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How can I improve wifi performance at marinas

Discussion in 'Technical Discussion' started by CSkipR, Dec 13, 2014.

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  1. CSkipR

    CSkipR Member

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    Often when we are in the Bahamas at a marina slip the wifi connection is weak. I'm looking for a way to improve the connection and have better security without spending a fortune. I'm pretty stupid when it comes to stuff like this.
    If I just setup a wifi router in the boat does this improve performance?
    Does it impact speed wired from my wifi router to their router?
    Does it make it more secure having it go through my wifi if password protected?
    Thanks, Skip
  2. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    A router on the boat is not going to affect your connection to the shore side access point as it has no way to connect to the access point. There are a number of solutions to do that rangin from under $100 to well over $1000

    to get a really stong usable signal you need an amplifier and external antenna. I have been using the Rogue from Wave for about 5 years now with excellent result. It costs around $500 which may or may not be consider costing a fortune deoending on who you ask..

    It comes in the form of a small cylinder, about an inch diam and 5" long. One end has an antenna connector with and little plastic antenna which you can upgrade to a 3 footer connected with a cable for better oerformance, the other end has a standard cat 5 network connector which you connect to your router. Power is provided by a small power over lan adapter installed between the router and the booster.

    I have installed ours inside the radar arch close to the Antenna.

    Turn it on, access the booster setup page from any browser, pick a shore side access point and any computer, tablet or phone connects to your router will share the connection.

    Distance vary, I ve gotten usable signals up to a couple of miles away if the shore side access point was strong. Usually you ll get a half mile to a mile. Obviously e stronger the signal the better the speed so even close to th marina access point, th booster will significantly improve speed over connecting dirctly to the AP

    When using access points with log in pages like Beacon, Exuma Wifi, etc... You login once and all share the account automatically (as well as the bandwith if limited in volume like the exumas) so I you ahve a number of people on board, make sure they disable some of the app update, background back ups, etc... On their devices so that Speeds don't come down.

    There are other similar devices, some cheaper, but I like the ease of use and the fact that you don't have to install any driver or special setup software., meaning you can use it with a tablet or phone.
  3. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Wave has been the leader in marine wifi extenders as Pascal points out. Their extender has over 800mw of power. A typical Wifi card on a laptop has 60mw.

    Now, take these claims with a grain of salt, but the Wave Rogue claims up to 7 mile range from a quality hot spot. It's a nice small compact unit. Wave makes products up to 1 watt of power and claiming up to 12 miles range but they come at a cost of dollars, size and power consumption.

    We've also used Wave products and been very pleased.
  4. CSkipR

    CSkipR Member

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    Pascal,
    Thanks exactly what I was looking for. You say you mounted the antenna inside the radar please explain. Did you open it up and fasten it inside? Is it possible you can just Velcro it somewhere on the flybridge if at a marina? Did you run the cable all the way down inside the boat? Could you mount it under helm and not have to run cable inside?
    Thanks
  5. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    no I said I installed the amplifier (wave ) inside the arch near an access plate. It s small enough to fit. The Wave's antenna is mounted on the arch and all I had to do is run the cat5 cable down to the router

    In our case it was easy to put the router in the sky lounge right under the arch. With an open FB you could put it under the helm although you may want to put it away from electronics.

    Like all antennas you want the antenna as high and as clear as possible.
  6. ychtcptn

    ychtcptn Senior Member

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    I 2nd or 3rd the wave. BTW- great customer service as well.
  7. CR CRUISER

