Wayne, Tnx for the specific how to links. I still have to find a card
(preferably USB so that I don't have a PCMIA card sticking out of the
laptop's body being vulnerable to physical trauma). I hope to find an
antenna connector that locks in place such as a BNC or something other
than a 3.5mm jack like the TV tuner on the laptop uses...73's Larry
KD7KRX

larry wrote:
There is no
port or jack on the laptop (a Sony VIAO PCG-GRT260G) for an external
antenna and I am looking for a way to send the "clear line of sight"
good signal down to the nav station. Any Ideas? TIA Larry

We have a directional antenna by "Buffalo"; seems to work well for
distances up to several hundred meters. The Buffalo card fits into the
PCIO slot on our laptop; we run the cord up through a hatch and tie the
antenna to the sail cover, facing the shore-based RX/TX.

Rob

A PCMIA card sounds like the way to go.I'll start looking at antennas
and patterns. An adjustable focus (like in a flashlight ) would be
cool. Larry

In article .com,
"larry" wrote:

A PCMIA card sounds like the way to go.I'll start looking at antennas
and patterns. An adjustable focus (like in a flashlight ) would be
cool. Larry


Never seen one of those, (adjustable focus (like in a flashlight ))
but I have used WiFi for links up to 16 miles with external antennas.
I have an open WiFi connection that I make available for vessels
that come visit my port in Alaska, using WAP's located at the dock,
and on 60' antenna towers at both ends of town. Works very well,
unless your an XP user and then it is problematic due to MicroSquuash's
truely BAD Software. 2000Pro works very well.

Bruce in alaska
--
add a 2 before @

I am just now using wireless LAN for the first time and the "micro
squuash" xp uatility has almost no user interface. I am about to get a
PCMIA WLS LAN card and use it's software. It needs to have an
external ant in (prefer BNC) and then good user software. Any
suggestions or warnings out there? BTW thanks everyone for the many
relevant responses, Larry
Bruce in Alaska wrote:
In article .com,
"larry" wrote:

A PCMIA card sounds like the way to go.I'll start looking at
antennas
and patterns. An adjustable focus (like in a flashlight ) would be
cool. Larry


Never seen one of those, (adjustable focus (like in a flashlight ))
but I have used WiFi for links up to 16 miles with external antennas.
I have an open WiFi connection that I make available for vessels
that come visit my port in Alaska, using WAP's located at the dock,
and on 60' antenna towers at both ends of town. Works very well,
unless your an XP user and then it is problematic due to
MicroSquuash's
truely BAD Software. 2000Pro works very well.

Bruce in alaska
--
add a 2 before @

You might also look at USB wireless adapters. I get excellent results from a
D-Link DWL120+ -great sensitivity, and I can get it up on the dodger and out of
the boat shadow, even though it has only a small dipole antenna. The D-Link+
vendor software (actually from TI) works well under XP. The DWL120+ had the
best sensitivity I could find by far a year or so ago, but there may be much
better chipsets on the market now. You can also get fairly good omnis for some
of the pc cards, but the directional ones were too hard to point on a boat in my
experience.
"larry" wrote:

I am just now using wireless LAN for the first time and the "micro
squuash" xp uatility has almost no user interface. I am about to get a
PCMIA WLS LAN card and use it's software. It needs to have an
external ant in (prefer BNC) and then good user software. Any
suggestions or warnings out there? BTW thanks everyone for the many
relevant responses, Larry
Bruce in Alaska wrote:
In article .com,
"larry" wrote:

A PCMIA card sounds like the way to go.I'll start looking at
antennas
and patterns. An adjustable focus (like in a flashlight ) would be
cool. Larry


Never seen one of those, (adjustable focus (like in a flashlight ))
but I have used WiFi for links up to 16 miles with external antennas.
I have an open WiFi connection that I make available for vessels
that come visit my port in Alaska, using WAP's located at the dock,
and on 60' antenna towers at both ends of town. Works very well,
unless your an XP user and then it is problematic due to
MicroSquuash's
truely BAD Software. 2000Pro works very well.

