Fred
I would get a access point that can be used as a bridge set it up so that you connect the bridge to the marina wifi and then connect your laptop to the access point. The access points are stronger then the built-in antenna in the laptop and all you have to do is set it on top of the dodger and wifi yourself to death.
I use the same IBM laptop as yours and I can connect to the Rock Hall YC access point (at least a 1/2 mile away) if I am sitting in the cockpit rather down below. I have an a D-Link and will take it down to MD on the next visit and see if I can get it setup.
Finally we got her up and running. At the moment I have the Engenious upstairs and associated with an open wifi network that we could not hook up to with any other combination of equipment we have. Not even my snazzy ravioli cantenna and the new 400 mw usb adapter. This proves out the performance of the radio gear. Unfortunately it’s every bit as clunky an interface as Geoff points out and even worse! But we also have it hooked up to a linksys router to re-distribute wifi throughout our house. I can even use it out in the shop.
I finally gave up on the Engenious router. We will use it on the pump house down on the dock to tie our security cams into the internet.
Instead, we are now running a Linksys WRT54G router with DD-WRT firmware. What a huge difference in usability. I’ll have to watertight box the router to keep the coax run to the antennas down to a minimum but another advantage of running DD-WRT is that I can software select which antenna I want to use. So we can have the Yagi as an option and the Omni as a primary antenna. We don’t even have to have a permanent Ethernet cable hooked up because now that the software is up and running I can get to the gui via wifi. I’ve set up a secure virtual router that effectively gives us our own wifi network aboard without having a second physical device and I have that secured.
It’s been a long trip, but I believe we have finally got there. The system has been running stable for two weeks now (knock on wood as it seems that boast-posting here seems to be the kiss of death!).
And the next project is to build that omni antenna! heh heh
I’m curious as to your experience with the WRT54G. I used 1 for a while (actually have an additional one for backup), but wasn’t happy with the range. You really can’t crank up the output wattage without destroying the signal quality according to what I’ve read.
I’m getting good range by not cranking up the power too much. Using good antennas instead. In fact signal distortion is a problem with most transmitters running up the power. Compared with the Engenious which has wonderful radio gear, the WRT54G set at 89mw is outperforming it hands down. It’s been running rock solid now for over 2 weeks. With the WRT54G you have another problem which is that apparently at the 251mw output they tend to… melt. So keeping it cool and dry might be a problem for most people. I’m still open for suggestions but I’m probably not going to run with anything I can use third party software on. We might end up with some Buffalo gear.
Today I got my stuff from Tower Hobie and an electronics supply house and I’ll be building my first Omni Antenna. I’ll report back on that soon.
My issue was that I had a good antenna and I could hear the base station, but they couldn’t hear me…or at least that was my impression. Many marinas/homes use the little antennas that come with the router and don’t have good (external) antennas. I could pick them up, but not visa-versa. Once I increased my transmit power, my range increased markedly. My longest distance connect was about 3 miles off-shore while cruising along the coast of Nova Scotia this past summer.
Next up for you inspection would be the WiliGear WBD500. Also, Bullet 5 and Bullet 5HP are two different products. The HP has a 1 watt radio. I didn’t know about the “a” only. Maybe the HP does “g”. I’ll be checking into that.
In general, cranking up the power is not a substitute for a good antenna. The problem is noise and noise degrades the digital signal and noise is a problem with a weak signal, amplify this signal and you amplify the noise and can potentially degrade the signal further.
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.
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/reliawave-rwo/rwo-plus-hpg-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.
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.
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.