Down load speeds

[Seastoke]

We run our WiFi for tv and iPads ,with a top link router and a smarty sim. Now the speed is not what I want so would an aerial mounted on the fly bridge help . Thanks for any replies.

 

[Seastoke]

Bump

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Probably not. I assume your setup is a MiFi dongle (you refer to having a SIM card) with a router. So the limit on the speed is the bandwidth available to your MiFi setup. Once you have a connection, the speed is governed by several factors - whether you have a 4 or 5G connection, the latency of the connection (further from the mobile phone tower is slower because of increased latency), but not particularly the strength of the signal - you either have enough for a connection or not. If it's really marginal, it might be dropping in and out, losing a lot of packets, but I think you'd have noticeable periods with no connection.

 

[mrming]

I use a Three branded Zyxel 5G router I bought from eBay, with an EE sim. I bought a 12v power adapter from kumaproducts.com - works great where I am (East coast UK), and can be run on 240v when connected to shore power.

 

[ChromeDome]

So many things affect wireless connections. For every device it passes there will be a loss. Hence the fastest connection at your end is a cable from the router to your device.

At that cabled setup you should do a speedtest. The speedtest will indicate what you can get at best, but traffic, jam, many connected users and - not least - if the server you download from is using bandwidth management or just feed the line slowly, will decide the performance. No joy from a fat connection if they drip data in from the far end.

For comparison you can do speed tests also from your phone when connected to the 5G directly (not to your router). Even try from various locations near the boat, especially from a high point if there is one.

 

[KompetentKrew]

We run our WiFi for tv and iPads ,with a top link router and a smarty sim. Now the speed is not what I want so would an aerial mounted on the fly bridge help . Thanks for any replies.

It depends.

Do you get faster speeds at home?

When anchored at île de Groix the connection was so slow and unreliable (constant timeouts) that it was unusable - I hoisted my phone up the mast and the difference was night and day.

With Starling becoming affordable I'm not sure I'd spend money on improving cellular reception if a fishing pole or something would do the job instead.

 

[wonkywinch]

I use a Three branded Zyxel 5G router I bought from eBay, with an EE sim. I bought a 12v power adapter from kumaproducts.com - works great where I am (East coast UK), and can be run on 240v when connected to shore power.

Most of these routers can be powered straight from your 12v boat supply. Just chop the mains plug adaptor off and connect the leads to your boat 12v power via a suitably fused connection.

 

[chris-s]

If your pockets can stretch to it, Starlink and be done with it. We have a ‘mini’ this season and it’s been worth it, at sea and at anchor. Plus I can do some ‘work’ and stay away for longer.

 

[st599]

Starlink is starting to sell out in part of the UK, capacity saturated. Hopefully Kuiper, and, if it ever gets rid of the golden handcuffs, Oneweb will get leisure products out soon and drive prices down via competition.

 

[chris-s]

Starlink is starting to sell out in part of the UK, capacity saturated. Hopefully Kuiper, and, if it ever gets rid of the golden handcuffs, Oneweb will get leisure products out soon and drive prices down via competition.

Wow, didn’t realise the uptake had been so significant. We also have a dish at home as the internet is so poor where we live and I work from home (ancient cabling and little desire by anybody to dig up and lay fibre with already full ducting)

 

[Davy_S]

We run our WiFi for tv and iPads ,with a top link router and a smarty sim. Now the speed is not what I want so would an aerial mounted on the fly bridge help . Thanks for any replies.

Does your router allow you to connect an external ariel? I use a (strong) router at home, if I connect a cheapy eBay external router to it and poke it out of the window the signal strength increases, why not stick your router on the fly bridge and see if you get a better signal, or try a different SIM from another provider.