| Modems & Campgrounds | |
 |
|
Certain common courtesies are observed when using an RV park's designated "modem" phone line.
The circumstance here describe involve the RV park which does not have overnight phone hookups at RV sites. Rather it has:
- Set aside a separate phone line and work area for RVers with laptops wanting to get email.
- Or offers the use of an office phone line, such as a fax line, for RVers with laptops.
You can find in some circumstances that a separate, dedicated phone line for modem access is physically not available because of circumstances beyond the control of the RV park; and in the case of some smaller parks the annual expenses of maintaining a separate dedicated phone line for modem use may not yet cost justified. Thus the "modem hookup office" solution is one we'll likely have to contend with at least for the foreseeable future in some smaller parks.
Each of these scenarios (i.e., use of an existing
office line, or the availability of a dedicated modem line) creates its own set
of issues RVers need to recognize. Here are the items which deserve
special attention
- While most RV Park owners will provide a special phone line which restricts calls to local, credit card, or 800 numbers, others may still be using standard phone lines which would permit long distance toll calls. It's our responsibility as RV guests to ensure that no toll charges are ever passed on to the RV park. Where this situation exists, we need to be accessing our online services with either local or 800 numbers -- or by programming our modems to make credit card calls. And it's the RVer's job to know how to do it properly. Do not expect park staffers to be experts on how to program y our laptops. Most are not. And it would be unreasonable to expect them to be.
- Where an RV park does have one or more
dedicated lines for laptop users, RVers need to be considerate of the needs
of all other RVers who also need to use those lines. It's unfortunate to
find that some parks have time limits, such as 15 minutes, for the use of
modem phone lines. However, this has unquestionably resulted from the
inconsiderate use of a very few RVers who have "hogged" the phone
line. So when you find reasonable time restraints, be sure to honor
them so that other RVers can have a chance to access their email too. You need to know the local or toll free number
you'll be
calling, and program it into the dial up software before you connect to the
phone line. The computer should be on and "sleeping" when you
arrive at the modem hookup area, with the email program already booted up.
It should be our hard and fast rule whenever we're dealing with online
access which needs to accommodate the needs of many RVers NEVER to compose
email online; or to read email online. Outgoing messages should be composed
in your rig, and quickly uploaded. Incoming messages should be downloaded,
and read later. This requires a very few minutes to accomplish.
Where access time is limited, email should NEVER be composed online. Get off the phone, go to your rig or the library, compose whatever messages you have at your own pace, and then come back and upload the completed messages.
They need to understand why it's not appropriate to compose or read email online, and they need to know how to access their internet service provider using a local call, an 800 number, or a long distance credit card call.
- Where we find that the only phone line available to you is the same line which the RV park uses for its business purposes, it's important that y our access time be carefully planned and limited. The RV park clearly needs this line open to receive incoming reservations, and for other business purposes. Parks that can not yet justify a separate line for modem access require our special consideration in being efficient and brief in making data calls. Find out what time of day would be most convenient for them, and plan your schedule accordingly.
- Where online time is limited at an RV park in order to provide reasonable access for all RVers who want to use the facility, by all means use it for uploading and downloading your email. But go somewhere else to do your "surfing". Find the local library, where you'll almost always be able to spend some time doing your net surfing. And Internet cafes are springing up all over.
- Generally RV parks are making substantial
progress in responding to our increased need for access to a phone line to
send and receive data. Don't demand too much too fast. You will find that
some RV parks which would dearly love to put a separate line into a quiet
and secluded area can't do so for reasons beyond their control. Keep in mind
this is all very "new" to many RV park operators.
A public access point for email is NOT the place for one person to be teaching another about how to get online, surf the net, etc. RVers should do their "collaborating" before or after going online -- not while they're online.
Bring your own piece of phone cord to hook into a phone jack.
Understand how to program your computer to access your own ISP using any special dialing requirements, such as dialing "9" to reach an outside line.
If park owners become subject to costly toll charges, no one can blame them for either curtailing access altogether, or for charging a fee to recoup their losses. Many of the larger parks can protect from this abuse by installing a restricted modem line, which blocks all but local, credit card, and toll free calls. However some parks cannot justify the cost of installing this added service, and must rely instead on an office line or fax line -- both of which need the ability to make long distance calls for business purposes.
Surge Supressors, dampen unwanted electrical
impulses that can damage sensitive digital circuits. However surge supressors
cannot affect or modify long term (longer than a minute fraction of a second)
voltage abnormalities. To accomodate low or high voltage, a device called a
"Ferroresonant Transformer" (sometimes known as a Line Tamer) is
plugged inline with the computer AC power cord.
Outlet strip surge protectors range from laughable to commendable performance
and protection. I'll list a series of internal components that range from basic
to sopisticated that may or may not be inside your surge protector. Better (more
expensive) models usually list higher grade construction materials on the
outside of the packing carton. The very best protectors include all three
devices as part of the package).
- MOV (metal oxide varistors) Very limited protection.
- Gas Tube Discharge Device (Very Good protection)
- Avalanche Rectifiers (Better yet).
They can be plugged into a wall socket and your computer can be connected in turn to the Isolation Transformer. Be sure that you choose a transformer large enough to handle your computer's load. Usually a 350 VA transformer is large enough to handle the very largest and most powerful PC's. The benefit of using an ISOLATION TRANSFORMER is that they eliminate about 99.99% of the "bad electricity" that can harm your computer's power supply. The transformer can handle more work than any "surge supressor" and does a better job to boot. You can find an ISOLATION TRANSFORMER in the yellow pages under "Electronic Surplus Dealers". It may take one or two calls to find the right store, but the effort is well worth it. By the way, if you connect an isolation transformer to a DC/AC power inverter, the electricity is changed in absolutely pure sine wave power (at the expense of some loss of efficiency with the inverter).
Some park owners have installed one of the many available services which charges users by the minute for modem access.