WIFI

It can be brilliant, but setting up WiFi in a marina is problematic. The marina where we are now in Turkey set it all up in the summer and everything worked perfectly. Then, in the autumn, all these totally unreasonable people came in with boats that had large metal poles sticking up into the sky and it messed all the signals up. Well - who would have thought of that!!

So long as it will work where you boat is and the price is right it is first class. Most of the marinas here in Turkey charge €1 per day which is comparable to broadband at home. When you compare that to an Internet Cafe at €3 per hour it has to be good value.

I have just bought a high-power WiFi Card that with a socket for an external aerial. Details here
 
We have it in Spain, using it right now...
If it's Ahora net thats doing it they are very good.
Just make sure you can contact the installers, co's when its just set up you can get a few teething troubles.
We find its quite fast usually as good as broadband, but of course that depends on the local line quality.
We have a choice with Ahora Net to log off when we dont want it (and dont pay) & use of any other area that they cover included. We also have a choice of 24/7 use for about 39euros a month or midday friday to midday monday for I think 24euros. There is a one off set up charge and you buy their external arial (about the size of a fag packet). We run two businesses so use the 24/7.
Just depends on how much you have a need for if really...
 
Range ; nominally 400metres on line of sight so you're half mile might be a bit iffy - but it might work; just try it.

Your laptop might have built in wifi. External card will be better - this is the kind of card you should be looking for http://www.dlink.com/products/?sec=1&pid=268

If you're after international telephone calls from laptop to phone or laptop to laptop (free!!!) then look at Skype - brilliant!!

There are other threads on the forum re wifi

I'm using wifi in Marina de Denia - supplier is Wlan-International; works fine for me
 
been having problems with marina wifi at limehouse in london. we are in a corbner and it keeps dropping. Tried airbridge connector and still not great -- we are only 100 yards from the xmitter. Found a company that does a 12.5 db directional aerial. will try that next cost about £35 and can capture signals within 80 degrees arc. pole mount included so will put it on a rail and twist it to point at xmitter.

it's primary use is for lomg distance building to building links

I have had quotes for omni directional aerials for £150 -- way too much I think, but it could go up the mast

been told to fit a wifi card that has a trannsmission power of 27 DbM or better.

The aerials are on sale on ebay.
 
If you don't use any encryption, then yes. All commercial networks should have encrypted connections. You can make the connection extremely secure, by only allowing connection from computers with specific Mac addresses. Quite a complicated area to discuss succintly though.
 
writing ,via wifi, from st maartens,caribbean. Fantastic free wifi here, so makes using skype an amazing deal. External card and ariel essential or else you will bw operating below sea level! Cost us $55 in local store and easy to use although weather conditions have an effect on connection. Can usually get on net though, not always able to connect to skype. we are about 500 yards from source but other boats further away still connect, again depends on weather conditions, very good tonoght! Clear skies and 75 degrees at nearly 11pm!
 
Its brill, I'm using it right now here in Eastbourne UK. I think we get 2Meg speeds and even greater, well thats what my little icon says. Either way its fantastically fast.

Get a external unit with a 2m USB cable tho , so you can place it in a position with good signal. These little things which are fully self contained and plug into the USB port have such a poor internal aerial they only work to about 20m.
 
Best device I have found is an Airbridge Indoor from Smartbridges http://www.802distribution.co.uk/smartbridges.asp?section=products&id=airBridge Its expensive but reliable and gets a connection when nothing else worked

It is an external 12 volt powered device and connects to the PC by ethernet

In Haslar Marina its the only chance of a decent connection as all the masts upset the signal. You can use an external directional aerial, I just uise a long ehternet cable and sit the device on top of the book where it has a clearer sight of the transmitter

Using this device I have had a good (free) connection on the holding pontoon in St Peter Port Harbour and also in Camber Dock Portsmouth and most times when i am travelling and in a hotel it picks up at least one unprotected network where I can get access
 
Its a standalone wireless ethernet card - it doesn't require your computer to connect, but then gives you a wired connection to your laptop - via the ethernet port. I use the same technique at work where I needed to connect two buildings together, but was too expensive to do via cable...

Oh - and 802.11b gives a max 11Mb .. as most internet connections are less than this then 802.11b is plenty fast enough and the vast majority of transmiter stations are compatible....
 
Absolutely, 802.11b is faster than most broadband connections available to the public.

I've recommended this spec to various friends and family installing wifi at home, and traceroutes show that the broadband connection is the bottleneck, not the 802.11b wifi connection. It also as you say connects quite happily to just about any network, public or private.

It's also cheaper to buy than 802.11g and definitely not obsolescent
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

B
MFD / Network / NMEA Question.
Replies
5
Views
200
Blue Seas
B
Ian_Edwards
AA lthium replacement batteries?
Replies
10
Views
357
Iliade
Iliade

Share this page

Top