Adding wifi to your boat, any point using routers and sim cards nowadays or does starlink reign supreme?

[steve yates]

While planning my new systems I saw a reference to a network, which got me thinking about wifi aboard. I am definitely going to want it so I can work aboard when I want.
What do you guys use to get internet aboard and set up a network if you want to share data to/from instruments/tablets etc and generally have a basic broadband capability? And if you were doing a fresh install now, knowing what you about about your previous set up, would you do the same or choose something different?
And of course, does starlink really make all this defunct or do you still need a router etc for some things that starlink does not do?

Last question, is starlink moveable between boats? That could be a real moneysaver on setting up two networks.
Thanks.

 

[chris-s]

I see no point in anything other than Starlink providing the power consumption, price and coverage works for you. It does for us. There will be plenty of people who are happy with a 5g or 4g sim and so forth or just anti-Musk, a bit like anchors discussions.

 

[wonkywinch]

It all depends how far from civilisation you are. A 5G connection whilst in a town centre marina will always be much cheaper than Starlink.

A remote hidden cove is a different matter.

 

[Dutch01527]

I just use a hotspot on my phone. Gives everything needed and my unlimited data sim is £20 a month with free calls and messages. I would have Starlink if long distance cruising.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

I just use a hotspot on my phone. Gives everything needed and my unlimited data sim is £20 a month with free calls and messages. I would have Starlink if long distance cruising.

That definitely works, but we find the battery life rather restricive. You have to leave it plugged in. So we use a filth cheap 5g wi fi box. Which happens to contain an international roaming sim, so it’s multi use, it keeps us online on holiday as well as on board.

 

[harvey38]

We have a TP link router with a Poynting Puck external antenna and a sim card from Smarty. This gives us WiFi, TV streaming, SONOS etc whilst in port or cruising close to shore. If you need anything further offshore, Mr Musk is calling.......

 

[Dutch01527]

That definitely works, but we find the battery life rather restricive. You have to leave it plugged in. So we use a filth cheap 5g wi fi box. Which happens to contain an international roaming sim, so it’s multi use, it keeps us online on holiday as well as on board.

Interesting. My phone battery lasts best part of a day but I do not have an issue plugging it in when on the boat. It needs to sit somewhere and it might as well be put it in the charger. My boat is well provided with usb sockets throughout and I also have a big power bank if needed.

 

[SimonX]

It looks like Starlink will finally get some realistic competition in the next couple of years. Amazon are buying out Globalstar and adding their users, including Apple, to their LEO project and the EU-backed IRIS2 is starting testing. The third partner on our boat works for a government agency which is one of those selected to run tests and he did volunteer to have a mobile receiver on the boat but no…

 

[SimonX]

Interesting. My phone battery lasts best part of a day but I do not have an issue plugging it in when on the boat. It needs to sit somewhere and it might as well be put it in the charger. My boat is well provided with usb sockets throughout and I also have a big power bank if needed.

All six of the owners of our boat have iPhones and my BiL has installed no fewer than 8 MagSafe charging pads around the boat.

 

[steve yates]

The wee boat will go to west coast of scotland and cruise around there, and hopefully round Ireland next year.
The longbow will poke aroimd anywhere from iceland/fareos/norway to the baltic or down the atlantic coast to the med or morocco and maybe as far as the azores, depending on when I want scenery and when I want sunshine.

Hence why I wondered if starlink was moveable as I could bring it home to have on wee boat when sent packing by schengen timings.

I’m looking for something better than just piggybacking off my phone.

It sounds like starlink is the real choice if planning on cruising any distance.

 

[Daverw]

I’ve just added Starlink mini, just needs power supply 12v dc, it can sit flat and has built in wifi hub.
Total cost £179 from curry’s, 1st month £50 roaming plan100gb , took 10minutes to set up and over 250 Mb and just switched it to low speed which is £4.50 per month, still fast enough for phone, txt, email and web browsing,
Flat dish 300x200 ish, even worked inside boat just a bit slower. Standard roaming includes offshore and overseas without restriction or additional cost.
You can even get a rechargeable battery that fits it so fully portable,

 

[Daverw]

The wee boat will go to west coast of scotland and cruise around there, and hopefully round Ireland next year.
The longbow will poke aroimd anywhere from iceland/fareos/norway to the baltic or down the atlantic coast to the med or morocco and maybe as far as the azores, depending on when I want scenery and when I want sunshine.

