Mobile WIFI Hotspot on the Bike

[tmds3]

Anyone do this?

Here is what I am thinking, I have found a few pay as you go mobile wifi hotspots that are small enough to mount on the bike.
Some of them have 8 hours of battery time, this way I could stream music from Iheart or other streaming music sites and still use my phone and GPS.

The reason I am considering this option is that I dont use any data on my phone and so getting a data plan would be a waste of money for me.

Using this option I can pay as I need for data and also use it on trips when we go on family vacations in the truck to power laptops and everyone else phones.

Just for reference I have a Garmin-Asus TMobile phone that is a stand alone GPS as well as smartphone.

So I could use a Bluetooth headset and Mike in helmet to listen to everything and asnwer the phone if needed.

 

[jillsogw]

Sounds like a cool idea. I think you're going to end up paying for a data service either way you go. Might be easier to just use your phone and turn off the data when you're not using it.

 

[jillsogw]

I skipped over using it to power other devices. That would be a great option.

 

[tmds3]

Well the pay as go is as cheap as 1o a month all the way up to 60, even going with the 10 a month plan I would come out cheaper using it than adding data to my phone which would increase my bill 50 a month

 

[tmds3]

I skipped over using it to power other devices. That would be a great option.

Well it would not power other devices,my phone is a stand alone garmin GPS that I could power off the bike and use the wifi for streaming music.

 

[jillsogw]

If you were to get a data plan for your phone, could you use it as a hotspot on vacations? If that was possible it would be one less device you'd have to care for. Just thinkin out loud.

Good luck with what you decide to do.

 

[Tom Mac 04a]

So I could use a Bluetooth headset and Mike in helmet to listen to everything and asnwer the phone if needed.

I have a data only unit but even it costs $30 for 3 gigs... tethering as a wifi unit can eat up a lot of data. I wonder how much you'll use/spend.

Sounds like a good idea, but I think it would be easier to just put a few gigs of music on yr phone and play that.

 

[Blrfl]

Make sure you have good coverage in the areas where you ride or you'll end up with nothing to listen to or very choppy sound, which is distracting. This isn't usually too much of a problem in the flatter parts of the country, but if you have a lot of hills and mountains, it can be. You may also find that a lot of the pay-as-you-go services are reselling networks that don't have such great coverage in the boondocks.

This goes a bit off topic, but one of the reasons I stick with satellite radio on the bike is that anyplace there's sky, there's coverage. Specifically, I stick with Sirius because the orbits of their satellites give high elevation angles pretty much everywhere and are less subject to dropouts.

--Mark

 

[T_C]

one of the reasons I stick with satellite radio on the bike is that anyplace there's sky, there's coverage.

Had some issues with the last ferry I wired up for Alaska using a satellite radio receiver. But I think south of there you are pretty good.

 

[sstakes1]

There are some services where you don't pay if you don't use data. I can recommend Ting with no hesitation. No contracts, no overages, straightforward billing with top notch customer service. Check them out to see if your usage patterns matches what they offer.
I've no other affiliation than being a satisfied customer.
--Ram

 

[tmds3]

I have a data only unit but even it costs $30 for 3 gigs... tethering as a wifi unit can eat up a lot of data. I wonder how much you'll use/spend.

Sounds like a good idea, but I think it would be easier to just put a few gigs of music on yr phone and play that.

Will have to find a link for the unit I am looking at, it is a pay as you go unit, that way when going on a trip I can go to the store and get a card to use it, even at 50 dollars for just a trip or two is better than the 50 a month that would be the cost for unlimited data thru the phone company. Here is one of the units that I am looking at. Lots of coverage and less than 3 inches big . http://www.virginmobileusa.com/shop/mobile-broadband/broadband-2-go/sierra-overdrive-pro/features/

 

[STDaveNW]

Make sure you have good coverage in the areas where you ride or you'll end up with nothing to listen to or very choppy sound, which is distracting. This isn't usually too much of a problem in the flatter parts of the country, but if you have a lot of hills and mountains, it can be. You may also find that a lot of the pay-as-you-go services are reselling networks that don't have such great coverage in the boondocks.

This goes a bit off topic, but one of the reasons I stick with satellite radio on the bike is that anyplace there's sky, there's coverage. Specifically, I stick with Sirius because the orbits of their satellites give high elevation angles pretty much everywhere and are less subject to dropouts.

--Mark

Exactly the reason I got rid of Sat radio. It does not work in the NorthWest. under every overpass it quits, round a corner in the hills it quits, tree lined forest road it quits! very aggravating. I get it free with all my company cars and never use it. why CUZ IT QUITS ALL THE STINKING TIME!! LOL

 

[nhdiesel]

Exactly the reason I got rid of Sat radio. It does not work in the NorthWest. under every overpass it quits, round a corner in the hills it quits, tree lined forest road it quits! very aggravating. I get it free with all my company cars and never use it. why CUZ IT QUITS ALL THE STINKING TIME!! LOL

The only issue I've ever had with sat. radio is with the Garmin 665. It's terrible and is out more than its on. Every other radio I've had has been great. Whether I'm going under an overpass or quickly through a drive-through awning they stay working. Only if I was parked under a drive-through for too long would it go out. But the best part is that no matter how rural I ride, I still have radio. Try that with wifi or a cell phone...forget it. I tried one trip with a phone and will never count on it for entertainment on a trip again. As soon as I got on the highway I lost radio and navigation.