Best marine WiFi antenna?

[CarinaPDX]

I certainly did not mean to discourage you from proceeding. The offer is on the table should you wish to try again. With the status page, site survey, and log there is a decent chance it can be made to work. If you like let's start with just the status and site survey - we may not need the log.

FWIW I don't think it gets much easier with any other solution. Putting a repeater together (with separate client/AP radios) does require some technical knowledge; in this case it doesn't require much networking knowledge compared to my favorite solution of Bullet+airGateway. I suspect the only easier approach is to pay for the packages, complete with friendly user interface, that run around $400-500.

If you're willing then let's try again.

Greg

[Boatguy30]

Trying to upload those screen shots, does not seem to want to load. I did get it to connect to my Netgear trek router wifi extender. It will still not connect to the main network next door that the Netgear router broadcasts.

I guess my frustration is if their is some secret sauce to getting it setup what is it? Their must be some change needed to some setting to get it to work always.

Today I was connected to another network and it would not load a webpage. I connected to that same network with my built in ipad wifi and it worked fine.

Appreciate the help. I was planning to set this all up in PVC but clearly it doesn't work well enough to move forward.

[CarinaPDX]

The first thing to note is that you are not alone: there are a lot of Alfa customers who have had the same problem. Which leads me to believe that the setup wizard doesn't give a functioning result without further tweaking. So we figure out what that is.

While you're working on uploading those screenshots I would like you to try something else: from your iPad, download the free Traceroute app from the iTunes store. Then enter a dotted quad address (Google's DNS is 8.8.8.8, which will do) then take a screen shot of that and send it to me. It will show each step of the way from your iPad to Google, or at least to where it stops.

Greg

[Boatguy30]

Ok, so I'm at the library today. Have been able to connect to 3 unlocked networks. The only thing I changed was in the advanced wifi setting I lowered the output to 30 from 100. This seemed to help, but then I raised it back to 100 and it still works!

At this stage, I have a stern arch to fit with solar panels, saloon table, some ssb and pactor issues to maybe fix and I hope to shove off from st augustine in about 16 days for the winter.

I plan to makeup the pvc housing for on the arch and go with it and hope it continues to often/ mostly work!

[Vivid]

We use a home brew Bullet system with the pros and cons noted. This season we decided to add a cellular data system too. The phone we got, an unlocked Samsung ATT gsm phone, works fine, voice and data, in the Bahamas except that its hotspot and tethering features won't work except on ATT, a great disappointment, since we were hoping to have it provide data links to laptop. IPad, etc. just as the Bullet with its added TPLINK router does on wifi. (It was an amusing, frustrating thrash to figure out the Bullets absurd interface. Their customer service people are patient and persistent, I must admit.)

Anyone have a suggestion for a phone that will work in most countries with changed SIM cards and whose hotspot/tethering will work wherever the phone works? Or should I get a SIM-based mifi?

BTW I'm sending this through a bar's open wifi while anchored in Eleuthera.

[CarinaPDX]

You should consider putting a new ROM in your ATT phone, after rooting it. Then tethering shouldn't be a problem. What model do you have?

Greg

[Vivid]

Thanks, Greg. I have considered that, but it sounded like a difficult and uncertain process--off in hackerland--which could even result in a bricked phone. I'd like to find a phone meant to do this.

It's an SGH-I827.

[CarinaPDX]

Your phone is an old one (in geek-time). It doesn't look like you will be able to re-flash with current firmware.

Personally I would go with a mifi at this point. I recommend that you not buy phones and mifis from network vendors - they are often crippled or have frequency support only for the vendor. If you plan to use in the USA then look for phones/mifis that have LTE support (in addition to GSM and 3G-HSPDA) and cover the bands that you are likely to need. (Different vendors use different bands with LTE, in addition to country variations.) For travelling outside the US you probably shouldn't bother with LTE for now.

