Useless marina WIFI

[prv]

But if you are swopping countries every few days over a fortnights holiday-- ???
ie france belgium holland - poss with the channel islands thrown in for good luck then back to uk
With EE that would be £30-00 per country

With Vodafone it's £3 per day that you use your phone in a European country (and they count the channel islands as European) and then the cost of calls/data/etc is exactly the same as in the UK. Which country you're in makes no difference.

Pete

 

[prv]

However, it must be possible to assist the signal aquisition by doing something at my Ipad end of the circuit

Depends whether the problem is the link from the marina network to your iPad, or from the rest of the Internet to the marina. The first one you can probably fix with some additional hardware, the second is out of your control. Your post is pretty vague about which problem you're experiencing (unable to get a connection to the network, or once connected you only get a trickle of data) but it sounds more like the latter and that also matches the other descriptions in this thread, including from someone in the business.

So in summary, no, there is nothing technical you can do to improve the situation. Most marinas seem to have settled for providing a **** service, and if you want to use wifi then you're stuck with it. The cool kids are ignoring marina wifi and switching to mobile technology instead as that improves.

Pete

 

[Tempus]

So most users agree with my first post -- it's a lottery!!!!

However, it must be possible to assist the signal aquisition by doing something at my Ipad end of the circuit & nobody has actually come up with the " idiots " guide in any of the above posts

so come on -- here is a challenge to the techies -- what do I do ( says he trying to get free info)

What I do is:

Have a BT Home hub at home, which allows me free BT wifi in the UK, and to access the "fon" network abroad
A "Ubiquiti Bullet" up high, connected to a simple Netgear home router in the boat - although many on this forum swear by Alfa's version of this set-up which appears to be simpler to use.

This allows us to "sniff out" lots of wifi stations and jump on the best.

I then have a simple 4g "mifi". When I can't get decent free wifi I simply jump the wifi onto this circuit so it all works the same (I could just log straight onto the mifi, but I'd have to set kids ipads, kindles etc up on this)

All works really well. THe mifi has excellent battery power so you can leave it up on deck if needed.
We tend to be in France and CI so just have a French sim. I'm told EE is better for roaming, but leave that to others.

There have been numerous threads on setting up a boat wifi system. Fewer on the sim route. Lots of v expensive Marinised kit which allows wifi or Sims, but my "mifi" was £50 from Amazon, my bullet was £90 and my router was £29. Networking together took an evening. Against that £600+ looks dear.

All the best

 

[prv]

What I do is:

Have a BT Home hub at home, which allows me free BT wifi in the UK, and to access the "fon" network abroad
A "Ubiquiti Bullet" up high, connected to a simple Netgear home router in the boat - although many on this forum swear by Alfa's version of this set-up which appears to be simpler to use.

This allows us to "sniff out" lots of wifi stations and jump on the best.

I then have a simple 4g "mifi". When I can't get decent free wifi I simply jump the wifi onto this circuit so it all works the same (I could just log straight onto the mifi, but I'd have to set kids ipads, kindles etc up on this)

All works really well. THe mifi has excellent battery power so you can leave it up on deck if needed.
We tend to be in France and CI so just have a French sim. I'm told EE is better for roaming, but leave that to others.

There have been numerous threads on setting up a boat wifi system. Fewer on the sim route. Lots of v expensive Marinised kit which allows wifi or Sims, but my "mifi" was £50 from Amazon, my bullet was £90 and my router was £29. Networking together took an evening. Against that £600+ looks dear.

All the best

Just to clarify one more thing about this comprehensive answer - it seems to be mostly aimed at ignoring the marina wifi, as I suggested, and pulling in whatever other signals may be available.

Pete

 

[RobbieW]

...I then have a simple 4g "mifi". When I can't get decent free wifi I simply jump the wifi onto this circuit so it all works the same (I could just log straight onto the mifi, but I'd have to set kids ipads, kindles etc up on this)...

Could you connect your MiFi into your Netgear router and simplify the connections to the boat WiFi? Thats the setup I have though my MiFi is a combination of a dongle and TPlink MR3020 connected to the central router (ASUS RTN16). Similar costs to yours and very flexible, changing from 3G to WiFi involves replugging an ethernet cable in the central router and hoisting the Bullet up a flag halyard.

 

[Giblets]

With Vodafone it's £3 per day that you use your phone in a European country (and they count the channel islands as European) and then the cost of calls/data/etc is exactly the same as in the UK. Which country you're in makes no difference.

Pete

Out of interest, Pete, do Vodafone class "use" as when the phone is physically turned on but no calls/data used?

 

[prv]

Out of interest, Pete, do Vodafone class "use" as when the phone is physically turned on but no calls/data used?

They mean calls or data - though if you have a smartphone and want to save your £3, you need to be a little careful. It could well be using data without you realising it.

Personally, given the relatively short times I spend abroad, I just crack on and use my phone as if at home.

Pete

 

[auditdata]

Basic Human Needs

 

[johnalison]

I am always so grateful for free wifi in any marina that I am usually happy to tolerate intermittent, or no service, or having to sit on a bench in the loo block, as at St Cast.

 

[Giblets]

View attachment 45657

You've forgotten "shore power"!

 

[Mudisox]

+1
Used it in Brittany all season,- great if only the phone was better! Also try the Visitor Info centre, or port office which will often allow you to use the wifi in the building itself.

 

[prv]

You've forgotten "shore power"!

Since installing a battery bank that weighs about the same as I do (and I'm no lightweight), that's actually gone way down my list of requirements. To the point that I frequently don't bother to plug in even if it's available.

Pete