Less costly, but adequate WiFi/Cellular Setup?

[Chotu]

Every time you look at this, it changes. So I’m going to ask a fresh question here.

Getting ready to go aboard soon and I currently use my “unlimited” cellular data that stops at 20GB of data. That’s not too bad because I can pull up right next to something with good Wi-Fi and use that occasionally. Not the same on the boat.

So…

I need to accomplish a couple of tasks:

1) a WiFi antenna and/or amplifier that can pull in the Starbucks WiFi from the anchorage. Should be very easy and quick to switch target Wi-Fi networks. I don’t want the kind where you have to log into the settings and scan and try to find the network. I should be able to switch easily like I can on any computer I am using. Does this exist? And not that expensive?

2) a WiFi LAN around the boat

3) ability to switch over to my cellular plan and an antenna/amplifier for the cell signal also.

* I don’t need automatic fail over. I can just decide which one to use at which time. I am more than happy to just simply switch over from Wi-Fi to cellular manually. Nothing I do is synchronous like zoom calls. Those are very infrequent for me. If ever. I try to avoid them like the plague.

I am trying to keep costs as low as possible while achieving those goals above. Any advice on some hardware?

[stevead]

Check out Onboard Wireless. The company is owned by Doug Miller who used to own Milltech Marine, a highly regarded supplier of AIS equipment.

[flightlead404]

I have a ubiquiti bullet with an external antenna. I use that on WAN side of a linksys wr54 router (loaded with dd-wrt firmware but that is immaterial).

I use a PoE injector to power the ubiquiti. Everything in the boat connects to the linksys router (selected because its cheap, uses 12v directly, has 4 port switch and can run dd-wrt)

Plan was to use the ubiquiti to connect to marina and other wifi directly when available and then use the ubiquiti to connect to my verizon hotspot device when needing to use cell service. I could even haul the hotspot device to the masthead with a spare halyard.

the ubiquiti is frankly, disappointing and I don't recommend one. It constantly drops off wifi networks and does not reconnect. This is true even when my laptops and phones etc can connect to the wifi just fine and stay connected for days at a time, the ubiquiti just drops after a few minutes and never reconnects.

there are likely other devices that will do the same as I had expected the ubiquiti to do, no first hand knowledge of them.

[Chotu]

OK. Thanks for the responses. Wasn’t specifically looking for anything marine related. This stuff doesn’t matter if it’s marine or not. I am imagine the marine ones carry quite a price tag.

Decades ago I used to have an illegal WiFi amp and a large omnidirectional antenna.

I could pull in libraries and Starbucks and things like that.

It was a pain in the neck to use because it was really difficult to select the Wi-Fi network. You had to go into the bios of the thing. It also had one short coming. It didn’t work very well in a rolly Anchorage. The Omni directional beam is pretty narrow. So sometimes it would point at the sky or at the water if the boat was really rocking.

[sailorboy1]

Haven't used my wifi bullet extender in years now. Even if you can find an unsecured wifi the speed is so low it is worthless. This includes lots/most marinas with their "free wifi". 6 years ago the bullet seemed useful, but 2 years later it was worthless at same places it had worked before. It is basically dinosaur technology now days.

Instead we have been using our phones and unlimited data the past 4 years (if you have a 20GB slowdown you don't have an unlimited data plan). 2 phones with T-Mobile are costing us $97/mo. We stream from phones to TV under our unlimited data and use our 50GB each hotspot for laptops.

But today I ordered the Starlink RV system and once that is installed am going to change to a basic cell plan

[Cheyne]

Our boat had a bullet and cell booster on it when we bought it. Both were pretty much worthless. Cell booster barely gave us an extra bar. The bullet would always disconnect from what ever wifi we were trying to use. I removed both and they hit a dumpster.
Instead we put on Starlink RV with a MoFi 5500 router. We have a Verizon sim in the MoFi and will pry add one from BTC when we get to the Bahamas as a backup.

