Wifi router 12v
- Thread starter Kordie
- Start date
Practical Sailor did a review of several wifi systems a couple of years ago. Also check the website for Island Time PC (I think). Most home-use routers are 12V - check the label on the AC adaptor, which should indicate the output voltage and current of the power supply.
WiFi repeater
I think what you might want is a WiFi repeater. This will just repeat a shore-based WiFi network into your boat. Most such solutions have a hi-gain antenna for the external side, as the signal you're dealing with is likely weak.
I've found that some of the Linksys router/repeaters have wall-wart AC adapters that feed 12V DC to the units, so you can just cut the transformer off the cord and wire it to your panel. In this case you'd find a hi-gain antenna for the unit (which are available), but making it into a repeater (and not just an access point) requires some hack-ery.
A purpose-made, dual-radio, hi-gain repeater is over $200. Power might be more of a challenge. Some use 48VDC (which is common in telephone networks), but you can get a 12 to 48 V DC-DC converter for about $50. Check Hawking Technology for repeaters and L-Com.com for power conversion.
I had considered this, and if you have free WiFi at your marina it's great. But as I've cruised around I found WiFi in harbors, and it wasn't cheap - like, $10 for a day pass! I never found any WiFi provided by my cell carrier, which would have been free. I've opted for a cell carrier who is rolling out 4G LTE infrastructure and already has good coverage where I go, plus free or cheap WiFi mobile network sharing via my Android phone. I can connect up to 5 laptops to my phone at once, and when I have 4G coverage, from 1 to almost 20Mbps.
I think what you might want is a WiFi repeater. This will just repeat a shore-based WiFi network into your boat. Most such solutions have a hi-gain antenna for the external side, as the signal you're dealing with is likely weak.
I've found that some of the Linksys router/repeaters have wall-wart AC adapters that feed 12V DC to the units, so you can just cut the transformer off the cord and wire it to your panel. In this case you'd find a hi-gain antenna for the unit (which are available), but making it into a repeater (and not just an access point) requires some hack-ery.
A purpose-made, dual-radio, hi-gain repeater is over $200. Power might be more of a challenge. Some use 48VDC (which is common in telephone networks), but you can get a 12 to 48 V DC-DC converter for about $50. Check Hawking Technology for repeaters and L-Com.com for power conversion.
I had considered this, and if you have free WiFi at your marina it's great. But as I've cruised around I found WiFi in harbors, and it wasn't cheap - like, $10 for a day pass! I never found any WiFi provided by my cell carrier, which would have been free. I've opted for a cell carrier who is rolling out 4G LTE infrastructure and already has good coverage where I go, plus free or cheap WiFi mobile network sharing via my Android phone. I can connect up to 5 laptops to my phone at once, and when I have 4G coverage, from 1 to almost 20Mbps.
I'm not an expert, but I have done some looking into this.
I assume you're talking about picking up the signal from the marina and redistributing it.
You will need two things; an antenna, and a repeating device.
http://m.instructables.com/id/10--WIFI-16dBi-Super-Antenna-Pictorial/
http://lifehacker.com/5563196/turn-your-old-router-into-a-range+boosting-wi+fi-repeater
The antenna is directional, so you would point it at the source of the wifi you want to repeat.
There is also a way you could use a simple wifi router (unhacked) with a ready made repeater getting a signal through a hi gain antenna.
Lots of good information out there about different ways to do this, but the common component will always be the hi gain antenna.
Good luck!
I assume you're talking about picking up the signal from the marina and redistributing it.
You will need two things; an antenna, and a repeating device.
http://m.instructables.com/id/10--WIFI-16dBi-Super-Antenna-Pictorial/
http://lifehacker.com/5563196/turn-your-old-router-into-a-range+boosting-wi+fi-repeater
The antenna is directional, so you would point it at the source of the wifi you want to repeat.
There is also a way you could use a simple wifi router (unhacked) with a ready made repeater getting a signal through a hi gain antenna.
Lots of good information out there about different ways to do this, but the common component will always be the hi gain antenna.
Good luck!
We have a "Bullet" (http://www.ubnt.com/bullet ), a commercial grade WIFI radio. I use it with an omnidirectional antenna with 7 dB gain so we do not loose our signal as the boat swings on the anchor. It is mounted just above the bimini. It has picked up a home WIFI signal from several miles away, over the water. It runs fine on 12 volts, it is designed for outdoor mounting.
