WIFI SYSTEM THAT WORKS GREAT!

If you are looking to add a WIFI antenna system to your boat you may want to investigate the system offered by Dalton Williams a cruiser who owns the S/V Quietly. He has set up an informative web site wififorboaters.com that provides excellent information on the system he has put together. We installed the system while we were in Trinidad last month and I am very pleased with the results. We are currently anchored off Hog Island, Grenada and are tied into a WIFI system over a mile away with excellent speed. An important feature of Dalton's system is the fact that it eliminates expensive antenna cables by tying the computer to the antenna using CAT5 no loss wiring. WIFI System Details

Hayden,

Try the following address:

www.wififorboats.com/

Dave

Hayden:
Dave:

This system is based on the Bullet2 HP radio that I commented on and posted photos of some time back. Price is ridiculous - radio is $80, antenna is about $50, CAT5 Cable is is cheap and POE injector is about $5.

But the system is superior to anything I have tried previously.

Bobby

Love my Bullet2HP

Bobby,

I agree that the individual components are available for a lower cost if you source them directly, however, many folks are not tech savvy and may need advice and guidance as they work their way through the process of installing and using the equipment. You have to also consider the cost of shipping from individual sources to the Caribbean (where I am now) can be very costly and incur additional ad hoc charges or fees that inflate the cost over a single source supplier. But like you said, this is an awesome system and no matter how your source it.

Kind regards,

Dave

Dave:

How much longer will you folks be in Grenada? We fly back to Grenada on 6 Nov. DO you need anything from back this way?

Any idea whick hot spot you are accessing off Hog Island?

I used to think that shipping was to steep but I just sent a 120w Kyocera Solar Panel there for $34.00 Took 7 days enroute via Tropical Shipping. Setup is straightforward and I can provide info for anyone interested.

My setup also includes a router on the boat so that we can share the connection with local boats of laptops on our own boat.

Bobby

Bobby,

Coral Cove has two signals that can be used from the south side of the bay. Sounds like you found the right way to import thing into Grenada. We ordered two burners for our Princess stove and paid over $120 dollars for shipping and other fees. We used IWW as the receiving point and boy did those costs add up. The duty is only 2.5% but they found lots of other things to charge us for. We also purchased chain and other items this summer, however we sailed to Trinidad (Marine Warehouse) and as you know cost us almost nothing for shipping through them. You live and learn. We are heading to the Grenadines over the weekend and then head north to St. Croix for Thanksgiving so we will see you as we head south after some fun in the leewards.

Hayden:

You have the details of this WiFi Solution that I sent to you as a powerpoint or pdf document several months ago. Let me know if you want the config file for the radio and a detailed explanation on setup and use of the radio. It really is simple and way outperforms anything else I have seen to date.

Bobby

Hayden:

If you would like you can post the drawing on the documents page and I would be willing to send configuration file and setup info to anyone interested.

Bobby

With help from Bobby, I was able to build his Bullet-based wifi system. It's installed upstairs in my house and pulls in signals from all over the neighborhood. I'm working on a plan to mount it high on the davits or over the bimini when we return to the boat in January. We had a spare router at home so the only costs were for the Bullet radio, an antenna, the POI injector and a bit of CAT V wire. Easily less than $200
Glen

Try this link..

www.wififorboats.com/

Margo
s/v/ Windseeker

Bobby,
Do you think that the height of the antenna/radio has a big effect? That is, should I be thinking of mounting it way up the mast and running cable or is it good enough to mount it above the dodger somewhere?
Glen

Margo:

This is the same system that we have been discussing and was originally referenced by Daniel Storey.

Bobby

Glen:

It may make a small difference but I am not sure that the effort would be worthwhile unless you had the mast off the boat for something else. You would not want to just let the CAT5 cable down the mast without running it in one of the conduits inside the mast. It may be very difficult if not impossible to pull the cable through the conduit with the mast in place.

I have my antenna mounted off my davits just above the Bimini and it works fine.

Bobby

Hayden:

Suggest that you get an order in so that when the back orders are filled that you receive your device - if not you may not get one.

To clarify your earlier post:

Ubiquiti Bullet2HP: 802.11b/g 800mW Indoor/Outdoor CPE $79
Ubiquiti Bullet2: 802.11b/g 100mW Indoor/Outdoor CPE $39
These two radios work very well (the 100mw version not being as good as the 800 mw version due to power output only).


Ubiquiti Bullet M2 HP: 802.11b/g/N 600mW Indoor/Outdoor CPE $79
The M2HP is not advised at this time for our application - this is primarily intended for point-to-point applications and the operatiing system does not perform well at all with 802.11b/g networks.

Ubiquiti Bullet M5 HP: 802.11a/N 600mW Indoor/Outdoor CPE $79
This radio does not work for WiFi period - it is a 5GHz version of the Bullet 2 (2GHZ) and will not work at all with WiFi which operates in the 2GHz range. This radio is intended for point-to-point radio applications.

I had a backorder filled about 1 month after I placed the order - with many of the WiFi providers using these radios and ordering them in bulk I would want to have an order sitting ready to ship when the radios are delivered to the vendors.

Bobby

Hayden:

Think that is a good idea - I've noticed 3 - 4 integrators that sell complete systems - all show out of stock - so better to have a placemark in. I just upgraded the firmware on my HP - was worried -thought I had killed it - just took about 95 seconds or so and performance seems to be better (maybe it's my imagination!).

Keep us posted.

Bobby