Mobile phone router?

[Mal Reynolds]

Originally Posted by fxykty

You answered your own question. Install Starlink, use local sims in your phone off the boat. We’ve got a masthead antenna and multi-sim router and all that’s been gathering dust since getting Starlink. Wifi calling means you can still make and receive calls with just a data connection

Maybe. Some of us would like to have remote monitoring while off the boat and not keep Starlink on. Also save power at anchor when a good cell signal is around. We with monohulls do have our limitations.

[sailcrazy]

following. For those of us that are "electronically challenged"...why is a router even needed?

[Hartleyg]

Sailcrazy, a router allows a number of useful things mostly because of the WiFi network it establishes:

1. Multiple devices can connect to the same Internet source (could be cell data, marina WiFi, Satellite or whatever) simultaneously via the router's WiFi network..
2. Multiple Internet sources for that network can be managed.
3. All those devices can talk to each other if needed.
4. If you connect your instrument network, devices on the router's WiFi network can see them - very handy for things like phone/tablet navigation.


There's probably a lot more you can do, but that's the big ones that come to mind


Hartley
S/V Atsa

[shimari]

Originally Posted by sailcrazy

following. For those of us that are "electronically challenged"...why is a router even needed?

Think of a router as a network manifold. A router's most basic function connects different types of networks and allows communications between them. So a router on your boat, will take your local Wifi network and connect to the Internet via cellular and or satellite. When you turn your phone's Internet sharing on, it's basically acting as a router.

Today's routers typically add more functionality such as firewalls, channel bonding (combining two different network flows for redundancy), and VPN capability.

A router is only needed if you want to enable communications off vessel, i.e. combining your vessel network with the Internet.

[sailcrazy]

Thanks guys, for the explanations. Not sure I really understand, and I don't want to steal the thread, but we use a MiFi on board and have for several years. That 1 device gives us wifi (as long as there's a cell tower reception), allows us both (my wife, and I) to have internet to our respective laptops, allows her to download books to her kindle, allows our wireless printer to connect and print from either of our laptops, and gives us (some) streaming TV. To my knowledge, we do not have, and have never had a router onboard.....hence, the question.

[shimari]

You're Mifi is a router. You should be able communicate between wifi devices even if there is no cell tower available. Once a tower is within range, you'll connect to the Internet.

Feel free to reach out via PM if you still don't understand. Happy to try and help.

Happy New Year!

[RaymondR]

Had a problem with USB modems in my steel boat so I used plastic water pipe and fittings to make a "periscope" through the deck above the nav table and taped the modem and extension cable to a piece of dowel to get the modem to the top. Worked well.

I have pondered on how one might use a mast top Yagi with direction finding to extend range.

I use a vertical dipole made from 1" aluminium tube inside the FG tube from a telescoping paint roller handle at the top of the mast for my TV antenna and it works really well and have also considered similar multiple, stacked vertical dipoles for mobile phones but am finding that service interruptions along the coast I cruise are disappearing and there is only a couple of places without coverage.

I'd like to try the vertical dipole idea just to see if it would work but the phones I use now don't have an external antenna connections.

[Hartleyg]

Sailcrazy, Shimari is right, your MiFi is a router - just a small and low-powered one. I had a MiFi for several years, including the waterproof box we hauled up to the spreader on the flag halyard
A full-size router has better antenna connections, a more powerful/smarter wifi router and its set up to be powered continuously (I could never get mine to run more than 4-6 hours without going to sleep and being useless until woken up).
The only addition might be the ability to add another Internet source (Starlink or marina wifi) seamlessly to the same system.


Hartley
S/V Atsa

[Brendan]

on my boat, I've just recently completed the install of:
1) a Peplink 5G Dome Pro (with one cellular modem and two wifi as WAN transmitters), placed on the mast-head, on a custom mast-cap ss plate. This is powered over PoE.
2) a Peplink SIM injector mini, at the nav desk.
3) a Peplink PoE Switch at the nav desk, running off a 12vDC to 48vDC transformer
4) a Peplink Balance Two Router, with the 5G dome connected via a virtual WAN port via the PoE Switch.
5) a Starlink Flat High Performance (not using the Starlink Router) into one of the WAN ports on the Peplink Balance Two Router.
6) two Peoplink One Wifi Access Points inside the boat.

