Wireless LAN on a sailboat
 

I would like to hear from anyone that has had any experience running a
wireless LAN on a cruising sailboat.

Any enlightenment will be appreciated.

TIA

Vic



--
__________________________________________________ ______

Victor Fraenckel - The Windman
KC2GUI www.windsway.com

Home of the WindReader Electronic Theodolite
Read the WIND

"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long
and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival."
- Winston [Leonard Spencer] Churchill (1874 - 1965)

Dost thou not know, my son, with how little wisdom the world is governed?
-Count Oxenstierna (ca 1620) to the young King Gustavus Adolphus

Wireless LAN on a sailboat
 

I've had on on my boat for over a year now. It is VERY handy when I'm in the slip,
enjoying my net access from a laptop/deckchair position on the breezy side of the
dock or aboard my boat. I've only used it in my slip, so cannot comment on it's
application when underway...assuming you're interested in that.


Cheers-

Boyd
32ft Motorsailor in Baltimore

I would like to hear from anyone that has had any experience running a
wireless LAN on a cruising sailboat.

Any enlightenment will be appreciated.

TIA

Vic



--
_________________________________________________ _______

Victor Fraenckel - The Windman
KC2GUI www.windsway.com

Home of the WindReader Electronic Theodolite
Read the WIND

"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long
and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival."
- Winston [Leonard Spencer] Churchill (1874 - 1965)

Dost thou not know, my son, with how little wisdom the world is governed?
-Count Oxenstierna (ca 1620) to the young King Gustavus Adolphus

Wireless LAN on a sailboat
 

Shouldn't be a problem, as long as the boat isn't metal -- we're
putting Cat 5 wire in Fintry because a steel boat with a lot of W/T
doors looks like a lot of Faraday cages.

Make sure your passwords and other protections are in place, as
otherwise everyone in the marina will be using your LAN, including its
connection to the Internet, if any.

Jim Woodward
www.mvFintry.com

"Vic Fraenckel" wrote in message .. .
I would like to hear from anyone that has had any experience running a
wireless LAN on a cruising sailboat.

Any enlightenment will be appreciated.

TIA

Vic



--
__________________________________________________ ______

Victor Fraenckel - The Windman
KC2GUI www.windsway.com

Home of the WindReader Electronic Theodolite
Read the WIND

"Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long
and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival."
- Winston [Leonard Spencer] Churchill (1874 - 1965)

Dost thou not know, my son, with how little wisdom the world is governed?
-Count Oxenstierna (ca 1620) to the young King Gustavus Adolphus

Wireless LAN on a sailboat
 

On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 09:35:49 GMT, "Vic Fraenckel"
wrote:

I would like to hear from anyone that has had any experience running a
wireless LAN on a cruising sailboat.

Any enlightenment will be appreciated.

Ashley Marina has a WiFi system running around the marina for any
sailor who wants access to use. As it works very nicely across the
docks, I'd suspect a wireless LAN from one end of any size FIBERGLASS
boat to another would work just fine, too.

Of course, it won't work good in METAL boats inside the shield.....



Larry W4CSC

3600 planes with transponders are burning 8-10 million
gallons of kerosene per hour over the USA. R-12 car air
conditioners are responsible for the ozone hole, right?

Wireless LAN on a sailboat
 

I guess I am wondering why you would want a wireless network on board.
Would you have a server down below so that you could walk around with a
notebook and keep your files on the server? Is it so you can walk around
and use you printer? Do you have cable available dockside and want a cable
modem hookup via 802a/b/or g? Perhaps BellTell and DSL are in your future?
Help me to understand.

Now I can understand having a wireless capable notebook so that when in port
at wireless friendly marinas you can get to the internet and communicate
with us about your sailing/boating exploits. This year I seem to have more
repair exploits then sailing adventures although I just got back from a
Clearwater Beach to Apalachicola sailing adventure....

Anyway, I use a simple laptop with 802a/b/g capability. I have some old
ChartView software that works with the GPS and plots where you are on
MapTech chart disks. My wife works the software and now contributes her
talants into navagating. It really helps at night and at other times. We
also use her PocketPC with a NavMan GPS and MapTech charts in the cockpit.
These new gagets are handy. I can also use my "Verizon" cell phone at a
relativity slow pace to dial up the internet. I have not done this in a
while but connection speeds were 14,400 baud. Perhaps now the speeds are
faster (HA HA HA). Actually the main purpose was to get the marine weather.
Can't seem to get it any more on the marine weather channel but I can tell
you what the cloud cover and temperatures are 100 miles away inland every 5
minutes but that's a different problem. (dismount soapbox). I now use the
internet capability on the cellphone to get the marine weather when I want
it.