Bruce in alaska
--
add a 2 before @

A PCMIA card sounds like the way to go.I'll start looking at antennas
and patterns. An adjustable focus (like in a flashlight ) would be
cool. Larry

Larry, would you mind contacting me off-list? I'd like to pick your brain a
bit about STX and wifi.

Thanks.

L8R

Skip (my name, all one word, at earthlink dot net)

--
Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig
http://tinyurl.com/384p2

"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
"larry" wrote in message
ups.com...
I just got a new laptop with wi - fi aka wireless LAN. Wow is all I
can say. After moving a couple of times in Christiansted, St Croix, I
got myself in a hotspot where I can connect and stay connected in the
cockpit, downloading files at 3 MB per minute. Using web mail and
google newsgroups, I have almost all the services that a traditional
ISP would provide. A major exception is the lack of encryption - thus
the security to do e-commerce. If I run the computer at the nav
station, I get much weaker connectivity where I can connect sometimes
and get cut off and have jagged and spiky connectivity. There is no
port or jack on the laptop (a Sony VIAO PCG-GRT260G) for an external
antenna and I am looking for a way to send the "clear line of sight"
good signal down to the nav station. Any Ideas? TIA Larry

I currently use a high power PCMCIA card with a 6dbi omni indoor antennae.
This works well for 1/4 to 1/2 mile if I put the antenna on the cabin roof,
but this is very impractical, especially if it is raining. What I would
like to do is mount a permanent exterior antennae and run it through a
network bridge to my own onboard wireless network. Can anyone recommend a
good high power bridge and antennae?

john

"larry" wrote in message
ups.com...
I just got a new laptop with wi - fi aka wireless LAN. Wow is all I
can say. After moving a couple of times in Christiansted, St Croix, I
got myself in a hotspot where I can connect and stay connected in the
cockpit, downloading files at 3 MB per minute. Using web mail and
google newsgroups, I have almost all the services that a traditional
ISP would provide. A major exception is the lack of encryption - thus
the security to do e-commerce. If I run the computer at the nav
station, I get much weaker connectivity where I can connect sometimes
and get cut off and have jagged and spiky connectivity. There is no
port or jack on the laptop (a Sony VIAO PCG-GRT260G) for an external
antenna and I am looking for a way to send the "clear line of sight"
good signal down to the nav station. Any Ideas? TIA Larry

Johnhh wrote:

I currently use a high power PCMCIA card with a 6dbi omni indoor
antennae. This works well for 1/4 to 1/2 mile if I put the antenna on
the cabin roof, but this is very impractical, especially if it is
raining. What I would like to do is mount a permanent exterior
antennae and run it through a network bridge to my own onboard
wireless network. Can anyone recommend a good high power bridge and
antennae?

This is exactly what I'd like to do. I'd like to find an omni antenna w/ bridge
to mount on the mast or someplace. If the bridge puts out a healthy signal,
there would be no need to run wires except for power. For that matter, a few
solar cells and a battery inside might take care of that issue too, for a
completely self containted unit. I'm quite surprised no one seems to be
targeting boaters with kits like this, especially considering the "yachtsman's
discount" to be tacked on. (Does it work with no hassle? Write the guy a
check!)

I've been trying to use marina WiFi networks with little success. Most of them
really stink, with little coverage and weak signals. I'm often wandering the
docks carrying my laptop, looking for just the right spot to get enough
reception to do anything. The prices companies like Broadband Xpress charge are
pretty aggressive. Considering the service is useless more often than not, it
winds up being a bit of a ripoff. However, if I had a good antenna setup it
might actually be useful. With all this supposed WiFi access around, I'm still
checking my email through a cell phone. Currently the best strategy is to find
a nearby coffeehouse, which often have free WiFi.

Matt O.