# Wifi



## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

I'm looking into options for getting long range Wifi on the boat. I was going to order a 5milewifi based on the PS report, but then discovered that it won't work with my Macbook. Did an internet search and came up with a couple more possibilities and I'm wondering if anyone has any feedback on them before I order one. My son has Radio Labs system and it seems to work, but it's a little fussy to set up and I'm not sure about the range. He's in the Bahama's and it's working OK for him but I'm not sure it works with Mac. The other poss. is Wifi Signal King, the 4 watt and the 3.8 watt systems which do work on Mac and and Windows and seem to be plug and play systems. Anyone have one? Any other possibilities out there? Thanks.


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## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

We've got a Port Networks MWB-250 wifi unit. It's definitely expensive, but I absolutely love it. We get wifi signals at a great range with the antenna permanently mounted on our spreaders and the software is pretty easy to use. We combine it with a Kyocera KR2 wireless router for the inside of the boat allowing us to 1) Use Verizon Wireless Broadband as a backup connection, and 2) Connect multiple wireless laptops to everything.


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

Thanks for the info. Labatt. I'll check those out. Do you think it would work very well mounted at deck level in the cockpit, I don't see the spreader option working for us right now. Hey, Ben and Kristen are in the Exumas near Georgetown having a blast and your Autohelm is working great!


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## labatt (Jul 31, 2006)

Glad to hear the Autohelm is working well. I was disappointed to see it go - I should have bought a new wheel mechanism for it, but I didn't think about buying it used - just the $450 price tag that Raymarine wanted for the repair of my unit. As I was walking out of Bacons a few days after Ben and Kristen bought it one of the guys tells me that he would have sold me his wheelpilot for $75! Oh well, live and learn.

We're still stuck in Velcro Beach, but we're ripping ourselves out of here early next week after the Miami boat show.

With regards to the wifi unit working at deck level - any unit will work there, but the higher you raise the antenna the better the signal will be. I've talked to a few people who raise the antenna on a halyard. Port Networks also makes a "portable" unit called the MWB-200 which is meant more for a single computer and is half the price of the 250. I wanted the permanent mount and looked at a bunch of options, and liked this particular unit.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Our friends in Mexico have had good success using a wifi antenna "Sigma 6" purchased at Custom Marine Electronics in San Diego, around $200USD, I believe.
I get the impression, though, that you're trying to set up something more sophisticated.


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

Faster- no, not looking for anything sophisticated, just reliable and powerful enough to connect when at anchor in a harbor (and it has to work on my Mac). I'll check out what your friends have. Thanks for the suggestion


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## normdeplume (Jul 6, 2006)

If you're willing to noodle around with router software, you can do this with cheap, off-the-shelf wireless router.

My boat is about 400M from a commercial wi-fi access point on the bluff above our marina. My laptop couldn't pull in the signal reliably so I bought a Cisco/Linksys WRT54GL at Fry's for about $70. 

Most consumer routers are designed so that the "internet side" of the router is hardwired to the internet and the "home side" of the router is wireless. On my boat, I needed the opposite. This isn't a limitation of the hardware. It's a limitation of the software that Linksys includes with the router. 

The great thing about this particular line of routers is that there is an active community of people who have created new software to run on them. One of the most popular is called DD-WRT. The folks who have contributed to DD-WRT have expanded the capability of the router far beyond what Linksys provided. And it's free.

So I downloaded and installed DD-WRT on my Linksys Router and set it up so that the wireless side of the router connects to the wi-fi service on the hill, and the mac just plugs into the normal ethernet hub build into the router.

I'm happy with the results. The small dual antennas on the router are enough to get the job done with the router just sitting down below on the nav station. About a week after I got it working, I improved the system so that the "home side" of the network is also wireless! So my private network on the boat is wireless, and I'm connected to shore-based wi-fi. I'm surfing just fine!

So these are the advantages for me: It's cheap. I learned some new things and now I have an intimate understanding of how it works thanks to the DIY nature of the project. It attaches any number of computers to the wi-fi service. The router's wall wart outputs 12v, so I have the option draw router power off the battery. I can also add a "real" antenna for extra signal strength if needed later. (Haven't needed it yet). 

