Internet at sea about to get a lot better

[pyroray]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Yeah, I'm also rooting for 5G to replace cable. I'm not betting much on it at this point though.

Around here, reliable high-speed internet means dealing with one, and only one, cable company.

Five towns in our area banded together to gain what they thought would be more bargaining power with the cable companies.

Instead all it means is the cable company only has to fly their team of lawyers to one location, instead of five, when it comes time to screw us renew the contract again. The towns don't really get much say in what the terms will be.

Any serious competition would be welcome!

I use a local wireless IP it requires line of site, but the nearer to town you are the better odds. No cable, price is competitive.

[Cpt Pat]

Originally Posted by Iduna

While I think global satellite internet will do a lot to improve conditions for much of the world, I really hate the idea that I won't be able to escape being connected. Granted I don't even have a boat, but I can't stand the idea of being on a pacific crossing while everyone dicks around on instagram or sits through work conferences.

I've twice had my work try to call me back into the office while I was still within cellphone range. I smile a little smile as I say: "OK. My hull speed is six knots. Send a helicopter and a fill-in skipper." I don't really feel I'm "at sea" until my cellphone shows no service. (It's nice to have service at the dock- where I am now.)

I go to sea to get away from it all -- including the Internet. But it would be great to get a view of the weather products that can keep me away from the storms that could put me out-of-touch... permanently. For all we are paying in taxes now for weather forecasts, it's abominable that we can't get those products at sea without bringing gobs of technology on board. (And I'm not referring to GRIBs, which are rather useless for tracking sea states. It's the sea state that'll kill you - not the wind.)

I'm easy to please: I'd be delighted just to get these charts in high quality at sea without having to jump through HF and Pactor hoops while eating vast numbers of amp/hours, receive only cryptic text messages (a picture is worth a megabyte of text), or spend a fortune in sat phone minutes to get them: https://www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/shtml/P_brief.shtml

[sailorboy1]

I love post about "I go to sea to get away...." , on an internet forum

[KP44]

Originally Posted by Hardhead

I'm with you on that X10. What in the hell is the purpose of doing anything, if everyone present is zoned out catatonically staring at a 4" screen, instead of actually living in reality. We are seeing some major changes in human existence, and not for the better in my view. Major changes..

I agree. And being comfortable with myself; I am OK being alone. I don't make crossings alone because I believe a watch is needed 24/7. But a few days without seeing anyone is a good thing.
I cannot change others. But I can make choices about myself, if you know what I mean.
- The claptrap that is broadcast on television is called "programing" for a reason.

There is a rise and fall; a natural cycle, to everything. Evolution includes devolution. And the top of the food chain seems to be devolving.

[Ex-Calif]

Not to be a grammar nazi but...

Devolve and devolution are not the antonyms for evolve and evolution according to reliable dictionaries.

Or as Oliver Smith said - "Retreat hell! We are just advancing in a different direction."

Until someone reverses time we are always advancing or evolving...

OTOH - Language is also evolving so use devolve however you like - LOL...

[KP44]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

Not to be a grammar nazi but...

Devolve and devolution are not the antonyms for evolve and evolution according to reliable dictionaries.

Or as Oliver Smith said - "Retreat hell! We are just advancing in a different direction."

Until someone reverses time we are always advancing or evolving...

OTOH - Language is also evolving so use devolve however you like - LOL...

Ha ha.
Thanks for the comment.
Maybe a language-use Nazi but not a grammar Nazi.

Evolve in a different direction. So human eyes will naturally focus at 15 inches and our attention spans will be 3 minutes. Taste and olfactory senses will fade as we develop the ability to utilize bland, artificial foods. Fingers will develop extreme dexterity while legs and feet lose strength and dexterity.

In some esoteric scientific discussions, we have used the term "devolve" even though it is probably not a word any more than "conversate".

[Hardhead]

Ahh -- Word Schmurd. It's just a representation of a concept. I'd say if the meaning is understood, it's a word. Schmurd - now that is not a word.

[Clamdigger]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Yeah, I'm also rooting for 5G to replace cable. I'm not betting much on it at this point though.

Around here, reliable high-speed internet means dealing with one, and only one, cable company.

Five towns in our area banded together to gain what they thought would be more bargaining power with the cable companies.

Instead all it means is the cable company only has to fly their team of lawyers to one location, instead of five, when it comes time to screw us renew the contract again. The towns don't really get much say in what the terms will be.

Any serious competition would be welcome!

Oh, you must live in NJ too, sadly lol! Monopoly cable companies seem to have divided up areas within states so they can maximize profits by not competing with each other!

5g on the router lit up, but only tablet 3 rooms away I get crappy reception! It won't be free at sea my friends, gotta pay all those contract kickback bribes to secure that satellite scheme!

[Clamdigger]

Originally Posted by KP44

Ha ha.
Thanks for the comment.
Maybe a language-use Nazi but not a grammar Nazi.

