News

These last weeks have brought devastation to South Florida and Puerto Rico. All of Puerto Rico remains without power and Internet. We thank those that are providing vital relief services.

In the coming weeks as these areas rebuild, in addition to donating funds, our team at Rokland would like to make our time available to the customers of our friends in South Florida and Puerto Rico.

With four integrated gigabit LAN ports, you can easily connect SmartTVs, game consoles, or additional computers by cable or existing powerline Ethernet bridge systems.

Our 10 dBi directional panel antenna is one excellent option. It’s light weight and low profile make it a great choice for use with the Camp Pro kit. It’s antenna connector is located on the bottom side of the antenna (instead of the rear side like most panel antennas) meaning you can easily connect it directly to the Tube receiver of the Camp Pro kit without needing any type of L-connector to change orientation.

Another great choice is our 16 dBi Yagi antenna. This will get you the most distance in any direction and is also the most bang for your buck in terms of gain. It has an RP-SMA connector, so you will need this barrel converter here in order to connect it to the Camp Pro Tube.

Kali Linux recently announced that packet injection is now supported in release 2017.1 for the Realtek RTL8812AU 802.11ac chipset, which is found in Alfa USB Wi-Fi models AWUS036ACH, AWUS036AC, and AWUS036EAC. According to their web site:

"A while back, we received a feature request asking for the inclusion of drivers for RTL8812AU wireless chipsets. These drivers are not part of the standard Linux kernel, and have been modified to allow for injection. Why is this a big deal? This chipset supports 802.11 AC, making this one of the first drivers to bring injection-related wireless attacks to this standard, and with companies such as ALFA making the AWUS036ACH wireless cards, we expect this card to be an arsenal favourite."

Small package orders (0-10 lbs) can now arrive to our Florida & Georgia customers in just 1-2 business days guaranteed with our new $10.00 flat rate Florida/Georgia 1-2 Day Guaranteed service. This is only valid for street addresses in Florida and Georgia, and cannot be used with PO Boxes. PO Box orders will have other shipping choices.

How it works

Qualifying orders will see the $10.00 flat rate option during checkout when choosing a shipping choice. As always, all of our items ship for free with our default economy shipping option. But for buyers in Florida and Georgia who wish to receive shipments in 1-2 business days, this $10.00 flat option will be an available upgrade.

Cutoff time

Orders must be placed by 12 noon EST to be guaranteed to ship out the same day. If you need your order by Wednesday, place it before 12 noon EST Monday. Orders placed Monday afternoon may not ship until Tuesday and then would be guaranteed to arrive by Thursday.

Will it arrive in 1 or 2 days?

Our warehouse is located in Gainesville, FL. Orders shipping to all of north, central, and south Florida, and south Georgia, will arrive in one business day. Orders shipping to the panhandle and also central and north Georgia will arrive in two business days. See this map for guidance.

What exactly is the "guarantee"?

The guarantee is that UPS will make a delivery attempt within 1-2 business days after the date of shipment. Orders must be placed by our 12 noon EST cutoff to ship out the same day. Orders that qualify for the guarantee and the delivery attempt is not made will have the $10.00 shipping charge refunded.

Here is a question our techs often get asked:

If I connect to a Wi-Fi network that does not have a password, is there any way to still ensure my connection is secure?

If this already sounds like Greek to you, what we are talking about is connecting your computer or tablet to a Wi-Fi network in a public place. Some places like hotels may have a password or encryption key for you to gain secure access to their network. Other places, like many RV parks, have "open" networks. These networks are not encrypted or password protected. When joining them, in Windows 8 and 10 you may even get a warning message telling you that data you send over the connection could be accessed by others.

If you want to have extra protection on both secured and open networks, the best way to do this is with a VPN service.

But there are so many available (some pay, some free), how do you know which one is best? Check out this PC Magazine article which goes into more detail about what VPN services do, and which one may be the best for your needs.

Years ago, city engineers figured out two lanes of traffic were better than one. Then they figured our four lanes were better than two. The same revolution is happening in the Wi-Fi industry with new quad antenna 802.11ac Wi-Fi equipment boasting router connection speeds of up to 1900 Mbps.