Disadvantages? It took a couple evenings to get it working. You can't call Linksys if it doesn't work and it might require some basic computer networking knowledge or the desire to learn. 

I didn't know if this would work when I started, but at $70, even complete failure wouldn't have broken the bank. At worst I would have to forgo a couple bottles of good wine. Thankfully that didn't happen.


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

labatt said:


> We've got a Port Networks MWB-250 wifi unit. We combine it with a Kyocera KR2 wireless router for the inside of the boat allowing us to 1) Use Verizon Wireless Broadband as a backup connection, and 2) Connect multiple wireless laptops to everything.


I don't understand the connection of Verizon broadband and wifi?

Are you using the wifi antenna with your verizon broadband service?


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

Norm- I'm still trying to decide which way to go on this, what you did sounds interesting. I don't understand how just the router gained the extra range you needed. I'll google the software, but do you know what range people have been able to pull in signals from? Thanks very much for the info.


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## Jaxxon (Jan 24, 2007)

jrd22 said:


> I'm looking into options for getting long range Wifi on the boat. I was going to order a 5milewifi based on the PS report, but then discovered that it won't work with my Macbook. Did an internet search and came up with a couple more possibilities and I'm wondering if anyone has any feedback on them before I order one. My son has Radio Labs system and it seems to work, but it's a little fussy to set up and I'm not sure about the range. He's in the Bahama's and it's working OK for him but I'm not sure it works with Mac. The other poss. is Wifi Signal King, the 4 watt and the 3.8 watt systems which do work on Mac and and Windows and seem to be plug and play systems. Anyone have one? Any other possibilities out there? Thanks.


I ran across this article recently, and am in the process of making one for myself. Don't know if it works for Macbook or not, don't see why it wouldn't.

Voyages of Sea Trek

*Simple and Inexpensive Wifi*












> More and more cruisers, be they just weekenders or long distance travelers, are wrestling with the issues of staying connected and yes, I mean to the internet. My first boat had nothing more than a VHF radio and I was able to sail from the US mainland to Bermuda. Later on as the boats got larger and communications improved, a marine SSB radio was added. Then a famous person, I can't remember who, invented the internet. With that, the ease of email crept into our lives and grew like a weed along the banks of some of the rivers we have traveled. We were hooked and began the search for the latest and greatest technology. Our first device was a hand held unit that was called Pocketmail and needed to be held up to a phone after calling a special number and it would send and receive your emails. It was a pretty neat device and very popular in the cruising circles. Next we added a Pactor modem to our SSB radio and after acquiring a Ham license, used the Winlink system to send and receive email and get that all important weather information. We still have and use extensively the Winlink system. But the more we were exposed to the internet itself, the more important it became and the more functional we found it to gather information on weather, emails and the areas we were traveling- something the Winlink could not do for us.














> With the availability of WiFi hotspots to connect to, the possibilities grew considerably. Again, we would have to evaluate our needs and how to meet those needs with the changing technology. For the cruiser today there are now some great choices depending on the areas you plan to cruise, the space aboard and power requirements for additional equipment and that all important dent in the monthly cruising budget. Starting at the high end is a satellite system that can be used on a large part of the planet, even the watery parts. A satellite dish mounted inside a dome and engineered to track and hold the satellites position will give full access to the internet and all it contains. If coastal cruising is in your plans, or even some of the more developed islands, than another option is a wireless phone card modem attached to your computer that will connect and receive anywhere you can get a cell phone signal from your provider. For simple email via text format only a satellite phone will provide this almost anywhere in the world although some folks are finding the coverage is spotty on some oceans. Finally, many cruisers are finding that with a computer that has WiFi capabilities and a device to reach out and grab those free WiFi signals found in more and more locations the costs are relatively low and the installation is fairly easy. Most importantly, after that purchase of equipment, access is free. There are pay services sprouting all along the coast that will provide access via this same system in larger ports. After considerable research we decided on the WiFi method with the free access. Free is always good for most cruisers. Once the decision was made on the what, we now needed to decide on the how.














