www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I've read what I could but have a few questions. I need very reliable high speed internet for work, even on weekends (I own a business and have to be in touch at all times).

I've read that the service is fairly often down, even in SJ. Is this true?

How reliable is the service at SL and HDR? Any specific recommendations for hotels with reliable high speed internet?

Thanks in advance.

It's Costa Rica "HB" use at our own risk. Most hotels offer it but they dont gurantee the service...

_________________
"THE TRUTH IS' EVERYBODY IS GOING TO HURT YOU. YOU JUST GOTTA FIND THE ONE WORTH SUFFERING FOR"
Robert Nesta Marley

On my last trip wi-fi was a hit or miss, and landlines didn't seem to work any better.

Take an antenna with you and you'll be certain to find a fat pipe ..... trust me... the antenna will be a little over 33 Inches and produce a gain of about 24dbi. The antenna is detachable into 3 sections so packs easily....and that's just a basic one...

_________________
"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 16

Steven,

I think the one you are talking about is the grid antenna on Ebay and other places on the internet. They all seem to come with an N connector. How do you connect that to a laptop? I'll talk to my IT guy on Tuesday. He may have some ideas as well.

Thanks.

The best you can hope for 1.5M down, 256K up. The speeds vary greatly at any given time. The service itself (from ICE) is completely unreliable and can go down at any given point.

I would hate to have to rely on internet service in CR for something important.

That's nonsense. Amnet/Racsa offer 4MB/1MB service and while at times that speed might not be attainable speeds easily exceeding 1.5/256 are consistently available.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I am sorry for the delayed, ever so delayed, reply to this matter. http://www.innovativedevice.com/asp/InformationYagi.asp is an outfit which sells directly and also uses Ebay as a method for sales. This antenna addresses the very issue you're noting: It uses a USB connection; not "N". (It bypasses your laptops built in WiFi and utilizes it's own card which is built into the antenna permitting the use of the USB connection). Too, it is available as one piece or can be broken down into three pieces for ease of transport. This is an entry level antenna, but performs remarkably well. I have set up several of these throughout Costa Rica such that the "mother ship" is one guy's house who is getting a microwave feed at something like $75.00 per month. He ports the signal to a router which in turn is antenna equipped (transmitting if you will) and the rest of the neighborhood has high speed internet using the same antenna, working off his WiFi router. It's line of sight so those to the side of the yagi and behind it and have any distance from the router ain't in such good luck. (We're not trying to provide the "service" to every mother and her sons....). However, with multiple routers pointing in different directions....well...lots of things are possible.....). In one section which is MOST UNOBSTRUCTED we have successfully been able to sustain a very fat pipe (4megs down; 1.4 megs up) at distances exceeding almost 9km. Shhh.....don't tell the microwave distributor.....

For downtown San Jose, I've found many, many unsecured networks. However, I have not needed to use them. Hotel La Amistad has a consistently strong signal and is wired which is the way I like it. It also has wireless.....but I, again, prefer my CAT 5 cable. (Strength varies somewhat because the hotel is not using commercial quality routers and they don't reset/reboot the one's they have; I think they only get reset when there's a power outage! ). I have had speeds exceeding 3megs down while at Amistad using http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ and the Dallas, TX server as a testing source. (If you use http://www.speedtest.net and the server in San Jose....boy howdy! You'll be thrilled. However, I think the test is full on incorrect. It is not measuring throughput.) However, it's not always that strong....but it has never been less than 1.6 down.... I really don't like sharing that data, either. Naturally, the more using the thing at the hotel, the greater the deterioration, particularly given the router set up.

Other antennas, working off a parabolic design are in use "up country". I won't bore the readership with the incredibly fine results being produced. Shhhh.....again.....don't tell the microwave distributor.....

Hope this isn't too late for you....

_________________
"Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand."
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World, Ch. 16

I stayed at La Amistad my last two trips and brought my network cable and everything worked fine. It's not lightning quick, but I was able to use my Slingbox and MagicJack with no problems. I was also able to connect to my work back in the USA. La Amistad also has wireless, but I used the cable. I also didn't have any trouble with the wireless connection at SL. There have been a few times when the service was down, but it always came back up pretty quickly for me.

Nonsense? When's the last time you stayed at one of the hotels the poster asked about? Yeah, exactly. He's not asking what you have on your computer at home. You really have no grounds to speak on here, so maybe leave it to somebody who has.

Just because they offer it, or they have in their brochures means shit, especially in CR. "At times speeds may not be attainable"??? If you took out the word "not" I'd agree completely.

and you stayed at the HDR when? And to be accurate he did not limit his request to two hotels but asked for guidance on which hotel had good service and your reply was a general observation of Internet service in CR not just about 2 hotels. The fact that those speeds may be the best the SL & HDR can attain, and I am not conceding that, does not lend a validity to your statement "The best you can hope for 1.5M down, 256K up. The speeds vary greatly at any given time. The service itself (from ICE) is completely unreliable and can go down at any given point." I am sure your vast knowledge of the capabilities of the RACSA internet system gained in your visits to CR is awe inspiring but I respectfully disagree with your position.

Talk about someone who has no grounds to speak

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=30067&hilit=speed

I covered this in detail in the above thread. I might also point out since that report I stayed at the Presidente and the speed was much faster than previously remembered averaging just over 2.2 MB's down but I was very near the source of the signal and the wifi was excellent connection.

I might also point out that the only two places I never went down at any time were the Inter Continental and the Marriot for whatever reason those two always seem to be up with no lag so to speak. Note neither of those two places are conducive to a mongering trip so if you must stay downtown use the previous mentioned thread as a guideline.

We have high speed internet that rarely has down time at the Dunn Inn. We installed several extra wireless routers to ensure strong signal in the different sections of the hotel. In general, the internet provider has been very good wiht uptime in the last year or so.

BKTUNA/Boyd
I am never going home

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BKTUNA/Boyd
I am never going home