I have a new Dell machine on order with "Bluetooth" installed. This is like
an infrared port but operates on RF frequencies (no direct line of site
needed). What for? If you get a "Bluetooth" capable printer you do not
need a cable from the computer to the printer. If you get a "Bluetooth"
capable cell phone again no cable to connect. So it is added mobility. By
the way - anyone have a "Bluetooth" capable printer or cellphones you want
to sell??? ;-)


"Larry W4CSC" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 09:35:49 GMT, "Vic Fraenckel"
wrote:

I would like to hear from anyone that has had any experience running a
wireless LAN on a cruising sailboat.

Any enlightenment will be appreciated.

Ashley Marina has a WiFi system running around the marina for any
sailor who wants access to use. As it works very nicely across the
docks, I'd suspect a wireless LAN from one end of any size FIBERGLASS
boat to another would work just fine, too.

Of course, it won't work good in METAL boats inside the shield.....



Larry W4CSC

3600 planes with transponders are burning 8-10 million
gallons of kerosene per hour over the USA. R-12 car air
conditioners are responsible for the ozone hole, right?

Wireless LAN on a sailboat
 

It wasn't my question, but I'll take a stab at it anyways because I've
seen it work and it's SO cool......

Many yachts have satellite service, including data, on them from a
fixed location, say on the bridge, where you'd plug in a computer and
have broadband internet service via that big domed antenna overlooking
the 04 level pool...(c;

If one unplugs the computer from the satellite link transceiver, and
installs a WiFi 802.11 router into its ethernet port, every computer
on the boat is now connectable in a much more convenient location, say
the seating next to the wetbar on the stern, the owner's private
office off his stateroom, the captain's stateroom office, or the old
radio operator's compartment once used for HF SITOR in the "Old Days"
with WOM.

It also allows the owner to check on his next drug shipment from his
supplier in Venezuela or to check to see if his dealer network has
made their deposits into his numbered bank account on St Kitts/Nevis
on time. It allows him to email his "enforcement unit" to investigate
late payments, late shipments, that missing kilo of coke that never
showed up in Miami, etc.

Isn't that neat?



Larry W4CSC

US Supports Apartheid! Vetoes UN resolution
condemning Apartheid Wall.
http://www.antiwar.com/hacohen/h052103.html
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...917478560.html
Can apartheid at home be far away?....
Apartheid NOW! Wall off Mississippi!

Wireless LAN on a sailboat
 

"Rick & Linda Bernard" wrote in message ...
I guess I am wondering why you would want a wireless network on board.
Would you have a server down below so that you could walk around with a
notebook and keep your files on the server? Is it so you can walk around
and use you printer? Do you have cable available dockside and want a cable
modem hookup via 802a/b/or g? Perhaps BellTell and DSL are in your future?
Help me to understand.


Even back in the dark ages when we did our circumnav (1995-98) we had
his and hers computers aboard. Fintry will have, at least, his and
hers computers for Dee and me, a dedicated computer for the boat
(chart plotter, etc.), and connections in each stateroom for guests,
as well as connections to NMEA and Furuno data sources.

Uses for a network:
1) backup from one computer to another, including to a "hidden"
computer unlikely to be stolen.
2) printer sharing
3) data sharing
4) Furuno network devices all have IP addresses
5) sharing digital camera memory card reader
6) sharing Internet connection, when available
7) NMEA data can come and go easily on a NMEA IP device
8) Our refrigerator will be networked to automatically produce grocery
lists.

As noted earlier in this thread, on Fintry, the network will be wired
Cat 5 -- steel rooms do not get along with wireless.


Jim Woodward
www.mvFintry.com

Wireless LAN on a sailboat
 

On Wed, 15 Oct 2003 18:53:55 -0500, "Rick & Linda Bernard"
tempted fate with:

I guess I am wondering why you would want a wireless network on board.
Would you have a server down below so that you could walk around with a
notebook and keep your files on the server? Is it so you can walk around
and use you printer? Do you have cable available dockside and want a cable
modem hookup via 802a/b/or g? Perhaps BellTell and DSL are in your future?
Help me to understand.

Good question. It's amazing what we need to take with us when we get
away from it all, eh? Not that I have any room to talk. But here is
one application that I use, even if I did write it myself.

My program is an NMEA repeater display. It can also forward the NMEA
data across the network to any application that can read NMEA off the
network. For instance, my program can read data from NMEA devices
connected to the serial port and display the data on "virtual guages".
It can also pass the data along to OziExplorer so you can have a
moving map display on the same computer. It then can pass the NMEA
data along on the network to another computer, which can display it,
hand it off to Ozi, or even send it out a serial port.

So, you could have one display at the nav station, one in the owner's
cabin, one on the flybridge, one in the head...

On the other hand, Vic could just want to have Doom deathmatches on
board. :-)


Glen "Wiley" Wilson usenet1 SPAMNIX at worldwidewiley dot com
To reply, lose the capitals and do the obvious.

Take a look at cpRepeater, an NMEA data integrator, repeater, and
logger at http://www.worldwidewiley.com/