Cellular Data / Wifi Options

D

dbsea

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 1, 2021
Messages
1,063
Fluid Motion Model
R-23 (Outboard)
Vessel Name
HALCYON
MMSI Number
368365270
What do y'all do for onboard connectivity while cruising? So far I'm using a 5G hotspot from T-Mobile. It is rechargeable, and will last the day. To supplement my devices (ipad pro 12.9 and phone) also have unlimited 5G data, respectively.
There's a few things I'd like to improve:

1) Seamless connectivity to dock/club wifi while at a marina and transition to cellular while at sea
2) not have to recharge the device all the time
3) I'm currently paying $55 a month for my hot spot data plan (100GB of data), even though I'm in the off season and using the boat much less (although still doing some light fall/winter cruising).

Of all the items above, #3 bothers me the most...

I've looked at some great systems from Pepwave that solve #1 and #2 above at a cost ($1,500+ labor), but is #3 just the cost of wanting to have connectivity while on the boat?? I don't believe temporarily "suspending" my hotspot line is an option.
 
dbsea":2cn5169o said:
What do y'all do for onboard connectivity while cruising? So far I'm using a 5G hotspot from T-Mobile. It is rechargeable, and will last the day. To supplement my devices (ipad pro 12.9 and phone) also have unlimited 5G data, respectively.
There's a few things I'd like to improve:

1) Seamless connectivity to dock/club wifi while at a marina and transition to cellular while at sea
2) not have to recharge the device all the time
3) I'm currently paying $55 a month for my hot spot data plan (100GB of data), even though I'm in the off season and using the boat much less (although still doing some light fall/winter cruising).

Of all the items above, #3 bothers me the most...

I've looked at some great systems from Pepwave that solve #1 and #2 above at a cost ($1,500+ labor), but is #3 just the cost of wanting to have connectivity while on the boat?? I don't believe temporarily "suspending" my hotspot line is an option.
Click to expand...

I've tried a couple solutions. This is what I am in the process of installing this weekend. I wrote this up last week on Tugnuts, it's quite lengthy and detailed. Let me know if you have any questions. This solution covers your items 1 and 2 above.

http://www.tugnuts.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16582#p126039
 
Thanks Martin! Doug is a fellow syc member and we joined around the same time as him and his spouse. Great people. We spent many summer days chasing each other around the SYC outstations. I’ll definitely speak to him about these solutions for my Cutwater as well. Thank you. 🙂
 
Rogue Wave hi-gain WiFi antenna with failover (at router) to KVH LTE-1 cellular service. At the moment my "failover" is manual (swap ethernet plugs when leaving marinas) but intend to swap out Netgear router for failover/failback capable Synology router with Rogue as default source. Probably overkill for Gulf Islands / Georgia Strait territory but sure does the job.

Small KVH dome & fat Rogue antenna on roof.

/tmm
 
I'm quite looking forward to seeing what the ruggedized Starlink terminals can do.

While playing with one earlier this year it was faster than my Comcast residential.
 
How does the Pepwave Max BR1 Pro Sg router combined with the Mobility 42G antenna work in the Bahamas? And the choice between BTC and Aliv as service provider? I anchor out mostly, and generally have one bar of service on the iPhone, but extremely slooooow internet Several Bahamians who are land locked said Whats app is popular, and would Whats app on a boat with a router and antenna work?
 
ALICE J":vgb05k7w said:
How does the Pepwave Max BR1 Pro Sg router combined with the Mobility 42G antenna work in the Bahamas? And the choice between BTC and Aliv as service provider? I anchor out mostly, and generally have one bar of service on the iPhone, but extremely slooooow internet Several Bahamians who are land locked said Whats app is popular, and would Whats app on a boat with a router and antenna work?
Click to expand...

The Pepwave MAX BR1 Pro 5g was on pre-order through September. It shipped middle of October. I just got mine a couple of weeks ago. The Mobility 42G antenna (formerly known as the Puma 421 Antenna) was released in June 2021.

Both products are cutting-edge, brand new technology. They bring substantial gains and improvement in technology. I'm installing both on my boat, replacing the previous generation tech (Pepwave MAX BR1 MK2 and Mobility 22G antenna).

