Send mosquitos packing with ThermaCell

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a skeptic when it comes to technology that claims to scare bloodsuckers away. "Give me garlic for vampires!" I say, not some sort of Star Trekian ray gun. So when we saw the rollout of a new bit of technology that claimed to scare off mosquitoes and other undesirable winged bugs, I had a feeling I'd just run into 21st century snake oil. The folks at Therma Cell were confident enough of their product to send me, the official contrivance curmudgeon, a copy of their 'better mousetrap,' and I had to give it a try.

First, a bit about ThermaCell. It's a line of pest repelling products that utilize (of all things) allethrin--a synthetic compound that mimics the repellent produced by chrysanthemums. The allethrin is contained in a small absorbent pad that, when heated, wafts through the air, sending out a smelly signal to mosquitoes, black flies, no-see-ums, and other unwanted intruders to steer clear of the area. As far as smell goes, I couldn't detect any in my field tests. Combine this bug-disgusting emanation with a clever, low-power consumptive light source, and you may have something that RVers can really put to use.

My first trip into the field with ThermaCell fed my cantankerous ego: Instructions say to slide a repellent mat into a grid atop the lantern, push a couple of buttons to fire off a small butane flame to heat the thing, and watch the bugs make a mass exodus. I slide, pushed, sat back, and laughed. The nine, clear, bright LED lights were like ringing the dinner bell. Bugs flew in to investigate the light, practically coating the lamp with moths and other little winged night-dwellers. But then, the numbers decreased. I beamed a flashlight aloft and saw that the clouds of winged ones were diminishing--and then suddenly, they were gone.

OK, it takes a few minutes for the heat to warm the repellent pad up enough to spread the message. Once it happens, the bugs evidently decide there are better pickings elsewhere. We staged our test along side a backwater along the Colorado River. Here, mosquitoes--not as large as those in Alaska--lurk, waiting for foolish fishermen and RV reporters to show up. The nasty little Colorado blood suckers must have read the memo: I was troubled not a bit (or a bite) by a mosquito.

The company says their de-bugger will clear an area of about 15 x 15 feet. On our test there was a slight breeze and I found it best to sit downwind from the lamp. You may actually see a bit of smoke ascending from the repellent pad--that's normal, and a pad will shake off invaders for three or four hours. If you run the repellent function for less than three or four hours, you'll know the pad is still "good" until it turns white. Fresh out of the pack, it's green.

It's a clever, compact design. Batteries for the lantern go in the base; the butane cartridge to heat up the repellent pad slips into the center of the lantern, above a circle of LEDs. And of course, the repellent pad sits outside the lantern on the very top. A hidden burner in the top of the lamp assembly has a handy peep hole to inspect to make sure the flame is lit.

Both repellent pads and the butane cartridge (good for 12 hours of use) are proprietary. Allow the curmudgeon to come out of me again: It seems a bit like buying a nice printer for your computer for a great price--and then having to buy ink cartridges. A "shopping trip" on Amazon reveals you can get a "value pack" of a dozen ThermaCell pads and four butane cartridges for less than $17. Breaking that down to a guestimated use of three and a half hours per pad, it works out to about 40 cents per hour of protection, assuming you get free shipping.

What about the lamp function? The ThermaCell lantern runs on four AA batteries; a "low" setting produces a "night light" effect on two of its LEDs; on high all nine LEDs produce enough light for folks sitting at a picnic table to play a few hands of cards without straining.

Plan on using ThermaCell out of doors; not in a tent, and not in your RV. Although the allercin repellent is said to be safe for humans and pets when following directions, the directions limit you to outdoor use. And if you're keeping a hive of bees on your motorhome's back bumper, don't get too near either, allercin is anathema to bees.

Find out more about the ThermaCell line on their web site.

Rogue Wave pulls in WiFi signals from afar

One of the greatest headaches for the RVer in this information-driven age has to be Internet connectivity. Chances are great you're already running e-mail to keep in touch with the family and friends. Add in Internet searches, bill paying, photo uploading--pretty soon, connecting to the Internet is a big thing. How can you stay connected?

