (not just image display, but actual loading of images), and limit youtube. If I'm in town (like now) I pick up wifi.

 

[kyuuei]

Also, I wanted to mention--have you thought about asking nearby people to share internet? Ask a neighbor, and say "Hey, I'll be around only the next two months. I was wondering if maybe I could pay a portion of your internet bill in exchange for using your wi-fi?"

At least it's worth a try--you'd get the benefits of paying a cheap rate for decent connection and they get a slight break from their normal bill.

I wanna add to this thread that any nerds who understand this shit, speak up. I'm trying to find a stronger/more effective wifi antenna than the one I purchased (getting annoyed w/the patchy reception- scroll up to see my link to the one I bought).. I don't understand tech specs, so I don't really know what I'm really looking for, that would be an upgrade to my current device.

Posting here, as the info may be useful in the OP's quest, as well.

If no one pipes up here, I'll remember to ask one of my friends about it that tends to know stuff like that next I see him.

I'm thinking of setting up a home security system, something like that would be pretty cool for connecting to a camera to get the (text) alerts while mobile...


FWIW:

I don't have internet and live in the middle of the woods, I just tether with cell phone and I'm happy enough. I just use limited internet, turn off image loading (not just image display, but actual loading of images), and limit youtube. If I'm in town (like now) I pick up wifi.

^ Yeah I think actually a device like that would last a while if you did it that way--but I just cannot live without real internets. :c impossible. I spent $90/month in Africa to get shitty connection--but still better than nothing.

 

[FDG]

Ftr if you're running a business I would suggest not to "steal" the connection from nearby people (unless you explicitly ask them to share). It may result in hefy fines since there's usually a clause on the wi-fi usage saying "only for non-commercial use".

 

[Fluffywolf]

I wanna add to this thread that any nerds who understand this shit, speak up. I'm trying to find a stronger/more effective wifi antenna than the one I purchased (getting annoyed w/the patchy reception- scroll up to see my link to the one I bought).. I don't understand tech specs, so I don't really know what I'm really looking for, that would be an upgrade to my current device.

Posting here, as the info may be useful in the OP's quest, as well.

This is the one I recently bought so I could access the free wifi my city offers (I was juuuust out of range with my laptop's internal antenna)

It's free wifi your city offers. It's probably already not a very good connection to begin with and when several people start using it at the same time, it's going to suck.

That said, any more details on the patchy-ness of your connection can help in determining the actual issue.

Do you lose connection and have to reconnect or is your download/upload speed very variable?

If it is the first one, then going for a good brand 9dbi antenna may improve your situation. But if it is the latter, it won't be something you can fix.

 

[Lexicon]

If it is the first one, then going for a good brand 9dbi antenna may improve your situation. But if it is the latter, it won't be something you can fix.

Yeah, it's the 1st one. City has free wifi on certain blocks.. mine being one of them. Strongest signal's a branch of the public library about 500ft away. Honestly I could walk there/use it there (but I'm a creepy recluse.. fuck that for right now). The weak antenna I bought was an improvement, so yeah- stands to reason a stronger one (9dbi+) would work even better.

Thx, fuzzywolf. *pats*

 

[_eric_]

I bought this recently as an upgrade from the usb stick I was using on my pc, since it doesn't have wifi built in. My room is in the basement and our router is upstairs, and the signal has to go through a few walls as well as the floor. I used to get maybe 2 bars of reception with the stick, now I have 100% signal consistently and much better speeds and latency. It's been very highly reviewed and is pretty cheap too. I'm quite happy with it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0041RJID8

Depending on what cell phone service works well in your area, you could also look into getting a prepaid mobile hotspot, though even that can get kind of expensive.