At the head of the pack is Alfa’s newly released AWUS1900, a four-antenna USB Wi-Fi receiver compatible with Microsoft Windows 7, 8/8.1, and Windows 10. This connects to your computers USB port with enclosed USB 3.0 cable and boosts the Wi-Fi performance of that specific PC. This is not a router or repeater.





We completed a test here where we transferred a file of 1.69 Gbps from our router’s storage device (Tenda AC1900 router). We then attempted to transfer this file to the same computer on the network, two different ways. First via the laptop’s built-in Wi-Fi card, a standard 802.11n card capable of 300 mbps max transfer. The file took 350 seconds to transfer to the computer.

We then deleted the file and connected the same laptop to the Tenda router with this Alfa AWUS1900 802.11ac USB adapter, and achieved an actual connection rate to the router of 1.3 Gbps (that’s gigabits per second!). The transfer time from the network storage drive was just 70 seconds. That went 5 times faster with the Alfa AWUS1900.



Buy it now at http://www.rokland.com

Now available for immediate shipping, Alfa AOA-2409N, a 9 dBi gain outdoor fiberglass Wi-Fi antenna with special heavy duty marine mounting bracket.



Alfa AOA-2409N vs. Alfa AOA-2409TF

Many of you are familiar with Alfa AOA-2409TF, our low cost 9 dBi outdoor antenna from Alfa, and will wonder about the difference. The antennas are almost identical, the key difference is AOA-2409N comes with a special heavy duty pole/PVC mounting bracket. This bracket is not backward compatible with AOA-2409TF because it requires that the connector stem of the antenna be longer in order to fit. Hence, AOA-2409N has a longer connector stem to fit the bracket.

AOA-2409TF is a great option for direct connection to an Alfa Tube USB adapter or Ubiquiti Bullet. AOA-2409N is a better solution when you need to mount the antenna separately.

The most dangerous Hurricane to hit the east coast of Florida in decades is approaching. Our company, Rokland Technologies, is located in Gainesville, FL. As of this posting it is unclear how much our area may be affected. But your interaction with Florida businesses will be impacted, and here is what you can do to help.

Why we are closing Friday

Our company and many other companies in Florida will be closed Friday October 7th. While it may seem like it is nice to have a day off, in fact many residents will be evacuating, while others will be concerned about family and friends. We have decided to close even if the storm is not as bad as expected in order to keep our employees off of local roads so emergency and utility vehicles have an easier time navigating. Because of office closures, you may be getting a voice mail box, or email replies may take some time. We understand this can be frustrating especially if there is a technical issue with your order or you need to place an urgent order. Your patience and understanding are appreciated.

Expect order status delays

When it comes to order status, this is understandably the big question many of you will have. Your order should have a tracking number attached to it. If your order was placed Thursday afternoon or later, it may not ship until Tuesday October 11th, because Post Offices are closed Monday for Columbus Day. You can cancel orders with us if they have not yet shipped. If your tracking number shows the item has not moved from a Florida location for several days, it is likely due to Post Office back log.

Please wait at least 10 days to report a package lost

If your package has not arrived within 10 days of mailing and tracking last shows it is in Florida, please contact us so we can file a claim and replace your package or refund your money.

Thank you for your consideration and we will do our best to resume normal customer service via phone and email as quickly as possible after the storm passes.

Twenty years ago, students worried about turning in a paper for school late because their floppy disk wasn't working, or the printer ran out of toner. These days with so much school work being submitted online, the biggest worry is what happens if your laptop's internal Wi-Fi card starts acting glitchy or stops working altogether?

Alfa AWUS036EAC: The "USB flash drive" of Wi-Fi adapters

The best solution to this problem is to keep a portable USB Wi-Fi adapter with you at all times. Alfa's AWUS036EAC model adapter is the perfect choice. It is not a USB flash drive that stores data, but it is about the same size. The antenna and USB connector are built-in, so there are no cables or external antennas to carry with you. When connected to a compatible computer, it shows up as a separate Wi-Fi adapter and allows you to connect to wireless networks to get Internet access. So if your PC's internal card stops working, you have an instant solution.

Because it is the latest 802.11ac standard, it is compatible with all Wi-Fi networks in use today, including 802.11g, 802.11n, and 802.11ac 2.4 and 5 GHz networks.