> It is no surprise the internet provided us with the answers. Research, research, research, using mostly cruising website that we have found in the past are frequented by actual cruisers willing to share their knowledge and experience. Two such sites are the SSCA Discussion Board and the great site at Cruisersforum.com. A common name came up over and over again with lots of positive input. Some cruisers also had their own way of putting the system together to improve performance and protect the equipment. We decided on a WiFi unit Made by Senao. The Engenius UEB362 EXT long range USB adapter was recommended over and over again. Another key piece of the equipment is the antenna. Like any over the air receiver, the antenna can mean the difference between success and failure. We try and match our equipment as much as possible and decided in the Engenius 8db outdoor omni-directional antenna. A small pigtail adapter is needed to attach the much larger antenna to the unit. Your choices will be either omni-directional or directional. The omni-directional will look like the antenna you are used to seeing and the directional antenna will look sort of like a small dish that needs to be aimed directly at the WiFi access point. This works great at the docks but swinging on the anchor as most of us do would present too much of a challenge. The omni-directional does not care whether the boat is swinging so naturally that was our choice.














> Having the antenna be weatherproof and outdoor suited is a big plus. Keep in mind these units are not designed to be used in the manner we have planned. The unit itself is not waterproof and the attached antenna is very small. But it is removable and many of these units on the market do not have a removable antenna. That ability limits or extends the range of the unit. We would need to either find a way to weatherproof the unit or move it in and out as needed to keep it dry. Both will work but we prefer to keep it outside while underway since we can often connect as we pass a hotspot without stopping. The final short coming of the unit as is was the short cord that attaches the unit via USB to the computer. It is only about three or four feet long and won't get it outside unless the computer is outside and we did not want to do that for obvious reasons. But this too is easy to overcome.














> Once we had the adapter and antenna in hand, the search for the additional bits and pieces began. We found that a 6X6 plastic electrical box with no holes in it would make a very good weatherproof box to mount the adapter. We purchase a weatherproof gland to pass the cable through and some coax sealer. We found we would need an "active" USB extension cable to get the unit high enough to have some range with it. Having an active cable is important because the unit gets its power from the computer via the USB cable. Be sure it is NOT a passive cable or it will not work. We have received reports that we should not exceed 20 feet for the extension cable but others might find longer will work. Finally, a bit of silicon caulk to seal everything rounds out the material.














> The electrical box has plenty of room to mount everything inside and a smaller box will probably work but this was what we used. First you will need to drill a hole in the top to accept the antenna. It slides into the hole and a locking nut on the inside holds it just fine. The hole around the outside and inside should be sealed with a bead of silicone caulk. Next a hole should be drilled into the bottom to accept the weatherproof cable gland and also sealed. Remove the antenna that comes on the unit and use some double stick tape to hold the unit on the back of the box. The first thing we noticed with this unit was its size. It is not much larger than a business card. Before mounting it, attach the pigtail to the antenna and the unit itself. Pass the USB cable from the unit through the hole in the bottom and attach the weatherproofing portion of the cable gland and add some silicone sealer to help keep moisture out. Once all of this is finished, add silicone sealer around the perimeter of the box and attach the cover. The box we purchased had tabs on the corners with holes in them so we could attach different methods of hanging it. We plugged the 20 foot active USB extension cable to the one that is attached to the adapter. Here is where the coax seal comes in and makes the plugs completely waterproof where they are joined together. The seal is sticky and stays that way so be sure and cover it with electrical tape to keep it from sticking to everything (and everyone) it comes in contact with. You will be almost finished but there is one final step before you start connecting.














> Before you plug in the unit, you will need to set it up on your computer. There are two methods to do this. The adapter comes with a CD with the required drivers and a program to help make your connections. If your computer is not WiFi capable you will need to install this program. If it is WiFi capable you have a choice. In our research many complained about problems using the program that came with the adapter. Your Windows operating system has a service called Windows Zero Configuration which will manage all of your WiFi connections. Many users, including ourselves, let Windows handle the WiFi with few issues, but the drivers for the adapter need to be installed. Simple - go to the disk, find a folder called drivers, open it and click on set up. It will install the drivers and ask you to plug in the unit. Once installed you will need to restart the computer, and that is should be about it. It should not take a whole lot longer than it did to read this article. Once everything is done and the unit is hung as high as you can get it with the cable attached to your computer, you will be connecting any time an open access point is within range. We have been truly amazed at the range of this set-up and how well it performs.
> 
> And now for our total expenditures:
> 
> ...


