Mobile Wireless Internet - GoFuckYourself.com

TheFLY · 04-24-2001, 02:52 AM

I ordered Ricochet wireless internet last week -- has anyone tried it? Most of the reviews that I have read were excellent...

Anyway if you haven't heard about it go to www.ricochet.com

I can't get DSL or cable in my area -- I did a lot of research on these bidirectional satellite companies and all the reviews were horrible (I won't go into details) -- I think there were really only two competitors direcpc.com and echostar I think it was...
Anyway sounds like there's a race (and a very expensive one) by some big players to be the first to market w/ a reliable/useful satellite technology for internet -- I think I remember reading that low earth orbit satellites will be the answer but that will be very expensive to deploy -- I think the way it works now is you just aim your satellite dish at ONE particular satellite in space -- and the pointing process is very delicate -- my guess is that over time the earth and satellite move slightly and you lose the speed that you got initially when you signed up -- and it's very expensive and complicated for a technician to come out and point the thing again -- and sounds like they are overselling bandwidth -- so you may be on a satellite that has a lot of bandwidth and then it fills up... Anyway very few people get the advertised speeds...

Ricochet is land based -- works w/ a network of transmitters on light poles scattered every mile to half mile I think within a city... From what I read, everyone that has tried it loves it, it's much faster than cellular modems or any other technologies -- and many users report speeds faster than advertised. Still not sure exactly of all the specifics of how it works but the website is pretty informative -- looks like a cool technology.

I don't work for them BTW ;) I signed up w/ them through Earthlink -- unfortunately -- their tech support sucks -- but regardless I didn't want to go through Juno because IMHO Juno is just a toy...

Anyway...

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-- TheFLY.net/pete.jpg

boneprone · 04-24-2001, 01:59 PM

Ricochet is the best of the bunch..It is only accesable in select areas though. In about a year you can use it on a larger scale as you travel, but the last convention, people were having a real hard time with it in Vegas.

But it is much faster than the regular GO America modems.. Only drawback is that it doesnt work everywhere, and it doesnt work everywhere they claim it does..

In Portalnd it does not work at all.. They said it would work here "next month" and that was last summer. So they are almost a year late on that..

Hope you didnt sign the 3 year contract??

loster · 04-24-2001, 03:22 PM

We have the Ricochet PC modem at home, with a little network on it, and it really seems to do a good job. You might want to search the net for any BBS discussing it. You can usually find people in your area to talk about local coverage and download speeds.

Tried a PCI card in a new Compaq laptop and it interferred with the speakers and monitor. A laptop with more shielding might work better, but the frequencies that Ricochet uses are pretty unregulated. Just keep an eye on everything ;-)

I was talking to someone that said the company was going to run out of money around Sept. though...haha. So who knows.

Have a great day,

loster

------------------
Dynamic Hosting - Dedicated Server Deals
ICQ: 15898919
Cell: 301-467-6149

[This message has been edited by loster (edited 04-24-2001).]

TheFLY · 04-24-2001, 05:31 PM

Hmm yeah I read about the interference issue... I'll figure something out... Anyway Earthlink just decided to push Ricochet in LA -- I think they will survice -- I don't think Earthlink would decide to push them if they were going under... I think eventually it will take off big -- just think of the advertising -- people connecting to the internet from Starbucks (not that I would ever do that hehe) -- that's great advertising -- and they have no competition... It's a little expensive but when I figure I can cancel my regular telephone service it will be about the same cost as DSL... Using my cell phone for my voice calls. When I finally get the fucking modem I'll write a review...

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-- TheFLY.net/pete.jpg

stevent03147 · 04-25-2001, 04:19 AM

What about Starband? I happen to know a little about them ( I'm a manager at radioshack ) lol And they are 400k up and down. Right now we only sell it with a custom built computer cuz it's such a pain to configure but the whole package installed is about $1800 and I have had very good reviews from my customers which include some rural radioshack stores. But if you are in Massachusetts please buy your starband system from the milford, ma radioshack LOL I will waive delivery charges nationwide for anyone who buys it from me. ROFL I think I am the first one spamming for their store not their web site here

For those of you who laugh at my retail slavery status.... a) I'm working on it!
b) the 200 shares of stock I got this year didn't hurt!!