Rooting a phone and installing a new ROM does require some comfort with a computer, but not really a lot of expertise. If you don't buy from a network vendor then you shouldn't have your phone loaded with non-removable "crapware" (yes, that is what it is called). And you shouldn't have arbitrary restrictions as you do now. Still, there is value in rooting the phone even if you don't want to replace the ROM. Just keep in mind that it will void the warranty. The chance of a bricked phone is very low - it is rare these days with the auto-root programs available.

If you buy a mifi you won't have any reason to root/ROM it.

Greg

[transmitterdan]

Today I "learned" something I should have known already. We are having a bit of weather so I was running the radar for a few minutes to look for incoming rain showers. Works pretty good and I can see them coming from about 10nM away. Anyway, my WiFi wasn't working too good (almost not at all). I found that when I turned the radar off the WiFi came back up to good performance. I did the radar on/off test several times and there is good correlation that on-board radar interferes my with WiFi. My radar is on 9.4Ghz band and the far away (1kM) access point my Alfa is chatting with is on channel 6 (802.11b/g) which is about 2.43GHz. The local radar signal probably overloads the Alfa receive front end every time the radar scans toward the boat WiFi antenna causes lots of dropped packets and confuses the WiFi radio to the point of giving up.

If you have an outdoor WiFi antenna be aware that recreational (and probably many other types) of radars can cause problems.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by transmitterdan

Today I "learned" something I should have known already. We are having a bit of weather so I was running the radar for a few minutes to look for incoming rain showers. Works pretty good and I can see them coming from about 10nM away. Anyway, my WiFi wasn't working too good (almost not at all). I found that when I turned the radar off the WiFi came back up to good performance. I did the radar on/off test several times and there is good correlation that on-board radar interferes my with WiFi. My radar is on 9.4Ghz band and the far away (1kM) access point my Alfa is chatting with is on channel 6 (802.11b/g) which is about 2.43GHz. The local radar signal probably overloads the Alfa receive front end every time the radar scans toward the boat WiFi antenna causes lots of dropped packets and confuses the WiFi radio to the point of giving up.

If you have an outdoor WiFi antenna be aware that recreational (and probably many other types) of radars can cause problems.

Yes, I have noticed that with ours. However, the effect can probably be relegated to the "interesting" category since it is very unusual to be operating a radar while using a wifi signal.

Mark

[transmitterdan]

I have wifi on in the boat pretty much all the time. I use it to run OpenCPN and some tablet apps (VNC). I haven't noticed radar bothering that but I need to check it now that I have seen this issue.

[colemj]

The radar doesn't interfere at all with our onboard router - just with the external Bullet. But that is mounted right next to the radar.

I thought you were describing a decrease in performance connected to an AP with an external device, and this is what I was saying is unusual to be using simultaneously with radar.

Mark

[vindyman]

This might be useful:

https://sailingyachtamalia.wordpress...cess-on-board/

[rgesner]

Originally Posted by H3LlIoN

I've had great luck with the WaveRV units from RadioLabs.

RadioLabs support sucks. They don't have drivers for current OS (Win 8, 9, 10) for WaveRVMAR units they sold only 4 yrs ago.

[CarinaPDX]

Yes, that does suck. OTOH it probably works as well as it ever did. If you want to improve performance that will call for newer hardware, and presumes that the AP you are connecting to is also newer, and probably that all other clients are also updated, so not likely a win.

I assume that you have a Bullet with 802.11b hardware, which uses an older version of firmware. With the 802.11n hardware comes an upgraded firmware, not backward compatible. The thing is that it not only requires "n" on both ends to obtain "n" speeds; it also requires that there are no other stations on the same channel using the old "b" standard. One station limited to "b" and the AP goes to "b" mode. I think the same applies to the latest 802.11ac standard as well. There are small gains to the new hardware when operating in "b" mode, but nothing that you would likely notice. So you should probably not worry about it.

Greg

[Oops - just noticed the Win drivers - senior moment I guess. What drivers do you need? Usually the setup is with a browser page.]