[[email protected]]

http://www.kvh.com/kvhsatcom/


Edoardo wrote:
Hi,

I am searching for some good source of information about installing a
satellite internet connection on sailing boats.
What's the best solution?
Is there a website/forum/group that is specifically talking about this?

Thanks a lot for your help
Eddy

[dog]

On 2006-07-07 16:10:22 -0400, said:

http://www.kvh.com/kvhsatcom/


Edoardo wrote:
Hi,

I am searching for some good source of information about installing a
satellite internet connection on sailing boats.
What's the best solution?
Is there a website/forum/group that is specifically talking about this?

Thanks a lot for your help
Eddy

Now, there is also a vast difference between getting high-speed
internet access at a marina or near shore via cell or wifi and getting
semi-high speed internet access from the open seas. Most of the work
I've done with satellite systems has been media related, from the
reporting side, and the newer systems can give you about 128k full
duplex, but are designed to be on a fixed ground location. To do this
from a small sailboat in the open ocean requires gyro-stabilized
antenna as noted by others. This type of equipment is not only
expensive, but ungodly power-hungry.

This isn't to say it isn't possible to do from a sailboat at sea...but
it is very, very expensive to do so. The boat would have to be
capable of generating enough power to keep the equipment powered up for
however long you want to use it. The equipment ain't cheap. The cost
of service is not cheap either, generally being billed on a time or
data rate basis. None of the purely internationally available
satellite providers that I know of give a flat-rate fee. There is no
incentive for them to do so. DirectPC does, but they're only available
in the United States for the most part and their uplink speed is
generally below 30kbps.

[glenn P]

Not enough information. If you expect people to spend time helping you, it's
worthwhile explaining exactly what you want, and what for.

"Edoardo" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi,

I am searching for some good source of information about installing a
satellite internet connection on sailing boats.
What's the best solution?
Is there a website/forum/group that is specifically talking about this?

Thanks a lot for your help
Eddy

[[email protected]]

Edoardo wrote:
Hi,

I am searching for some good source of information about installing a
satellite internet connection on sailing boats.
What's the best solution?
Is there a website/forum/group that is specifically talking about this?

Thanks a lot for your help
Eddy

Eddy...
You may find the Podcast at the following link helpful:
http://www.distantshores.ca/pb/wp_9d..._9d5ec457.html

Download Podcast #3 - March 30, 2006 - "Communications and email
aboard. Interview with David Anderson of Stand Sure Marine about using
an HF marine or HAM radio to connect to the Internet at sea."

It is 38 min long and is an interview conducted by Paul and Sheryl
Shard discussing everything from e-mail to Internet at sea with an
expert. Most of the figures they use are in Canadian Dollars...

Hope this gets you started...

[jim.isbell]

If you want it at sea, I cant help but if you want it near shore I can.

I just completed a 1400 mile trip from Tampa Florida to Corpus Christi
Texas in my Gulfstar 36. I had internet connection for the whole thrip
except for about 120 miles along the "Big Bend" of Florida. I had fast
connections so that I was able to download charts from the internet
every evening (about 5 minutes per chart). And the cost was $10 a
month and no cell minutes used.

The service is called PCS Vision and its with Sprint. You have to have
a regular Cell Phone account with Sprint, a PCS Vision enabled cell
phone, and a cable from a third party vendor (you can find them on the
internet, and NO they are NOT illegal) Sprint used to sell the cables
but got out of the bussiness......maybe to discourage use of the
system.

The speed is about 56 K Baud....depending on the tower you get....you
must have a digital tower, wont work on an analog tower....and you need
a laptop to connect the cable from the cell phone to. The software is
free, download from the Sprint website.

I can only talk about the Sanyo SCP 4900 cell phone as that is the one
I have (two years old) . It works great, but it is an oldie and they
may not be available anymore. The current phones may work even better
but I cannot attest to that.

You have to be careful in selecting your plan as there are several and
two of them will eat you alive on minutes charges. The cheap one at $5
a month charges for minutes. The next step is $10 a month and does NOT
charge for minutes. Technically you could stay on 24/7 at no extra
cost. The third one is for commercial users and will cost you more
than you have to spend.

