Wifi / Mifi onboard device?

[StevieD]

I'm perhaps looking for something that doesn't exist - long past my personal sell by date on networking solutions, although I have a technical background.

I'm upgrading to a bigger boat, and will keep it in a marina rather than a mooring, wanting to upgrade the current electronics in the near future from seatalk etc and have the facility to be 'connected' when the teenagers are on board and the possibility of some remote monitoring with some Loran devices, perhaps Pi based victron, and nmea 2000 integration to build on some of the gear I started to amass for the smaller boat.

So I want a router that isn't going to break the bank, can run on 12v, with the option of external antennas to boost weak wifi signals as I visit marinas, and be able to switch to LTE 4g as needed in places without wifi , and be able to connect to a future cat 5 or whatever device to share the data from onboard?

What's your recommendations please? Something I can get and use for delivery trip this weekend as a router for 4g data in the channel islands as were confined to shore marina would rather than using uk data allowances be a bonus - so perhaps Amazon?

Thanks.

 

[lustyd]

Wifi on board

I answered this previously

They do now have newer models, but the concept is the same. I made a few errors early on so read all the way through. If you want very good Internet though, Starlink is your best bet these days (requires 240V or a bit of faff with power converters though)

 

[StevieD]

Wifi on board

I answered this previously

They do now have newer models, but the concept is the same. I made a few errors early on so read all the way through. If you want very good Internet though, Starlink is your best bet these days (requires 240V or a bit of faff with power converters though)

Thanks lustyd I'll read it tonight! Looks interesting....

 

[Zing]

I’m on Starlink right now. I also have data sims and MIFI devices and a Wi-Fi long range antenna. Starlink is superior.

 

[lustyd]

It’s worth understanding that while Starlink is superior for now, the service has degraded since launch and will continue to do so as users are added. This is due to service contention and there’s no solution to that unfortunately so speeds will slow and latency will rise further. The price is only going one way, and they’ve demonstrated a willingness to raise and raise again while cutting services. The RV plan is no longer usable at sea, for example and the maritime plan is extortionate.
It’s a lot less faff than changing SIM cards so for very mobile people will probably always be a nicer option but I do expect bandwidth to drop in line with 5g in the near future and limits to be placed on bandwidth.

 

[GHA]

I do all of the above plus lots lots more with a raspberry pi zero 2w apart from mobile data which goes through a mobile. And no n2k dongle. Openplotter running on the Pi creates it´s own hotspot & logs on & shares data from another wifi net/phone. Signalk running 24/7.
Seems very unlikely to need any ethernet apart from the radar going in, wireless all the way.

 

[Zing]

It’s worth understanding that while Starlink is superior for now, the service has degraded since launch and will continue to do so as users are added. This is due to service contention and there’s no solution to that unfortunately so speeds will slow and latency will rise further. The price is only going one way, and they’ve demonstrated a willingness to raise and raise again while cutting services. The RV plan is no longer usable at sea, for example and the maritime plan is extortionate.
It’s a lot less faff than changing SIM cards so for very mobile people will probably always be a nicer option but I do expect bandwidth to drop in line with 5g in the near future and limits to be placed on bandwidth.

I agree, speeds will worsen and price will adjust to match demand. What happened to RV use? It’s working fine at sea now. (Not been too far out though).

 

[Richard10002]

This looks like it would do the job.... WiFi and 4G. I'd guess the aerials can be replaced with a connection to external.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8652814

 

[lustyd]

What happened to RV use? It’s working fine at sea now. (Not been too far out though)

Being disabled for offshore use. It was never fully offshore capable anyway as that required the multi-hop laser links which aren't yet in most of the satelites. It's controlled by a geofence in the hardware right now from what I can tell and from reports it disables traffic at 12 miles off shore around the US, although reports of cross channel working are out there too so who knows what the current limits are. It looks as though this will change to the limit of the "cell" nearest shore as they change the service. As they introduce the laser links they've brought in a maritime version which is considerably more expensive, presumably aimed at cruise ships and cargo shipping. I can see why they can't realistically have a version for sailors as then it would be hard to justify the price of the maritime one.

 

[SimonD]

This looks like it would do the job.... WiFi and 4G. I'd guess the aerials can be replaced with a connection to external.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8652814

That's what I've got and it works a treat and easy to set up. I haven't fitted an external aerial as it seems to work fine without (except in Newton Ferrers where nothing works!)

 

[lustyd]

That's what I've got and it works a treat and easy to set up. I haven't fitted an external aerial as it seems to work fine without (except in Newton Ferrers where nothing works!)

The external aerial isn't there to be outside, it's there to be up high. This is line of sight, so reception is considerably better up the mast, especially at low water springs in a good anchorage.

 

[SimonD]

The external aerial isn't there to be outside, it's there to be up high. This is line of sight, so reception is considerably better up the mast, especially at low water springs in a good anchorage.

Thanks, that's useful information. My router is mounted as high as possible in the saloon. An external aerial would only be a couple of feet higher if I put it outside (no mast...) so I won't bother.

 

[lustyd]

If you have no mast then there will be little difference other than in very weak signal areas. The main benefit is where you are in a strong signal area and lose line of sight. If a motor boat you can mount on a pole, which will be of benefit in anchorages with hills either side, or if your marina at low tide is a bit low compared to the land.