Love ya all....

Steve

------------------
PerfectPanties.com

AmateurAmber · 04-25-2001, 09:39 AM

you don't have to buy the radio shack computers to buy the starband (echostar) satellite. i bypassed and went to a local electronics dealer and bought my dish. had to pay $200 to have them install it though, they have to config the modem to triangulate your coordinates, you can't install it yourself.

i've had it for a few months now up in BFE michigan where nothing else is available, phone lines are so old up there 56k is more like 12k.

anyhoo, the satellite is ok, i am not thrilled beyonds words but i am seeing speeds of about 200-300k up and down, sometimes slower. my cable modem was much faster and cheaper.

last year i bought DirecPC's piece of shit and got ripped off for $600, it's now sitting in my garage collecting dust.

i have been *very* actively seeking wireless since last summer and starband is by far the better option for now at least. i am keeping on top of this myself, if i find something better i will post it. until then i am looking into microwave set ups.

TheFLY · 04-25-2001, 11:02 AM

Read the reviews of Starband -- not very good...
http://www.dslreports.com/isplist/S

BTW, DSLreports.com is a GREAT site... Reviews everything, not just DSL. I ordered Ricochet because of the reviews on this site.

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-- TheFLY.net/pete.jpg

Hot Tropical Babes · 04-25-2001, 01:01 PM

How much is the monthly service? Can you use it on two computers at one time? We currently use "road runner", but i would like to take the laptop outside and work a bit

I guess I dont fully understand the service yet,,,,,it does sound interesting tho.

TheFLY · 04-25-2001, 03:44 PM

I called Earthlink today to see where my modem was -- they said they hadn't even shipped it yet! First the sent it to the wrong address and someone else signed for it -- anyway Earthlink sucks for Ricochet -- I called the Ricochet company just to let them know that their resellers Earthlink and Juno can lick my ass -- they were very helpful.

So I spoke w/ this guy Harris (and I wasn't put on hold either) -- he said that a company called Wireless Web Connect was their best reseller -- and that I get have the modem in my hands today! The have an office in LA -- I drove down there (Burbank) -- and I'm on the thing right now w/ NO WIRES! ahah so fucking cool... I'll do some speed tests tonight when I get back from an art show... But the installation was so easy -- plug the USB thing in -- stick in the CD rom -- turn on the modem, reboot, click the connect icon and I was online like that -- holy shit...

In response to the previous question -- the service is typically around $70/month -- and if you have a good cell phone plan like I do you can cancel your local telephone service telephone service. You CAN use it on more than one computer -- at least that's what I read -- you can plug the modem into any machine and connect -- but I don't know about multiple machines on it at the same time -- read loster's previous mail -- he's using it on a network...

later

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-- TheFLY.net/pete.jpg

loster · 04-25-2001, 05:31 PM

Yeah, we've had real good luck with the external Ricochet modem. Of course, the speeds aren't anything compared to what I get at the office on DSL, or what Amber reported with Starband, but it's convenient for home. It fits the needs it's used for.

We do have 3 or 4 machines on it at home (not all in use at the same time), through Intel's 1.6 Mb/s AnyPoint wireless network. I'm not so thrilled with this Intel's wireless network as I am with Ricochet :-) The network was very handy to install without running any cables, but that's about it. Network traffic takes up over half of the available 1.6 Mb/s, and the rest is divided between upload and download, and between the 4 machines. So all the sudden you can only transfer at 50 kb/s between machines. I must have missed that in the fine print. Suck. Also, you can't use Napster, or some other P2P programs, on it except on the network server.