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

A beautiful ripoff of a stuffer slappy!!!


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## SVVita (Nov 10, 2006)

I don't know how technically minded you are, but building a "cantenna" is both inexpensive and very effective. Some of my friends have played around with these and got excellent results. Just google them, there are a dozen recommendations on the net for how to build them. The key is the USB WIFI transceiver w/cable connection. $10.00 last time I looked. I don't really know how a rocking deck may effect the reception, but it should be fine under most circumstances.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

JRD-

If you don't want to build your own, try the *Ubiquiti NanoStation 2*


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

SD- I took a look at the link and, excuse my technologically challenged ignorance, but is that a WiFi antenna system? I read the product description and I still don't know what the heck it does? Price looks attractive though.
Thanks.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

JRD-

That's basically an amplified high-gain directional antenna with an integrated ethernet bridge. It basically converts a wifi signal into a Cat5 ethernet connection.  It provides about a 10 dB gain in signal strength and gives about 60˚ of horizontal coverage, which is usually good enough for most boats at anchor to use-and easily well within the capabilities of covering a boat in a slip.

The advantage of doing this is that there is no signal strength lost due to having a long antenna cable.  It is pretty simple to power it off the boat's DC system, since it operates on 12 VDC. Also, you only need to run a single cable, since the unit uses Power Over Ethernet to power itself. 

Available *here* for $80 or so.


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## normdeplume (Jul 6, 2006)

jrd22 said:


> Norm- I'm still trying to decide which way to go on this, what you did sounds interesting. I don't understand how just the router gained the extra range you needed. I'll google the software, but do you know what range people have been able to pull in signals from? Thanks very much for the info.


I think I gained about 200 meters of range over just using the laptop alone. This is based on an experiment I did by using the laptop in the parking lot. I had to be about half the distance to the hotspot before I could make it work reliably.

I'm sure that the increased range was due to the better external antennas on the router. It has two adjustable antennas about 6" long.

I like the looks of the Ubiquiti Networks products. I'd love to hear about anyone's experience using them. The "Bullet" with an omni-directional antenna might be a great solution for a sailboat.


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## Jaxxon (Jan 24, 2007)

The extention cable used on this homemade job is an "active" cable. No losses with this. If you build one, be sure to get the "active" and not a "passive", or you will experience some loss. I went with this system because it uses an omni-directional antenna. I was thinking this should work well swinging on the anchor or mooring ball. I wouldn't think a directional antenna would work too well out there. 
By the way, XORT, excuse my ignorance, but what the hell is a "stuffer slappy"?


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## groundhog (Jun 27, 2006)

Here is some more info on antennas and such..

WIFI WIRELESS INTERNET:
-http://www.mfjenterprises.com/
MFJ-1800 $25 Yagi type? MFJ-1802 $50 Flat panel type?
-NGC natcommgroup.com SF-245W-R omni directional type.
-http://www.pacwireless.net/antennas/2400Mhz-antennas.shtml
-http://www.air802.com/wireless-usb-wifi-adapter-802.11b-g-with-external-removeable-antenna-formerly-usb-adg-1.html?&cat=411


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Why do all this and go through all the hassle, when NanoStation2 is only $80 bucks, all assembled.. 


> And now for our total expenditures:
> 
> Engenius EUB-362-EXT $45.50
> Engenius EAG-2408 Outdoor antenna $24.99
> ...


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## dsiddens (Mar 20, 2004)

*Drakus' WiFi*

WISP Router (wisp-router.com) sold me a RooTenna and an Engenius C3B for about $200. The antenna has about 19dB of gain and space for the C3B radio to fit inside. There is very little signal loss when the C3B (the radio portion) is at (inside) the antenna. The antenna is described as directional but it does have a fairly wide sweet spot. It takes 12vdc power and outputs ethernet connectivity. Ethernet hookup means easy connection to your machine.