[rslifkin]

I use a Pepwave Max Transit router onboard and a Mikrotik Groove for wifi. T-Mobile SIM card in the Pepwave ($50/month for 100GB) and then outside wifi brought in through the Groove. Whenever there's wifi I can connect to, that's what we use. When there isn't or it drops out, it switches to the cell connection.



Depending on what your exact needs are and your budget, you can get fancier versions of the same. You can also have multiple cell connections from different carriers for more data and more reliability.

[sailingharry]

We have a bullet. It came with the boat and I have played with it occasionally, but never been able to make it work. The learning curve is pretty steep.

We carry a household Wi-Fi range extender that we found fairly useful this summer in rural Canada. Put it on a extension cord and hoisted 10 ft in the air, and we could get the Wendy Wi-Fi from the harbor authority and we broadcast it for use below decks. For the $20 or $50 that it cost, it was a pretty useful tool. Did require a hard reset and reconfiguring through the setup tool at each new location, but pretty painless.

We also installed a MIMO cell antenna. About 2" in diameter and 2 ft long, with two antenna cables (to keep losses low, I bought one foot antenna cables and would connect the hotspot directly under the antenna when in use). This coupled with a hotspot that can use external antennas gave us data in places where cell service and the hotspot without the boosted antenna was worthless. Antenna was close to $200, and the hotspot on eBay for another $50.

We rarely went more than a day or two without finding one way or another to get to the internet.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by sailingharry

We have a bullet. It came with the boat and I have played with it occasionally, but never been able to make it work. The learning curve is pretty steep.

We carry a household Wi-Fi range extender that we found fairly useful this summer in rural Canada. Put it on a extension cord and hoisted 10 ft in the air, and we could get the Wendy Wi-Fi from the harbor authority and we broadcast it for use below decks. For the $20 or $50 that it cost, it was a pretty useful tool. Did require a hard reset and reconfiguring through the setup tool at each new location, but pretty painless.

We also installed a MIMO cell antenna. About 2" in diameter and 2 ft long, with two antenna cables (to keep losses low, I bought one foot antenna cables and would connect the hotspot directly under the antenna when in use). This coupled with a hotspot that can use external antennas gave us data in places where cell service and the hotspot without the boosted antenna was worthless. Antenna was close to $200, and the hotspot on eBay for another $50.

We rarely went more than a day or two without finding one way or another to get to the internet.

Yes. This is the kind of thing I was shooting for.

I guess the Wi-Fi is fast again because it sounds like nobody is using it anymore. Ha ha. As I have traveled around the country I have found Wi-Fi to be plenty fast for me. Much faster than my phone is.

Connecting to Wendy’s, libraries, Starbucks, McDonald’s, etc. Those are pretty nice. I have used them extensively when in need of really fast connections while traveling.

It would be much more simple to go with just a cellular plan and something to boost the signal and get data where you normally can’t. Especially since you have to pay for the cellular plan anyway.

[goboatingnow]

My lTE phone easily beats most wifi these days.

[rslifkin]

WiFi at marinas and that you can pick up from an anchorage is hit or miss. Some places have great connections and put some effort into their wifi infrastructure to keep performance up with lots of people connected. Others are anywhere from kinda slow to total crap that's not worth using.

[chubby]

get a 5g modem designed for vehicles..
..ideally with dual sim card slots.


lots of digital nomads working in RVs and in motorboats nowadaays... now is easier to stau connected than ever



you can find options that are "less costly".. to more costly options(but affordable) providing "bullet proof" solutions that will give you great connections..anywhere (ie starlink combined with local unlimited plan options)

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by chubby

get a 5g modem designed for vehicles..
..ideally with dual sim card slots.


lots of digital nomads working in RVs and in motorboats nowadaays... now is easier to stau connected than ever



you can find options that are "less costly".. to more costly options(but affordable) providing "bullet proof" solutions that will give you great connections..anywhere (ie starlink combined with local unlimited plan options)

Agree I just fitted a dual SIM RUT955 for that purpose