Hence why I wondered if starlink was moveable as I could bring it home to have on wee boat when sent packing by schengen timings.

I’m looking for something better than just piggybacking off my phone.

It sounds like starlink is the real choice if planning on cruising any distance.

The new Starlink mini is fully portable with built in WiFi, just plug the power in and you coukd just sit it on the coach top, nothing to align or setup

 

[Sea Change]

You can take the Starlink anywhere within the coverage region. Really the only downside of it is the higher monthly cost compared to a SIM. And it is a bit more power hungry too.

The mini is the one to go for. It's just one small flat plastic box. WiFi range is about 20m. I believe you can run it from DC but we're too lazy and just run it from the smaller of our two inverters.

 

[Moodysailor]

It's an intersting one depending on your needs and use-case. At the moment, whilst we are within mobile signal of land and not using it heavily, 5G works. Once we are aboard more and want to work from the boat, we will need higher data speeds so will go with Starlink.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Interesting. My phone battery lasts best part of a day but I do not have an issue plugging it in when on the boat. It needs to sit somewhere and it might as well be put it in the charger. My boat is well provided with usb sockets throughout and I also have a big power bank if needed.

Mine might last 8 hours if I’ve got a load of devices running on hotspot. Not enough. The 5g box sits down below, plugged in to power, and takes that particular strain.

 

[steve yates]

I’ve just added Starlink mini, just needs power supply 12v dc, it can sit flat and has built in wifi hub.
Total cost £179 from curry’s, 1st month £50 roaming plan100gb , took 10minutes to set up and over 250 Mb and just switched it to low speed which is £4.50 per month, still fast enough for phone, txt, email and web browsing,
Flat dish 300x200 ish, even worked inside boat just a bit slower. Standard roaming includes offshore and overseas without restriction or additional cost.
You can even get a rechargeable battery that fits it so fully portable,

Thanks, sounds like the answer for me.
At £179 its cheaper than a lot of the routers, and £4.50pm is cheaper than most sims when I don’t need to be uploading images to galleries.
And it can be used on both boats, even better.

 

[Sea Change]

We've not really had success with using Starlink on standby mode. The speed and connectivity is highly variable. If all you want to do is receive your emails and WhatsApps then it's ok, but to do any actual browsing it's very frustrating.

It's possible that this depends on location, because other people seem to be getting on better with standby mode. And it did with a bit better the first time we tried it, six months ago. I just wouldn't rely on it.

 

[jamie N]

I feel blessed in that I'm a 3g bloke in a 5g World.

 

[lustyd]

It looks like Starlink will finally get some realistic competition in the next couple of years. Amazon are buying out Globalstar and adding their users, including Apple, to their LEO project and the EU-backed IRIS2 is starting testing. The third partner on our boat works for a government agency which is one of those selected to run tests and he did volunteer to have a mobile receiver on the boat but no…

Sadly this won’t change a thing. That network is higher orbit with very few satellites so doesn’t have the bandwidth, latency or user capacity of Starlink. Amazon don’t have the launch capability to get Leo off the ground and have come perilously close to losing their licence as a result. Paying SpaceX to launch Leo satellites will never be commercially viable.
It’s Leo btw, not LEO, it’s a product name.

 

[Sea Change]

Sadly this won’t change a thing. That network is higher orbit with very few satellites so doesn’t have the bandwidth, latency or user capacity of Starlink. Amazon don’t have the launch capability to get Leo off the ground and have come perilously close to losing their licence as a result. Paying SpaceX to launch Leo satellites will never be commercially viable.
It’s Leo btw, not LEO, it’s a product name.

And then there's the two Chinese constellations which are coming soon. But no doubt there will be limitations on which countries allow us to use that service.