The above works well, but managing SIMs in the Peplink set-up is a bit tricky - they can't have SIM PINs on them, and the Peplink hardware/software won't receive or display any SMS messages from the cellular network providers, eg. when you hit their "fair use" data limit etc. Starlink is simpler and more robust in terms of connectivity, but is power hungry and much more expensive than buying a local pre-paid data sim. I just picked up a Vodafone pre-paid Data sim here in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria for €34 for 150 GB. Compare that with £247 a month for 50GB of Starlink "priority" data - but of course Starlink works at sea - which is why one needs a local SIM / cellular set up to preserve that Starlink data for at-sea connectivity.

[shimari]

@Brendan - I thought about that setup, but I couldn't justify the price of the many components. Please update after you've used it a bit.

Re: Starlink - I think you can downgrade to the mobile roaming and then only buy priority data when you're at sea.

[SV Confianza]

Originally Posted by Brendan

on my boat, I've just recently completed the install of:
1) a Peplink 5G Dome Pro (with one cellular modem and two wifi as WAN transmitters), placed on the mast-head, on a custom mast-cap ss plate. This is powered over PoE.
2) a Peplink SIM injector mini, at the nav desk.
3) a Peplink PoE Switch at the nav desk, running off a 12vDC to 48vDC transformer
4) a Peplink Balance Two Router, with the 5G dome connected via a virtual WAN port via the PoE Switch.
5) a Starlink Flat High Performance (not using the Starlink Router) into one of the WAN ports on the Peplink Balance Two Router.
6) two Peoplink One Wifi Access Points inside the boat.

The above works well, but managing SIMs in the Peplink set-up is a bit tricky - they can't have SIM PINs on them, and the Peplink hardware/software won't receive or display any SMS messages from the cellular network providers, eg. when you hit their "fair use" data limit etc. Starlink is simpler and more robust in terms of connectivity, but is power hungry and much more expensive than buying a local pre-paid data sim. I just picked up a Vodafone pre-paid Data sim here in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria for €34 for 150 GB. Compare that with £247 a month for 50GB of Starlink "priority" data - but of course Starlink works at sea - which is why one needs a local SIM / cellular set up to preserve that Starlink data for at-sea connectivity.

Our setup is similar, except we opted for the Peplink br1 pro 5g. We use the non priority plan anywhere we get coverage, and works great for the most part.

As for the MiFis, we have found them to be unreliable when used as the daily driver. Probably just wasn’t built to be on 24/7 for years.

If interested, we did a full write up on our current setup and why we made the choices we made: https://www.clevermariner.com/post/o...nk-integration

Just found out yesterday from a friend that peplink featured the article on their social media haha. They didn’t tell me….

[shimari]

@SV_Confianza - very nice write-up.

There's a lack of information on converting the HP dish to DC. Seewoya recently updated their web page for the 320W Yaosheng injector to include instructions for conversion though.

https://seewoya.com/products/320w-4-...formance-dishy

I will be doing this as we updated to the HP dish, but probably not until the spring.

Edit: removed wiring protection that only the new 120w injector has.

[SV Confianza]

Originally Posted by shimari

@SV_Confianza - very nice write-up.

There's a lack of information on converting the HP dish to DC. Seewoya recently updated their web page for the 320W Yaosheng injector to include instructions for conversion though.

https://seewoya.com/products/320w-4-...formance-dishy

I will be doing this as we updated to the HP dish, but probably not until the spring.

Edit: removed wiring protection that only the new 120w injector has.

Yes I am interested in doing it as well. Silly thing sure is a power hog. Would be nice to eliminate the losses on top of it. I have a 12v terminal strip next the power supply already ready.

[svmobert]

I have many customers using HD Domes and SIM Injectors.. The range/performance is superior to pretty much any other option and many of my customers have opted to delay Starlink installs due to power and need once they have the right 5G setup. That said many also integrate Starlink with the same system and power Starlink on and off as needed, with the rest of the onboard WiFi and 5G connection always-on. No issues using 5G in motion, lower power consumption, always-on WiFi, integrated NMEA-to-WiFi and full integration with Starlink whenever starlink is needed/wanted.

Originally Posted by shimari

@Brendan - I thought about that setup, but I couldn't justify the price of the many components. Please update after you've used it a bit.

Re: Starlink - I think you can downgrade to the mobile roaming and then only buy priority data when you're at sea.

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by shimari

@Brendan - I thought about that setup, but I couldn't justify the price of the many components. Please update after you've used it a bit.

Re: Starlink - I think you can downgrade to the mobile roaming and then only buy priority data when you're at sea.

Agree, if I ever figure out where I'm going (really, where I'm staying), I will downgrade the Starlink service. Now, I want to keep the ocean service as I'm about to do my first Atlantic crossing, once some plastic parts for a broken winch show up.....