dlelsner Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 I should have posted this here first. I just read a new article on the SpaceX project named Starlink. Attached is the article. https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/spacex-starlink-update-second-batch-of-60-satellites-launched-service-coming-in-2020/ Dave Elsner Reno NV 04 Camelot PST 40' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr4Film Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 I have never been impressed with any satellite Internet service in the past due to the latency factor of the signal. Remember that when you click on a web site that command has to travel to the satellite then down to the server then back to the satellite and back down to you device. Maybe technology has changed, we shall see. But for people in remote areas of the world this will be their only choice for staying in touch with the world which is better than nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodylmiller Posted January 8, 2020 Share Posted January 8, 2020 This has been a major problem for us, a mobile wifi. No way to have a connected land based Internet Service Provider while moving around from place to place. We would like to be able to stream Netflix, Hulu and other services, all needing a wifi connection. I have an AT&T Harmon Spark on the way, it replaces the Mobely. We are hoping that this will be our solution. We can stream through our iphones but the signal seems to weak to be really good. And then what do you do when you have a weak cell signal and too many trees to the point where you can't a good signal to the satellite dish. Spent a week at a really good park but no internet and no TV due to the trees. Could just barely text and make phone calls. Can't add a jet pak from Verizon without giving up our old plan which is too good to lose. Hoping the adapter to the Spark will get around the problems with using it while not in the car. We'll see. We have satellite internet at our house, Hughes Net, and it sucks, can't stream without buffering. Try watching a movie that way. With RV'ing be coming more popular, someone should come up with a mobile internet service and become rich overnight. Woody Miller 09 Dynasty Regal IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan K Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 (edited) Woody, can you elaborate how Harman Spark will have a better signal than the old mobley? Just wondering since it looks like just an other obd2 dongle as far as 4g reception goes. Or maybe I misread it and you don't have the mobley. Either way, I hope it works for you but really don't see how it can have better data reception than your phone. Edited January 9, 2020 by Ivan K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodylmiller Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Ivan, the Spark is the same, an OCD Dongle. I guess they just basically renamed the thing. I never had the Mobely so I don't know much about how well they worked. The Spark is a stand alone product, buy it and then $30 a month for unlimited data. I just got mine yesterday and haven't used it yet. It is supposed to be only used in the car, but there are adapters that allow it to work in the rv. We'll see. Verizon has the Jet Pak but it adds another line to your plan and the data comes to a crawl after 15 gigs. Woody Miller 09 Dynasty Regal IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan K Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 Thanks for the detail, Woody. We use mobley with a Nanostation repeater all the time on the road and at home and happy with it when there is any signal. Sounds like you found a good alternative option for just few bucks more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodylmiller Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 Hopefully the thing will work, however, the last firmware update limited the online time to one hour from what I understand. This should be OK for streaming one hour shows. I'm hoping that pausing a moving, disconnect/reconnect the Spark will work. Just activated the Spark today and have not tried it. Been lucky that the park wifi has been good enough to stream with. If someone could invent a better mouse trap, mobile wifi with unlimited data, they could make a fortune. Really hard to find anyone selling a Mobely these days. For those looking to buy a Spark, be careful, we bought the first one on Ebay and AT&T or Harman could not activate it. It's going back, free return and a refund. We tried for 3 weeks to buy the Spark from AT&T with no luck. We ordered online twice and the sale was cancelled because our billing address and shipping address didn't match. 95% of AT&T retailers don't know what a Spark is. Every store we went in would not sell us the device without first buying a cell phone service. The Spark is a stand alone device, you do not need an AT&T account or cell phone to get the device or the data service. Finally, after 3 weeks and heated confrontations, we found a store manager that knew the device and we were able to purchase it. Unlimited data, $30 bucks a month with no contract. Currently there does not seem to be a work around on the one hour time limit if you're not in a vehicle and the Spark attached to the OCD port. The last firmware update activated the gps on the unit to shut off after one hour of no movement. Be aware about this. This is a dollar short of doing what we wanted, but it's better than nothing. If you have a Mobely, it's worth its weight in gold. Woody Miller 09 Dynasty Regal IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 I've been following a thread on IRV2 for quite a while where a member posted instructions on how to use Visible phone service as a hotspot for $40/month with router. The thread is still active as members purchase and active the plans. Last time I looked I hadn't seen any individual who couldn't make it work. I bought a Mobley and activated it over 2 years ago and am using it at home now but will soon be traveling (hopefully). I've got it tethered to a Asus router and have 4 smart TV's, a Roku device, and desktop connected besides phones and laptops. It has worked well other then dropping off line randomly, at which point I have to unplug to reboot. I still have not had the firmware update that will shut it down every 2 hours or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr4Film Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 8 minutes ago, jacwjames said: It has worked well other then dropping off line randomly, at which point I have to unplug to reboot. I still have not had the firmware update that will shut it down every 2 hours or so. Jim, What firmware version does your Mobley have currently? I plugged mine into a digital timer which turns it off for one minute at 3 am then turns it back on so it's ready to use in the am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 Not sure what firmware I have, will have to check and let you know. As of now it will sometimes run for a month without a problem and then all of a sudden locks up, I just unplug and reset it and all is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 This is the information regarding the Mobley. Firmware Version VM6200V1.0.1B03 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr4Film Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Hi Jim, Yes, that is an older version of firmware. I have VM6200V1.0.3 I am surprised that it hasn't updated as it usually does that automatically with out you even knowing it. Even though the new version deleted the No Time Out option such that the longest option is now 2 hours, mine still does NOT time out and shut down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 My only complaint with the Mobley is that it will randomly lock up and the only way to get it back working is to reset and/or unplug. Not that big of deal considering the overall benefit of having it. I guess if I installed a timer to shut it down and let it restart that might solve that problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Nodine Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 2 hours ago, jacwjames said: My only complaint with the Mobley is that it will randomly lock up and the only way to get it back working is to reset and/or unplug. Not that big of deal considering the overall benefit of having it. I guess if I installed a timer to shut it down and let it restart that might solve that problem. Jim, We have a Verizon unlimited prepaid hot spot and it occasionally looses the feed and has to be rebooted. Seems to be a normal thing in the world of WiFi. At the stick house we have AT&T hard wired and it almost never looses connection and when it does it is usually due to a power failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodylmiller Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Quote First day using the Spark. Hooks up quickly and seems to be fast. 23 Mbs download and almost 5Mbs up. Booted me off after about 30 minutes the first time. That's not good. Might have to unplug/plug every so often. Much better than park wifi for sure. Just going to be a pain. This is a brand new unit so I don't think there will be a work around for the device timing out at this point. We'll see. Good think is the website doesn't close when the connection is lost. Woody Miller 09 Dynasty Regal IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan K Posted January 18, 2020 Share Posted January 18, 2020 Seems that they learned from the mobley rollout. If the timeout is really based on GPS position, that would be a tough one for a stationary use. GPS frequency is just between two LTE bands so even if it worked with the GPS signal somehow blocked, it'll be hard to do without blocking the LTE data stream as well. If the position is calculated from the cell signal, it'll be near impossible as it is calculated from signal delays to sites around you, which is going to be constant when stationary. Unless someone comes with a software hack to disable the timeout, assuming the timeout actually happens in the unit and not at the service providers equipment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodylmiller Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Yeah, it times out about every 15-20 minutes. A pain, but better than park wifi. I just unplug for 5 seconds and then we get back online. My next test is to see if I can play shows I have recorded to my laptop for Netflix shows. If you happen to know, can I run a USB cable from laptop to the USB port on the smart tv? I am planning on trying. If that works, and I can get the download speed that I tested, I can download quite a bit in 15 or 20 minutes, I think. I can build a house, but this tech stuff has me pulling my hair out. Woody Miller 09 Dynasty Regal IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 (edited) 29 minutes ago, woodylmiller said: Yeah, it times out about every 15-20 minutes. A pain, but better than park wifi. I just unplug for 5 seconds and then we get back online. My next test is to see if I can play shows I have recorded to my laptop for Netflix shows. If you happen to know, can I run a USB cable from laptop to the USB port on the smart tv? I am planning on trying. If that works, and I can get the download speed that I tested, I can download quite a bit in 15 or 20 minutes, I think. I can build a house, but this tech stuff has me pulling my hair out. Woody Miller 09 Dynasty Regal IV There was a post on iRV2 about the Spark, there is an adapter you can buy that defeats the time out. Something to do with defeating it using simulation software. Here is a link to one listed on Ebay https://tinyurl.com/rmz52co Edited January 20, 2020 by jacwjames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr4Film Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Hi Jim, Here is a web site which reduces those humongous website links down to something manageable. FYI https://tinyurl.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacwjames Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Thanks Richard, I converted, +400 characters to 27 I'll try to do this in the future as I know a lot of people use phones to check posting where I pretty much use my laptop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodylmiller Posted January 20, 2020 Share Posted January 20, 2020 I have that adapter, using it in the coach. The company that is making them has admitted the he does not have a work around for the time out. If you go to his website you find that. That ad on Amazon and Ebay both claim to be able to have "endless" wifi with the adapter, but it's sadly not the case. I don't know why he doesn't inform buyers of the limitations. I could return the adapter but what good would that be. I'll take the PITA to reboot than have no other choice. I'll continue to search for the perfect. I did follow the $40 a month wifi on IRV2 and it sounds like it might work. However, I believe there was a limited time on those parts, not sure. Visible is a Verizon product as I understand. I started down that route and I'm dealing with the cell boosting antennas at the moment. I need more info on the Winegard products and I don't like the monthly subscription for that. I don't mind buying the hardware but I don't like contracts for service. Right now I can stop the Spark data plan at any time and throw the Spark in the river if I so choose. I have a grandfathered unlimited plan from Verizon but my iPhone and laptop refuse to play together half the time. That's another mystery I'm dealing with. I think I'm in a Verizon dead zone at this park, so the AT&T Spark is working well for internet, so I put up with the timeout function. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan K Posted January 21, 2020 Share Posted January 21, 2020 9 hours ago, woodylmiller said: If you happen to know, can I run a USB cable from laptop to the USB port on the smart tv? I am planning on trying. If that works, and I can get the download speed that I tested, I can download quite a bit in 15 or 20 minutes, I think. I don't know if your tv's USB port can play straight video signal from your laptop but there are USB to HDMI adaptors that should work. I haven't used a laptop since I retired but used to have an adapter for hdmi port and it worked fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodylmiller Posted January 23, 2020 Share Posted January 23, 2020 Thanks Ivan, I have one of those adapters, USB/HDMI. On the Spark right now. So it will time out and I'll lose the connection. Unplug and plug back in and it fires right up and I get right back to what I was doing. I can live with that until something better comes along. We watched a show on HULU and only had to go through the reboot once. Upside, you get a minute to refresh you beverage or go to the bathroom. Win/win. One other thing, there is a guy on ebay selling the Spark for $39. We got one and could not activate it, sent it back for a refund. Woody Miller 09 Dynasty Regal IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodylmiller Posted January 29, 2020 Share Posted January 29, 2020 Update; we have been using the spark for a while now. I notice that the reboot is faster than the actual boot up process. When the Spark times out we unplug, wait a couple seconds and plug back into the power supply. We are up and running in seconds. Still a pain, but not bad. The only complaint I have is the password for the Spark, it's a long series of numbers that so far I can not find a way to change. We rarely have to enter the password, but I had to again today on my phone. Woody Miller 09 Dynasty Regal IV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidL Posted June 15, 2020 Share Posted June 15, 2020 On 1/8/2020 at 7:54 AM, Dr4Film said: I have never been impressed with any satellite Internet service in the past due to the latency factor of the signal. Remember that when you click on a web site that command has to travel to the satellite then down to the server then back to the satellite and back down to you device. Maybe technology has changed, we shall see. But for people in remote areas of the world this will be their only choice for staying in touch with the world which is better than nothing. Starlink is a very low orbit system that will significantly reduce the latency compared to traditional sat Internet services. I seem to remember it's 1/6th the distance. I think this will be the real deal for RV'rs once the satellites are populated enough to launch the service. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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