Add wifi to your beater

"BJ" (benjamin-bignell) 02/22/2016 at 17:27 • Filed to: Samsung, LTE, Turn your beater into a wifi party

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Jealous of the fancy wifi and LTE in the new Chevrolets, but don’t have the cash to replace your junker? Samsung’s got you covered!

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Starting Q2 2016, you’ll be able to plug a dongle into your OBD-II port and rock some amazing 4th-gen mobile data in your 20 year-old Buick!

TheLOUDMUSIC- Put it in H! > BJ 02/22/2016 at 17:48

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You say that like most beaters even have OBDII to start, lol.

The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123 > TheLOUDMUSIC- Put it in H! 02/22/2016 at 18:03

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My 92 Grand Marquis certainly doesn’t have OBD2.

-this space for rent- > TheLOUDMUSIC- Put it in H! 02/22/2016 at 18:06

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He says 20 year old beater in the article. OBDII was mandated in the US for vehicles 1996 and newer.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > BJ 02/22/2016 at 18:13

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Or just turn on the mobile hotspot on the smart phone you already have...

JRapp: now as good as new again > BJ 02/22/2016 at 18:14

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Wouldn’t a regular Hotspot brick be a more versatile option? I don’t see the draw for tethering your mobile WiFi access to your car.

And if it’s OBDII data you’re after, cheap bluetooth dongles are only a couple of bucks...

As much as I love gadgets, this looks like a solution in search of a problem.

kanadanmajava1 > TheLOUDMUSIC- Put it in H! 02/22/2016 at 18:15

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I haven’t owned a single car with these. I did have ‘84 Buick that had ALDL diagnostics connector though. The diagnostics link to the carburetor was quite useful. And that wasn’t a typo as it truly had a computer controlled carburetor.

But why would I need fast mobile data while driving? My phone can find maps if I manage to get myself completely lost.

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > kanadanmajava1 02/22/2016 at 18:18

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Was it a carb or a TBI setup? A little different as TBI DOES still have a form of fuel injector as opposed to bowls and floats....

BJ > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 02/22/2016 at 19:17

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Oh absolutely, that’s an option. The downside is that you use a lot more battery that way. The dongle is always plugged in and powered by the car.

BJ > JRapp: now as good as new again 02/22/2016 at 19:19

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This gadget apparently gets you both at once: LTE hotspot and car data. And it’s easily moved from car to car, although many people will probably just leave it in place.

BJ > -this space for rent- 02/22/2016 at 19:21

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Yep, there you have it!

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > BJ 02/22/2016 at 19:24

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I use a 20,000 mAH power vault that greatly alleviates the battery issue.

JRapp: now as good as new again > BJ 02/22/2016 at 19:27

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Sure, but you’re not gonna find an OBDII port to power the thing in a hotel room or airport should you need WiFi somewhere other than the car.

BJ > JRapp: now as good as new again 02/22/2016 at 20:28

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True, but I’m sure there are some people who will find this device useful nonetheless. It’s not going to be some sort of game changer, but it’s pretty cool.

-this space for rent- > kanadanmajava1 02/22/2016 at 22:12

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Our 84 Cherokee had a compu carb on the 2.5 4cyl lump. Computer was bad when we got it so he swapped a regular carb from some other AMC. Easy peasy.

-this space for rent- > JRapp: now as good as new again 02/22/2016 at 22:14

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Cheap BT dongles are the devil. The one I bought resets the vsc calibration in my 4runner during its startup sequence.

kanadanmajava1 > V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! 02/23/2016 at 03:59

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No, it was a real Rochester Quadrajet that had been modernized. The carburetor looks like this.

There is a mixture valve under that blue connector and it’s operated by the ECU. The part with the white connector is the TPS. The whole system is rather complicated as there is also mile of vacuum lines besides the electronic stuff.