Well, sorta...
I'm in the process of trying to prove that it can be done. So far I'm
not succeeding.
Because I don't want to be connected by a cable (sorta defeats the
purpose of wireless), I'm trying to do it all up the mast.
Unfortunately, a bridge, even the high powered Engenius Senao 2611
Deluxe 200mw AP/Bridge (choose which you want), can't both talk to my
computer and some hot spot. It needs an AP (Access Point) to talk to
it so that my computer can find it.
Yes, I could run a Cat5 up the mast, and plug it into my computer, and,
it's even available off the shelf, with an N antenna connector coming
out of the NEMA enclosure (they put the unit in and provide the
appropriate pigtail). Buy the appropriate high-gain omni antenna,
connect it and run the cat5 as Larry describes, and you're in business,
even using POE (power over ethernet) as an option if you like.
However, for whatever reason, the same unit, used as an AP, connected
directly with a crossover cable, won't play nice, and generates IP
conflicts regardless of what I have done to eliminate that (months of
many-hour days, plus many hours of telco comms with the rep
notwithstanding).
I sorely wish that a bridge, up the mast, with its high powered
antenna, was all I needed. I've benched that here on the boat, and,
sure enough, it won't talk to anyone. Make it an AP, and it talks to
my computer just fine - but won't talk to anyone else (find a hotspot),
not being a bridge - but I *could* let others find me, as it's an AP.
FWIW, I am familiar with the Fantasia35.com site, and the particular
boat, as it was one of the ones we considered as a class - but couldn't
squeeze me into the aft berth. The particular boat is an extremely nice
example of the type, and what he's done for his installation is
seriously cool - but it's a fixed computer, not what we'll have.
So, I can't, much to my regret, yet, comment on the feasibility of
having a totally up-the-mast solution to our wifi quest. If the rep
can work out the compatibility issues, I have no doubt it will work.
FWIW, what I am trying to make work is two Senao 2611 deluxe units, one
each AP and Bridge, connected with a cat5 crossover cable, both powered
by 12 volts. The AP has a high-powered rubber duck, to be able to hear
me (and most likely any other boat in the harbor), and the Bridge has
an 8.5 dBi gain omnidirectional antenna from Hyperlink. Conceptually,
the AP will talk to the Bridge, which will see any hot spot (someone
else' AP, basically) in up to a few miles, and I'll talk to the AP,
which will feed me the output from the Bridge, as well as transmit back
through it, my transmissions.
Unfortunately, several hundred dollars later, all I have is a bunch of
components which won't play nice together, and because it's a custom
job (the off-the-shelf one had only one unit in the NEMA; they had to
build one from scratch with a larger enclosure, squeezing the guts of
the two units into it), it's not returnable.
Stay tuned - if I am successful in working this out, I might even start
selling them, as clearly the rep is struggling with this as much as I
am; once I've done all the hard work, cookie-cuttering it again won't
be difficult.
But for now, I continue to use my Hawking interior directional antenna
(I'm on the hard so my direction doesn't change) suspended in my
dodger, connected by an active USB to the laptop below, on which I can
browse, email in and out via smtp, and even do VOIP on my Vonage
softphone (if you'd like an invite, we'll both get a free month if you
sign on). It's all these things which is driving what has turned into
much more expensive and time consuming in its execution than I could
have imagined - we want to maintain this connectivity when we're at
anchor...
L8R
Skip, refitting as fast as I can, and about to go off for yet another
shoulder surgery at the end of the month
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2 - The vessel as Tehamana, as we bought her
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore.
Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain