WiFi in Patron's campgrounds

[mpullen]

There will be a high-speed WiFi internet service for the TRF campground this year. The coverage areas will be circles with the two Quickie Marts at the center of the radius and with a range to be determined when we get the first part built and tested (guess 300' out or so). The cost of the service will be $9.99 for the whole weekend and can be paid for using major credit cards or PayPal through the portal's web greeting page.

The way it will works is very similar to a hotel or airport system. When a camper wants to use the service, they connect to the WiFi SSID "TRF-CAMP", which on most devices will pop up a greeting page on their web browser. They enter their payment info which will start a 48 hour timer for the service. The exception will be for the TRF website, which will be available to anyone without charge at all times.

[PyroMaster]

Mike and all,
We had a chance to do some testing today and the range is more like 400-600+ feet from the access points at the Quickie Marts. I am crafting an overlay on a map of the campground to show where the WiFi signal reaches and will make it available soon. This service will not rely on the local cellular system, so the performance will still be good when 3G is degraded from the extreme load of so many people in the local cell.

One extra note is that PayPal may not be an option due to some technical issues.

[Sir Martin]

That is some seriously good range.   Well done.

[PyroMaster]

Update:

The system is about complete. The two coverage areas are circles, one with the small Quickie Mart by the fire circle in the center with a 500 foot radius, and the other a circle around the pumphouse in front of the main Quickie Mart with a 600 foot radius.  In order to take advantage of the service, you will have to either set up in, or walk to, those areas.

There will be flyers with info on the WiFi service at the Quickie Marts with a map of the coverage. There is a 500 client limit right now (which will increase as we continue to improve the system) and it is first-come, first served. Because of power availability, the coverage by the fire circle will be shut down on Sunday night, but the area by the main Quickie Mart will remain on until noon on Mondays. Price is a flat $9.99 per weekend, per device, and you can subscribe at any time during the weekend. Hook up early for the best bang for the buck.

[KiltedPrivateer]

Could they be reached with say, directional wifi antennas?

[PyroMaster]

If you have a directional antenna on your device, it would increase the range, although few endpoint devices have directional antennas.

[KiltedPrivateer]

True, but the intuitive DIY'ers could easily come up with a way to reach the Quickie mart from row 0 near the paved road I bet (o:

[PyroMaster]

If they do, I want to know about it. It appeals to my inner nerd.

[PyroMaster]

After this past weekend, we have confirmed the current coverage map. This map is derived from the site survey and based on measured signal levels exceeding -65db (which is the minimum necessary for good performance). Note that depending on your equipment and line of sight, this could be significantly further, or that any structures between you and the transmitters (trailers, cars, etc.) can reduce the signal you may get. We will be on site for the campground open house this Sunday and will have the system up for folks to check out free of charge (for just the day!).

[KiltedPrivateer]

Hmm.. Looks like no additional antenna may be necessary as our camp is covered in section 5.  Yarrrr

[PyroMaster]

The Open House test of everything was positive and the system is solid and ready to go. There will be flyers at the guard house for folks coming in, with notes on getting connected. Also, I will be roaming around and hanging out at the Quickie Marts in case anyone has questions. We're still limited to 500 people on the system and it's first come, first served. When the limit is reached, it won't allow any new clients.

- Mark Miller
(PyroMaster)

[PyroMaster]

Had a few wobbles on the brand new WiFi system that were corrected by Saturday noon. Biggest problem so far is that not enough people seem to know the service is available!   

Mark

[PyroMaster]

Well, so far the response to the new WiFi service has been quite underwhelming. The numbers are not stacking up to even break even, so for AHE weekend we are cutting the price in half. All weekend access for $5.00. System is now active on Thursday noon, but only in the northern coverage area in quiet camping. The coverage area at the fire circle goes hot around 8:00 on Friday night.  Hopefully a few more people will take advantage of the service in the next weeks.

Mark

[KiltedPrivateer]

Could be people are having way too much fun to make use of it.  I haven't had the opportunity to camp this year so I haven't had a chance to test it out.  My thinking though is that in our camp we are pretty much involved with our eating, drinking and conversing and most of what we use our phones for are checking the weather which everyone has an app for these days (o:

I'm thinking where this would probably be most useful is around TRF proper with the same SSID so that the shop keepers can use instead of using up their data plans and swamping the AT&T network with the Squares. Just a thought.

[PyroMaster]

Funny you mention that, because that is exactly what I have been thinking. This was a bit of an experiment anyway, so we'll see where it goes.