Our Mobile Technology Set Up

We’re both pretty high tech folks (and geeky gadget nerds), and we work in the technology industry. We also both need to stay connected to family, friends and clients via various mobile devices—as well as uploading our adventure notes and photos. We also have very limited space in which to store our stuff and run all our electronics off of our 110 watt solar panel and battery array. So we put a great deal of planning into selecting the best technology for our needs, energy availability and space.

 

Here’s our current mobile technology setup that helps us stay connected and geeky:

 

Laptop Computers

MacBook Pro

 

We both have 15” Apple MacBook Pros

 

We also keep a 24” Dell UltraSharp LCD monitor mounted on an adjustable swing arm in the Oliver, that we use as a second monitor for one of our laptops when we’re fully set up, and it also serves as our big movie screen (using one of the lap tops as the player).

Cellular Services & Phones

AT&T —we each have an iPhone

Sprint— Novatel Merlin EX720 Express AirCard - EVDO revA

 

We’ve selected our connectivity to be spread out between three networks to help increase the odds that we can get some sort of signal where ever we are. 

 

Connectivity

Both of our laptops, the iPhones have WiFi built in and we use that when we can find it.  A surprising number of campgrounds offer it, actually. While mobile, we have a lap desk set up in the Jeep that serves as the passenger’s work space and navigation station.

We also have a  CradlePoint CTR-350 EVDO Router paired with an Express-to-USB adapter that works with our Sprint AirCard to be a wifi router that we can both utilize a single cellular internet connection. The card is also interchangeable between our two laptops individually. 

 

Additionally, we had a cell phone booster integrated into the Oliver, that gives a nice boost to all our cellular gadgets, and allows us to be further out of range.

We also have a Booster Antenna from boosterantenna.com with a cable to use it with both the AirCard for when we’re away from the Oliver.  It adds up to two bars of signal, which really helps to keep a consistent signal while in motion as well as when camped in more remote locations.

Navigation

We use a basic USB GPS and Microsoft Streets & Trips (2007) for our navigation system, which is set up to run on both of our laptops. We’re mostly happy with Streets & Trips, however it has been known to lead us down some quite primitive roads and even roads that have obviously been closed for years or turned into private ranch roads.  But what the heck, we’re always up for an adventure.

 

We are currently investigating a more current package.

 

Supporting Technology

 

We also utilize the following technology in our travels:

 

Kodak EasyShare 5300 All-in-one photo printer/scanner—While a little too large for our tastes, this printer has a low ink cartridge price tag, and produces some amazing quality photos. It also has a scanner, which we use to scan in documents to be eFaxed.

 

eFax—Efax.com offers a great e-mail based fax service. This allows us to send and receive faxes without needing a physical fax machine. We can send almost any type of file through it, and we receive faxes in PDF format.

 

Fujufilm FinePix F50se digital camera—Our newest camera to our suite of technology, this is a ultra compact, 12 megapixel camera that allows us to take stunning photos without having to carry around a bunch of equipment.

 

Airport Express—We use this small wifi router as our music connector to our sound system in Tab. We can stream music from the Mac to our speakers, and it rocks!