Internet access
 

I am planning an extended cruise later this year, including a Pacific
crossing. What have people found about getting internet access via
satellite or other, both at sea and whilst in port?

This is a big hole in long distance cruising as far vas I can tell! A
cousin has gone from Halifax to BVI & South via Bermuda min Sept.
They have a Satellite phone - but using it for Internet, other than
short e-mails, is financial suicide!!

On the ocean the only other option I am aware of is SSB - but that
only really gets short stuff as well - e-mails, weather Fax's. There
are short wave nets for this, but more oriented to e-mail only. But I
think - after you have bought the equipment - thise may be the most
economical solution - for e-mail.

If you had in mind surfing the net on the ocean - you are SOL!

In ports, you can often find Wireless nets to connect into to have
higher speed Net access. (Get NetStumbler program to search for
wireless nets)

I know of few other solutions; but would be interested to hear of any
other possibilities!??

- Art

On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 12:46:10 +1100, Bruce Riley
wrote:

I am planning an extended cruise later this year, including a Pacific
crossing. What have people found about getting internet access via
satellite or other, both at sea and whilst in port?

Get a ham license if you don't already have one. Email is then
free along with alot of other nice services.

Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

"Bruce Riley" wrote in message
...
I am planning an extended cruise later this year, including a Pacific
crossing. What have people found about getting internet access via
satellite or other, both at sea and whilst in port?

Doug Dotson wrote:
Get a ham license if you don't already have one. Email is then
free along with alot of other nice services.

Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

"Bruce Riley" wrote in message
...

I am planning an extended cruise later this year, including a Pacific
crossing. What have people found about getting internet access via
satellite or other, both at sea and whilst in port?



I have a ham licence (vk3zsr)and will use that for email etc, but the
first mate wants more than that - don't they all?

On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 15:35:22 +1100, Bruce Riley
wrote:

Doug Dotson wrote:
Get a ham license if you don't already have one. Email is then
free along with alot of other nice services.

Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

"Bruce Riley" wrote in message
...

I am planning an extended cruise later this year, including a Pacific
crossing. What have people found about getting internet access via
satellite or other, both at sea and whilst in port?



I have a ham licence (vk3zsr)and will use that for email etc, but the
first mate wants more than that - don't they all?

Like checking allrecipes.com? ;-)

Jack

The folks at http://www.cyclonecom.com/ have apparently hooked up a
system to allow high speed internet and television from the same dish on
an RV that's currently touring the US. See
http://www.fieldtripusa.net/ for details. The newspaper article that
told this story indicated the product worked good at automatically
acquiring satellites. It wouldn't work on a moving boat, but could
probably be set out on a dock at a marina. I sure do think there could
be a market for such a product...

Capt. Jeff

Such products have been around for a while. All are fairly
expensive and won't work well in motion. But I'm sure
that it won;t be long until such systems will be cheaper and
more reliable on a moving vessel.

Doug
s/v CAllista

"Tamaroak" wrote in message
...
The folks at http://www.cyclonecom.com/ have apparently hooked up a
system to allow high speed internet and television from the same dish on
an RV that's currently touring the US. See http://www.fieldtripusa.net/
for details. The newspaper article that told this story indicated the
product worked good at automatically acquiring satellites. It wouldn't
work on a moving boat, but could probably be set out on a dock at a
marina. I sure do think there could be a market for such a product...

Capt. Jeff

It won't be too long, the military now uses high speed internet access on
it's command and control aircraft, the tech exists and will bleed down to
the public as the costs drop (if you can get internet access on a moving
aircraft, it will not be long before it will be available for ships and
boats) . I know it does not help right now, but it might influence long term
planning.

Eric

"Doug Dotson" dougdotson@NOSPAMcablespeedNOSPAMcom wrote in message
...
Such products have been around for a while. All are fairly
expensive and won't work well in motion. But I'm sure
that it won;t be long until such systems will be cheaper and
more reliable on a moving vessel.

Doug
s/v CAllista

"Tamaroak" wrote in message
...
The folks at http://www.cyclonecom.com/ have apparently hooked up a
system to allow high speed internet and television from the same dish on
an RV that's currently touring the US. See http://www.fieldtripusa.net/
for details. The newspaper article that told this story indicated the
product worked good at automatically acquiring satellites. It wouldn't
work on a moving boat, but could probably be set out on a dock at a
marina. I sure do think there could be a market for such a product...

Capt. Jeff

On Sat, 08 Jan 2005 15:35:22 +1100, Bruce Riley
wrote:

Doug Dotson wrote:
Get a ham license if you don't already have one. Email is then
free along with alot of other nice services.

Doug, k3qt
s/v Callista

"Bruce Riley" wrote in message
...

I am planning an extended cruise later this year, including a Pacific
crossing. What have people found about getting internet access via
satellite or other, both at sea and whilst in port?



I have a ham licence (vk3zsr)and will use that for email etc, but the
first mate wants more than that - don't they all?

Tell her to win a lottery, then. It is possible, as Ellen MacArthur is
showing, to get streaming video from a moving sailboat, but it is
ruinously expensive and technically challenging.

Maybe in five years' time, it will be cheaper, but weatherfax and
e-mail via SSB is as good as it gets for most, with the option to hook
up at internet cafes or MAYBE use wireless access in First World
marinas and some places in Asia.

There is the notion of "getting away from it all"...G

R.

We used a sat phone with a text message service provider. Iridium is
now too expensive so changing to sailmail.
Ly & Tony
S/V Ambrosia