+Palujia Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 Have just got back from a few days out in the caravn. I notice that a lot of "cachers" are also caravanners and therefore this may be of interest to some. We went to the caravan club site near Burnham on Sea.It was advertised as having a "WIFI" connection, so thought we would use that rather than print out paper copies of the caches (Cheddar Gorge etc.,) Just in case we took the mobile internet Dongle recently purchased from a well known telecom company(I work in an hotel which has a free WIFI connection which is always breaking down). On arrival at site enquired about the WIFI and found that it was run by a company which charged £5 per hour !!!!!!! and also, according to the wardens, was very spotty in its connection and getting a refund was a complicated procedure. So, tried to fire up via the dongle and got a rude message from the "on site" internet connection, blocking my use of any other "device". So, had a damp squib of a caching break. Couldn't find an area locally with WIFI and had the usual problem with non connecting dongle. Rats, Rats and Rats !! Going back to pre-loading the GPS and taking paper copies of the cache locations cheers Palujia Quote Link to comment
+drdick&vick Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 I would say that it is illegal for any WiFi company to block you from using a mobile broadband connection. I have used my 'dongle' on Caravan Club, Camping & Caravan Club and various private sites with WiFi availability and have never had any problem. Just turn the Wireless on your laptop off and use the dongle as normal. Most WiFi sites will put a page up when they detect your Wireless signal but they cannot it your wireless is off. Quote Link to comment
+keehotee Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 MacDonalds is always good for a free connection in an emergency - and there are 4 within 10 miles of Burnham http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/restaurants/res...t-locator.shtml Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 If you use GSAK, and print the cache descriptions, it can save a lot of paper and ink... You can get several cache descriptions on one page. Quote Link to comment
Deceangi Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 MacDonalds is always good for a free connection in an emergency - and there are 4 within 10 miles of Burnham http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/restaurants/res...t-locator.shtml I've published a lot of caches Sat outside McD's , then again I've drank a lot of their Lattes as well [the number of free coffee collector cards in the car, testifies to that. ]. Laptop, Dongle as back up, Inverter and a location not too far from the building [well you don't want to walk too far for the Toilet/Coffee breaks ] and your good for 4-5 hours One tip though, when the store closes, so does their WIFI [as I found out one Christmas Eve ] but with more of them going 24 hour opening. Thats not a issue for most of the year any more. Was the WIFI site actually blocking your dongle, or was your laptop defaulting to using any detected WIFI connection to access the internet? Deci Quote Link to comment
+HazelS Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 MacDonalds is always good for a free connection in an emergency - and there are 4 within 10 miles of Burnham http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/restaurants/res...t-locator.shtml I've published a lot of caches Sat outside McD's , then again I've drank a lot of their Lattes as well [the number of free coffee collector cards in the car, testifies to that. ]. Laptop, Dongle as back up, Inverter and a location not too far from the building [well you don't want to walk too far for the Toilet/Coffee breaks ] and your good for 4-5 hours One tip though, when the store closes, so does their WIFI [as I found out one Christmas Eve ] but with more of them going 24 hour opening. Thats not a issue for most of the year any more. Was the WIFI site actually blocking your dongle, or was your laptop defaulting to using any detected WIFI connection to access the internet? Deci I was about to say... there is a certain reviewer who has been known to "nip out to McDonalds" at events..... and not for a Big Mac and large Fries either.... but to sit in the car park and publish caches!!! Good old Deci!!!! Quote Link to comment
The Red Kite Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 MacDonalds is always good for a free connection in an emergency - and there are 4 within 10 miles of Burnham http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/restaurants/res...t-locator.shtml I've published a lot of caches Sat outside McD's , then again I've drank a lot of their Lattes as well [the number of free coffee collector cards in the car, testifies to that. ]. Laptop, Dongle as back up, Inverter and a location not too far from the building [well you don't want to walk too far for the Toilet/Coffee breaks ] and your good for 4-5 hours One tip though, when the store closes, so does their WIFI [as I found out one Christmas Eve ] but with more of them going 24 hour opening. Thats not a issue for most of the year any more. Was the WIFI site actually blocking your dongle, or was your laptop defaulting to using any detected WIFI connection to access the internet? Deci I was about to say... there is a certain reviewer who has been known to "nip out to McDonalds" at events..... and not for a Big Mac and large Fries either.... but to sit in the car park and publish caches!!! Good old Deci!!!! Yeah thanks Deci. Thats dedication far above and beyond duty!! All those McDs LOL Quote Link to comment
+Simply Paul Posted May 9, 2010 Share Posted May 9, 2010 Texaco have free-wifi. Always handy. Quote Link to comment
+dibbler69 Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Weatherspoons do as well. Lots of fons sites around as well. Quote Link to comment
