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Thread ID: 85482	2007-12-11 20:25:00	Internet connection... from a bus	Mercury (1316)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
620381	2007-12-11 20:25:00	We have random trips away in our motorhome. Currently I check emails via the Asus laptop using a Nokia 6155 cellphone on a Telecom monthly plan. Having an ihug broadband account at home I use ihug dialup. Costs are a small fee for ihug and a much larger fee for data use to Telecom. It is incredibly slow and quite expensive - so Net surfing is out. I've used Telecom Wireless hotspots once or twice but they don't tend to be where we are (medium size places like Thames don't have it let alone anywhere smaller). Anyone had any experiences with data cards? Data plans? Other ideas? A monthly plan is out - trips are too random for regular use of one.	Mercury (1316)
620382	2007-12-12 00:03:00	This? www.iconz.co.nz	feersumendjinn (64)
620383	2007-12-12 00:11:00	That would be taking internet addiction to a new level - it would cost considerably more than my current setup. The current broadband plan (which needs to stay at home for those left behind) is $40/month. Using the cellphone for email costs around $20/week when we are away - and it is a couple of months since we last went away. Using the cellphone is v.e.r.y v.e.r.y s.l.o.w... though. Seems to take forever for one email to load - much slower than normal dialup.	Mercury (1316)
620384	2007-12-12 00:16:00	iconz.co.nz/satellite/ what - and strap the dish on to the top of the bus maybe ? :D	bevy121 (117)
620385	2007-12-12 00:32:00	what - and strap the dish on to the top of the bus maybe ? :D Between the sky aerial (which we've only once had any success with - and that took an hour and a half to set up!), the normal TV aerial (slightly better but still dodgy), the airconditioning (came with the bus - rarely used), the bus airconditioning (fantastic... not - I travel with a polar bear who likes freezing me), AND the solar panels... Where would we find room?	Mercury (1316)
620386	2007-12-12 01:08:00	you dont have to have the dish on the roof do you? i thought you could get portable ones that you can set up temporarily when you want to connect, because the the dish has to be pointing in a specific direction, having it on the roof would mean you'd be climbing up there and adjusting it all the time, so it makes more sense to just get it out when you want to check your emails etc. ?	Jimmy D (2061)
620387	2007-12-12 02:11:00	PLEASE don't mention dishes... the Sky aerial is a horror story in itself (doesn't help that the gauge for the angle is completely wrong and varies to suit itself - took a long time to work that one out). We've since acquired a spare dish from my daughter's house for a ground mounted one. Worked well one night... then there was a hill in the way... then a tree.... then a howling gale. And now we can't get it working here (going for a skate in the bus may not have helped it). The cost eliminates iconz as a solution.	Mercury (1316)
620388	2007-12-12 02:27:00	You can't use satellite. It needs to be configured exactly then bolted in place so it doesn't move. A bus moves. The only thing I can think of is maybe woosh, you'd have to be near a tower though.	pctek (84)
620389	2007-12-12 17:31:00	You can use satellite. If you use a motorised dish with sat finder they align the satellite you need in a few seconds each time you stop. I had this demonstrated to me at a camp site last year by a family with a campervan. The down side is the motorised dish setups are not cheap. A few people on trademe sell those setups new, plus a few caravan accessory places have them. I personally use a Vodafone datacard with a prepay card in it. It is not fast and it is not cheap but it works where ever my vodafone cellphone works. I only use it to check emails so it is not used a lot.	Bantu (52)
620390	2007-12-12 19:09:00	How fast do you find the datacard? Less than dial up speed? Same as? Faster? I've thought about both the Vodafone and Telecom cards on an open plan but don't know if they would be faster than the cellphone.	Mercury (1316)
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