Portable Wi-Fi hotspots and hair dryers

Not that Wi-Fi hotspots and hair dryers have much in common, but I figured I'd start one topic instead of two.

Has anyone tried using a portable Wi-Fi hotspot on the train? I have this one, which I've only used in a pinch when I was at an outdoor book festival and needed to be able to take credit cards and be online in a park with no other nearby hotspots.

http://www.internet-go.com/how-it-works

I'm curious if anyone's tried one of these on a train.

Also, I have an obnoxious hairstyle that looks pretty pathetic unless I style it with a hair dryer. Are portable hair dryers allowed to be used on the train? In the shower area? Roomette? My train trip isn't till early May, so I'd still have time to figure out how to manage a hairstyle without blow-drying it, if necessary.

Couldn't seem to find any recent threads on either of these topics...

Thanks for any hints and tips!

Wi-Fi hotspots are dependent on cellular coverage. So, it's going to be largely dependent on which train you are on. If you have seen 'no signal' or 'welcome to Mexico' on your cell phone then that is how the hotspot will behave.

Cross country from PGH to SEA and LAX (via SWC heading west and then CZ heading back east). I'm sure there are plenty of spots with no cell coverage (!!), but a moment or two in which to upload and download work emails would be helpful. Around urban centers, then, I suppose, are my best bets.

That would be correct. That particular hotspot uses the Sprint network, which is rather weak outside of large metropolitan areas. You'd likely be able to check in a couple times a day while in/near a large town (or near an interstate) but it's unlikely you'd have continuous coverage (or even frequent coverage outside of towns.)

Many (Most?) Amtrak trains have onboard WiFi, which I believe is based off Verizon's LTE coverage. It is OK for many uses but not for streaming videos because the cell tower's capacity is shared with everyone else on the train. If a personal hotspot is also based on the same cellular signal, it will probably be pretty slow. My T-Mobile phone can create a hotspot which I did a couple of time on a recent trip but T-Mobile's coverage was not great in many rural areas on the route. Depending on how your credit card validator works, it may function fine on the train's WiFi.

I don't know about the capacity of the power plug in a sleeper compartment but they're running a big coffee maker at the end of the hall and the cars are electrically heated, so you can take that as a guide. I don't recall any sign that indicated that the power capacity was limited.

The only thinking on the Wi-Fi for me is to check/upload emails, work-related, mostly. Certainly not streaming anything. Just a few blips every so often to get/receive emails.

So what's the word on hair dryers? They're noisy. They're power-hugs. Etiquette issues, or power issues? Locations (only in shower areas or bathrooms? in your room?)? Wouldn't want to pack the portable hair dryer if it's not allowed and wouldn't want to leave it home if everyone uses them and thinks they're fine.

There's a decent chance, depending on the wattage of the hair dryer you might cause the circuit breaker to trip (not sure the exact layout, but I think all roomettes/bedrooms share a single circuit breaker per side of the car).

The first time you do that, the car attendant might not say much, but the 2nd... they might get annoyed.

On the other hand, the lower the wattage, the less likely that will be to occur.

I think some the small, "travel size" hair dryers are ok, as reported by a few people I know, but you'd want to check the voltage and report back. I think the limit is 110? (Someone please correct me.)

I have an ATT 4G hotspot that has been quite good, with the caution that there are cellular deadspots with no service, and areas that do not have 4G signals and you ratchet down to 3G. I use it more for the occasional hotel that still shoots for exorbitant charges for wi-fi, or where it is free in the rooms and lobby, but they want a very high price to connect a meeting room. I carry a 700W travel dryer, the "big guys" would be pushing your luck. Almost every hotel room has a hair dryer now, it is a less critical travel item than before if you are only doing one overnight.

Well, my whole trip is 15 days and only a few of them are in hotels. Most are on the train, which is why I asked about both the hair dryer and the hotspots. I'll have to check my travel dryer. Hadn't though of the wattage being an issue -- I was thinking mostly of the noise! Would not want to trip a circuit breaker. I'll "practice" styling my hair without a hair dryer, I think, and see how that looks...

Sounds like I'll manage all right with the hotspots. I can collect emails at a few urban stops, then read and respond offline in between till the next good spot to upload them. Same with Indiegogo updates, which I promised to my backers: updates along the way. I can write those offline in between upload spots. That'll totally work for me for this trip.

Using a hair dryer wouldn't be recommended. Some of the lavatory outlets are marked for razors only. A lot of the problem is just when too many people are using high-current devices, although there's the possibility that it simply can't handle it at all. Do you really want to be the person who gets chided by the onboard staff for tripping a breaker?

WiFi hotspots will work on the train. I see them set up all the time, although I obviously can't use them. Most long distance trains don't seem to have their own WiFi except maybe a few cars on some routes. I thought that the Pacific Parlour Car on the Coast Starlight had WiFi. Amtrak WiFi is pretty limited and slow anyways. They block out quite a bit of websites, including nearly anything that will stream video like YouTube. I can see ads websites being blocked and some stuff isn't allowed to be accessed. Now some of the station-based WiFi can be awesome. While I was waiting in the NYP Amtrak waiting area, their WiFi wasn't limited and was about as fast as good business internet. I could stream video just fine, but they obviously don't need to rely on a cellular or satellite connection in the middle of Manhattan.

