Desperate to work from the boat!

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Homer J

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id love to work from my boat but the mobile signal strength isn’t great. I need to hold Zoom calls. I can tether my lap top to the phone but need a more powerful signal. When the signal is at its best I can download film but not consistently or often

is there a solution I can buy that will help me? What is it and where can I buy it please?
 
Try hoisting your tethered phone up the mast or topping lift. If it gets a better signal and works, buy another smart phone or MiFi for the hoist.
 
I have an old ZTE mi-fi with an external antenna which boost signal strength by about three bars. Quite a few mi-fis are suitably equipped, though it can take some digging through the specs and online to find a suitable antenna.
 
OneWeb should be operational by the end of the year. It should do away with not spots on broadband and make 4G a thing of the past. Hopefully it will be price competitive.
 
HissyFit said:
OneWeb should be operational by the end of the year. It should do away with not spots on broadband and make 4G a thing of the past. Hopefully it will be price competitive.
Click to expand...
The bankrupt company with ambitions to launch 1/50 as many satellites as StarLink? The latest Private Eye has an interesting article on it ...
 
As well as the options above, have you tried a different provider? I have both EE and Three which works for the areas I frequent.
 
I have bought a gadget that purports to increase the signal of the mobile coverage. I’ll tether my laptop to it. It was quite expensive.
if anyone’s interested I’ll report back.
 
RAI said:
Try hoisting your tethered phone up the mast or topping lift. If it gets a better signal and works, buy another smart phone or MiFi for the hoist.
Click to expand...
This is what I do, and it makes all the difference. The internet was unusable at anchor at Île de Groix without it.

I hoist the phone to the lower spreaders, putting it in a plastic bag along with a power bank to keep it at full charge.

I plan to buy a clip-top tupperware box for better weatherproofing.

I just use my main phone, as I can do everything I need from my laptop.
 
also have a look at this thread:
Wifi on board
bought the RUT240, V.happy with it, running concurrent zoom/teams calls with the wife onboard in a 1-2bar (mobile phone) bay.
28C+ water temp, 32C+ salon temp, dipping often works fine :cool:
 
KompetentKrew said:
This is what I do, and it makes all the difference. The internet was unusable at anchor at Île de Groix without it.

I hoist the phone to the lower spreaders, putting it in a plastic bag along with a power bank to keep it at full charge.

I plan to buy a clip-top tupperware box for better weatherproofing.

I just use my main phone, as I can do everything I need from my laptop.
Click to expand...
Good points. But some work at home/boat types have bosses who want to call on occasion. So having a separate SIM device helps.
 
I work from the boat quite often with a Vodafone pebble / dongle or what ever it's called, dedicated to data only and I am in a remote west coast location. Works well for Team calls etc. Have you actually tried it? Remember Teams (and I assume Zoom) will work on audio only if the signal drops strength. You might be surprised how well it works as you are not trying to download an HD movie, just a low res video.
 
JumbleDuck said:
The bankrupt company with ambitions to launch 1/50 as many satellites as StarLink? The latest Private Eye has an interesting article on it ...
Click to expand...

The previously bankrupt company, is now backed by the UK Government and Bharti Global. The bankruptcy was merely a cash flow issue, caused by Softbank pulling out. Softbank has since reinvested. Being in a lower (and more desirable) orbit than Starlink, it doesn't need need anywhere near as many satellites. BT is onboard to fill their rural not-spots. Starlink will go for domestic customers, rather than the B2B model of OneWeb, but you won't catch me buying anything from Elon Musk.
 
chris-s said:
As well as the options above, have you tried a different provider? I have both EE and Three which works for the areas I frequent.
Click to expand...
The offcom site allows you to search data coverage for the 4 providers who have infrastrucure. EE, Vodafone,3 and O2.
View mobile availability - Ofcom Checker Annoyingly you need to choose an address within the postcode for it to work.
Just Google (for instance) "St Ives postcode" and plenty of businesses and hotels will come up. Use their postcode and address for the coverage checker.
Interestingly all the other phone providers piggyback on those four's infrastructure.
Some of them offer cheaper deals so finding the best coverage and then choosing a provider who uses that network can bring down costs.
Need to keep your signal? You can still switch network
Beware. Some data-only deals are capped after a limited amount of tethering.
 
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I remember you used to be able to get a map which showed theoretical coverage given height of mast and geographical obstructions. That would be far more useful than a post code.

What is the post code for the middle of the Sound of Jura for example?
 
HissyFit said:
The previously bankrupt company, is now backed by the UK Government and Bharti Global. The bankruptcy was merely a cash flow issue, caused by Softbank pulling out. Softbank has since reinvested. Being in a lower (and more desirable) orbit than Starlink, it doesn't need need anywhere near as many satellites. BT is onboard to fill their rural not-spots. Starlink will go for domestic customers, rather than the B2B model of OneWeb, but you won't catch me buying anything from Elon Musk.
Click to expand...
Why does being in a lower orbit mean fewer satellites? Ever other systems seems to work on the premise that lower orbits need more satellites.

And remember, the UK government only bought it as a replacement for Galileo, though I don't think anyone has yet said how an unviable comms network replaces a GNSS one, and there is no sign of any receivers capable of using it.
 
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