I've got a 250 ma client bridge connected to a WIFI antenna mounted on my
radar arch, about 11 feet above the waterline. The client bridge is in a
stern lazarette connected just eight cable feet from the antenna. An
Ethernet cable connects it back to the nav table in the main salon. Since
the client bridge had a 120 VAC to 12 VDC power supply I just power it
directly from the ship's battery power.

I spent the summer in Maine and the reception was absolutely remarkable.
Several times like in Smith Cove, Castine, Maine I had hi-speed data and
VoIP in the middle of nowhere. I still cannot figure out where I was
receiving it from. I could see The Maine Maritime Academy's WIFI network
from Smith Cove and their closest transmitter was two miles away.. Even in
Tenants Harbor, ME we had uninterrupted internet and VOIP. Many times in
larger cities I had to look for a "Free" WIFI site since BEACON WIFI and
several other commercial ventures had the strongest signals. It is pretty
quick to get a selective SSID so working around the commercial folks was
pretty easy.

I also have KVH DirecTV/Hughes satellite on board.

Take care.

Cap'n Ric
S/V Sezaneh
2003 Beneteau 473

Cap'n Ric wrote:
I've got a 250 ma client bridge connected to a WIFI antenna mounted on my
radar arch, about 11 feet above the waterline. The client bridge is in a
stern lazarette connected just eight cable feet from the antenna. An
Ethernet cable connects it back to the nav table in the main salon. Since
the client bridge had a 120 VAC to 12 VDC power supply I just power it
directly from the ship's battery power.

Ric, what is your bridge make and model? We got great reception on our
first sail today, when Lydia got a phone call even further out than the
original post. However, I'm not at all happy with the Senao unit and
would consider an upgrade if I could get it in the same space; 250mw
would improve our already good reach a bit, but the ability to select
around the commercial sites which want to hijack and redirect the
signal is a real PITA not to have...

Thanks...

L8R

Skip, with the electronics installer coming tomorrow

Morgan 461 #2
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On 21 Dec 2006 21:51:45 -0800, "Skip - Working on the boat"
wrote:

Ric, what is your bridge make and model? We got great reception on our
first sail today, when Lydia got a phone call even further out than the
original post. However, I'm not at all happy with the Senao unit and
would consider an upgrade if I could get it in the same space; 250mw
would improve our already good reach a bit, but the ability to select
around the commercial sites which want to hijack and redirect the
signal is a real PITA not to have...

Skip, which Senao client/bridge are you using? I was looking at the
specs of the NOC-3220-EXT recently and it sounded interesting but I
have not tried it yet.

To solve your "hijack" problem you need client software that will
allow you to select an access point by MAC address in addition to
SSID. Some will do that but I dont't know about the Senao.

You can download the data sheet and manual he

http://static.zoovy.com/merchant/pnt..._03202006_.pdf

http://static.zoovy.com/merchant/pnt...0_20060314.pdf

Skip,

I have a Senao 2611CB3. It is 802.11B only. I have a NCB-3220 on order.
It is 400mw and 802.11G. It also supports WPA.

Cap'n Ric

I apologize for my lack of geeky-ness, but what is this device and
where do I get one? We've used directional and non-directional wi-fi
antennas in the past, and while they seem to improve our reception over
just using the antenna in our laptop, it's not an order-of-magnitude
improvement -- and it sounds as if your improvement is way more than
that!

I thought a bridge was for working the other way, from hardwired bb
connection to wi-fi. But from what you say, it's like having an
incredibly sensitive antenna for your wi-fi connection. This is
something I want to have!

Thanks,

Rob
S/V Akka
Lanzarote, Canary Islands

Cap'n Ric wrote:
I've got a 250 ma client bridge connected to a WIFI antenna mounted on my
radar arch, about 11 feet above the waterline. The client bridge is in a
stern lazarette connected just eight cable feet from the antenna. An
Ethernet cable connects it back to the nav table in the main salon. Since
the client bridge had a 120 VAC to 12 VDC power supply I just power it
directly from the ship's battery power.