It can be plugged direct into your computer or into a regular home router, we use an old Linksys that was made to run off a 12 v. supply, discarded the small transformer and put a 12 v plug on it.
The Bullet requires a bit of learning to set it up but is usually considered the best ways to get long distance WIFI of a boat. There are several companies selling a Bullet package that is all set up for easy plug and play.
There are other WIFI systems that are cheaper, easier to use, and maybe adequate for many users, often found at RV stores or websites.
good luck, Bob
It can be plugged direct into your computer or into a regular home router, we use an old Linksys that was made to run off a 12 v. supply, discarded the small transformer and put a 12 v plug on it.
The Bullet requires a bit of learning to set it up but is usually considered the best ways to get long distance WIFI of a boat. There are several companies selling a Bullet package that is all set up for easy plug and play.
There are other WIFI systems that are cheaper, easier to use, and maybe adequate for many users, often found at RV stores or websites.
good luck, Bob
Sumner has a great page on boat WIFI, have a look here, http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-navigation/WiFi-1.html
Bob
Bob
Ubiquiti makes great wifi hardware that is commonly used in such applications. As already mentioned.
As Sumner notes, buying and setting up the Ubiquiti hardware can be daunting, so there are a number of resellers who have created packages with custom firmware, intended for boat use. Island Time is one such vendor; I'm most familiar with the Bad Boy system from Bitstorm.
I've installed and set up two Bad Boy systems now. There's a receiver unit (Xtreme) that you mount outside, and a local hotspot unit (Unleashed) that you mount in the cabin. Then there's ethernet cable, and a small box that provides power via ethernet to the 2 units.
Most of such systems work in the same way: the outside unit picks up available wifi, the internal unit is the wifi 'router' that your computer accesses. When you enter a new port, you use your browser to log onto your outside unit, review and select an available hotspot, test, and you're done til you move to a new location.
And yes it all runs from 12v.
As Sumner notes, buying and setting up the Ubiquiti hardware can be daunting, so there are a number of resellers who have created packages with custom firmware, intended for boat use. Island Time is one such vendor; I'm most familiar with the Bad Boy system from Bitstorm.
I've installed and set up two Bad Boy systems now. There's a receiver unit (Xtreme) that you mount outside, and a local hotspot unit (Unleashed) that you mount in the cabin. Then there's ethernet cable, and a small box that provides power via ethernet to the 2 units.
Most of such systems work in the same way: the outside unit picks up available wifi, the internal unit is the wifi 'router' that your computer accesses. When you enter a new port, you use your browser to log onto your outside unit, review and select an available hotspot, test, and you're done til you move to a new location.
And yes it all runs from 12v.
There looks to be a great article here, http://www.boatinghowto.com/content...hp-installation-setup/comments2.html#comments explaining how to set up a WIFI Bullet on your boat and connect it to a home router.
Bob
Bob
We've been cruising full time for 2 yeas now. Pick up wifi all the time.
Bob at Island Time PC is an ex cruiser and knows boats and their systems. He provides great tech support for install and operations. And his systems are only about $50 over the best deal you could get if you knew what you were doing, shopped hard and put the system together yourself. We are very happy customers.
He packages a system that includes the ubiquiti bullet and several needed accessories.
In addition you can add a router. We already had one from home, the common RT54G. It has several hard wire ports plus it transmits securely. And it is 12 volt.
What I have is the Bullet feeding wifi to the router and the router wirelessly connecting to any devices aboard that have the password. So my laptop, my android and my wifes tablet can all connect to the router and send/receive wifi via the bullet.
Without the bullet, tablets hardly receive anything down below. With the bullet we see every wifi in several miles. Countless times we hear other boaters in a marina that cannot use the marina wifi yet we get strong signals.
Call Bob at Island Time
Bob at Island Time PC is an ex cruiser and knows boats and their systems. He provides great tech support for install and operations. And his systems are only about $50 over the best deal you could get if you knew what you were doing, shopped hard and put the system together yourself. We are very happy customers.
He packages a system that includes the ubiquiti bullet and several needed accessories.
In addition you can add a router. We already had one from home, the common RT54G. It has several hard wire ports plus it transmits securely. And it is 12 volt.
What I have is the Bullet feeding wifi to the router and the router wirelessly connecting to any devices aboard that have the password. So my laptop, my android and my wifes tablet can all connect to the router and send/receive wifi via the bullet.