Anyways, for any of you interested in the wireless network to go with your wireless internet...conventional methods might be the better route ;-)

Have a great day,

loster

------------------
Dynamic Hosting - Dedicated Server Deals
ICQ: 15898919
Cell: 301-467-6149

Hot Tropical Babes · 04-25-2001, 05:53 PM

Thanks guys! I think i'll wait till they perfect it some

Dare to dream hehehe

TheFLY · 04-26-2001, 03:26 AM

Ricochet has actually been around for years now -- they had been offering only 28.8kbps coverage, but now the offer 128kbps...

I looked on their coverage maps and I was sortof on the border of their "under construction" area but I just did a download of a 4MB movie at 22.6kB/s which means I got a download at 180.8kbps, right? Much faster than advertised. Not sure what my upsteam is like yet -- need to do some more tests...

So I figure I was at 33.6kbps before -- that's including some compression so that's not true 33.6kbps anyway so that's over a 5x speed increase...

TFCash · 04-26-2001, 03:50 AM

Hot Tropical Babes -

If you want to just go outside around your house check out the wireless ethernet products from dlink. I've got a 11Mbs wirless ethernet card that slides into my notebook, and I can go just about anywhere on our 2 acares. Granted it does juice the battry, I only get around 2.5 hours of time, but that is more than enough for me

The preformance never actually reaches 11Mbs ethier, but it gives me web pages as fast as I can read them

Tim

boneprone · 04-26-2001, 02:15 PM

I always wondered what those wireless eithernet cards were!

Intresting.

04-24-2001, 02:52 AM	#1
TheFLY So Fucking Banned Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: http://www.thefly.net/ --- Quit your job and live off steady traffic. Posts: 11,856	Mobile Wireless Internet I ordered Ricochet wireless internet last week -- has anyone tried it? Most of the reviews that I have read were excellent... Anyway if you haven't heard about it go to www.ricochet.com I can't get DSL or cable in my area -- I did a lot of research on these bidirectional satellite companies and all the reviews were horrible (I won't go into details) -- I think there were really only two competitors direcpc.com and echostar I think it was... Anyway sounds like there's a race (and a very expensive one) by some big players to be the first to market w/ a reliable/useful satellite technology for internet -- I think I remember reading that low earth orbit satellites will be the answer but that will be very expensive to deploy -- I think the way it works now is you just aim your satellite dish at ONE particular satellite in space -- and the pointing process is very delicate -- my guess is that over time the earth and satellite move slightly and you lose the speed that you got initially when you signed up -- and it's very expensive and complicated for a technician to come out and point the thing again -- and sounds like they are overselling bandwidth -- so you may be on a satellite that has a lot of bandwidth and then it fills up... Anyway very few people get the advertised speeds... Ricochet is land based -- works w/ a network of transmitters on light poles scattered every mile to half mile I think within a city... From what I read, everyone that has tried it loves it, it's much faster than cellular modems or any other technologies -- and many users report speeds faster than advertised. Still not sure exactly of all the specifics of how it works but the website is pretty informative -- looks like a cool technology. I don't work for them BTW ;) I signed up w/ them through Earthlink -- unfortunately -- their tech support sucks -- but regardless I didn't want to go through Juno because IMHO Juno is just a toy... Anyway... ------------------ -- TheFLY.net/pete.jpg

04-24-2001, 01:59 PM	#2
boneprone Hall Of Fame Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Portland Oregon USA Posts: 34,415	Ricochet is the best of the bunch..It is only accesable in select areas though. In about a year you can use it on a larger scale as you travel, but the last convention, people were having a real hard time with it in Vegas. But it is much faster than the regular GO America modems.. Only drawback is that it doesnt work everywhere, and it doesnt work everywhere they claim it does.. In Portalnd it does not work at all.. They said it would work here "next month" and that was last summer. So they are almost a year late on that.. Hope you didnt sign the 3 year contract??

