Wifi Booster Recommendations

[hinch]

That one is very interesting with GPS tracking. You could have an anchorwatch feature (potentially) configured to text you which is useful and unfortunately all the Google Playstore Apps have had to remove this feature on Google's conditions.

more importantly for me is it holds a site to site vpn open so i can work from the boat without fannying around and the boat can relay status information back to me at home things like home automation thermostats etc are remote controlled from here etc and with an external high gain antenna it got a very impressive range on it still getting good signal.

 

[BruceK]

The other will do that too, same OS. The USP of yours is that GPS and of course convenient size

 

[hinch]

downside to mikrotik os's despite being the "same" they do struggle for consistency between hardware devices so while the more consumer shiney white thing does do "vpn" what it doesn't tell you is that its quite unstable and throughput is terrible even when it is connected the more embedded / industrial version no issues.

I did also try a couple of other remote worker/lte products before settling on that little black thing but for what it costs its by far the most feature rich and stable out of all the platforms I tested.

 

[BruceK]

Yes I did get the impression the OS may be better than the hardware. (as above to Vas)

 

[vas]

very interesting info hinch, much appreciated.
tbh, although I like the white/silver shiny one, my lower helm where it's going to go (if visible and not inside a cabinet) is all black uphostery, so a white thing will look awful. Further VPN is an issue!
Black box is fine though and according to you better setup and worth buying

care to point at what antenna you bought for it? I have a silly small (10euro 10yrs ago...) I doubt it's worth fitting, right?
With a lot of hassle i could get an antenna to the f/b hardtop so say 5+m from sealevel. I wonder if it's worth the hassle or I should fit an antenna at the lower helm coachroof (say 3+m from sealevel)
Problem is that signal down here in Gr and in the isles I frequent is not impressive to non-existant in the best places, so I'd love to improve that.
OTOH, cannot think of a use for the GPS unless the raspberry pi next to it (they'll have to connect via ethernet) could get the info and add it to the data it will be sending to Victron

cheers

V.

 

[Hurricane]

I've been using one of these for about 3 years now.

D-Link DWR-921 4G LTE Router N300 4G Router 5x Fast Ethernet ports DWR-921/B 790069393532 | eBay

IMO, better than a MiFi - uses MIMO technology - I have had incredibly fast connections from it (upwards of 55Mbs).
But these days the local Vodafone network can only manage about 15 Mbps.
However, the connection is good and stable.
I use it as an "always on" service.
It has been on virtually all the time since I bought it 3 or 4 years ago,

@vas
I connect to my Victron Solar MPPT controller using Victron Connect from my onboard PC.
Because the internet is "always on" on the boat, I can remotely start the PC and using remote desktop software, I can access the Victron Connect software.
The MPPT is connected to the batteries so I get a readout of the battery state from home.

 

[vas]

thanks Mike,

that's the idea, a raspberry pi running Victron's OS Venus, connected to the MPPT controller, the battery monitor and the Multiplus inverter/charger. So pi is configured to send data to VRM every 5 or 10mins (tried one min, a bit silly tbh), me being at home can watch the data, spot any issues (and walk down the road to the boat to sort them )

However, if I go normal LTE router, I'd probably go for TP-Link as I'm so used to their configuration, similar options similar price

cheers

V.

 

[hinch]

don't know the antenna model number unfortunately its just something i found spare in the server room in the office and i'm not allowed back to the boat for at least another week

 

[vas]

don't know the antenna model number unfortunately its just something i found spare in the server room in the office and i'm not allowed back to the boat for at least another week

an active thing or something like this:
Magnetic SMA Male GSM GPRS Magnetic Antenna 7dBi 900/1800MHz with 3m Cable BSG | eBay

(if so, I have one on the boat already...)

V.

 

[Whitlock]

Just get a MiFi.

Your marina might be different, but I have never once come across decent marina wifi .

Me neither. I got a MiFi from Vodafone and I get a strong signal wherever I go (UK). Good to put in your pocket and take on train and car journeys, as well.

 

[Bigplumbs]

All of the 4G solutions you mention are somewhat assuming you get a good 4g signal at your marina. This is often not the case. If so a wifi extender plugged into your boat would help but it is best in a position sort of in the middle of your boat and the last Wifi mast. You cant really boost a signal that is already weak. If say you are getting 5/10 at the mid point you could extend to 5/10 at your boat. But if you are getting 2 at your boat it will only extend to 2 all around your boat.

Many people call these devices boosters but they dont boost they extend. You can get 4g ariels in the uk that boost (These are illegal though) but you have to chose the correct one that works for the frequancy of your mast and phone.

Finally if you get a good 4g signal why not just get an unlimited sim in your phone and use it as a wifi hot spot.

The other issue of course is that if you want one running while you are not on the boat (for cameras or similar) you need to have the boat permanatly plugged into the mains...... I know many do this but personally I dont like my boat being plugged in while unattended..........

 

[hinch]

an active thing or something like this:
Magnetic SMA Male GSM GPRS Magnetic Antenna 7dBi 900/1800MHz with 3m Cable BSG | eBay

(if so, I have one on the boat already...)

V.

its more like this LPO6160-WB-SMSM - 5G 4G LTE Compact Wall-Mount Omni Antenna not entirely sure its marine friendly but there are marine specific versions. (note this isn't the exact version i'm using I don't think anyway but looks similar)

 

[vas]

its more like this LPO6160-WB-SMSM - 5G 4G LTE Compact Wall-Mount Omni Antenna not entirely sure its marine friendly but there are marine specific versions. (note this isn't the exact version i'm using I don't think anyway but looks similar)

hm, that's what I DIDN'T want to see, 70quid for an antenna, I may have to skip that and see how it performs with the onboard antennas of the mifi
need to study a bit re materials and propagation of GSM Edge/LTE signal through different materials before I invest in something like that and decide fixing position and cable routing.

thanks!

V.

 

[Hurricane]

its more like this LPO6160-WB-SMSM - 5G 4G LTE Compact Wall-Mount Omni Antenna not entirely sure its marine friendly but there are marine specific versions. (note this isn't the exact version i'm using I don't think anyway but looks similar)

I think that would be perfectly fine for marine use.

I installed one of these 3 or 4 years ago with my DWR-921 4G Router
Omni Directional 4G 3G LTE MIMO Outdoor External Antenna Huawei B535 Three SMA | eBay
Works fine - not a huge improvement over the internal antenna but worth fitting.
My connection generally works about 12nm away from land.

Here is a photo of its location.

 

[mparrish]

confused? you mean the MikroTik?
if so you probably mean external GSM antenna, no gps? else i'm missing something!

Sorry Vas - forgot to put the link in for the device I was referring too - doh !
Teltonika RUT955

It has LTE, Wifi, Router, GPS, etc. Been really impressed with it. It's even able to be setup to run on mains power when connected and failover to 12v vie POE when off mains shore power. Has GPS with geofencing, so acts as a boat tracker too. We purchased an external antenna for it which improves on the signals for GSM/LTE, GPS and Wifi because you can better position the antenna in a more appropriate location (higher up in the boat). The problem I experienced with the old MIFi type boxes previously (huawei and TP-link) is that they would freeze when left for long periods of time - meaning that the boat monitoring systems (Camera, temperature,etc) wouldn't be accessible remotely. The Teltonika router has been brilliant - reliable. Can even reboot it by sending it a text message (not actually needed so far). Definitely worth a look.

 

[Simi]

Try WiFi on board they do boosters and WiFi which is very good