+uktim Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Have just got back from a few days out in the caravn. I notice that a lot of "cachers" are also caravanners and therefore this may be of interest to some. We went to the caravan club site near Burnham on Sea.It was advertised as having a "WIFI" connection, so thought we would use that rather than print out paper copies of the caches (Cheddar Gorge etc.,) Just in case we took the mobile internet Dongle recently purchased from a well known telecom company(I work in an hotel which has a free WIFI connection which is always breaking down). On arrival at site enquired about the WIFI and found that it was run by a company which charged £5 per hour !!!!!!! and also, according to the wardens, was very spotty in its connection and getting a refund was a complicated procedure. So, tried to fire up via the dongle and got a rude message from the "on site" internet connection, blocking my use of any other "device". So, had a damp squib of a caching break. Couldn't find an area locally with WIFI and had the usual problem with non connecting dongle. Rats, Rats and Rats !! Going back to pre-loading the GPS and taking paper copies of the cache locations cheers Palujia Disable your wifi and the onsite wifi won't know you're there? Quote Link to comment
+Beds Clangers Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 "War Driving" usually helps Nick Quote Link to comment
+Palujia Posted May 11, 2010 Author Share Posted May 11, 2010 Thanks for the useful advice - why didn't I think of turning off the Wireless connection !! I am still struggling to get to grips with GSAK. I am a complete technophobe. When I try to export a file it goes somewhere strange on the D drive - and when I try to access it again it puts me back on the GSAK site confused palujia Quote Link to comment
+purple_pineapple Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 Thanks for the useful advice - why didn't I think of turning off the Wireless connection !! I am still struggling to get to grips with GSAK. I am a complete technophobe. When I try to export a file it goes somewhere strange on the D drive - and when I try to access it again it puts me back on the GSAK site confused palujia Very briefly, it sounds like you are exporting a gpx file of caches (presumably for using on a GPS?). GSAK will create this file where you tell it to (somewhere stange on the D drive, in your case!). By 'accessing' it, I assume you mean you double click it. GSAK will then try and re-import the file, which is the usual action for these file types. Instead, assuming you want to use it on a GPS, what you need to do is plug in the GPS and manually copy the file to the correct place on your GPS. This will vary according to make and model. If you need some more details, just holler! HTH Dave Quote Link to comment
+Palujia Posted May 11, 2010 Author Share Posted May 11, 2010 Thanks for the useful advice - why didn't I think of turning off the Wireless connection !! I am still struggling to get to grips with GSAK. I am a complete technophobe. When I try to export a file it goes somewhere strange on the D drive - and when I try to access it again it puts me back on the GSAK site confused palujia Very briefly, it sounds like you are exporting a gpx file of caches (presumably for using on a GPS?). GSAK will create this file where you tell it to (somewhere stange on the D drive, in your case!). By 'accessing' it, I assume you mean you double click it. GSAK will then try and re-import the file, which is the usual action for these file types. Instead, assuming you want to use it on a GPS, what you need to do is plug in the GPS and manually copy the file to the correct place on your GPS. This will vary according to make and model. If you need some more details, just holler! HTH Dave I was trying to download the cache info onto an old IPAQ PDA - I think I probably need to upgrade it. Have a great Garmin Etrex vista GPS which downloads as advertised but it the extra hints and logs that are most usesful, and am trying to go peperless. cheers palujia Quote Link to comment
davnig Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 So, tried to fire up via the dongle and got a rude message from the "on site" internet connection, blocking my use of any other "device". So, had a damp squib of a caching break. A wifi signal can't prevent you using another wifi signal, they just don't have the ability to do that. Just disconnect if you did actually connect and then reconnect to a different one. You always ahave the choice of which signal to use. We have an O2 dongle and that can be used to connect to wifi signals like the cloud etc but if you use the mobile signal part of it then no wifi service can block you. Quote Link to comment
+Lost in Space Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 A wifi signal can't prevent you using another wifi signal, they just don't have the ability to do that. Just disconnect if you did actually connect and then reconnect to a different one. You always ahave the choice of which signal to use. We have an O2 dongle and that can be used to connect to wifi signals like the cloud etc but if you use the mobile signal part of it then no wifi service can block you. I suspect the netwok card in the laptop got it's knickers in a twist and sent an unlawful request to the WiFi station. Quote Link to comment
+Palujia Posted May 13, 2010 Author Share Posted May 13, 2010 So, tried to fire up via the dongle and got a rude message from the "on site" internet connection, blocking my use of any other "device". So, had a damp squib of a caching break. A wifi signal can't prevent you using another wifi signal, they just don't have the ability to do that. Just disconnect if you did actually connect and then reconnect to a different one. You always ahave the choice of which signal to use. We have an O2 dongle and that can be used to connect to wifi signals like the cloud etc but if you use the mobile signal part of it then no wifi service can block you. Yep ! thanks for the useful advice - I have now discovered how to "turn off" the WIFI (and after yet another conversation with Otwice) have found the thingee which tells me what WIFI connections are available, and, more importantly if they are FREE !! The trouble with being a grumpy old man and technophobe to boot is that I don't read, and really understand, all the instructions with the kit ! Has anyone got a spare 14 yr old child who can:- A. Set up the TV and DVD recorder for me B. Set up the lap top and PDA for geocaching C. Charge about in the bushes when I can't find the cache ! (only joking !! Not) Great Zot Palujia Quote Link to comment
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