Evolve in a different direction. So human eyes will naturally focus at 15 inches and our attention spans will be 3 minutes. Taste and olfactory senses will fade as we develop the ability to utilize bland, artificial foods. Fingers will develop extreme dexterity while legs and feet lose strength and dexterity.

In some esoteric scientific discussions, we have used the term "devolve" even though it is probably not a word any more than "conversate".

Lol! You just described the millennial generation! They OWN that look! Skinniest, most feminine 'men's of any generation lol! High wind warning, millennial men do not exit structures for your own safety lol!

I use a tablet, no more desktop it literally went up in smoke, while I was using it!, this past May. Tablet is for C.F. , CL, researching products, light reading. Enough electronic distraction in my life lol!

[Traumagas]

No worries 5-10 years means 10-20 years in government time so don’t worry it won’t be an issue

J

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by KP44

Ha ha.


Evolve in a different direction. So human eyes will naturally focus at 15 inches and our attention spans will be 3 minutes. Taste and olfactory senses will fade as we develop the ability to utilize bland, artificial foods. Fingers will develop extreme dexterity while legs and feet lose strength and dexterity.

Thanks - that's gonna be my response for folks pining for the "good 'ol days" - We are just evolving in a new direction.

Originally Posted by Hardhead

Ahh -- Word Schmurd. It's just a representation of a concept. I'd say if the meaning is understood, it's a word. Schmurd - now that is not a word.

I am with you here. Written word is so hard to effectively convey meaning at times. Sometimes one needs to be specific.

Everyone has a sweet spot "in time". I doubt I would be happy today in a world with no satellite communications, no air conditioning, or as someone pointed out the ability to instantly research a technical issue and get useful solutions via this "interweb" thingie...

How about being part of the "working class" in the late 1800's - We were all basically indentured servants...

I guess there are going to be many uncomfortable things that we don't like in the future.

I can agree 100% that screens and cell phones are totally out of control. My beef comes from prioritization. It is really annoying to be presenting a project in a meeting that I have spent a month preparing only to have half the audience reading eMail and texting.

For kids, phones used to get confiscated in class if they were even seen. Now it seems they can use them at will. Of course when they are on a screen they are definitely not paying attention to learning.

And of course the number one terrible thing about screens is texting (or talking) while driving.

[CaptTom]

I just watched "Soylent Green" for the second time - the first time was when it came out in maybe 1974. It takes place in the distopian "future" time of 2022. Interesting how things didn't turn out like they predicted at all. They still had CRT televisions, "Asteroids" was still the popular video game, and policemen used call boxes.

But most of all, society hasn't crumbled like they predicted...yet.

With all the crazy things around us, I'd still bet on humanity. Even Millennials.

[jonase]

Originally Posted by LoudMusic

... wow you guys are bitter! I just want weather and safety updates as I bob around out of sight of land - haha!

Fully agree, doing ocean crossings and sailing in general has nerver been as safe and available to as many as it is today. All thanks to technology! If you use that technology to download grib files or post on Instagram is all up to you.

[billdomb]

Originally Posted by LoudMusic

In the next 5 to 10 years the global sat internet coverage should get really good and far more reasonablely priced than current offerings.

There are already pretty cheap satellite internet services. Prob seems to be pointing at the satellites reliably as the boat moves.

We can do this adequately with our just-receive TV system, why not for two-way internet? Have asked several companies and never gotten a reply.

[Jon Hacking]

Originally Posted by billdomb

There are already pretty cheap satellite internet services. Prob seems to be pointing at the satellites reliably as the boat moves.

We can do this adequately with our just-receive TV system, why not for two-way internet? Have asked several companies and never gotten a reply.

Bill, pointing a dish generally means you're trying to talk to a geostationary satellite. That is, one that orbits the earth in exactly 1 day, so it appears to sit still in our sky, over the equator. The height for such an orbit is over 22,000 miles, so sending a signal to that satellite, it sending it back to (somewhere else on) earth, & then to get a reply, means that signal has had to travel over 90,000 miles. Since light (or radio waves) only travel 186,000 miles/second, you have to wait half a second to get a response to anything you send. In networking terms, this is called Latency, which internet (& phone conversations) hate. There are a few companies offering bidirectional internet this way, typically to very remote (fixed) locations that have no other options, but the service is very poor because of excessive latency.

SpaceX is putting up a system similar to Iridium, where the birds are in a constellation of Low Earth Orbits (LEO) 200-800 miles high. The birds talk to each other via laser, to route your signal along the optimum path to its destination. SpaceX says they can beat the latency of even undersea cables, which is pretty amazing. Since the birds are in LEO, it doesn't take much power to get to them, & a cheap omni-directional antenna is fine.

You may think that Iridium Go! service, at $1,500/year, is "pretty cheap" but it's too much for us. We have an Iridium sat-phone, but we've dropped the service because it was too expensive ($800/yr minimum). SpaceX says their service will be competitive with terrestrial cellular, which will be a HUGE boon to those of us out in the boonies of (for instance) SE Asia.