I spent the summer in Maine and the reception was absolutely remarkable.
Several times like in Smith Cove, Castine, Maine I had hi-speed data and
VoIP in the middle of nowhere. I still cannot figure out where I was
receiving it from. I could see The Maine Maritime Academy's WIFI network
from Smith Cove and their closest transmitter was two miles away.. Even in
Tenants Harbor, ME we had uninterrupted internet and VOIP. Many times in
larger cities I had to look for a "Free" WIFI site since BEACON WIFI and
several other commercial ventures had the strongest signals. It is pretty
quick to get a selective SSID so working around the commercial folks was
pretty easy.

I also have KVH DirecTV/Hughes satellite on board.

Take care.

Cap'n Ric
S/V Sezaneh
2003 Beneteau 473

On 22 Dec 2006 11:16:02 -0800, "Akka" wrote:

I apologize for my lack of geeky-ness, but what is this device and
where do I get one? We've used directional and non-directional wi-fi
antennas in the past, and while they seem to improve our reception over
just using the antenna in our laptop, it's not an order-of-magnitude
improvement -- and it sounds as if your improvement is way more than
that!

You can buy omni-directional antennas with relatively high gain - 9 to
15 db depending on model. Mounted at a decent height of 20 to 50 ft,
you can extend your range from a decent access point out to 2 or 3
miles, sometimes more.

In order to avoid feed line losses between the antenna and the wifi
client/bridge, Skip has chosen to mount his bridge at the top of the
mast close to the antenna, and power the bridge via the ethernet cable
- Power Over Ethernet, aka, POE.

http://wlanparts.com/

You can order them at http://www.wlansolution.com/ although I'm sure there
are many other places.

Cap'n Ric

Hi, Ric, and Group, and answering another question about what gear I
have at the same time:

Cap'n Ric wrote:
You can order them at http://www.wlansolution.com/ although I'm sure there
are many other places.

Cap'n Ric

In fact, that is where I ordered my gear. I can't recommend them
unless you are totally familiar with networking protocols and whatever
else may be needed to make your setup work, as, despite being a nice
fellow, Basil won't help you set it up - he'll only direct you to the
Senao website for firmware upgrades, and if you ask him to configure
something which will do what I'm trying to do, he'll send you the same
stuff I got, which patently doesn't work without some intervention from
other gear - and when it doesn't work, won't take it back. (That's an
extremely long story, very technical for any but the techies, and not
the point of this discussion, so I'll not put it here.) It is
extraordinarily far from plug and play, and many network experts, even
a user with exactly the same setup as I was trying to make happen, were
unsuccessful in getting our setup to work as it was sold to me.

At that, even with the router in between (the solution to the IP
conflicts which were making the other not work), now, there's something
messed up with the Pay service (which hijacked my signal, redirecting
to their site, because, now, with the bridge and antenna high up, it
saw that as the best and locked on to it, as distinct shortcoming of
this particular unit, of which, more, anon) because I'm back to having
to put it directly into a configured NIC to set it, then transfer it to
a DHCP NIC to surf and connect. It will no longer talk to the Vonage
router, which means, of course, no phone, and also no AP for wifi
connectivity (defined as no wires between the computer and the outside
world), the point(s) of this entire exercise.

Now, before the folks in aiw get all exercised, I admitted long ago
that I don't even know enough to ask the right questions, let alone
have the answers, so I'm sure there's something I'm overlooking out of
ignorance. I'd love to be shown my error, but, again, it's an awfully
long story, and not the point of this post.

So, I'll say that it used to work very well. That it doesn't, any
more, is just another problem which I'll eventually overcome, I expect
-but I certainly hope that it doesn't take as long as it did to get it
set up the first time.

I was thrilled, especially after having spent literally more than a
year to get it to even talk to the outside world, let alone have it
work miles out in the Bay. I have two Senao 2611CB3 Plus Deluxe,
configurable to either AP or Bridge. I have an 8.5dBi omni stick from
Hypertech, just down the street from wlansolutions, as Basil walked
over to get it when putting this together, and a 5.5 duck for the AP.
I originally was going to have it all in one box up the mast, one power
supply, but as they would absolutely not talk together when joined by a
crossover, and the solution turned out to be a router in between, I
abandoned that, as seen in the pictures, and put only the bridge aloft.

