Build A Wireless Signal Booster For Your RV

The wife and I live full time in our RV and we move around a lot. Most of the RV parks we stay in offer wireless but a great deal of them don't offer GREAT wireless. If you aren't parked pretty close to the "clubhouse" or "office", where they frequently host their wireless signal broadcaster, you might get such a weak signal that you can't connect at all.

One solution, and an easy one that frequently works, is to acquire an external antenna for your laptop. They are fairly cheap (less than $40 at Walmart), and install easily by plugging into a USB port. They also self-configure for the most part. Cisco makes one called the "Valet" that is super easy to use. I also have a Linksys N USB device that is fairly easy to use, and although it's a little more pricey ($80) it has better reception with 2 external antennas of its own.

But sometimes even that won't do the job. In my "box of tricks" that I packed when we moved into the rig, I have a couple of wireless routers. One of them is a Linksys WRT350N. For this configuration, the factory firmware (or operating system) doesn't have the configurability or performance, so I replaced it with the latest firmware from DD-WRT (http://www.dd-wrt.com). They have an extensive Wiki, accessible from their homepage, on how to get the free download and install or "flash" it onto the router. Once you get dd-wrt installed, the rest is pretty simple. Unless you want to get fancy and install a 36" external mast antenna on the outside of your rig. In that case, you could probably get a signal from a Starbucks up to ½ mile away and just use that, it's free! Visit my wireless BFF at www.nyetech.com/services/rv-wireless-repeater.htm.

Power up the router and connect to the default SSID (dd-wrt) with your laptop. Then log into the router using your browser at the default IP address 192.168.1.1. The default admin UID is "root", and the default admin password is "admin". All of these things can be reconfigured by you, of course, just remember to remember them or you will have to use the "factory reset" button on the back to wipe them out and start all over. There are 2 parts to the configuration: setting up the router as a repeater; setting up the "rig" side of the network. In your basic setup, found on the Setup tab of the router UI, you should have your Connection Type set to "DHCP", STP set to "Enable", the router name is your choice (I use "repeater"), the Host Name is your choice (I user "repeater"), Domain Name is your choice (I leave it blank), MTU is set to "Auto", change the Local IP Address to a unique number, different than the network you want to repeat, for instance 192.168.69.1, and the Subnet Mask to 255.255.255.0. Then save the settings, the router will reboot. You will need to then point your browser to the new IP address you selected (in this example http://192.168.69.1). Log back into the router UI.

Go to the Security tab, sub-tab "Firewall". UNCHECK ALL CHECK BOXES and set SPI Firewall to "Disable". Save the settings by clicking "Apply". Go to the Wireless tab, sub-tab "Basic Settings". Set Wireless Mode to "Repeater". On "Wireless Physical Interface" set Wireless Network Name (SSID)" to the network you wish to repeat (the park network). Set Network Configuration to "Bridged". Click "Save Settings" so that you will be able to see the "Virtual Interfaces" section. Click on "Add" under "Virtual Interfaces" and enter an SSID for your new "rig" network, for instance "rignetwork". Check to see that the Set Wireless Channel is set to "Auto", although you can optionally set this to any channel if you dare. Also, if the host access point (the park network) is set to "G Only", then your Wireless Network Mode must be set the same or you won't be able to connect. For most applications it can be set to "Mixed". Optionally, you can set the Wireless SSID Broadcast to "Auto" (I do if I enable security) or "Off" (if you don't want to use passwords and don't want anyone else grabbing your signal). AP Isolation is "Disabled" and Network Configuration is "Bridged". Save the settings (or "Apply").

You can now connect from your laptops to the router. If the host network (the park network) requires a passcode for their security, you will be asked to enter it the first time you access, but it should be stored in your repeater from then on.

There are a number of ways to expand on this configuration and to add extra bells and whistles (dynamic signal detect and connect for instance). You can find some other information with pictures at http://www.campersmotorhomesonline.com/articles, and DD-WRT has a wealth of information on router configuration, include repeater profiles, at their Wiki site http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Universal_Wireless_Repeater.