I've already benchmarked the Pepwave MAX BR1 Pro 5g and Mobility 42G antenna in my house and it was twice as fast as my Xfinity home Internet. (150mbs over LTE vs 75mbs on Xfinity). I've seen others get to 400mbs on a real speed benchmark on the Pepwave MAX BR1 Pro 5G. I'm super excited to see how well it does on the boat, out on the water. On the boat, I'm in search of high speed over long distances. This is my biggest winter project for the boat this season.

How well it does in the Bahamas would really depend more on the carriers there. For the Pacific Northwest, I use ATT and T-Mobile, and I know T-Mobile will outperform ATT because T-Mobile has Band71 (617mhz). But when I head North into Canada and SE Alaska, ATT will outperform T-Mobile as ATT is the dominant carrier there.
 
Martin - how are you powering the Pepwave unit? I see it comes with a 12v2a power supply, how does one hard wire it to a fuse block instead? just find an open 2a or greater fuse slot, and cut the adapter off the end, and attach to the block?

Submariner":1gms9r20 said:
ALICE J":1gms9r20 said:
How does the Pepwave Max BR1 Pro Sg router combined with the Mobility 42G antenna work in the Bahamas? And the choice between BTC and Aliv as service provider? I anchor out mostly, and generally have one bar of service on the iPhone, but extremely slooooow internet Several Bahamians who are land locked said Whats app is popular, and would Whats app on a boat with a router and antenna work?
Click to expand...

The Pepwave MAX BR1 Pro 5g was on pre-order through September. It shipped middle of October. I just got mine a couple of weeks ago. The Mobility 42G antenna (formerly known as the Puma 421 Antenna) was released in June 2021.

Both products are cutting-edge, brand new technology. They bring substantial gains and improvement in technology. I'm installing both on my boat, replacing the previous generation tech (Pepwave MAX BR1 MK2 and Mobility 22G antenna).

I've already benchmarked the Pepwave MAX BR1 Pro 5g and Mobility 42G antenna in my house and it was twice as fast as my Xfinity home Internet. (150mbs over LTE vs 75mbs on Xfinity). I've seen others get to 400mbs on a real speed benchmark on the Pepwave MAX BR1 Pro 5G. I'm super excited to see how well it does on the boat, out on the water. On the boat, I'm in search of high speed over long distances. This is my biggest winter project for the boat this season.

How well it does in the Bahamas would really depend more on the carriers there. For the Pacific Northwest, I use ATT and T-Mobile, and I know T-Mobile will outperform ATT because T-Mobile has Band71 (617mhz). But when I head North into Canada and SE Alaska, ATT will outperform T-Mobile as ATT is the dominant carrier there.
Click to expand...
 
Disregard; I see they sell a 12v dc direct power cable too. 🙂
 
dbsea":1pg9n3yu said:
Martin - how are you powering the Pepwave unit? I see it comes with a 12v2a power supply, how does one hard wire it to a fuse block instead? just find an open 2a or greater fuse slot, and cut the adapter off the end, and attach to the block?
Click to expand...

The AC adapter works for DC also. I cut the AC adapter off since I'm wiring it directly to 12v. No need to purchase their 12volt cable.

I've got 12v power available at the base of the mast. The boat was pre-wired for a spotlight, but I have no spotlight. But the wire is hot. 🙂 I'm connecting the 12volt "spotlight" cable to a terminal strip. The 12v spotlight cable is larger cable (#10AWG I think). I have to get up there and read the side of the cable to be sure. Regardless, the 12 volt cable that connects to the router is #22AWG. In addition, I'm adding an on/off switch. So I need a terminal strip to make this easy. The 5G router takes a 12volt + and -, and has one more + connection for ignition. I'll run an on/off switch from 12volt + to a switch to the ignition wire into the 5G router.

12 Volt Power ---> 5G router (power)
12 Volt power ---> Switch -> 5G router (ignition).

I'll swap out the fuse for the spotlight and downgrade it to where it needs to be for the WIFI router, as well as re-labeling my fuse box, wire, etc..

The on/off switch I found will be mounted above, centerline, in the teak. All the way aft, so it's easily reachable. Bluewater 19mm etch push button switch from New Wire Marine. They are threaded long enough to be installed through the overhead teak.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

  • Tugnuts.com is the community hub for Ranger Tug, Cutwater, and Solara owners. Since its inception in 2008, the Tugnuts forum has grown into an active and thriving community of more than 9,000 members. It serves as both a meeting place for the best boating community online, and an invaluable archive of information.

  • User menu
Back
Top