    CR CRUISER Member

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  8. Danvilletim

    Danvilletim Senior Member

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    Any suggestion on wireless router to go with rogue wave? Also is wireless router likely to work down below if installed on fly of alum boat?
  9. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    Wave has their own routers. Various levels of them. They can accommodate 2, 4 or 6 broadband sources depending on the model.
  10. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I will echo both Pascals and Olderboaters comments on the wave. We had one with an external 3' antannae that I never bothered accessing till I was at Bimini Bay with a friend and we were on one of the outside slips and my laptop was super slow and kept getting disconnected. My friend went through the instructions and connected to it. Our internet was then very fast and no disconnections. A night and day difference.....problem was, all of the other boaters were complaining that their internet speed got REALLY slow. Turns out the Wave will steal most of the marina's bandwith.....LOL......but I started using it after that and it did provide a night and day difference in speed.....
  11. P46-Curaçao

    P46-Curaçao Senior Member

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    The external antennas are great, I have one and used it for years, before I get a dedicated internet connection to my boat.
    Another (additional) option could be, take a battery powered WIFI range extender and a small battery, and build it in a waterproof box. Then, place it somewhere in the middle...
  12. dennismc

    dennismc Senior Member

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    I was in Punta Gorda and my rogue would not pick up the wi fi from the marinas transmitter, however, my $25.00 TP link did. I find it important to keep the rogue antenna out of the "weather" if possible, the internal pins corrode easily,
    ymmv
  13. CSkipR

    CSkipR Member

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  14. Chasm

    Chasm Senior Member

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    It's an USB device. So obviously powered via USB. ;)
    (Not an antenna but a complete wireless dongle. Like any other wifi stick, just a tad larger.)
  15. ranger58sb

    ranger58sb Senior member

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    I use an older "Wave Magnum" version of this http://www.radiolabs.com/products/wireless/Wave-Plus-high-power-usb-wifi-n-adapter.php also from RadioLabs.

    No AC/DC power required; works from USB. I've received good signal and good throughput from a measured 1/4+ mile away in a building-block environment, and it's usually more than good enough to boost a marina's Wi-Fi if we're docked at the outer edges. That's usually from within the saloon, too; I almost never have to move the radio/antenna combo up to the flying bridge.

    It's not a Rogue Wave/Ubiquity... but OTOH it's cheap, simple, fast, and easy.

    -Chris
  16. TeKeela

    TeKeela Member

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    Range for these systems can be in the miles, yes. It depends on the antennas. More range with directional antennas as opposed to omni-directional. For most cases an omni will work.

    The laptop is limited by their wireless card, the FCC gives a max power and it isn't much. They are even weaker in apple products.

    DanvilleTim- you have a bit of a disadvantage as you will need your signal to come thru your aluminum bridge deck. Metal can block the signal from the router. An option may be to extend the antenna from the wifi box that contains the router into the salon in some manner.

    The booster consists of an antenna to receive the signal from the marina, a cable to connect to the router board inside the booster box, and either an antenna to transmit wirelessly to the end user or a cat5 network cable to be plugged into the device or better yet a wireless access point inside (this would be best for the striker) If the unit has an ethernet cable to plug your device into, you can plug in a wireless access point and it will handle your wireless needs.

    Ideally you want to select a unit designed to have the shortest length of cable between the external antenna and the router box, that usually means a somewhat water resistant enclosure. The shorter that run, the less signal loss you have, the longer the run the bigger the cable. POE or power over ethernet is a common way to power up a router board that is feet away of hundreds of feet away. Normally the POE will plug into AC power (though they have DC powered units) and output anywhere from 12-48volts DC. that power is sent up via cat5 cable to the router board in the booster. Since cat5 is cheap, and you can make long runs without loss, that is what you want to be the longer run than the antenna to booster (router) Many POEs that I use also have the data port built into them and that is where you can connect via ethernet to your router. That data port is also where you can connect a local WAP or wireless access point.

    They do work.
  17. CSkipR

    CSkipR Member

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    Thanks guys. Purchased the Wave Wifi Rogue and installed a couple of days ago. Works like you all said it would. Actually put the antenna inside the bridge helm station and works great. Not subject to any weather there. Sure I probably lost some range but that's not that important to me. Just want to be able to hookup to wifi at marinas.