4G+wifi

[Recy]

Does anyone know of some other product with the same function as this?

Marine WiFi & xG System: The Wirie pro – The Wirie

[sailorchic34]

Myself I use a $40 smart phone (att samsung 3 express) as a wifi hotspot for 4G. Works really well at a low entry price. I purchased a second one just to have in case the first one died. Which so far has not happened.

I also have a alfa wifi extender ($18) but most free wifi is pretty SLOW. I find 4G allows for connectivity at all locations I anchor.

[gekko15]

I've used a GL-MiFi router before, not on a boat though. It runs open source firmware which makes it very configurable but it has the option to join and rebroadcast WiFi as well as sharing a 3G/4G connection. It even has the option of a backup battery.
Using an old phone is a really good idea but I'm not sure if a phone can be used to rebroadcast on-shore Wifi.
You could also get one of the cheaper GL-i units and then use a normal 3G/4G dongle with it.

[seandepagnier]

the wirie is an alfa in a pelican case. I have no idea why anyone would buy that when you can just get an alfa and stick it in a coke bottle.

I think most people don't get good results with wifi because they don't adjust the txpower and bitrate. Mostly wifi is slow or doesn't work at all without this, but otherwise I can get a fast connection from up to a mile on an alfa with the antenna it comes with.

When I was in sfbay, I could pick up wifi from sausilito when I was in angel island using a directional yagi. I had it automatically tracking with an RC servo motor. I used also in mexico and new zealand, with this setup I can be 3 miles from the access point. Directional antennas often make the difference of being able to connect or not

I haven't used a directional antenna on 3g yet the range is already miles, but I found getting the usb 3g dongle on an extension cable outside hanging from the boom makes a big difference.

I don't use the cell network here, it's too expensive and there is plenty of wifi.

[a64pilot]

The "Pro" also capability of installing a SIM card and it operating like a cell phone for a hotspot, presumably if you have the optional high gain antenna it will get a signal much further out than a cell phone will.
I have not tried that yet, I'm a CDMA phone, and the Wirie Pro is GSM only.

[Matt Johnson]

We have a Weboost 4G-x for cell with the antenna at our first spreader. It makes a big, big difference in signal at anchor. We can go from only being able to send text to 4G data. https://www.weboost.com/products/drive-4gx (Wilson gave it to us for a review on our site).

For wifi, we have a Ubiquiti Bullet which again, makes a huge difference. I use an omni directional 8db antenna, but may try a directional like BA suggested. The txpower and bitrate are two things I guess I'll have to figure out.

Matt

[Recy]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Myself I use a $40 smart phone (att samsung 3 express) as a wifi hotspot for 4G. Works really well at a low entry price. I purchased a second one just to have in case the first one died. Which so far has not happened.can

I also have a alfa wifi extender ($18) but most free wifi is pretty SLOW. I find 4G allows for connectivity at all locations I anchor.

Can the cellphone work as a router?

[kiltym]

Originally Posted by boat_alexandra

the wirie is an alfa in a pelican case. I have no idea why anyone would buy that when you can just get an alfa and stick it in a coke bottle.

We have not sold Alfa equipment in The Wirie products for over 3 years.

Our newer products, including The Wirie pro, use the Bullet M2 Titanium for remote WiFi connections, and a custom manufactured router for cellular connections, all integrated together to make usage as simple as possible.

[Cobweb]

IMO, the wirie pro range (with sim) is actually poorer than cellphone so not worth the effort or $$$

[Adrian Chen]

I have been pondering one of these:
https://shopuk.glomex.it/en/webboat-...-4g-wi-fi.html

[boom23]

Has anyone tried the Pepwave MAX BR1 Pro or another product from the same company?

Website: https://www.peplink.com/products/max...llular/#br1pro

[J Clark H356]

I have the pepwave surf on the go. Am trying to get it to stay connected to a Verizon MIFI USB 730L. Works great on marina WiFi but haven’t been successful yet with the USB modem. Tech support is working with me to get it working. Keeps disconnecting and trying to reload the SIM card. When connected it works great.

[LoudMusic]

My employer sells Pepwave hardware and we've had really good experience with it. I'm considering getting a MAX-BR1-LTE-US-T for my future boat, and then get the EU version when we leave the US. The one we most frequently sell to our customers is the MAX-HD2-LTE-UE-T because it has a US antenna/SIM and an EU antenna/SIM in the same box, but it is prohibitively expensive to plebs like myself.

My review is two thumbs up for PepWave

[boom23]

Originally Posted by LoudMusic

My employer sells Pepwave hardware and we've had really good experience with it. I'm considering getting a MAX-BR1-LTE-US-T for my future boat, and then get the EU version when we leave the US. The one we most frequently sell to our customers is the MAX-HD2-LTE-UE-T because it has a US antenna/SIM and an EU antenna/SIM in the same box, but it is prohibitively expensive to plebs like myself.

My review is two thumbs up for PepWave

Thank you for the info! I will also look at the MAX-BR1-LTE-US-T.

[HappyDivers]

I used a MAX BR1 for two years on my boat before moving to Oz needing a slightly different set of LTE bands. I'm selling my router plus a wifi AP if you're interested...