T&T: The connected boat...

[Dave Cooper]

<Jeffery wrote: All in all, this was the most connected cruising we've ever
done. We had access every day (a first) including every anchorage and at
every marina. In fact, except for about 3 hours, we had continuous access
continuously!>

Great report Jeffery, thanks :-)

Those of us that are outside of cell phone range or more accurately in
"inhospitable cellphone company" range are still looking for better WiFi
coverage. We too need some bandwidth for keeping websites updated, etc.

We get 2-3 miles over water with some AP's but with others we actually need
to see the antenna without binoculars before we can connect. It appears that
the receivers on the land side are more of an issue than the transmitters.

Our 200mw laptop card drives a 15 db omni antenna with 20' of LM400
currently. I have thought about using a follow me tracking system with a
30db yagi or even a dish to try to get a solid signal over a bigger
distance. At least it would track in Azimuth so should keep us connected.

In the Caribbean we seem to be a step behind your experiences in that we see
many open AP's and can use them as we go by or anchor. I doubt that the
security issues that Americans perceive with open WIFI aren't as much of a
concern in the islands.

Many of the shore side Internet cafes are either over priced $20/hr or are
in a location that you'd rather not frequent.

Our alternative is to use the GlobalStar Satphone for email only....works
well but no surfing because of $$$.

Version, Cingular, Sprint, Digicell, Cable & wireless, CCT Boatphone,
Movinet, Cantv and the other cell companies in the Caribbean either don't
have data plans or make it so expensive that surfing with them would break
the bank. 2gb (about a day or two for us) for $100.00 is cheap here!! There
is no compatibility from one system to the next so it's a new air card from
every island :-( Heck they can't even get roaming down pat so you can make
calls. I have 3 4 band cell phones and a dozen SIM cards and still it
doesn't work sometimes. Just bought another one yesterday :-(

So for now, long range WIFI is the answer with open connections. Hoping
WIMAX hits soon so we can all benefit from the longer range devices.

I was thinking of making up a cheap($300-$500 router/AP, amplifier cable and
high gain omni or sector antenna) turnkey hotspot package and dropping them
off at each place we stop...sort of the Johnny Appleseed approach. Then
there's a nice trail of free WIFI up and down the Caribbean for all of us to
feed on :-)

Cheers

Dave
Swan Song