What's everyone using for wifi?

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THATBOATGUY
Posts: 574
Joined: Thu Dec 04, 2008 9:50 am
Location: F40 CC CK Maryland
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Re: What's everyone using for wifi?

Post by THATBOATGUY »

Apparently it's the 2HP that I need to check out. Unfortunately if I spend another nickle on wifi gear any time soon my wife may kill me. heh heh (furiously looking for something to ebay). The 2HP is up to 1 watt on 802.11 b/g. The 5HP is a 5ghz radio.

George
George and Kerri Huffman S/V Marquesa Freedom 40 CC CK Sail MarquesaImage

Cloud 9
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:51 am

Re: What's everyone using for wifi?

Post by Cloud 9 »

Some tips for wifi access. Rock solid communication over any 802.X network usually needs be done with line of sight between the two antennas. Your typical inhome wireless router is not made to have a range of much more than 50 feet inside a building.

For those of you who need a device which provides a rock solid connection for long distances try using a demarctech antenna: http://www.demarctech.com/products/reli ... pg-15a.htm. It has a direct ethernet handoff! Plug the cat-5 into your laptop and off you go. What's better is you can plug it into a wireless router and become an access point for your crew and neighboring vessels if you like. There are some downsides. The antenna is directional and needs to be pointed towards the source if it is not close by. Every time you connect to a new access point configuration takes a couple of minutes to complete. Another thing that makes this product great is there is no need to run expensive high quality coax. Most people do not understand the importance of using hi quality and proper sized coax such as LMR cable. The demartech unit eliminates this completely. I installed over two hundred of these antennas at my former wireless company and they are very reliable.

For shorter distances a linksys usb adapter works well: http://www.linksysbycisco.com/US/en/products/Adapters. For belowdecks use you need to have the antenna sitting on deck and get yourself a 10 or fifteen foot usb cable for good performance. You won't be completely wireless due to the usb cable but it does work well.

These days I have Verizon wireless card built in to my laptop and it works great. A friend who lives in a fringe area bought a signal enhancing product from a company called cellular solutions. http://www.mycellularsolutions.com/mobilesystem.html These units boost your signal incredibly and cost around $300.00. I'll let you know how well it works once I get one installed.

Cheers,

Gordon

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JimD
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Dec 15, 2008 1:38 pm

Re: What's everyone using for wifi?

Post by JimD »

:lol: If your looking for a simple solution try Verizon's VZ Access Manger. Either a card or your cell phone. It ain't cheap but works if your within cell range. I opted to use my phone so that I can turn off the service when the boat is on the hard. As a byproduct the phone gets charged while your hooked up.

Jim Demerest
F36/38 Lady of Remes

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