How we stay in communication in the Mercury and at home

After 20 years and 5 months of running a 24 x 7 business, on June 20, 2013 we closed on the sale of the Silver City KOA campground!  It was, without a doubt, the highlight of our life experience (so far!).

Now with 60+ years of that life experience behind us and our good health we have the opportunity to use our newly developed Sprinter Van to see the USA and further expand our experience. (It's GREAT! the way thing have come together; I could not have planned it better if I had tried!)

Since the close date we have known that we would be traveling and have put together a plan to use technology. We wanted to use technology to the most cost effective benefit, but not duplicate services in order have these services at home and on the road.





Electronics Tray

This is our Electronics Tray. In the front is an Oregon Scientific Weather Radio, our Verizon Home Phone Connect, and an inexpensive cordless phone.  In the back is a 180 watt inverter and a power strip with all of the required power blocks.

When we are at home the power strip is plugged into AC power.  The Home Phone connect has a small antenna which connects the cordless phone to the Verizon cellular network.  This gives us unlimited "talk" for $25 per month.  This is a very cost effective solution since we both have no desire to carry around a telephone in our pockets.  Sometimes you do have to leave that technology behind.  Here is the link: http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/device/home-phone-connect

 

When we are on the road, the Home Phone Connect is attached to an external antenna and  the inverter is plugged into a DC outlet in the van.  While this may be slightly less efficient than converting all of the devices to 12 VDC, it gives us the ability to move the electronics easily and insures that all devices have the correct operating voltage.  It is good to remember that "12 volts" in a RV can range from 11.5 to 14.4 VDC.

 



 

Broadband Hotspot Setup

Our "data" solution is a Novatel 4620LE Broadband Hotspot mounted to a Wilson Electronics cradle amplifier with a dual band external antenna. 

 

This device operates on the 3G and 4G Verizon cellular network.  It was purchased with a month to month agreement from Millenicom, a Verizon reseller.  For exactly (no taxes, no add-on's) $69.99 per month you get 20 Gb of data.  Here is the link: http://millenicom.com/plans/  The Cradle amplifier amplifies the antenna signal and transmits it to the Hotspot for use with up to 10 devices.  That means we can suck up data with our 2 Kindles and the Laptop!  Wilson Electronics products can be purchased from Amazon.  It runs off of a 12 volt adapter and provides 5 v power for the Hotspot as well.

 

So with the Electronics Tray on the counter, the Hotspot working away, and my newly installed flip-up table holding the laptop, my workstation is complete. 

 
 





You will see that the Home Phone Connect is attached to an external antenna.  The cord plugged into the side of the laptop connects to a USB GPS antenna.

 

 The top of the van is relatively clean.  The front antenna is the dash radio, then comes the Home Phone Connect,  the TV antenna (improvement is needed here if we use the TV), and way at the back is the dual band Wilson antenna.  I've covered all of the cables in wire mold to prevent UV damage.

 

So now we are set.  We have disconnected now from the phone company "land lines" and told Comcast where they can take their cable TV.  We are using a Roku device to stream movies from Amazon Prime with a subscription to Hulu+ to keep up with the Daily Show.  On the road we can do the same by connecting the laptop to the TV with an HDMI cable. Digital TV "over the air" gives us adequate news programming. 

 

We will leave our home in the care of our neighbors and hit the road on August 15 for a 6+ week trip.  We will make postings along the way, the first will document how the van is loaded for this trip and how we come out on total weight.  I personally can hardly wait to find out.

 

We will let you know and promise to keep making posts of all our adventures.

 

See you soon....

 

JIM