luckydog":2ov5ao85 said:
Hi Martin, appreciate all your info on boat Internet, wifi, cellular, etc. Having recently acquired a 2020 R-29CB, I am still wrapping my mind around this topic among the entire boat electronics package. I am planning a number of upgrades with the goal of completing prior to this years prime boating season, which in my plan starts May 1.
I am planning to install Starlink, but having reviewed your posts and the fact that the boat has no current wifi router, I am wondering if I should also be pursing something along the lines of the Peplink wifi router and 42g antenna you have installed on your boat as well. I'm trying not to get into the weeds technically too deep, so let me throw out a few goals and perhaps you or others will have some thoughts.
Primary goals:
Good Internet Access - movie streaming, laptop, tablet and phone usage
Good phone Coverage - can I achieve that through my Starlink, or do I really need a boosted antenna configuration such as your Peplink combo. For 2024, we plan to do all Ranger Tug events, our own Canada trips and the Puget Sound and San Juan's, so we want to maintain decent phone and internet coverage, but not necessarily have to use Starlink or grumble if there are a lot of dead spots without Starlink use.
Maintain access to boat monitoring systems - boat security and bilge monitoring for sure. Mostly while in our Tacoma mooring away from boat.
Minimize or best manage on-going costs including cellular, hotspots and Starlink. I can't say I am excited about maintaining both a Starlink and Hotspot(s) service concurrently, if I can maintain only one or the other, except for maybe a big multi-week adventures. (I realize I can do month-to-month on Starlink but is that practical?)
Cost wise… I turn off Starlink billing for the months I’m not using it. $150/month when active, $0/mo when inactive. Cellular doesn’t let you do that. It’s $50/mo year round.
I get all my boat monitoring (battery SOC, solar, etc) and my security cameras and motion sensors all run thru cellular. I primarily use cellular and with the Peplink 42g and Peplink router, in the San Juan’s and Puget sound I get decent coverage. As long as you have internet, you can make a voice call. (VoLTE voice over LtE). This is why I’m not a fan of cell boosters. Data is more important. Cellular has a limit of about 22 miles. Starlink doesn’t. I primarily bought Starlink for SE Alaska and Canada.
Starlink also has an unlimited data plan whereas cellular is limited to 50gb with T-Mobile. So during boating season if I’m working from the boat a lot, I’ll bring out Starlink to leverage its unlimited data plan. Because I haven't permanently mounted Starlink on my boat, it's easy to bring the dish home and store in the garage.
Peplink released a new antenna, similar to the 42g but it sticks onto your window. Makes install temporary. Easy to put up and take down. Might be a good alternative. But I know a big part of the success I’m having with internet on the boat is because I placed that 42g antenna up on the mast with a 360 degree view high above the boat.
Feel free to give me a call to discuss.
I have a Roku connected to our TV and we stream YouTube on the boat.
If you’re asking my opinion, the Peplink router and 42g goes in first. Then run an Ethernet cable for Starlink to add whenever you want it the future. Use a single cell carrier in the Peplink router. T-mobile is who’d I’d recommend. Add Starlink when you head to the Broughtons or Desolation Sound. It's impractical to run Starlink on a boat 24x7 in my opinion. Especially if you're going down the highway on a trailer or if you're in a covered slip. The power requirements of Starlink being 60+ watts makes it impractical to run 24x7 on the boat without shorepower in my opinion. The LTE router draws about 6 watts.
I spent months (literally) debating how I could get the performance out of that antenna without the hassle of mounting it. The easiest way I found was to just mount it on the mast. After running the boat to SE Alaska and back, through Johnstone Strait and Clarence strait, with as much water we saw going over the boat, that clamshell connection with 8 antennas thru it did not leak a drop. Often times when my phone said "no-service", I found that I had 3-7mbs of data through the Peplink router/42G antenna and could make phone calls and txt photos to friends.
(I could probably help with mounting that antenna and router on a rt29.)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