04-24-2001, 03:22 PM	#3
loster Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 120	We have the Ricochet PC modem at home, with a little network on it, and it really seems to do a good job. You might want to search the net for any BBS discussing it. You can usually find people in your area to talk about local coverage and download speeds. Tried a PCI card in a new Compaq laptop and it interferred with the speakers and monitor. A laptop with more shielding might work better, but the frequencies that Ricochet uses are pretty unregulated. Just keep an eye on everything ;-) I was talking to someone that said the company was going to run out of money around Sept. though...haha. So who knows. Have a great day, loster ------------------ Dynamic Hosting - Dedicated Server Deals ICQ: 15898919 Cell: 301-467-6149 [This message has been edited by loster (edited 04-24-2001).]

04-24-2001, 05:31 PM	#4
TheFLY So Fucking Banned Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: http://www.thefly.net/ --- Quit your job and live off steady traffic. Posts: 11,856	Hmm yeah I read about the interference issue... I'll figure something out... Anyway Earthlink just decided to push Ricochet in LA -- I think they will survice -- I don't think Earthlink would decide to push them if they were going under... I think eventually it will take off big -- just think of the advertising -- people connecting to the internet from Starbucks (not that I would ever do that hehe) -- that's great advertising -- and they have no competition... It's a little expensive but when I figure I can cancel my regular telephone service it will be about the same cost as DSL... Using my cell phone for my voice calls. When I finally get the fucking modem I'll write a review... ------------------ -- TheFLY.net/pete.jpg

04-25-2001, 04:19 AM	#5
stevent03147 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Putnam, Ct USA Posts: 58	What about Starband? I happen to know a little about them ( I'm a manager at radioshack ) lol And they are 400k up and down. Right now we only sell it with a custom built computer cuz it's such a pain to configure but the whole package installed is about $1800 and I have had very good reviews from my customers which include some rural radioshack stores. But if you are in Massachusetts please buy your starband system from the milford, ma radioshack LOL I will waive delivery charges nationwide for anyone who buys it from me. ROFL I think I am the first one spamming for their store not their web site here For those of you who laugh at my retail slavery status.... a) I'm working on it! b) the 200 shares of stock I got this year didn't hurt!! Love ya all.... Steve ------------------ PerfectPanties.com

04-25-2001, 09:39 AM	#6
AmateurAmber Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: MI USA Posts: 127	you don't have to buy the radio shack computers to buy the starband (echostar) satellite. i bypassed and went to a local electronics dealer and bought my dish. had to pay $200 to have them install it though, they have to config the modem to triangulate your coordinates, you can't install it yourself. i've had it for a few months now up in BFE michigan where nothing else is available, phone lines are so old up there 56k is more like 12k. anyhoo, the satellite is ok, i am not thrilled beyonds words but i am seeing speeds of about 200-300k up and down, sometimes slower. my cable modem was much faster and cheaper. last year i bought DirecPC's piece of shit and got ripped off for $600, it's now sitting in my garage collecting dust. i have been very actively seeking wireless since last summer and starband is by far the better option for now at least. i am keeping on top of this myself, if i find something better i will post it. until then i am looking into microwave set ups.

04-25-2001, 11:02 AM	#7
TheFLY So Fucking Banned Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: http://www.thefly.net/ --- Quit your job and live off steady traffic. Posts: 11,856	Read the reviews of Starband -- not very good... http://www.dslreports.com/isplist/S BTW, DSLreports.com is a GREAT site... Reviews everything, not just DSL. I ordered Ricochet because of the reviews on this site. ------------------ -- TheFLY.net/pete.jpg

04-25-2001, 01:01 PM	#8
Hot Tropical Babes Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Orlando FL Posts: 3,014	How much is the monthly service? Can you use it on two computers at one time? We currently use "road runner", but i would like to take the laptop outside and work a bit I guess I dont fully understand the service yet,,,,,it does sound interesting tho.