*Specifications:* 
​ 
*Parameter*​*Min*​*Typ*​*Max*​*Units*​*Frequency Range*2400​ 2485​MHz​*Input Return Loss (S11)* -14​ dB​*VSWR* 1.5:1​  *Impedance* 50​ OHM​*Input Power*  20​W​*Operating Temperature*-45​ +70​Deg C​*Gain* 19​ dBi​*3db Beam Angle (E-Plane)* 15​ Deg​*3dB Beam Angle (H-Plane)* 20​ Deg​*Front to Back*30​  dB​*Weight* 9 (4.1)​ Lb (kg)​*Compartment Dim (L x W x H)*​16.25" x 14.75" x 2"
(413 x 375 x 50)
​Inches (mm)​ *Outside Dim (L x W x H)*18.5" x 16.8" x 4"
(470 x 427 x 102)
​Inches (mm)​ *Wind Loading*100MPH​125MPH​100MPH with ½" Radial Ice​ *Force (Lbs)*77.8​121​83​ 

*ECB-3220 *below. This is the higher power, 400mW, new improved version. This is what goes inside the RooTenna, sans rubber ducky. 









Darn, I've got this stuff below and don't know how to delete it. Suggestions welcome. Doug
















































































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## winterbuoy (Apr 8, 2007)

SD, you have one of these Nano things? Are they a hassle to set up and what else do you need? Went through so many usb internet crap, they all screw up.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

I just ordered two, based on using them on three different boats, since my friends have them. Since they're an ethernet bridge, there is no driver problem, since it uses the regular ethernet driver on your machine. One is going to be used to create a bridge at one of my client's offices and the other is destined for my boat.

It uses a web browser to configure the Nano Station 2. If you want information on the configuration process, click *here*.

Since there's no software to install, there are really NO CONFLICTS to worry about, regardless of what OS or machine you use. Totally compatible with any modern OS that can use a web browser and supports an ethernet card. 



winterbuoy said:


> SD, you have one of these Nano things? Are they a hassle to set up and what else do you need? Went through so many usb internet crap, they all screw up.


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## AaronOnTheHudson (Mar 11, 2009)

*portable cell phone or usb broadband routers*

I have a blackberry with an internet data plan, so I was thinking about getting a PHS300 personal router (cradlepoint.com). You can plug a data plan powered cell phone into it and it will act as a wireless internet router for your computer(s). It even has a Li Ion battery! Probably not a setup for a distance cruiser... but might be a great option for short trips. Note: I can connect my blackberry directly to my computer which would probably be a better use of power. But if you have more than 2 devices that use internet such as the iPod Touch the router could be handy. Also the router I mentioned can be used with a versizon/sprint/etc broadband USB device (you would have to pay for a plan).


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## jandy (Mar 19, 2009)

*Marine WiFi -The Good, The Bad and The Un-reasonably Priced*

I am a blue water sailor/owner gearing up my 50' Sparkman Stephens sloop for world travel. I have an extensive background in computers, servers, electronics, optical fibre networks, broadcasting, manufacturing and the such. Becoming very unhappy with the SAD STATE of the whole marine WiFi hardware and services situation; poor config's, HIGH priced-low quality gear, seeing confusing and BAD information from individuals all over the net that have no idea what they are talking about, extremely expensive SAT systems and well, you know the rest, etc. I decided to design and build my own system. [EDIT]


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Jandy—

Thanks for spamming us... The Ubiquiti NanoStation 2 works very well and is all of $80. 


JRP—

Thanks...


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## jarcher (Jul 29, 2008)

What do you guys connect to at the other end, on shore? Does your marina sell wifi connectivity?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Jarcher—

My marina provides it free of charge as an amenity to keeping the boat there.


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## jarcher (Jul 29, 2008)

sailingdog said:


> Jarcher-
> 
> My marina provides it free of charge as an amenity to keeping the boat there.


Ha, not mine! The owner is a great guy but I think computers are well outside his field of expertise. It was occuring to me that there might be a business opportunity here.


