Best way to get internet while in the States

[iliohale]

Hi All,

Moving aboard a new to us L450 catamaran and we plan to spend the next year sailing the West coast getting used to and equipping the boat for longer cruising. During that time I am hoping to work from the boat. To do that I need reliable and reasonable internet access. Appreciate ideas and lessons learned. I read this article which seems pretty good. What do you think?

https://sailbits.com/best-lte-antenna-booster-boat/

Gary

[Paul L]

The West Coast is a big place. About 2,000 nm from Alaska to the Mexican boarder. Much of it covered nicely by LTE towers. You'll probably get more useful responses if you narrow down your intended cruising areas.

[Stu Jackson]

In many places here in the Gulf Islands there is no service. None. We're on the west coast! That's what Paul means.


If you're in LA or SF, you most likely would use the phone as a hot spot because of lack of any open wifi. Need a good data plan, too.


There are folks sailing up & down the coast who have figured it out. I sailed up the coast and used marina wifi or our own phone. When we got north of Grays Harbor, the only service was Verizon in Lapush and Neah Bay, so no connectivity for us until Victoria.


Location, location, location


Good luck. We need more info to help you.

[wtmf]

i understand wanting to stay connected for work BUT what is it about disconnecting from a world that frightens people. i admit this is handy but the times i am away is Heaven, just need to extend my quality time away from " civilization" and explore the remoteses islands.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by wtmf

i understand wanting to stay connected for work BUT what is it about disconnecting from a world that frightens people. i admit this is handy but the times i am away is Heaven, just need to extend my quality time away from " civilization" and explore the remoteses islands.

Much easier to explore the remoteness when you can cover your expenses...unless you are independently wealthy or willing to live a very modest lifestyle, most in the middle need to make a bit of money and that typically involves staying connected to various degrees.

Also, nothing wrong with being part of civilization in moderation.

The question still stands...where on the west coast. Near most urban areas a cell phone as a hot spot is typically viable...as you get to remote areas, it gets more problematic as cell coverage is limited.

[Privilege]

The antenna's you are looking at take a Wifi signal, boost it to your boat and create your own boats Wifi. They work well (I have one) but you are dependent on finding a wifi signal in the area and having the passcode for that signal. Again, it works well but if you need reliable wifi, you should perhaps look elsewhere.

[northwestsailor]

I think it bears noting that no one system is perfect in all areas. Having good ie unlimited data plans with multiple cell service providers plus WiFi setups should be the overall strategy. There are a couple of high end routers that accept multiple WAN (wide area network) adapters or SIM cards. You can prioritize them (according to price and signal strength) as well as bond them together to make a higher bandwidth service for yourself. All this comes with a price but if you need it, you need it. Unless you are super high tech, and if you asked this question, you may not be, professional setup would be advised.

Good luck and would love to know what you end up with. Down here in San Diego we went with Simple, a T-Mobile reseller that has affordable unlimited everything plans that work in US and Mexico. For the most part we are satisfied but not sure they are happy with us as last month I used 90GB of data on the iPad alone.

[hellosailor]

"To do that I need reliable and reasonable internet access. "
What's unreasonable about paying $4/minute for a 2400bps data connection? Hey, that used to be as good as it got--at any price.
Either you find out what options are available, and you pay what they cost, or you stay in the grid. Paying $500/month for high speed satellite means nothing--if you need it, and the results pay for it. If all you do is post to Pinterest...maybe not so much.

[wesevans]

I do not know about the West coast but here in Florida a hot spot from one of the major cell phone companies has worked well for me. AT&T, Verizon Wireless etc. Need to check coverage and transfer speeds. Other option is cable which is available in some marinas. I would not rely on the marinas WiFi for business or financial comm.

[Kenomac]

Get an unlimited data plan and use your phone as a hotspot. And forget about trying to steal someone elses internet with a booster. Outside of using the booster in a marina using their signal, most wifi sources use password protection these days and they’re not reliable.

Just get used to buying your own data, it’s cheap. My TMobile unlimited data and calls costs only $50 per month.

[Dougtiff]

This is for " northWest sailer, love the name of your boat " Raja Laut " Prince of the Sea, recognized the name, having spent 20 year's in S,E, Asia.

[hellosailor]

Even in Florida, all you have to do is go to the Shark River(?) entrance to the Everglades Park. Major entry, major tourist area, zero cell coverage. Head up the Florida Turnpike a hundred fifty miles or so, there's another 20-minute long dead zone. Head into NH and Vermont and even stretches of the NYS Northway...dead zones. And out in the west...all the carriers show gaps in their coverage, some worse than others.

Inshore, offshore...wifi, cellular...they all have gaps. And any Wifi you can access, is unsecured, so many hotspots have gone secured--and shut out the general public.

These aren't telephones, they are radio systems. You've got to know some techy stuff if you expect them to perform reliably.