On-board coms - Chartplotting, email, web browsing

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blackfish

Well-Known Member
Joined
1 Jun 2004
Messages
258
Location
West Wales
open.academia.edu
I've not been on this forum for a very long time now, so forgive me if this topic has been done to death recently. I've been very happy with my old Garmin handheld GPS (hardly a chartplotter), but it's interfaced to the tiller pilot and works well. I want to be able to search the web from onboard, get to email and I feel it's time to have some real chartplotting capability too. What's the best solution? Dedicated chartplotter and an iPhone? Some kind of laptop setup? I sail the west coast of Wales, Irish Sea, so mobile coverage is not brilliant. Views would be welcome.
 
We used a Vodafone USB datacard for our trip from Holyhead to Brittany last summer and I was quite impressed at the coverage, not universal of course but actually not too bad if you’re less then 5m offshore. Around Anglesey it’s generally quite good. Getting internet access a few miles offshore or anchored in a quiet bay is quite something.

It’s mostly '2G' (GPRS) speeds although when you do get a 3G network (need to be near a decently sized town) it's impressively fast. The deal was £25 per month but I note is now down to £15 per month. You also have to pay something up-front for the USB stick with that amount depending on the length of the contract you’re willing to take out. Hence it's not exactly cheap but for me it's currently the most convenient system. It makes the £10 a month I was paying to Square Mile a few years ago for just marina access seem pricey in comparison. I’ll be renewing in the next month and note they now have a faster data card although speed always depends on the network you’re connected to of course!

I think ‘3’ do a cheaper deal but I suspect their coverage along the coast will be pretty poor. If you go with this system you need to pick one of the major suppliers or you may be disappointed at the coverage.

One final word of warning is the price abroad. We ran up a £100 bill for 2 weeks in France as this isn’t covered under the basic data contract. If you do cross the Channel it’s more cost effective to log onto marina WiFi which seems reasonably common. It's also no good for offshore work of course but for coastal cruising it's actually quite a good solution.
 
I'm grateful for that. My son is touring the country with a band at the moment and getting good mobile results with browsing, but he's (nearly) always in an area of good network coverage. I don't really need offshore coverage, so your suggestion is probably good for us. Thanks again.
 
I use T-Mobile web n walk for all my internet stuff, (home and away), and get 10Gb per month for £35. They also do a 3Gb per month for £20.

A mate has just subscribed to Vodaphone 3Gb per month and got an Express card free with a 12 month contract.

3 have a 3Gb per month deal for either £10 or £15
 
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