The Frustrations Of Rural Internet AND Netflix

[3Ts]

I was unaware of the SDR radios. I will have to look into them.

Thanks

 

[B7510HSD]

I was unaware of the SDR radios. I will have to look into them.

Thanks

They are n sale now at HRO (hamradio Outlet) BASICALLY PLUG INTO A usb PORT ON pc Install software and hookup a wire antenna!! A little more involved if you will be using with a transmitter!

 

[John Fitzgerald]

We have at least two providers here, and a third one is coming with fast fiber optic. Competition may, hopefully, keep them in line.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Well, I got my new ISP yesterday, and kicked Explornet to the curb today. In typical fashion, they want to work with me and even lower my cost. Too late. I told them I wanted reliable Internet over Christmas.

 

[k0ua]

You helped. But another question on dipoles about polarization (?) doesn't the antenna have to be oriented (horiontally/vertically) the same as the transmitter and parallel to the transmitter antenna? yes and no. Yes it we are talking about ground wave, but often during skywave, polarization gets crossed up anyway, so for regional or longer distances, generally no. or are they all horizontal because of their size. many are horizontal, for other reasons, such as noise reduction or reasons of convience. Although vertical antenas have a lower takeoff angle on average. But in your case that might actually hurt not help. Lower takeoff angles are considered better for DX (long distance) communications. But there are many other factors.
I'm assuming the antenna has to be as high as possible above the ground due to the earth acting as a ground plane - does that matter? Again, yes and no. it "depends" on your goals, Generally the higher the better to a point if you are wanting DX, but regional coverage can be better with lower antennas. Ground gain is usually achieved with dipoles when they 1/2 wavelength above ground. As you can calculate, a 1/2 wavelength distance will vary widely depending on frequency as wavelength and frequency are locked together and as the frequency increased the wavelength decreases. So I should be able to string it between 2 poles?yes, and you can utilize any trees you have also Can I pick up AM radio stations on HAM equipment?yes, most newer equipment includes the AM broadcast band and all of the shortwave bands. right now, my interest is primarily listening in - i've heard there are many government programs out there for education (such as in the Australian outback farms) etc.

I probably have more questions than would be appropriate for this forum - can you point me somewhere that I can read up on antennas?

See answers above in red, and yes, this becomes complicated in a hurry. You can study these things for a long time. You can get the basics real quick, but the nuances are very deep.

Here is a good book you could buy, but there is also tons of info on the internet for free.
ebay - Google Search


You can also ask me more questions as they come up. If I cram you head full of info, most of it will just spill over. But if you ask questions as you think of them, and I or others answer them, then the info will stick with you much longer and do you more good.

Learning about as subject like Antennas is a LIFELONG endeavor. Yes it is that complicated. But you can get the basics you need to know to get started pretty easy. You don't need to know everything to get going.

 

[k0ua]

Yes SDR (Software Defined Radio) is becoming all the rage, and replacing older designs at a furious pace. They range from simple USB dongles to more conventional looking radios in a box with SDR guts. So control could be totally by computer keyboard monitor and mouse or totally by conventional looking radio controls on the front of a box or a combination of the two. This is a rapidly advancing art and is a true paradigm shift. I bought my first SDR earlier this year and it is the best radio I have ever owned in almost 50 years of owning communications equipment.

 

[B7510HSD]

Yes SDR (Software Defined Radio) is becoming all the rage, and replacing older designs at a furious pace. They range from simple USB dongles to more conventional looking radios in a box with SDR guts. So control could be totally by computer keyboard monitor and mouse or totally by conventional looking radio controls on the front of a box or a combination of the two. This is a rapidly advancing art and is a true paradigm shift. I bought my first SDR earlier this year and it is the best radio I have ever owned in almost 50 years of owning communications equipment.

Yes they are I use mine for the most part as a digital receiver for my MARS nets! Has a better receiver than my Kenwood 590 for this! Can tune from 1kz to 2ghz!! Would be a great shortwave receiver!

 

[sseelhoff]

Well, I got my new ISP yesterday, and kicked Explornet to the curb today. In typical fashion, they want to work with me and even lower my cost. Too late. I told them I wanted reliable Internet over Christmas.

I am very close to making a change. Can't stand the constant outages and slow downs. Now that I am working from home, it's unacceptable to lose work because I get kicked out of the network from a signal loss. Looking at LTE whole house service. I can get an unlimited data plan for $99 per month which includes a whole house wireless LTE router. No data caps or throttling.

Makes me think it's time to drop Dish and convert to Sling or DishNow as well. I'm getting tired of crap service.

 

[riptides]

I am very close to making a change. Can't stand the constant outages and slow downs. Now that I am working from home, it's unacceptable to lose work because I get kicked out of the network from a signal loss. Looking at LTE whole house service. I can get an unlimited data plan for $99 per month which includes a whole house wireless LTE router. No data caps or throttling.

Makes me think it's time to drop Dish and convert to Sling or DishNow as well. I'm getting tired of crap service.

I think LTE is a far better choice and service offering than satellite. Especially if you have no caps or throttles.

 

[sseelhoff]

I think LTE is a far better choice and service offering than satellite. Especially if you have no caps or throttles.

I don't have satellite internet. It's a WISP system.

Skynet | High Speed Internet Service for the Greater Houston Area

It's supposedly not affected by weather like Satellite, but we have terrible service in bad weather, i.e. heavy rain or wind. And it can be slow. Not sure if it's the technology or the service provider, but we are about done with them. Spent three hours working on a report today. Internet goes down. Thanks to auto save, I only lost about 5 minutes of work, but it's still irritating to lose work, and then have to wait thirty minutes for the signal to return. Called the provider-they were most unapologetic-"oh, yeah, well we're doing some upgrades." How 'bout some notice when you're going to shut er down in the middle of a work day?