[Edoardo]

Anonyma wrote:
If you want to know how much it will cost you as a consumer, start as
cheap as you can and go price data capable Satellite phones. They start
at about $600 US and go up from there. Satellite service is about $.14 a
minute. On top of that your actual bandwidth will be sold to you in
upload/download packages ranging from around $60/Month for 250MEG up
and 1GIG down (total bytes, not per second), to around 5GIG/7GIG for
$1100 a month.

Dedicated "dialup speed" 32K/sec both ways will run you somewhere around
$400 a month, and dedicated satellite "broadband" around a 1M/sec can
be upwards of $11,000 a month.

And don't forget that every minute of fraction thereof you're connected
it costs you another $.14 or so on top of that.

ok, it is expensive

and TV vans for example; I guess the most complicated thing to make

TV is one-way. The signal is spewed everywhere and those who want
it, receive it. There's absolutely no need to send the TV station any
information at all. All you need is the receiver, not the transmitter.
You could do this on a boat also, if the Internet weren't by design a
system where information is sent to a specific destination, and then
confirmed packet by packet.

I wasn't thinking about tv, sometime you can find in big cities those
tv vans with terrestrial satellite antennas (that don't need to be
stabilized), they have a receiver and a transmitter and they put you
online.
Of course with cnn budgets you can do everything but the point here is
that terrestrial systems like this are being sold around 250euro /month
flat fee with connections 256Kbit/512Kbit upstream/downstream


There is another option though, and it's something that's been around
forever. Packet switching via amateur radio bandwidth. There's
literally thousands of amateur repeaters along the US coastline alone
that will allow you to grab essentially free Internet as long as you
have an account somewhere to get your email and stuff. Of course this
takes an even larger initial cash outlay, and a considerable amount of
study and expertise.


nothing you can use in open sea though... and speed is low, very very
low

[Bruce in Alaska]

In article .com,
"Edoardo" wrote:

You wrote:
In article . com,
"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


All it takes is MONEY, and lots of it, for either expensive hardware, or
expensive SAT Time, or BOTH......

This was the same kind of answer one would get 10 years ago asking for
a flat panel 19" display or for a car navigation system.
things that you can buy now for less than 500euro (maybe because
somebody started talking about?)
I am sorry for being polemic but I can't get an answer other than the
"wow, what you want to do it's really expensive!" one.
The reason I am asking this is because I really like sailing and at the
same time I would like to help a friend of mine that asked this - maybe
just as curiosity - or maybe just to know how it works.
Internet satellite systems are getting widely used for cars, caravans
and TV vans for example; I guess the most complicated thing to make
them work on a boat would be for the boat movements (tilting, etc) but
I can't find any good source of information about.
thanks anyway..


There are piles of SAT systems for cars, caravans, and TV Vans, but the
first two are not passing IP Traffic in the bidirectional mode at any
speed of consequence. SAT Tv Vans have all the hardware to pass just
about any type of traffic, BUT they don't do it while moving, only at
fixed locations, and all that gear is expensive, HEAVY, and Power-hungry.
You can't find the information you require, because you are looking at
trying to do it on the cheap, and Gyro-Stabilized Ka or Ku Band Antennas
are anything but cheap. They also require Directional Heading Inputs
from an external Gyro System, or Enertial Nav system, which is another
expense, which is why these are usually only fitted on Military, or
Large Ships that already have a platform, and required auxillary Input
Systems, fitted.
DBS TvSAT Receive/Only Systems are in the 3-5Kbuck range when fitted with
Gyro-Stabilized Antennas, and getting an Uplink going means that your
antenna tracking accuracy has to be increased by at least an order of
magnitude. Otherwise you would be interfering with numerous other users,
on multiple SAT's because your antenna can't track a point in the sky
at less than 300 ArcSeconds.

Bruce in alaska an old SAT/Comm's guy from way back......
--
add a 2 before @

[[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