GoSeeAustralia finds answers to communication on the move
Communications on the move
is a must for GoSeeAustralia |
By Graham Wallace, Dip Eng (Elec.)
Over about 6,600km of touring Queensland, NSW and the ACT GoSeeAustralia has trialled the various methods for connecting to the internet and the mobile phone systems.
We discovered what communications really work well “Out There” on the move
GoSeeAustralia tested the questions of real Internet and Voice Over IP (VOIP) connection and sending and receiving faxes and found many facilities available.
During seven weeks on the road we had constant email and internet use using most of the methods outlined in this story.
GSA's rig hits the road,
Lake Hume |
First we looked at the Internet:
There are two broad methods of using the internet. These are by using supplied equipment in an internet kiosk or connecting using your own machine.
Using other equipment, such as an internet kiosk, has been the traditional way of communicating whilst on the move.
To use an internet kiosk users obtain their email via ‘Webmail’. Many people use free email accounts like Hotmail, yahoo mail and Gmail.
Most Internet Service Providers now also provide Webmail access to email accounts. This is a preferred method used by many travellers and backpackers as it removes the need to carry personal equipment.
Another method is to use your own equipment like a laptop, palm pilot and mobile phone. Most people now realise that using mobile communication devices like palm pilots, imates and mobile phones is a very expensive means of communicating on the internet. In an emergency or if money is no object then they are reasonably effective.
GoSeeAustralia's
home away from home |
But the most cost effective method which provides a lot more scope is a personal laptop (or PC ).
Laptops and PCs can be connected to the internet by hard wire covering Cat5 network cable or Onboard modem via a phone line. Cat5 network is often available at larger dedicated internet cafes.
Just ask the internet café to connect your own laptop. They will provide a position where you plug it in. Some setting may need to be changed and the internet café staff will do this for you (but remember to get them to change them back before you leave).
GoSeeAustralia found that charges for this service are about $5 to $10 for up to an hour. But finding available phone lines for connection was like looking for hens teeth.
Maxon CDMA USB Modem |
Another connection method is wireless and like wired this comes in two main methods.
The first is connection to a local network which are often called “Hot Spots” and referred to as WiFi. There is growth in this area and some caravan parks are now installing WiFi hotspots. These can be connected to and used either as a free service or paid for usage, normally by time.
When GoSeeAustralia connected via many of the Local HotSpot WiFi connections we were generally happy with connection speeds of up to 500k. But the 500k was only found in one caravan cark and normally caravan park connection speeds were around 250k and sometimes lower.
GoSeeAustralia found some disadvantages noted with some systems included limited email ability. Although email can be received via normal Outlook users cannot send as there is no SMTP address translation to their own server. This means the user’s remote ISP’s server won’t accept mail as emails sent come from a “non trusted IP address”.
Ethermax CDMA Kit As Supplied |
This is standard set up by most ISPs to prevent spammers. GoSeeAustralia also found that often many ports were blocked (or IP addresses and systems like VOIP would not work). GoSeeAustralia found we could not connect to our own office equipment by remote terminal because that porting was also blocked at many WiFi locations.
The second method is via a “Wireless connection” into the normal Telecommunications network (much like the modem and phone line)
This is achieved by having a wireless modem product and an account for connection. Bigpond now offers a mobile Broadband product that works into the CDMA network system or you can buy your own equipment and connect via the Telstra system (No, we don’t know the reason for the difference either). One big advantage in having your own equipment is that you can connect for your travels and disconnect the account when not needed, whereas the Bigpond account is locked into a contract.
GoSeeAustralia obtained two different CDMA broadband systems (One was a Maxon MM-5100 1x and the other EtherMax CDMA 1x / EVDO) from Campersat. Both came with a much bigger CDMA antenna and a separate modem which will operate in marginal areas where the smaller mobile card or modem with the pencil antennas cannot.
Ethermax ethernet Maxon modem |
The main advantage of the bigger external antenna is that is covers off the normal shortfall in any mobile communications system which is the power of the remote device to talk to the base (communications network). This larger external antenna improves range and reliability. Another great advantage for caravanners is that it gets the antenna outside of the aluminium shell of the caravan which also greatly improves performance.
In testing the CDMA broadband system GoSeeAustralia was able to communicate on the internet wherever our CDMA mobile phone worked.
We found that, in the main using the normal modem (MM5100), connection was very good with tested data connection speeds normally in the 95K to 99K region (roughly double the speed of the normal dial up modem at 56K). Whereas the EtherMax CDMA 1x / EVDO in selected enabled EVDO areas was able to connect at speeds up to 220K (four times faster than 56K modem and similar to slower speed ADSL connections.) outside EVDO areas it connected at the same speed as the MM5100. To our surprise on a trip to central Sydney more recently it connected at over 450K everytime and on one test was as high as 643k, to say the lease I was impressed. I remember only 18 years ago in my career as an electronic engineer on a job in western sydney we were struggling to get 9k over a landline, how technology has exploded and changed in a relatively short time. Typical EVDO can be seen in the attached diagram of Brisbane area coverage (blue being the enhanced EVDO enabled areas and orange the normal CDMA coverage), the full list of coverage maps can ve viewed here on the telstra website.
Brisbane EVDO and CDMA coverage |
Sometimes we connected at about 8k and 10k, but a disconnect/re-connect usually managed to get the speed up. In a few more marginal areas GoSeeAustralia connected in the 60k range, which is still quite usable.
One of our initial tests was to go on-line using the CDMA modem MM5100 and chat via Skype text with a staff member in Melbourne while we drove from Sydney to Canberra.
The link was only broken when the laptop battery ran out at Goulburn. To say the least we were impressed, especially as we drove through the hilly regions south of Sydney.
Another feature of the EtherMax CDMA 1x / EVDO was that it could also be configured to be a router with NAT (Network Address Translation) making it an effective firewall.
GoSeeAustralia’s advice when selecting an account is to request an account based on data flow quantities and not time, that way if you get a slow connect it doesn’t really matter. It just takes a little longer.
Additional facilities:
Maxon MM5100
CDMA Kit As Supplied |
Using most connection methods discussed you can use Voice over IP with free download programs like SKYPE (unless specifically blocked by the local network).
Faxes both in and out are also achievable using the CDMA MM5100 modem. Remember it is just a CDMA modem on a mobile number so faxes can be sent (you will be billed for outwards calls) and received to that number. There are several programs available that turn your laptop/PC into a virtual fax machine. The fax can be viewed on screen or printed out.
Another method of receiving documents is to have someone scan them to PDF file and email them to you.
Remember on the road you can have many facilities available. This GoSeeAustralia writer has been on the road now for just on seven weeks and has had constant email and internet use since leaving Canberra using most of the methods outlined in this story.
Editor's Note also see:
GoSeeAustralia adds battery power to our Out There Heritage
Notes on battery and solar power
Solar aids battery power, but keep your balanced systems
Campersat tunes in an eye in the sky for RV wanderers
For more information
contact: Graham Wallace
Managing Director Go See Australia Directory
Phone: 02 6294 1941
Fax: 02 6284 9275
Email: graham@contact.com.au
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