Connecting two lap tops using one dongle, is it possible.

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mocruising

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When we were with Vodafone we had a MiFi which enabled us to use two lap tops onboard. We had to switch to Cosmote for reasons I won't go in to and ended up purchasing two dongles. It was fine but costing us 2 x 40 Euro per month. We now just recharge one of them but have a D Link Fast Ethernet Switch 10/100Mbps on board.

Question is it possible to use both computers again and the single Cosmote dongle. I have tried connecting the dongle to one of the laptops and then using net work cables from the same computer to the D link fast ethernet switch and a second net work cable again from the D link fast ethernet switch to the second lap top. I get all the flickering green lights but can't seem to connect to the internet on the second laptop.

Any suggestions.
 
MiFi

Yes it is possible. We are using a MiFi which is like a wireless hub, it allows connection of up to 4 wireless devices to the internet. We are using it for a laptop, iphone and Kindle but could equally be used for 4 laptops.
We got ours on a 1 month rolling contract from "3" and then cancelled after 2 months, we are now going to use it on PAYG, but in your case I think you should be able to fit one of your USB dongle SIM's in the MiFi and away you go.
 
As stated unlock the MiFi or set a bridge connection on one of the laptops and use an RJ45 between the two - just Google about how to do it.

This is what I do when fixed Brisbane goes down for some 6 devices.
 
First you need to be certain that the two PCs can talk to each other over the network (through your switch). To test this, open up a command prompt and type "ping xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx" whithout the quotes and replacing the xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx with the IP address of the other PC. Eg. ping 192.168.1.1

Do this from both PCs, you should see several (usually 3) responses coming back from the other PC. If all you get are "timed out" messages then your network is not set up properly.

If you can ping both PCs then make sure that Internet Connection Sharing is turned on on the PC that has the dongle. The way you do this varies depending on the version of Windows you're using but you'll find it in amongst the network adapter settings (for the dongle).

If you're still having trouble Google Internet connection sharing.....
 
To summarise all the answers: yes, but you need some kind of intelligent tool, you can't just use an electrical splitter

All options are to add what the geeks would call a "router". Various options:

1) Use one of the computers as a router. In Windows this is called Internet Connection Sharing. (On Mac it's just one of the many easy to use options in the Sharing control applet). Disadvantage is that other computer needs to be on, but you can use it as your server, router, whatever (also likely to be reasonably tricky for many users to configure - there are paid for apps which make things easier though).
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=win+7+wireless+connection+sharing

2) Use a "smart phone" to do it (put the SIM in it). Joiku.com for nokia phones, various apps for Android, iphone is much more tricky since it's factory limited and network locked, but you can get jailbreaks that allow you to use the hardware you paid for in the way you want to... Disadvantage is mainly battery and that computers can only be on one wifi network at a time, so whilst using this you can't be on a ships onboard network (if you have one)

3) 3G Dongle + router + battery in a single plastic box = "MiFi". Basically a phone without a screen or keyboard. Equivalently a router + 3g dongle bundled in the same box. These can be network locked, but once you have an unlocked one you should be able to put in any SIM. (often a ready supply on ebay...) Disadvantage is mainly battery and that computers can only be on one wifi network at a time, so whilst using this you can't be on a ships onboard network (if you have one)

4) Standalone router + 3g dongle. Google for normal home broadband routers with a "3G backup" feature. Draytek are the best known brand in the UK and popular with many bigger yachts. Basically you can swap between several internet connections and the router shares it just like your broadband router at home. Disadvantage: Many have slightly clunky web interfaces and generally they aren't supplied with 12V cables (but that is usually easily worked around)

5) MailASail RedBox. Disclaimer it's my product! Obviously this is the perfect solution for the yacht... (We spent some time trying to build it for a specific market). Basically it's like the standalone router option 4), but in addition you can connect also long range wifi devices, 3G dongles, a GPS, ships NMEA data and even satellite phones - all of that is then streamed around the boat (lots of cool ipad apps will consume the NMEA data). We worked hard to make the web interface nice (feel free to disagree!), also you can use it to bring together any of the above with the boats existing network. Disadvantage: Most expensive option of the above...
http://www.mailasail.com/Communication/Red-Box


The cheapest bang for buck is usually the mifi things. However, once you start to look beyond the very simplest requirements the standalone routers offer much more capability (and clearly we will recommend you checkout the Red Box if you want a standalone router!) Using one of the laptops as a router is a good temporary workaround and to test things out, but usually too fiddly and too easy to accidentally give the whole harbour access for non geek users.

(Note: I'm not allowed to give out discounts here, so if you are interested phone/email us and see if you can negotiate a special price...)


Personally I have used my phone (with app) as the "mifi" for casual mobile usage and we use a dedicated "router" + 3G dongle for enabling the stand at trade shows (but in the future we will use our own router product)

Good luck!

Ed W
 
In short YES

if you have Windows 7 then it is built in, if not a really simple solution is to download a very cool programme called Connectify.me

www.connectify.me

And it will do it for you. Only warning is if you are using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) watch out as it messes with the connection.

If you want something more permanent and a bit faster then I can also suggest buying an Asus Mini Wireless Router. (I have one, works great)

www.asus.com/Networks/Wireless_Routers/WL330N3G/

This is essentially a mini router that runs off the USB in your PC and into it you plug your USB Internet Dongel (Stick) and it gives you a MiFi. The great thing about this is that whenever you move county and buy a new USB Internet Stick just pop it into the Mini Router and off you go.
 
Sundowner Portofino said:
In short YES

if you have Windows 7 then it is built in, if not a really simple solution is to download a very cool programme called Connectify.me

www.connectify.me

And it will do it for you. Only warning is if you are using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) watch out as it messes with the connection.

If you want something more permanent and a bit faster then I can also suggest buying an Asus Mini Wireless Router. (I have one, works great)

www.asus.com/Networks/Wireless_Routers/WL330N3G/

This is essentially a mini router that runs off the USB in your PC and into it you plug your USB Internet Dongel (Stick) and it gives you a MiFi. The great thing about this is that whenever you move county and buy a new USB Internet Stick just pop it into the Mini Router and off you go.
Click to expand...

A word of warning about Connectify. It requires that your wifi adapter supports the SoftAP feature and very few built-in laptop and tablet adapters do. Most decent external adapters do support SoftAP though.

That said Connectify is an excellent tool and I use it to share wifi Internet on the boat.
 
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