The Wireless

[tworeefs]

Re: Any ideas for WiFi on a steel boat?

You might try asking the question to Squaremile international http://www.squaremileinternational.com/index.html . They claim to be the leaders in this field. However, I have found that they do not respond to emails and only have a premium rate phone line!!

regards,

 

[tworeefs]

Re: Any ideas for WiFi on a steel boat?

You might want to put your question on an external aerial to Square Mile International http://www.squaremileinternational.com/index.html . They profess to be the leading installers of Wi-Fi in UK marinas.

However, my experience is that that they don't respond to emails and only have a premium rate phone number!!

regards,

 

[npf1]

Re: Any ideas for WiFi on a steel boat?

You can get an external 2.4MHz antenna with a 15dB gain for about £40 incl postage on eBay. But you will need a wireless card with an antenna socket (about £30 on eBay) or modify your existing card to add an antenna socket (Google for details). Hope that helps.

 

[AndrewB]

Re: Any ideas for WiFi on a steel boat?

Thanks. I've just asked our local comms guru who says buy a separate Wi-Fi USB Network Adaptor (with antennae) for £27.90 and stick it out the window on its lead. A bit ironic when a prime consideration in the choice of my new laptop was its built-in Wi-Fi!

What do you think?

 

[TrueBlue]

Re: Any ideas for WiFi on a steel boat?

Andrew,

Simple answer is look here, but then it gets complicated -

Firstly your laptop card is unlikely to habe a removeable / screwable aerial connector, and anyway you'll probably lose too much signal (these devices run at tiny RF power levels anyway) down any length of aerial lead.

Second solution is get a "access point", stick it in a waterproof container, a plastic freezer container, or an IP66 junction box from Maplin / Farnell / electrical wholesaler, and feed it with its low voltage DC plus an ethernet cable, and pop that up your mast or whatever. Connect the other end of your ethernet cable, using a crossover adaptor into your ethernet port on the laptop.

Surely your laptop has a network connection....

For a little bit more luxury, you could connect the ethernet cable to another access point inside the boat, then you're free to roam inside the boat and have more than one person surfing at the same time.

Come to think of it you can get all the ethernet bits from Screwfix as well as the access points. The whole thing is probably less than £100.

 

[mithril]

Re: Any ideas for WiFi on a steel boat?

There are a few of us in Eastbourn with WiFi and we all find it great, as you'd expect, but reception is poor without the correct "wireless modem". /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

1) PC integrated type with PC on chart table, reception poor and sometime not possible to connect. GRP boat. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

2) As 1 but using seperate plugin unit direct to USB port, reception poor and sometime not possible to connect. Power output 0.032W. GRP boat. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

3) As 2 but with 5m extension to place modem outside. Reception good at 40m. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

4) Linksys (Cisco Systems) Network Adapter, power output 0.1W. On my GRP boat I'm getting a good signal at 50m, unit is on the chart table. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

5) As 4 but inside a steel boat needs a 5m extension cable to place the unit under the spray hood. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[npf1]

Re: Any ideas for WiFi on a steel boat?

yes, you can get an external antenna or make one yourself for next to nothing. But, you will need soemwhere to plug it into the laptop's wireless card and not many cards have antenna jacks. I've seen a few sites with instruction on how to add an antenna jack to a card that hasn't got one. Try Googling for 'wardriving' and 'yagi' and the make of your wireless card. Altenatively, buy a new card and antenna (about GBP80).

Hope that helps