Has Anyone Actually Have Working Wifi On Their Boat?
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Posted by KA2PFL on January 11, 2007, 6:39 pm
Please log in for more thread options Hello Folks, I am radio guy, 30 years experience installing mobile and base radio gear. I want to install wifi on my sailboat. Common sense tells me to install a device on the mast, so cable losses are not at issue at 2.5 or 5Ghz. I am not a wireless network guy. My idea was to install an AP on the mast or hoist it up when I want to use it. I would like it to be capable of a b g modes. Now my questions; What AP's can operate on 12 Volts? Can I do this with just a AP, wired to the lan jack on my laptop? You get the idea, Please make a recomendation on what equipment would be suitable for this purpose (i do not want to be a beta tester). I have been searching for this info on the net for weeks, and all I read about are failures and no success stories. I am handy and would not mind buying a AP and mounting in a waterproof box. Thank You, Louie KA2PFL | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Al Dykes on January 11, 2007, 6:59 pm
Please log in for more thread options You can run the AP via "power over ethernet" (PoE) and it's easily a DIY project. Google for "diy poe". I can't speak to the 12v question, but one of the web pages you find probably does. -- a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m Harrison for Congress in NY 13CD www.harrison06.com Don't blame me. I voted for Gore. A Proud signature since 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by NotMe on January 11, 2007, 8:27 pm
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-- | Hello Folks, | I am radio guy, 30 years experience installing mobile and base radio | gear. I want to install wifi on my sailboat. Common sense tells me to | install a device on the mast, so cable losses are not at issue at 2.5 | or 5Ghz. I am not a wireless network guy. My idea was to install an AP | on the mast or hoist it up when I want to use it. I would like it to be | capable of a b g modes. | | Now my questions; | | What AP's can operate on 12 Volts? | Can I do this with just a AP, wired to the lan jack on my laptop? | You get the idea, Please make a recommendation on what equipment would | be suitable for this purpose (i do not want to be a beta tester). I | have been searching for this info on the net for weeks, and all I read | about are failures and no success stories. I am handy and would not | mind buying a AP and mounting in a waterproof box. | | | Thank You, | Louie KA2PFL Remember when considering a high gain (especially a directional high gain) antenna that boats rock and even if in an small inland lake you can get considerable signal drop out if the gain is much over 3db. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Bill Kearney on January 18, 2007, 6:50 pm
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> | What AP's can operate on 12 Volts?
The Linksys WRT54G series can. I've got a pair of them on my boat. One's in the radar arch maintaining the link to shore. The other's down in the cabin providing an on-boat wifi network. Works pretty well once we're at anchor. > | Can I do this with just a AP, wired to the lan jack on my laptop?
You could do it with a wire straight from the wifi unit. But having a wired laptop might not be terribly convenient. You'd have to deal with that cord all the time. Run the wire from the up-mast device to the in-cabin device. > Remember when considering a high gain (especially a directional high gain)
> antenna that boats rock and even if in an small inland lake you can get > considerable signal drop out if the gain is much over 3db. True, and higher gain may also pull in a wider set of networks. You'd end up listening to "too many" and get even worse performance. And the radiation pattern from most of these antannae is shaped like a donut. When the boat is rocking that donut gets tilted up and down, in and out of the coverage area. Higher gain antennae have a much narrower area of coverage. So any rocking with a typical 14db omni would render it almost useless. Same deal goes for a directional antenna, if you swing on anchor there goes the coverage. Depending on where you're planning on travelling and how you're anchoring there would be different recommedations. I've had a 10db omnidirectional stick on my radar arch and it's done a pretty good job of pulling in wifi signals. -Bill Kearney | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Posted by Shaun Van Poecke on January 20, 2007, 2:58 am
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> True, and higher gain may also pull in a wider set of networks. You'd end
> up listening to "too many" and get even worse performance. And the > radiation pattern from most of these antannae is shaped like a donut. > When > the boat is rocking that donut gets tilted up and down, in and out of the > coverage area. Higher gain antennae have a much narrower area of > coverage. > So any rocking with a typical 14db omni would render it almost useless. > Same deal goes for a directional antenna, if you swing on anchor there > goes > the coverage. > -Bill Kearney Would there be any merit to fitting an antenna with a gimbal of sorts? Shaun | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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> I am radio guy, 30 years experience installing mobile and base radio
>gear. I want to install wifi on my sailboat. Common sense tells me to
>install a device on the mast, so cable losses are not at issue at 2.5
>or 5Ghz. I am not a wireless network guy. My idea was to install an AP
>on the mast or hoist it up when I want to use it. I would like it to be
>capable of a b g modes.
>
> Now my questions;
>
> What AP's can operate on 12 Volts?
> Can I do this with just a AP, wired to the lan jack on my laptop?
> You get the idea, Please make a recomendation on what equipment would
>be suitable for this purpose (i do not want to be a beta tester). I
>have been searching for this info on the net for weeks, and all I read
>about are failures and no success stories. I am handy and would not
>mind buying a AP and mounting in a waterproof box.
>
>
> Thank You,
> Louie KA2PFL
>