Before I got my smart phone, I used a verizon mobile hot spot when traveling and it worked OK. It rarely worked in Western Maryland and Pennsylvania on the Capitol Limited, or areas in the West (in the middle of nowhere).

I have a Verizon plan with my iPhone and I use the phone as a hot spot now - and it works much better than the mobile hot spot did.

I agree that using a hair dryer is not a good idea on the train.

Neither the CZ nor the SWC have on-board Wi-Fi.

The CS (Coast Starlight) only has Wi-fi in the PPC car. You need a business class or sleeper ticket to use the PPC car.

I think the CS is the only western long distance train that has on-board Wi-Fi

I'm glad I asked what I originally thought was a silly question. Hair dryer stays home, along with my vanity.

I have often used my small travel kettle aboard Amtrak trains, in the rooomettes, to make a "proper cup of english tea"

This is rated at 650 Watts, which is the power it draws. A hairdryer of similar wattage would work ok too. I don't know if such hairdryers exist, or indeed would get hot enough to blow out much hot air.

Go for the towel drying is my advice!

Sarah mentioned 110, which is the voltage, the same as your home electric, this is standard, but is different to the wattage, which is the thing that can trip the circuit breakers.

Travel light!

Ed.

Thanks! I have a few months to figure out how to style my hair without the dryer, so I'll be fine. If I can master that all right, I'll be more than happy to ditch the hair dryer from the backpack! It's becoming a personal challenge to see how light I can pack for this trip.

caravanman said:

Sarah mentioned 110, which is the voltage, the same as your home electric, this is standard, but is different to the wattage, which is the thing that can trip the circuit breakers.

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That's what I was looking for. I knew I had something screwed up.

I can't find any mini/travel sized hair dryers under 1000-1200 watts, so even though people have reported using those little ones without issues, I still wouldn't risk it. Also, something that's only 1000-1200 watts isn't going to do much good, especially if you have thick hair.

I like using a hair dryer and flat iron at home, but I have long hair (and a lot of it), so I haven't even bothered with the mini dryers while traveling. When I'm on the train, I usually put my (stupid, frizzy) hair in a low ponytail or braid to keep it out of the way and then use the hotel hair dryers once I get wherever I'm going.

As Ed mentioned, it's one less thing to pack. Even those mini dryers take up a bit of space, despite the "folding" design.

Austruck said:

Thanks! I have a few months to figure out how to style my hair without the dryer, so I'll be fine. If I can master that all right, I'll be more than happy to ditch the hair dryer from the backpack! It's becoming a personal challenge to see how light I can pack for this trip.

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It depends on where you are. Some of the outlets might not be recommended for anything more than a wall wart. The outlets at a seat should work, but that's not exactly the best place to dry hair.

Amtrak has a blog where they recommend bringing a hair dryer. If something goes wrong, you can just say Amtrak said it was OK.

http://blog.amtrak.com/2014/02/bring-overnight-train-ride/

Just like a hotel, we provide shampoo, soap and bottled water in all of our rooms. If your beauty regimen requires something special (hey, the train is a judge-free place), please be sure to bring it. That includes, toothpaste, mouthwash, body lotion, hair conditioner, hair spray/gel, hairdryers and shower caps.

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I have a 1000W hi/700W lo that I bought specifically for train travel. I'll look for it tonight and if I can find it I'll post more info.

BaybyBliss Dual Voltage TT

I only use it on low on the train.

What you might want to do as well is check and see if any of the hotels/hostels you're staying in provide hairdryers if you can don't wish to carry one in your backpack just to make sure.

We have a little 400W Samsonite folding travel dryer. We more or less stopped carrying it on trips because almost every hotel we've stayed at provides hair dryers.

While the CZ does not an Amtrak-sponsored wifi access point, some of the individual SCAs that I've ridden with will activate a mobile hotspot on their personal smartphone and post the SSID and password for use by the car's occupants.

We have never NOT taken our 1000W hair dryer on trips and never had a problem using it on all overnights except coming back into Greenville. There, we arrive at about 5AM, skip the morning shower on the train, throw our clothes on, jump in the car, drive home and take a leisurely shower then dry.

Why is it that the Crescent has NEVER been more than 10 minutes late for us into Greenville? Great on-time record. Ugh! Would be nice to be 5 hours late,sleep in, shower on the train, have a nice breakfast then drive home after stopping at Greenville's Sam's Club on the way for cheap gas and groceries. Sure, everyone after us will be late and New Orleans will be midnight arrival but that's an all-night city anyway!

KmH said:

Neither the CZ nor the SWC have on-board Wi-Fi.

The CS (Coast Starlight) only has Wi-fi in the PPC car. You need a business class or sleeper ticket to use the PPC car.

I think the CS is the only western long distance train that has on-board Wi-Fi

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Last October, the Coast Starlight had WiFi in each sleeper in addition to the PPC. Each one had its own logon.

The WiFi was Amtrak provided as at the end of the trip, an announcement was made to the SCA's to turn them in to the LSA.

Funny, I was on a Southbound Crescent that held in Washington because that day there was a freight derailment that blocked some Amtrak trains from getting over the HellGate Bridge for a while so they kept them on until WAS to connect (the NYP connection was toast) we left WAS pretty far in the hole, and when I woke up in the morning we were only about 5 -10 down. I had to hustle for breakfast, I was getting off in Atlanta.