I've had good luck with USB adapters, and 1.1 is definitely fast
enough for good WiFi service.

USB 1.1 tops out at 12mbps, that's a good bit slower than the usual 34+mbps
connections I'm getting to shore SSIDs using a WRT54G in client mode. That
and by using a 1.1 device on your port you're crippling any other devices to
that same slow speed. Downloading pictures from a camera at 1.1 speeds is
maddeningly slow...

They are claiming
20 ft of total USB length on the web site, plenty long enough for my
boat.

Sure, depending on the boat and your desired position for the computer the
length may be appropriate. But I've found it's best to have as little as
possible connected to a laptop. The last thing you want is a cable getting
tangled and yanking the laptop off the table.

I've had great success this season using a setup with two WRT54GS routers.
One's up inside the radar arch connected to a single 8db omni antenna. It's
then wired via ethernet to another WRT54GS acting as an access point. The
laptops onboard connect to the "boat" ssid and the arch router then handles
connecting them to shore. No cables to the laptops save for a power cord
when they need recharging. This lets me connection mine, my wife's and
anyone else 'nearby' to the access point and share connectivity. I've tuned
the power level on the access point to provide coverage to a very small
area.

Works great. Certainly faster than USB 1.1 and with the added benefit of
requiring nothing extra to let other computers connect through it.

-Bill Kearney

Hi, Bill (You're familiar with my situation from other fora...), and
group,

Bill Kearney wrote:

I've had great success this season using a setup with two WRT54GS routers.
One's up inside the radar arch connected to a single 8db omni antenna. It's
then wired via ethernet to another WRT54GS acting as an access point. The
laptops onboard connect to the "boat" ssid and the arch router then handles
connecting them to shore. No cables to the laptops save for a power cord
when they need recharging. This lets me connection mine, my wife's and
anyone else 'nearby' to the access point and share connectivity. I've tuned
the power level on the access point to provide coverage to a very small
area.

Does your setup let you identify and select from shore points, or do
you have to somehow first configure the arch unit? If you can identify
and select from shore points, how is it done? Web interface? (I'm
assuming that would require transparency to the IP of either or both
units.) WZC or some other configuration tool which is a
point-and-click? ((I'm assuming the functionality there to be like a
repeater, where you don't address it, but directly see all the shore
points on your laptop antenna.)

And, if you tuned the power, what power is available in these units?
And, speaking of power, how did you power them? Are they in the same
place, or is the bridge in the arch and the AP somewhere below?

Thanks.

For those (others) reading, my setup is different equipment, and
apparently not for the faint of heart, as it took over a year and
hundreds of failed hours to kill various bugs which generated IP
conflicts and inoperability while I was trying to do essentially the
same setup as Bill's. However, I have another wrinkle which, curiously
and fortuitously, made it all work. I have a Vonage router in between
my units. Vonage is a VoIP provider, and the router is a very simple
device which has its own IP which, once connected to the internet
(through the bridge), is recognized as my phone. The other end
connects to the access point which lets us use our laptops in the same
fashion as Bill. That router, though, puts me on the phone network
anywhere I have a wifi signal, whether my computer's even on or not.
It connects with a regular phone line, just like at home, to any
regular phone.

Think of it - my local phone number is following me around the world,
once I splash, and in the yard while I've been working on the boat.
Today I should receive the new router and double cordless phones (just
like you'd have at home) I ordered from eCost. (The only reason for
this was we have only a single instrument currently - this gives us
two, and it came with a router included for less than other
dual-cordless deals - two units lets us both be on line at the same
time.) We regularly pick up the phone and call Lydia's mother in
England (free calling to there and 4 other European countries), and
because it's the same number I've had for about 30 years, anyone who
wants to call (her kids, e.g., lots, suppliers and contractors, etc.)
just dials us up. Can you tell I like Vonage? Please drop me a line
if you'd like to investigate, and I'll "invite" you - that way if you
sign up we both get a free month.

So, back to the story, while it's a great deal more expensive than a
simple USB dongle, if you *really* want wifi at anchor or in the
marina, do it as Bill has done. Get a bridge, connected to a high-gain
antenna, weatherproof-enclose it, mount it as high as you can get it (a
sailboat mast is pretty high!). The ethernet connection out of that
bridge is your gateway to the internet. Connect it to an access point
instead of to your computer, and you can use yours, and your mates,
theirs, wirelessly. I've done the USB bit. I can tell you for sure I
like this better - and one of the chief reasons for my sticking with a
project which looked entirely fruitless for over a year is that it
gives me local (home, USA) telephone service anywhere I can get a wifi
signal. You can't do that with a USB setup, unless you use Skype or
Vonage's softphone, both of which require headsets and the computer to
be turned on...

L8R

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