Without the bullet, tablets hardly receive anything down below. With the bullet we see every wifi in several miles. Countless times we hear other boaters in a marina that cannot use the marina wifi yet we get strong signals.
Call Bob at Island Time
Some great info here, thanks everyone. I now know a whole lot more than I did yesterday.
I have a wifi booster that I plug into my laptop USB and I am able to get wifi at many anchorages that I couldn't even see with my laptop alone,
If I add a wireless router can I share this Internet with several devices? I don't think I can plug the booster directly into the router. More for me to explore.
Thanks again
I have a wifi booster that I plug into my laptop USB and I am able to get wifi at many anchorages that I couldn't even see with my laptop alone,
If I add a wireless router can I share this Internet with several devices? I don't think I can plug the booster directly into the router. More for me to explore.
Thanks again
Look up the wirie. It is an extender and router in one. I do not have one but it looks like the best one for the money.
What service do you subscribe to, and what area? I haven't found many marinas around here with free wifi, and the pay access is usually very expensive. For example, Chappy WISP that serves Edgartown Harbor, is $12 for a day pass, $32 for a 7 day pass. I don't know of any other service providers in the area.
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Do you use an I-Phone or similar smart phone? If I'm at a marina with wifi I just connect to that. Otherwise you can do what's called "tethering" with your i-phone. Simply turn on the "Personal Hotspot" option in the settings on your phone. It will then create a wifi hotspot using your cell signal. You can connect any wifi capable device to this hotspot and you're off to the races.
I agree w/ Steve.
I considered a "Bullet, etc", wi-fi extender, but,
now, when we go cruising, I just activate the Wi-Fi hot spot on my Verizon cell phone (for $15/mo, I think). Simple, no new equip to buy, install and configure, and it works fine. Don't have to worry about finding the elusive "open" wi-fi signal.
Am I missing something ?
I considered a "Bullet, etc", wi-fi extender, but,
now, when we go cruising, I just activate the Wi-Fi hot spot on my Verizon cell phone (for $15/mo, I think). Simple, no new equip to buy, install and configure, and it works fine. Don't have to worry about finding the elusive "open" wi-fi signal.
Am I missing something ?
I'm in a marina with horrible Verizon coverage so no hotpsot using phones. The marina does offer wireless but while I can see the network from in the cabin, I generally need to be sitting on the cabin roof to get an interrmittent connection that drops every few minutes. Two weeks ago I installed a Rocket wi-fi extender from PDQ Connect. I now see 6-10 networks versus 2-3. Accessing the marina wireless is a given every time now. My goal is to get a wireless router connected to the Rocket working as a WAP inside the boat, but for now I have configured a laptop as a Hotspot and we had two iPads, a Netbook, an Android, and an iPhone hooked to it at various points during the weekend.
The laptop I am using is a 2005 IBM ThinkPad T43 running Win 7 Pro so hardware is no where near state of the art. I'm trying out the free version of Connectify as the Hotspot software.
As an added bonus, the Rocket antenna has a blue flashing light at the base of the antenna when connected so the occasional dockmate after sunset will wander over to ask if we have something shorting out on our transom rail, so a good conversation piece also.
Just an FYI in case it helps fellow sufferers-
Marina runs an 802.11b network
The Apple stuff refuses to acknowledge its existence.
The Samsung Android sees it but refuses to connect to such obsolete stuff.
The IBM T43 and an Acer Netbook both see it and welcome it aboard, but only reliably if I'm willing to go a few feet up the mast.
Until I figure out how to edit my profile, this discussion concerns wifi on a Bayfield 29, not the Potter.
The laptop I am using is a 2005 IBM ThinkPad T43 running Win 7 Pro so hardware is no where near state of the art. I'm trying out the free version of Connectify as the Hotspot software.
As an added bonus, the Rocket antenna has a blue flashing light at the base of the antenna when connected so the occasional dockmate after sunset will wander over to ask if we have something shorting out on our transom rail, so a good conversation piece also.
Just an FYI in case it helps fellow sufferers-
Marina runs an 802.11b network
The Apple stuff refuses to acknowledge its existence.
The Samsung Android sees it but refuses to connect to such obsolete stuff.
The IBM T43 and an Acer Netbook both see it and welcome it aboard, but only reliably if I'm willing to go a few feet up the mast.
Until I figure out how to edit my profile, this discussion concerns wifi on a Bayfield 29, not the Potter.