Private WiFi Network on a boat.

Mains powered, with no external aerial - wouldn't be my first choice for a yacht. I'm just buying a Solwise external aerial and wifi receiver that will plug into a separate wireless router that I already own. Operates off 12V and if necessary the aerial can be either permanently mounted up the mast or temporarily hauled up on a spare halyard. I've not got it yet, so I don't know how well it will perform, but it should be OK.
 
We use one of these - http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/tp-link-3g4g-single-band-n150-portable-wireless-n-router-n40ql - with a 3g stick plugged in and it works fine. The "mains powered" bit is a bot of a red herring - virtually all these things are USB powered these days with a USB wall-wart supplied to power them. On a boat, you just throw that away and use a 12v USB source. I installed one of these - http://www.force4.co.uk/blue-sea-dual-usb-charger-socket.html#.Vebfz7flvDc - at our chart table - it has two USB power outlets - I use one to power the 3g router and the other is available to charge phones and MP3 players.
 
I have just invested in the following items as recommended by another forumite.

Once setup at home using a pc It becomes standalone not requiring a pc and all powered by 12v. It allows you to create a wifi hotspot on the boat to allow tablets/phones etc. to connect to.

http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/products/18180-ubiquiti-bulletm2-hp/

http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/products/3628-solwise-net-wl-ant-008on/

http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/products/15079-solwise-poe-epe1212/

The bullet is now connected to an old Talktalk modem/router.

It is easily configurable via phone/tablet on the boat to connect to any free wifi, or secure one if you have the password.

Before I could just connect across the marina but needed to be outside the boat/higher up and it took a long time to download just an email. Now I can stream BBC iplayer in HD to any device connected!

This was the guide that I used:

http://www.boatinghowto.com/content...o-ubiquiti-bullet-2hp-installation-setup-202/
 
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Yep, that's more-or-less what I've ordered, although the 'bullet' is the same spec as the Ubiquiti, but is a different make (or perhaps just labeled differently)
 
neil1967 said:
Doesn't MiFi effectively convert 3/4G into WiFi, rather than extending an existing WiFi service?
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You are correct. We need our internet connection for work and soon came to the conclusion that most marina WiFi services are not sufficiently reliable, so we went for the 3g router approach instead.
 
bobgarrett said:
Depends what you want to do. If you want to be sure of a good connection of WiFi in a marina and often beyond (eg cafe across the harbour) for a number of devices then you need an external aerial and repeater/booster. If you want to connect to 3g/4g then you need something else.
I went for the former:
http://www.crucialwifi.co.uk/Alfa_N...rine_Fibreglass_antenna/p740998_11881197.aspx
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Every time I've looked at that it's been showing as sold out, 2 months or so.
 
Buy a mini router off e bay or Banggood et al which costs about £10 and uses a micro usb plug typical of android phones ,Hudls etc.Buy a cigarette lighter plug/charger and you are away.
It can be used as a main router or as a remote booster for an existing network.Mine is to pick up wireless signal from AIS engine and receive it on my Hudl with AIS radar App.
 
salar said:
What did you want to do with it? I have a vyacht router to link NMEA signals to remote devices, iPad in my case. Well made a reasonable price.
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I have one too. Different kettle of fish. It doesn't allow you to connect out onto the internet, although I've already had crew try that. :)
 
I was pleasantly surprised to find that a hotspot creted by my mobile phone was fast enough to wacth streaming video. Luckily I had an 'all you can eat' data deal but for no capital outlay it's good enough for all my internet needs.
 
lpdsn said:
I have one too. Different kettle of fish. It doesn't allow you to connect out onto the internet, although I've already had crew try that. :)
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That's why I asked, there ar<script id="gpt-impl-0.5399507847319874" src="http://partner.googleadservices.com/gpt/pubads_impl_70r.js"></script>e two different ways of using WiFi on boat. Seems like this thread is just about getting a better internet connection rather than what I was hoping, which is using WiFi instead of hard wiring between devices. It is a slightly misleading thread title!
 
Burnham Bob said:
I was pleasantly surprised to find that a hotspot creted by my mobile phone was fast enough to wacth streaming video. Luckily I had an 'all you can eat' data deal but for no capital outlay it's good enough for all my internet needs.
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I do that too. I have 2GB for my £10/month phone contract, and only need the MiFi when that runs out.
 
neil1967 said:
Yep, that's more-or-less what I've ordered, although the 'bullet' is the same spec as the Ubiquiti, but is a different make (or perhaps just labeled differently)
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I'm pretty sure the Solwise product is an Alfa Tube in disguise, sure to extent that I have the Alfa firmware running on mine
 
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