Many RVers have found connecting at "WiFi hotspots," is one way to keep Internet-in-touch. Some national chains offer their customers free connectivty, places like Starbucks and McDonalds are high on the list. Only trouble is, for the most part you'll need to take your computer inside to take advantage of these hotspots. What happens when you want to keep the computer inside your RV or log onto the Web without dragging into a service provider?

Enter the Rogue Wave. This handy electronic device (technically a wireless bridge and Ethernet converter) is like putting your laptop (or WiFi equipped desktop) computer on WiFi steroids. Imagine "tying" into a Starbucks WiFi connection--blocks away from the store. It's possible--in fact, even longer connections can be possible. We heard about the Wave and Randy at Land and Sea Wifi, a Wave dealer, provided us a test unit to really check it out.

Here's a "real world" scenario: Quartzsite, Arizona, the "Snowbird Capital of the World" where thousands of RVers descend to camp out on the desert every winter. One popular public camping area is La Posa West, south of Quartzsite. We rolled into the camp area not far from the check-in station. Firing up our laptop computer we found about three WiFi signals, all of which tended to fade in and out, and none were good for a connection.

We attached the Rogue Wave and it immediately showed us 30 WiFi signals, several of which were from RV parks about a mile from our location. In moments we were able to log into a solid WiFi signal from one of the RV parks. We've taken Rogue Wave to a number of locations and the story is basically the same everywhere. Fire up your computer and let it 'sniff for a signal,' and come back nearly empty-handed. Let Rogue Wave loose on the matter and find far more.

Is Rogue Wave the end-all for Internet access? Depending on your needs and travels, it could be. In our travels we've found plenty of WiFi signals floating around the airwaves. Not everyone wants to share Internet access; you'll find plenty of WiFi signals that are secured, and unless someone hands you the password, you'll be locked out. On the other hand, RV park owners are beginning to get the drift that RVers need Internet connectivity. Lots of them provide Internet service through Tengo Internet, and given you have a password (either given or sold to you by park management) or pay to subscribe, it matters not whether you are staying at the park, or are boondocking within Rogue Wave's distance.

Many RVers report that when staying in an RV park, they're often promised a WiFi connection. The service may be at the park, but whether you'll "get it" often depends on terrain, distance from the park's wireless equipment, and the fickleness of fate. With Rogue Wave, the chances are very much likely that if the park has WiFi, you won't need to worry about getting a space next to the office. Out at sea you might be able to connect up to eight miles away. Our experience of making connections at one mile plus are not uncommon.

Rogue Wave is another hot bet for you RVers who follow the group circuits. We've had plenty of Escapees members who tell us that when attending "SKP" outings they'll share Internet connectivity with SKPs who have satellite Internet connections. These well-heeled folks often share their bounty with others through the use of a WiFi network in camp. Now you can camp a good distance away and not have to crowd one another to get good connectivity.

Here are the "brass tacks," of the technical side. The Rogue Wave consists of an (omnidirectional) antenna, which couples up to the Wave's electronic heart, the Ethernet port. The whole thing is less than 3' tall. It's best to mount the antenna on your rig, which is easily accomplished with the brackets provided with the equipment. From there an Ethernet cable plugs into the port, and is run back to your computer--anywhere up to 300 feet away. The cable plugs into a small "Y" connector, one end of the "Y" plugs into your computer's Ethernet port, and the other end of the "Y" into either a provided power adapter for shore power, or another that plugs into a 12 volt cigarette lighter port. Optionally, you could plug the system, not into your computer, but into a network and share it with other computers in your RV (or home) system. Since the Wave is not powered by your USB port, there's no power drain on your computer system.

There's no software to load onto your computer; the system's "firmware" is built right into the Wave, and your computer should automatically recognize it as a communications network, and within a couple of minutes you'll have an Internet browser page showing you all WiFi connections in range. Click on the one you want (and provide the access code if it's a "protected" network) and you'll soon be linked up with the Internet.

The Rogue Wave, including all necessary hardware and cable runs $350.00. For another $25 you can get a reconditioned NetGear router that will let you to run multiple computers on the same connection simultaneously. We recommend Land and Sea WiFi, for their friendliness and product knowledgeability. You can count on them to stand behind you--and they offer a two-week product try out.