During our trip I used a Sony Vaio laptop to which I connected my $99
Delorme GPS, a 1gig ram stick ($49 at Wall Mart), and the telephone
(free at the time for promotional purposes). I could download the
charts in the evening for the next day and then using (also free
software) SeaClear software I could watch my progress on the charts
using the GPS connection. Its a great system and the monthly cost was
only $10


wrote:
Edoardo wrote:
Hi,

I am searching for some good source of information about installing a
satellite internet connection on sailing boats.
What's the best solution?
Is there a website/forum/group that is specifically talking about this?

Thanks a lot for your help
Eddy

Eddy...
You may find the Podcast at the following link helpful:
http://www.distantshores.ca/pb/wp_9d..._9d5ec457.html

Download Podcast #3 - March 30, 2006 - "Communications and email
aboard. Interview with David Anderson of Stand Sure Marine about using
an HF marine or HAM radio to connect to the Internet at sea."

It is 38 min long and is an interview conducted by Paul and Sheryl
Shard discussing everything from e-mail to Internet at sea with an
expert. Most of the figures they use are in Canadian Dollars...

Hope this gets you started...

[Dick Locke]

On 31 Jul 2006 03:41:17 -0700, wrote:


Edoardo wrote:
Hi,

I am searching for some good source of information about installing a
satellite internet connection on sailing boats.
What's the best solution?
Is there a website/forum/group that is specifically talking about this?

Thanks a lot for your help
Eddy

THe original post has dropped off my computer, so I'm not sure if the
question was originally aimed at US coastal cruisiers or global
cruisers. For global cruisers who want something closer to "always on"
than SSB/Pactor rigs...

Has anyone looked into R-BGAN or BGAN from Inmarsat? . I've seen
R-BGAN prices around $500 for the antenna/terminal and $12 per
megabyte for satellite usage. Speed is "up to" 144K BITS per second,
but there is some new acceleration software. Looks adequate for email
but not much good for graphic downloading. It could give Skymate a
run for its money.

http://broadband.inmarsat.com/about/...extonly=False#

My main concern is directional sensitivity of the flat antenna and
whether it would work under way in a sailboat....or even in a
relatively calm anchorage.

[Glenn Ashmore]

Looks like it goes to a geosynchronus satellite. Use d a satphone for
several years over a geosync. Very picky. Useless on a boat. Had to sit
on the dock and let the people walking by be bewildered by the nut case
sitting on the dock talking on the phone.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

"Dick Locke" wrote in message
...
On 31 Jul 2006 03:41:17 -0700, wrote:


Edoardo wrote:
Hi,

I am searching for some good source of information about installing a
satellite internet connection on sailing boats.
What's the best solution?
Is there a website/forum/group that is specifically talking about this?

Thanks a lot for your help
Eddy

THe original post has dropped off my computer, so I'm not sure if the
question was originally aimed at US coastal cruisiers or global
cruisers. For global cruisers who want something closer to "always on"
than SSB/Pactor rigs...

Has anyone looked into R-BGAN or BGAN from Inmarsat? . I've seen
R-BGAN prices around $500 for the antenna/terminal and $12 per
megabyte for satellite usage. Speed is "up to" 144K BITS per second,
but there is some new acceleration software. Looks adequate for email
but not much good for graphic downloading. It could give Skymate a
run for its money.

http://broadband.inmarsat.com/about/...extonly=False#

My main concern is directional sensitivity of the flat antenna and
whether it would work under way in a sailboat....or even in a
relatively calm anchorage.

[krj]

Glenn Ashmore wrote:
Looks like it goes to a geosynchronus satellite. Use d a satphone for
several years over a geosync. Very picky. Useless on a boat. Had to sit
on the dock and let the people walking by be bewildered by the nut case
sitting on the dock talking on the phone.

What satphone system uses geosync satellites? Both Iridium and
Globalstar use LEO satellites.
krj

[Glenn Ashmore]

This was long ago in ancient times. Like almost 7 or 8 years. :-) Before
Iridium and Globestar everything was geosync. Inmarsat (B, M and Mini-M)
were all there was. The unit was about the size of a lap top with a
telephone hand set attached. You aim the lid at the satellite. Had a
9600bps dataport too. This device looks like a stylized version of those
old sat phones but with ADSL. .

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

"krj" wrote in message
. ..
Glenn Ashmore wrote:
Looks like it goes to a geosynchronus satellite. Use d a satphone for
several years over a geosync. Very picky. Useless on a boat. Had to
sit on the dock and let the people walking by be bewildered by the nut
case sitting on the dock talking on the phone.

What satphone system uses geosync satellites? Both Iridium and Globalstar
use LEO satellites.
krj