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## jrd22 (Nov 14, 2000)

Our marina has free Wifi, and there are several others around here in PNW. We have had good luck finding a hot spot in most populated areas.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

"Hot spots" are available all over these days.. we anchored off a tiny village in Mexico last month (La Manzinilla, not be to confused with the much larger Manzinillo 30 miles south) and got good unsecured wifi 1/4 mile off the beach.

It's more hit than miss these days, it seems.


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## jarcher (Jul 29, 2008)

Yup, it's hard to compete with free :laugher


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## fawcettm (Jul 17, 2007)

*WiFi Bridge*

Sailingdog, forgive me cause I dont know that much about WiFI bridges but with the nanostation 2 it connectss to an existing WiFi access point say a distance away, gets an IP address and then relays the signal to another WiFi card on my computer?
So I configure it to WPA or what ever kind of signal I an trying to retrieve?

Thanks

Mark


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

No. The NS2 is a WiFi to Ethernet bridge. Your computer would get the network communcations by its wired ethernet port. The NS2 converts the WiFi signal into a wired ethernet signal... you don't use the WiFi card on your computer at all. 

I would recommend you read this *WiFi primer* that I wrote a few years back.



fawcettm said:


> Sailingdog, forgive me cause I dont know that much about WiFI bridges but with the nanostation 2 it connectss to an existing WiFi access point say a distance away, gets an IP address and then relays the signal to another WiFi card on my computer?
> So I configure it to WPA or what ever kind of signal I an trying to retrieve?
> 
> Thanks
> ...


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## fawcettm (Jul 17, 2007)

*WiFi Bridge*

Thanks, I read the primer, so really the bridge is acting like a high power wireless card. Sorry I couldnt understand why I would use an access point or setup my own wireless network to get wireless network, I am too used to using wireless or routers to setup a network for home. It never dawned on me to use it this way.
what distances are you getting with this configuration? and is it hard to setup for other locations when you are on the move? Do you find that there are alot of open networks? or do you pay alot?

thanks, this is helping, I went to a weather seminar last night expecting to learn how to predict weather, and it seems nowadays predicting means going to the internet.....thus wireless.....

Mark


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

fawcettm said:


> Thanks, I read the primer, so really the bridge is acting like a high power wireless card.


Yes, basically, it is a high-gain wifi card attached to a ethernet interface. [/quote]Sorry I couldnt understand why I would use an access point or setup my own wireless network to get wireless network, I am too used to using wireless or routers to setup a network for home. It never dawned on me to use it this way.
what distances are you getting with this configuration? [/quote]
I setup a terrestrial link, using the NS2s that is about 2.5 miles... but that is in a relatively rural setting, without much in the way of additional radio interference. The NS2 is designed for WAN WiFi links, and is specced to reach as far as 15 KM under the proper conditions.


> and is it hard to setup for other locations when you are on the move?


Configuration of the NS2 takes a bit of getting used to, as it uses a web-based interface. However, one major advantage of the NS2 is that it avoids any driver configuration/stability issues, unlike many of the USB-based solutions. A second advantage is that it means you don't have to continually muck with the WiFi settings in your laptop either. Finally, it does have the advantage of being able to be hoisted a good way up the mast without the resulting signal losses or need for a booster USB cable that using a traditional amplified antenna or USB-based device would create. 


> Do you find that there are alot of open networks? or do you pay alot?
> 
> thanks, this is helping, I went to a weather seminar last night expecting to learn how to predict weather, and it seems nowadays predicting means going to the internet.....thus wireless.....
> 
> Mark


From the war-driving I've done, I've found that open wireless networks are pretty common. *Jiwire.com* is a website that has a fairly large database of them. Personally, I'm against open WiFi networks, and see them as a security risk... which is why I wrote the WiFi security primer in the first place.


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## fawcettm (Jul 17, 2007)

*WiFi Bridge*

This is getting alot clearer.....so I am sailing for the day, get to my next anchorage, haul the antenna up the mast. Does the antenna then see the available networks? I choose the open ones to connect to or go ashore and find out the local secured WEP or WPA keys and go back configure and I am off to the races?

Mark


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

FawcettM-

If you configure the NS2 properly, you can have it automatically pick up open networks. *However, if the networks are secured, *you'll have to log into NS2 and configure it to match their security setup.


