Wifi Hot Spots

aero3113

What are you guys using to pick up better signals from WiFi hot spots on the boat?

reneechris14

I use my phone from time to time but wife says no TV in the bedroom. Lol

Willhound

Investigated this about a year ago when we installed the TV and Roku box but it seemed like a lot of hassle in searching out the right antenna and router. And the necessary power supply. There are some 12 volt models out there for RV's that would probably be ok on a boat. I have a pretty good cell plan with 10GB a month so in areas where Wifi is poor I just tether the phone and use my data.

aero3113

I’m going to try this out, has good reviews and is 110 / 12 volt .

https://youtu.be/99HW-mZ33DY

Willhound

We get royally boned on cell/data rates in Canada. I've got one of the best plans around, unlimited calls in Canada, long distance to Canada/US (when on home network) unlimited texts and the 10 GB and I'm $50 a month.
My buddy in Finland gets totally unlimited use for half of that. My 10 GB is plenty for me, I usually average 3 to 5 unless I start streaming movies.
Back to @aero3113 's question, I did come across this:
https://www.amazon.ca/KING-KF1000-Automatic-Directional-Extender-White/dp/B07D1F2MPR/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=marine+wifi+antenna&qid=1590332077&sr=8-3

aero3113

The one I posted is $150. I’m going to temporally tie wrap it to the anchor light and run the wire down to the cockpit and plug it in. If it works well I’ll figure out how to permanently mount it.

ALFA Network WiFi CampPro 2 Universal WiFi / Internet Range Extender Kit for Caravan/Motorhome, Boat, RV https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BZXTWC9/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_sTOYEbYK2RC2K

Liberty44140

Looking forward to your feedback aero. Our marina WiFi is not working well down below and the marina claims there is plenty of bandwidth at high speed so I hope that’s a game changer 

aero3113

Liberty44140 said:

Looking forward to your feedback aero. Our marina WiFi is not working well down below and the marina claims there is plenty of bandwidth at high speed so I hope that’s a game changer 

Hopefully this will be a winner!

aero3113

Here’s a good breakdown of everything in the box. This is the company that I ordered from through Amazon.

https://youtu.be/i5lgqOuxvYk

Willhound

That's a better price. Not available in Canada though....

Handymans342

You guys always want what we RVers have lol

Willhound

Yeah....except the annoying neighbour on the next lot. .....we can always pull anchor and move. 🙄

Handymans342

Willhound said:

Yeah....except the annoying neighbour on the next lot. .....we can always pull anchor and move. 🙄

I can move anytime 

Aqua_Aura

Yeah but when you move you have to find a new spot or a whole new RV park. We can just drift a bit and drop the anchor again. 

aero3113

Received the antenna today. Playing around with it now at the house, easy to set up and seems well made. I have it connected to my homes WiFi so it's working really well and fast right now. Hopefully in the next couple of days I’ll be able to install it on the boat and connect to a hot spot, rain for the next day or two.

Liberty44140

Looking forward to the results! How is the marina WiFi now? Pretty bad starting point?

aero3113

@Liberty44140 , I’m in a town marina so we don’t have a dedicated WiFi. I’m trying to pickup better signals for hotspots from my wifi provider. Also an area that we anchor at often has a few restaurants nearby that have free WiFi. Also a few marinas are there that I’m wondering if they have free WiFi.

Ian

Be aware that some wifi setups won’t allow “rogue” access points to connect and reroute. May work at home but if you can’t associate at the marina that may be why. Setup at our club rejects rogue AP’s by default.

aero3113

@icoultha , it’s a repeater so if there’s a signal it will hopefully make it better and if there’s no password required it shouldn’t matter. I got this to boost the signal from my provider that has hot spots all over the island.

Ian

No problem then @aero3113

Liberty44140

Fingers crossed! Our marina WiFi requires no password or login and no landing page to accept terms. Just open. But even though there is a tower behind my boat the signal still stinks

Ian

Are there a number of antenna close to each other? One mistake is thinking more is better but unless tuned and separate channels used you can get a degraded service.

Liberty44140

They are every 75 or so feet down the dock 

Ian

May be part of the issue, channel getting swamped.

Handymans342

Aqua_Aura said:

Yeah but when you move you have to find a new spot or a whole new RV park. We can just drift a bit and drop the anchor again. 

Wrong again. I can drive to a Walmart, Cabelas or Basspro parking lot anytime. 

Handymans342

aero3113 said:

Received the antenna today. Playing around with it now at the house, easy to set up and seems well made. I have it connected to my homes WiFi so it's working really well and fast right now. Hopefully in the next couple of days I’ll be able to install it on the boat and connect to a hot spot, rain for the next day or two.

That unit is nice but there is another one rated better. Seems it losses power thru the USB cables length. Too long

aero3113

@Handymans342 , yes there is another one but read that it is very frustrating to connect to and isn’t user friendly. It’s also a few hundred dollars more. With all the positive reviews and research I’ve done, I think it will be fine for my area. The one you mentioned is more for remote areas, were not out in the middle of the woods. We’re usually only a few hundred feet or yards from shore that has towers you can probably see.

Handymans342

Yes the same with us when we are in campgrounds 

aero3113

@Handymans342 , I was also thinking if it works well I can get a USB cable the length I need. I don’t think I’ll need 25’. This will cut down on the drop, if there is one.

YYZRC

Handymans342 said:

Aqua_Aura said:

Yeah but when you move you have to find a new spot or a whole new RV park. We can just drift a bit and drop the anchor again. 

Wrong again. I can drive to a Walmart, Cabelas or Basspro parking lot anytime. 

Sorry, ignorant Canadian here. Why is it that Americans camp out at WalMart? And furthermore, why is that (seemingly) permitted to happen?

Handymans342

It’s just for an overnight during a trip but people have taken advantage of it and a lot of Walmart’s or townships have prohibited it.