Pick on up today for a low price.

[We published the article below on Friday, April 1st, 2016 as an April Fool's Day joke. Because the day has passed, we have added this text to clarify this is not a real product].

Introducing Rokland+, a new Wi-Fi receiver and router combination so powerful, it can go all the way around the world.



Up until now, items capable of receiving Wi-Fi signals such as cell phones and laptops were limited to a couple hundred feet of range from typical Wi-Fi routers. Some of our long range Wi-Fi products released over the years have pushed this to 1000-2000 feet or more.

But now we've really done it- our new Rokland+ Wi-Fi receiver is capable of going all the way around the world to pick up a Wi-Fi signal from our Rokland+ Wi-Fi router.

So if you live in a home in Gainesville, Florida, and you have a Rokland+ Wi-Fi router in your home and a Rokland+ Wi-Fi receiver connected to your computer, it will go around the world and connect to your router.

Here are some important FAQs about our new product

1. Can the product pick up other Wi-Fi signals around the world?

A: No, it can only be used with a Rokland+ router installed in the same home as your adapter

2. If my Rokland+ router is installed 100 feet away from my Rokland+ Global Wi-Fi adapter, how do I know the signal is really being picked up from around the world, instead of just the 100 feet?

A: Good question

3. When will Rokland+ equipment be ready?

A: We thought it would be ready this summer but now we are looking at an April 1, 2017 planned launch date, we've run into some supply side issues through several channels and hope we won't be fooled again.

4: Aww y'all got my hopes up for a second, can I at least get a coupon code for something else on your site for wasting my time?

A: Sure, use the code FOOLMEONCE to save 10% on purchases of $50 or more through Sunday April 3rd. And no, the coupon code is not a joke! Though it must be entered in italics to work...no, no it doesn't need to be. OK, we're done. The coupon code is real though, seriously.

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[We published the article above on Friday, April 1st, 2016 as an April Fool's Day joke. Because the day has passed, we have added this text to clarify this is not a real product].

Summer time is just around the corner. One must-have tool for travel this year is Alfa Network's new Wi-Fi Camp Pro kit. This contains an Alfa R36 USB router/repeater, an Alfa Tube-U(N) long range Wi-Fi receiver, and a fiberglass encased 9 dBi outdoor antenna (Alfa model AOA-2409TF).

When used together, the parts in this easy-to-setup kit allow you to pick up a Wi-Fi signal from a distant location, and share it as a Wi-Fi hotspot in your RV or cabin to which multiple Wi-Fi enabled devices can connect.

Here's an example:

You've been to several campgrounds in your new RV. Sometimes you are parked near the main office and Wi-Fi reception is fine. But at this new place you are parked down toward the river, quite a way from where the Wi-Fi signal is originating, with several other RVs and trees in the way. You get OK reception on your Android tablet when you stand right outside the RV but when you walk back inside it drops to 1 bar. With WiFi Camp Pro you set up the Tube-U(N) adapter and antenna on the outside of the RV and run the 16-foot cable back inside to the R36 router. After a few minutes to configure the R36 via its Easy Setup Wizard, you are pulling in the park Wi-Fi and sharing it throughout your RV as your own personal hotspot. Now your kids can get online with their computers and your spouse can do the same. You even give your lot neighbor the password so he can use it, after he agrees to clean out your waste tank of course.

But WiFi Camp Pro is not only for camping. It can be used at any location where you are trying to extend a distant Wi-Fi signal. Get yours today. It would make a great gift for the outdoor gear person in your life as well.

We are always looking for ways to improve our technical support and customer service. Some feedback received in the past is that some of our links to product pages and driver downloads can be very long, causing email clients to break them up making only part of them clickable, meaning you have to copy and paste the full link into a browser manually, which can be annoying.

This week we launched a new domain specifically to provide shorter redirect links to our longer URLs. When you read our blog, Facebook page, or contact us and receive email replies, you may get links that look like this:

http://rok.land/1Tr1ksQ

rok.land is a new domain that belongs to us, so you can be assured these links are safe to follow. They will redirect to pages on our main web site. Our main web site will always be http://www.rokland.com but you can also get there by going to http://rok.land