Boat wifi

Greetings,

I am sure this topic has been covered, but I could not find anything in the search feature.

I am looking for a constant wifi source while I am in a marina. I know I could purchase a stand alone hot spot device and leave it on all the time. I can also use my phone as a hot spot. It seems like there has to be a better way.

I am installing a set of cameras on my boat and I want to be able to log in and check up on it when I am away.

What do you guys suggest?

Hello and welcome

Yes Several threads on it here and plenty with more expertise. Many in here use hotspots from a cell carrier we do this while cruising with a booster. While we are at they Marina they have wifi but it is very poor so we use a product called PepeWave to boost the signal

I use an integrated product from a company called Island Time PC. They have a few configurations but what I bought was their hi gain WIFI transceiver and an accompanying wireless router for the boat. Works great.

http://islandtimepc.com/index.html


Ken

kchace said:

I use an integrated product from a company called Island Time PC. They have a few configurations but what I bought was their hi gain WIFI transceiver and an accompanying wireless router for the boat. Works great.

Marine PC's & WiFi by IslandTime PC
Ken

Click to expand...

and great support.

Last year we upgraded and added an IslandTime Wifi extender. One of the reasons were we wanted an antenna that also had the 5.8Ghz band. The 5.8GHz band doesn't have the range but is less crowded than the 2.4Ghz band. The marina we're in now, broadcasts on both bands and the speed/connectivity is superior on the 5.8 GHz. We had the "Bullet" before which as ok but only had the 2.4 GHz band.

Here's an article discusiiong the differet bands. It's for routers but is applicable for our system:

http://mobile.wi-fiplanet.com/tutori...i-routers.html

The Island Time system, we bought, has the Mikrotik Groove 52HPn Dual Band High Gain antenna 2.4/5.8Ghz, 7/8dbi

Marine WiFi Systems

Not sure what your budget is but you could get a dish. I use my iPad WiFi with a cheap little usb booster I got off amazon it lights up my whole boat.

What about using a VPN while on wifi?

I am just beginning to learn about this (basically you connect to various servers around the world so "no one" can hack you).

Is there a better VPN app to use than others? How about the free ones online?

Thanks.

kokopelliTim said:

What about using a VPN while on wifi?

I am just beginning to learn about this (basically you connect to various servers around the world so "no one" can hack you).

Is there a better VPN app to use than others? How about the free ones online?

Click to expand...

Most web connections with private content now use HTTPS meaning they implement what is called the Secured Sockets Layer (SSL). In essence, it is a VPN.

Also keep in mind, VPNs use more resources and bandwidth than unsecured connections. Unless you get really good wifi speeds, VPNs can be frustrating. And don't ever believe "no one can hack you" with a VPN. But it is significantly more difficult.

kokopelliTim said:

What about using a VPN while on wifi?

I am just beginning to learn about this (basically you connect to various servers around the world so "no one" can hack you).

Is there a better VPN app to use than others? How about the free ones online?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

He will still need a wifi connection the VPn just cloaks his IP address

Donsan said:

Most web connections with private content now use HTTPS meaning they implement what is called the Secured Sockets Layer (SSL). In essence, it is a VPN.

Also keep in mind, VPNs use more resources and bandwidth than unsecured connections. Unless you get really good wifi speeds, VPNs can be frustrating. And don't ever believe "no one can hack you" with a VPN. But it is significantly more difficult.

Click to expand...

This is not entirely correct. A VPN provides a tunnel for your network traffic from your current location to where ever the VPN is connected. Thus allowing things like using a service that expect a US-based location from outside of the US. As in, watching Netflix while out of the country.

HTTPS is not a VPN. It's a somewhat secure encrypting of your web traffic. It's still coming from your current network's location, which is useless if the target service doesn't support that area.

To a certain extent a VPN over a dodgy connection can be more frustrating. But only if the VPN client and server aren't configured for useful timeouts and reconnecting intervals. If it's a very spotty connection a regular link (plain http/https) might at least allow partial download of enough of a web page to be usable. The same can likely be done with the VPN but not if it's going up/down intermittently.

The other advantage is if you tunnel ALL your traffic through the VPN and it's encrypted then you're at much lesser risk of anyone else sniffing the local wifi traffic and extracting your login usernames and passwords. A plain HTTP connection over an open WiFi connection (no password) makes it absolutely trivial for anyone else nearby to easily and quickly steal your username/password of anything you attempt to use.

Personally, I use OpenVPN running on a pfSense router back at home for all of my connections when traveling.

Thank you wkearney99;
This is how i have begun to understand VPN. I have been wary of going to a public wifi (like most marinas) for fear of hackers. I know everything can possibly be hacked, but I am trying to do my best to help me in my ignorant way.

Like right now. I am sitting in North Carolina and my VPN tells me Im on servers in India. Possibly difficult to track/find me to steal from me.

I think I have this right......Im still so ignorant of this stuff.

Tim

Well, choose your VPN providers wisely. You're still dumping your traffic out somewhere else. You don't want that to be right into a den of thieves, if you follow me.

I'm not living on the boat, so I can still connect back to the network at home. A VPN back through there gives me at least the same level of comfort I'd have from using a computer at the house.

I don't use any commercial VPN services, so I don't know which ones are worth considering (or avoiding).

boat wifi

Freespool said:

Greetings,

I am sure this topic has been covered, but I could not find anything in the search feature.

I am looking for a constant wifi source while I am in a marina. I know I could purchase a stand alone hot spot device and leave it on all the time. I can also use my phone as a hot spot. It seems like there has to be a better way.

I am installing a set of cameras on my boat and I want to be able to log in and check up on it when I am away.

What do you guys suggest?

Click to expand...

Getting a mobile hotspot is better than use a phone. The mobile hotspot is more stable for the internet connection.

Do you want to stream live camera feed(s) or just send photo’s, for example one picture every 60 seconds? Makes a big difference.

Most, if not all marina WiFi is going to give each user a limited slice of bandwidth, which for a camera means a reduced frame rate & resolution.

If you are even semi network savy, you can set up your own system with a Ubiquity Bullet (M2) and wireless "rounter" configured as an access point. Works great if you are in range (a couple miles, or more with a directional antenna) of a hotspot.

I use the ubiquity bullet. My boat has a network complete with printer and NAS. This way I can down load from the internet and send to the printer with out changing networks.

I use a Cradlepoint Router connected to a Verizon wireless usb dongle. Works great. It does have the connection for an external antenna but it’s not yet on my list. Best part is unlimited roaming in Canada for 10 bucks a day.

Would love something more dedicated but here the best PAYG plans include calls, SMS and data so hotspot in a $40 handset it is.
It beams around the boat fine.

Currently pay $45/mth for unlimited calls, SMS and 30GB of data covering most of the country

2nd the ubiquiti nano pair solution. They are bulletproof. Happy to share settings with anyone who wants them.