In article ,
"Don" wrote:

I'd be interested in knowing what marinas you have difficulty with. I also
have a sailboat and this weekend I was in Bellingham's Squalicum Harbor. My
slip at Gate 6 is in a spot that had very bad reception from BBX, and at
most times of the day I could not make a reliable connection with the
standard wifi card. It was sometimes better (I suspect high tide is better
than low tide). With the high-powered card this weekend I got a rock-solid
100% connection for both uplink and downlink not even using the external
antenna.

I had similar experiences with BBX in Nanaimo at the dock, and at Silva Bay
(Gulf Islands) at anchor. I spent quite a few minutes of cell time on the
help line trying to get connected. At the time I did not have the
high-power card but I'm pretty sure that this would take care of the
situation. I've been using BBX service occasionally for a couple years and
over the past year or so the BBX web site has steadily increased their
insistence that you must have high-power gear to use their service. In my
experience this is often not the case, but sometimes it is very true. I
guess with all the local interference of multiple wifi users, good reception
in populated areas is getting very difficult to achieve.

I agree that this gear can be very expensive, and trial-and-error is not my
favorite way to go. Also, on a sailboat I have wondered about antenna
placement. I would think that the masthead would be the ideal location as
far as reception and protection from lines and sails, but there are a couple
of problems - the 60-foot+ cable run might be too long, and the energy from
keying the VHF at 25 watts with its antenna right next to the wifi antenna
might fry the wifi receiver. Are the frequencies enough different to avoid
this? I thought about putting a wifi antenna at spreader level, maybe 20
feet above the deck, but having the antenna parallel and close to the
grounded mast might reduce its effectiveness. Maybe halfway out on a
spreader, leaving it vulnerable to flapping sails? These problems seem more
troubling than finding the components for the right price. By the way, I
have confirmed that the SMC high-power card that I bought is identical to
the one sold by BBX, even though the brand and labeling is different. The
FCC registration numbers on the card itself match. I'm really not sure who
actually manufactures this card, but there are at least a few different
labels on it.

Don

WiFi works in the ICM Band @ 2.4 Ghz. Your vhf Marine Radio works at
156 Mhz. Thats more than an order of magnitude difference. The WiFi
is Spread Spectrum, where as your Vhf is FM. The two will never see
each other at the RF level. Coax Length will be VERY limiting in the
ICM Band. If you just get the external antenna above the deck, it will
make a considerable difference, over using anything inside the house, and
leaking out the windows. If your really into the BEST that money can
buy, then get a 10db Omni Antenna, and feed it with 1/2" Hardline, and
mount it about 15' off the deck. You really don't have to worry to much
about grounded things like spreaders, mast, or shrouds, as these are
fairly transparent at 2.4 Ghz. You will get about the same shading as
what you get on your Xband Radars from the same things.

Bruce in alaska
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