Those of us who have used laptops for a while now, pretty much consider accessing the Internet using Wi-Fi “hot spots” to be a simple, routine procedure. It is, once you have used it a few times. But, just recently, I’ve heard from a few fellow RV’ers who are a bit puzzled by Wi-Fi. If, for a moment, we can all be honest and think back to when we first heard about Wi-Fi hotspots, we were probably just as confused.
To answer a few of the questions, I promised I would attempt to explain, in plain non-geek English how to use Wi-Fi while traveling in our RV’s. Wi-Fi access is now offered as a standard amenity in most RV Parks in Canada and the US. To demonstrate how to connect, I’m going to show the most common, plain vanilla example I can think of.
So, let’s assume we are in an RV Park that advertises free Wi-Fi access. In fact, let’s say we are staying at the KOA in Apache Junction, AZ. Let's get our laptop out , turn it on, and after it boots up, if a connection is not made automatically(this is a distinct possibility), the wireless connection icon will display a red "x" in the task bar in the bottom right-hand corner of the display.(see Figure 1 below).
Figure 1 
Next, we right click on the Red x’d computer icon and there should be an option to “View Available Wireless Networks”. Click on this and we will see a screen that shows all of the Wi-Fi networks within range of our laptop. There might be just one, or there could be several Wi-Fi networks available. The one we want though is the signal that says KOA – Apache Junction. (see Figure 2 below)
Figure 2. Several networks may be available, including the KOA
So, in order to connect to the KOA Wi-Fi, we first click on KOA – Apache Junction. When we do, the “Connect” icon in the bottom right-hand corner will “light-up” – hit “Connect” and in just a few moments, the “View available networks screen” will disappear and we will be on to the KOA Wi-Fi network and able to use Firefox, Internet Explorer or even AOL(ugh!) to browse the Internet.
Figure 3. The icon on your computer could be different
But, before we start Firefox or IE, lets have another look and see what’s happened to the Network Icon in the taskbar at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen (see Figure 3 above). If we weren’t sure which one was our network icon, just hovering the mouse over each one will show the description. Once we find the network icon, we can right-click and display detailed information about our connection.
Here’s something you can try even if you are at home and do not believe you are within range of any Wi-Fi networks. Just right click on the “Red x’d computer”, just like you would when in an RV Park. When “View Available Wireless Networks” shows, click on it. If, as suspected, you are not within range of a Wi-Fi network, you should see this screen.(Figure 4)
Figure 4. No wireless network available
The above methods describe how to connect to a Wi-Fi network in a “plain vanilla” situation. I have deliberately not mentioned “secure vs non-secure” or “password-protected” sites. Nor have I talked about “Air Cards”(i.e. Verizon, AT&T, Sprint) or mobile broadband routers. I would certainly be happy to address those in a future blog, but first I’d like to hear if this Wi-Fi connection explanation has helped anyone or not. I’d appreciate any comments – especially from those who had questions about this procedure.
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