I just purchased a new HD tv for my boat and i was wondering what solutions you guys have found with regards to get signal to the boat. I know about tracvision and the like but they are very expensive and more then i really need. In my last boat i had a Shakespeare over the air antenna (The large disc type) which worked ok but was very clunky in size. I have seen at bestbuy etc much smaller digital antennas which connect to the TV and can easily be installed anywhere. Does anyone have any experience with something similar?
I have seen people rig up home direct tv's to a pedestal or something they set on the dock and just aimed it at each marina they went to.
what about internet at sea? is there a way to get internet on board with say up to 40 miles off shore without spending thousands in additional hardware?
Short answer no. You could use a cellphone modem and get 5 maybe 10 miles offshore. A cellphone extender might boost that to up to 20 miles maybe, I stress maybe. BUT 40 miles, you're looking at satellite.
personally i'd rather skip the HD part and have a basic tracking antenna (around $2000...) with standard direcTV service at all times. for internet, hardware isnt' the issue as costs have come down to under $5k. the issue remains bandwith cost at about $8 to $10 a MB... I get reliable service up to 5NM with my ATT 3G card on the east coast.
I have good luck with the Shakespere type TV antenna, local to the coast and at Catalina, iffy at San Clemente Island. ATT has good coverage in Mexico but way more expensive per megabyte. If you are interested in the tracking antenna make sure it will receive in Mexico, I have been told that it takes a different system to work south of the border. I take a supply of DVDs for my Mexico trips.
Ya i figure my only real option is the shakespere TV antenna. Capt fred which one of the shakespere antenna do you use? Im in Marina Del Rey so most of the time viewing will be in port or at Catalina. Do you have it mounted on the radar arch or under the steering console etc? Has anyone tried their 14" antennas?
Ariel: Not sure of the model but it is the large one, mine is probably over ten years old. I have it mounted under the steering consol on the flying bridge.
You should upgrade to the 4G, the speed difference is very very noticable. I have Verizon and it was actually $10/month cheaper for the same 5gb plan over my old 3G plan. Very worthwhile upgrade though for the $99 price of a new modem.
i will... havent seen if ATT has 4G yet. i have an old ATT plan which is unlimited and usually use more than 5gb a month.
For internet, with a KVH mini-VSAT broadband you can get you MB charges down to .99. But the monthly fee is still up there in price. http://www.kvh.com/Leisure/Marine-Systems/Phone-and-Internet.aspx A BGAN system on a Track it TV system is probably your cheapest hardware option. http://www.thepowerofmobilebroadband.com/bgan http://www.track-it-tv.com/mobile-internet-access.aspx
Have you run some speed tests on it? From everything I've read most 4G services are more marketing than real world speed improvements as yet. "The move also points out an anomaly: 3G networks actually will operate at higher speeds than the 4G networks, even though 4G is typically seen as supporting speeds faster than 3G. That doesn't mean 4G is not the next evolution of access platforms, but simply to note that “speed” is not automatically higher on any 4G network, compared to any 3G network." "Despite claims from mobile phone carriers, the next generation of mobile technology, or 4G, will only be slightly faster than current 3G speeds, at least initially" "An important item the study notes is that no current network is actually "true 4G" - not even Verizon's forthcoming LTE (Long Term Evolution) network. The International Telecomunication Union (ITU) requires 4G networks to provide download speeds of at least 100 mbps. Current high-speed networks only achieve roughly 3% of this speed, so "4G" is merely a marketing term used by Sprint and other networks to note that this is their fourth generation network."
I did speed tests and it was much faster than my old 3g, at least double if not more. I don't remember the exact stats, but can do a speed test now. I just did a delivery with an owner who was a cellular engineer and he explained to me the differences between 3G, 4G is a marketing term etc. etc. He told me the LTE is much much faster (or capable of), then the 3G due to the spectrum they run it in. Anyways, with 3g a page of pictures on a website would take like 20-30 seconds to load, with the Verizon 4g lte it's almost instantaneous. I've noticed a huge improvement. He also stated AT+T is acquiring T-mobile because one of them didn't have the tower capability to do 4g....... Pascal, what speeds are you getting with your 3g? upload/download?
ATT 3G is fast enough to stream netflix movies with almost no buffering pauses (maybe one or two per movie) when browsign the web, i find it very close to standard DSL with the average web page loads in 2 to 3 seconds. for instance i just reloaded YF active thread page in a new tab and it took 3 seconds. for larger downloads i usually get about 7 megs a minute, and 3 to 4 megs a minute uploading. that's average real world rates to and from various sites incl. stuff that i upload to my own sites
If you are going to remain within 150 mile of the coast, I can recommend the LAVA Remote controlled HD TV antenna $76.95. The coax cable also powers the remote antenna so you can rotate the antenna from inside. There's a website that will tell you which direction to point your antenna in any given city. Since the digital age has hit TV the FCC has required they send HD over the airwaves. I have this on my RV outside of Houston, I pick up 39 channels including 4 movie channels. And I have read testimonials that they have picked up channels 150 miles away. When you take it out of the box...it appears very flimsy but mine has withstood 50 mph winds, not constant for over two years now, and hasn't missed a beat.