04-25-2001, 03:44 PM	#9
TheFLY So Fucking Banned Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: http://www.thefly.net/ --- Quit your job and live off steady traffic. Posts: 11,856	I called Earthlink today to see where my modem was -- they said they hadn't even shipped it yet! First the sent it to the wrong address and someone else signed for it -- anyway Earthlink sucks for Ricochet -- I called the Ricochet company just to let them know that their resellers Earthlink and Juno can lick my ass -- they were very helpful. So I spoke w/ this guy Harris (and I wasn't put on hold either) -- he said that a company called Wireless Web Connect was their best reseller -- and that I get have the modem in my hands today! The have an office in LA -- I drove down there (Burbank) -- and I'm on the thing right now w/ NO WIRES! ahah so fucking cool... I'll do some speed tests tonight when I get back from an art show... But the installation was so easy -- plug the USB thing in -- stick in the CD rom -- turn on the modem, reboot, click the connect icon and I was online like that -- holy shit... In response to the previous question -- the service is typically around $70/month -- and if you have a good cell phone plan like I do you can cancel your local telephone service telephone service. You CAN use it on more than one computer -- at least that's what I read -- you can plug the modem into any machine and connect -- but I don't know about multiple machines on it at the same time -- read loster's previous mail -- he's using it on a network... later ------------------ -- TheFLY.net/pete.jpg

04-25-2001, 05:31 PM	#10
loster Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 120	Yeah, we've had real good luck with the external Ricochet modem. Of course, the speeds aren't anything compared to what I get at the office on DSL, or what Amber reported with Starband, but it's convenient for home. It fits the needs it's used for. We do have 3 or 4 machines on it at home (not all in use at the same time), through Intel's 1.6 Mb/s AnyPoint wireless network. I'm not so thrilled with this Intel's wireless network as I am with Ricochet :-) The network was very handy to install without running any cables, but that's about it. Network traffic takes up over half of the available 1.6 Mb/s, and the rest is divided between upload and download, and between the 4 machines. So all the sudden you can only transfer at 50 kb/s between machines. I must have missed that in the fine print. Suck. Also, you can't use Napster, or some other P2P programs, on it except on the network server. Anyways, for any of you interested in the wireless network to go with your wireless internet...conventional methods might be the better route ;-) Have a great day, loster ------------------ Dynamic Hosting - Dedicated Server Deals ICQ: 15898919 Cell: 301-467-6149

04-25-2001, 05:53 PM	#11
Hot Tropical Babes Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Orlando FL Posts: 3,014	Thanks guys! I think i'll wait till they perfect it some Dare to dream hehehe

04-26-2001, 03:26 AM	#12
TheFLY So Fucking Banned Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: http://www.thefly.net/ --- Quit your job and live off steady traffic. Posts: 11,856	Ricochet has actually been around for years now -- they had been offering only 28.8kbps coverage, but now the offer 128kbps... I looked on their coverage maps and I was sortof on the border of their "under construction" area but I just did a download of a 4MB movie at 22.6kB/s which means I got a download at 180.8kbps, right? Much faster than advertised. Not sure what my upsteam is like yet -- need to do some more tests... So I figure I was at 33.6kbps before -- that's including some compression so that's not true 33.6kbps anyway so that's over a 5x speed increase...

04-26-2001, 03:50 AM	#13
TFCash Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 1,738	Hot Tropical Babes - If you want to just go outside around your house check out the wireless ethernet products from dlink. I've got a 11Mbs wirless ethernet card that slides into my notebook, and I can go just about anywhere on our 2 acares. Granted it does juice the battry, I only get around 2.5 hours of time, but that is more than enough for me The preformance never actually reaches 11Mbs ethier, but it gives me web pages as fast as I can read them Tim

04-26-2001, 02:15 PM	#14
boneprone Hall Of Fame Industry Role: Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Portland Oregon USA Posts: 34,415	I always wondered what those wireless eithernet cards were! Intresting.