AntarcticPilot
Well-Known Member
Well, on the West Coast of Scotland, it is certainly rare to find WiFi except at marinas (which are few outside the Clyde, and non-existent north of Ardnamurchan), and usually expensive and of poor quality when you get it. Even mobile signals have big black-spots - I remember having to climb a hill on Mull (Bull Hole, in the Sound of Iona; not the end of the earth) so our crew member could talk to his wife! And even in the Clyde area, mobile signals can be quite patchy; mobile reception is, for example, lousy at InverKip.
It is worth remembering that some of the kit being suggested for use to extend WiFi range is illegal in Europe; the UK restrictions I mentioned above are actually Europe wide. America permits higher powers, as it has large areas where it is useful, and where it is unlikely to interfere with other users. Europe's regulations are designed to handle a much higher population density, and aim at a maximum range of a few hundred metres. As with a lot of wireless kit, it is perfectly legal to sell it and to buy high power adaptors - but not to use them. You're probably unlikely to get caught, but if you were, it could be a serious fine. Fancy antennae are perfectly legal and will help , but only to the extent of doubling or trebling the attainable range - providing you are still enough to focus the antenna on the WiFi bas station. and know exactly where to aim it. The bigger the range extension, the narrower the beam, and the less likely it is to work on a boat at anchor. Any motion on the boat will stop that happening; possibly even people moving in the boat!