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## fawcettm (Jul 17, 2007)

*WiFi Bridge*

Thanks this has been very helpful, now to go and buy one......have to see if they sell them in and around the Toronto area.


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## bhcva (Feb 11, 2007)

Dog...I've come a long way in my understanding of the NS2/IP address operation thanks mostly to you and I may be wrong here, but in my limited experience, if you move away from the previous access point, the NS2 will not automatically pick a new access point and will revert to it's native 198.168.1.2 (IIRC) ip setting and, if that address is on a separate sub-net from your ethernet adapter, you will have to manually set your ethernet adapter to match the subnet in order to communicate with the NS2 screens. Then you can pick a new access point and go back to automatic re the ip addresses. 

Have I passed the course yet ?

Bruce


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Not quite.

It depends on how you have the NS2 configured. If you're using it with the SSID *ANY* and no security, it will attempt to associate itself with any available, open access point. If it manages to connect to the access point, it will attempt to get an IP address dynamically, and then use it. If it fails to get an IP address, it will probably go and self-assign an IP address. If you're going from harbor to harbor and using only open, unsecured access points, then it will not need to be reconfigured when you change harbors.

If you're using secured WiFi networks, and they're different, then you'll need to reconfigure the NS2 when you change locations.

BTW, be aware that regardless of whether you're on a secured WiFi network or not, you will probably want to use secure protocols for e-mail, web browsing, etc, as anyone on the WiFi network will be able to run a packet sniffer and grab your traffic pretty easily. E-mail, by default, generally sends the user name, password and mail contents in CLEARTEXT. That means anyone with a packet sniffer can find out your e-mail username, server, and password without much trouble. Most modern e-mail servers have some sort of encryption as an option, and I highly recommend it be used. Whether it is SSL-based encryption or TLS-based encryption or using an SSH tunnel... using encrypted tunnels for your e-mail is a good idea.



bhcva said:


> Dog...I've come a long way in my understanding of the NS2/IP address operation thanks mostly to you and I may be wrong here, but in my limited experience, if you move away from the previous access point, the NS2 will not automatically pick a new access point and will revert to it's native 198.168.1.2 (IIRC) ip setting and, if that address is on a separate sub-net from your ethernet adapter, you will have to manually set your ethernet adapter to match the subnet in order to communicate with the NS2 screens. Then you can pick a new access point and go back to automatic re the ip addresses.
> 
> Have I passed the course yet ?
> 
> Bruce


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## bhcva (Feb 11, 2007)

Dog said:
'It depends on how you have the NS2 configured. If you're using it with the SSID ANY and no security, it will attempt to associate itself with any available, open access point"

I have finally been able to spend a day on the boat and can't find any way to specify ANY...it's not in the list of APs the NS2 reports? I didn't think to just type ANY...am I overlooking the obvious? 

Thx, Bruce


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Yup....


bhcva said:


> Dog said:
> 'It depends on how you have the NS2 configured. If you're using it with the SSID ANY and no security, it will attempt to associate itself with any available, open access point"
> 
> I have finally been able to spend a day on the boat and can't find any way to specify ANY...it's not in the list of APs the NS2 reports? I didn't think to just type ANY...*am I overlooking the obvious? *
> ...


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## aspicer (Jun 17, 2009)

labatt said:


> We've got a Port Networks MWB-250 wifi unit. It's definitely expensive, but I absolutely love it. We get wifi signals at a great range with the antenna permanently mounted on our spreaders and the software is pretty easy to use. We combine it with a Kyocera KR2 wireless router for the inside of the boat allowing us to 1) Use Verizon Wireless Broadband as a backup connection, and 2) Connect multiple wireless laptops to everything.


I sell, install, and support the MWB-250 as well as Cellular 3G Voice and Internet gear by Ericsson for the sail and motor yacht market. In fact I'm looking at an MWB-250 right now (cover open) because it somehow lost it's receive capability. I'm waiting on Port Networks ok to ship them just the radio module (cross ship, I return the bad one) to fix this unit under warranty.

The unit works very good (normally) in my experience. And we've got many of them installed on yachts of all sizes.


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