I configure the bridge to a blank SSID, which makes it look for the
strongest signal. That's ok, but in this case, that caused it to
redirect to their signin page. Otherwise, were that not the case, I
could then go into the configuration page and specify which of the
available ones, even those not shown, perhaps from a hidden SSID, or
one I know to be available at less strength than the first (and limited
to) 8 shown, such as I did before the pay site hijacked the signal.

Were I to do it again I most certainly would not do that setup. There
are other pairs which will do the job more effectively, and not require
a router in between. However, as VoIP is a very critical component of
our connectivity, the Vonage router works out (the current
unpleasantness aside).

Thus the question about your bridge; a slight increase in power would
be nice, and a point and click selection would be even nicer,
particularly if I can avoid redirection in which I'm now embroiled.

Hope that was responsive to the couple of questions answered :{))


L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery!
Follow us at http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog and/or
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"Believe me, my young friend, there is *nothing*-absolutely
nothing-half so much worth doing as simply messing,
messing-about-in-boats; messing about in boats-or *with* boats.

In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter,
that's the charm of it.

Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your
destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never
get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in
particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to
do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not."

Skip Gundlach wrote:

I configure the bridge to a blank SSID, which makes it look for the
strongest signal. That's ok, but in this case, that caused it to
redirect to their signin page. Otherwise, were that not the case, I
could then go into the configuration page and specify which of the
available ones, even those not shown, perhaps from a hidden SSID, or
one I know to be available at less strength than the first (and limited
to) 8 shown, such as I did before the pay site hijacked the signal.



If your browser home page requires *any* DNS access to get to it, you
will get redirected to the signin page on most commercial wireless ISPs.
Similarly, if the router has got the DNS server address from the ISP
via DHCP, and your bridge has a 'friendly' name for its configuration
page rather than a dotted IP address, you will end up at the signin page
again :-(

Set your home page to blank then try accessing the bridge by its ip
address rather than by name. The url should be of the form
http://nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn/ fill in the correct numbers for your setup.

If that works for you, BOOKMARK the location in that format or maybe set
it as your home page.



--
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk
[at]=@, [dash]=- & [dot]=. *Warning* HTML & 32K emails -- NUL:
'Stingo' Albacore #1554 - 15' Early 60's, Uffa Fox designed,
All varnished hot moulded wooden racing dinghy.

Hi, Ian, and group(s),

Ian Malcolm wrote:
Skip Gundlach wrote:

I configure the bridge to a blank SSID, which makes it look for the
strongest signal. That's ok, but in this case, that caused it to
redirect to their signin page. Otherwise, were that not the case, I
could then go into the configuration page and specify which of the
available ones, even those not shown, perhaps from a hidden SSID, or
one I know to be available at less strength than the first (and limited
to) 8 shown, such as I did before the pay site hijacked the signal.



If your browser home page requires *any* DNS access to get to it, you
will get redirected to the signin page on most commercial wireless ISPs.
Similarly, if the router has got the DNS server address from the ISP
via DHCP, and your bridge has a 'friendly' name for its configuration
page rather than a dotted IP address, you will end up at the signin page
again :-(

Set your home page to blank then try accessing the bridge by its ip
address rather than by name. The url should be of the form
http://nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn/ fill in the correct numbers for your setup.

If that works for you, BOOKMARK the location in that format or maybe set
it as your home page.


Would that it did - My reaction comes from merely typing in the URL
(the way I usually reach the bridge to configure it) in nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn
format, whereupon the pay site(s? - I've not been in an area with more
than one at the moment, though the readout shows many presumed pay
sites as well, some of which have more strength, but not as good a
communications level)) redirects to their signin page.

The bridge has no name - there's not a place to name it, even. In AP
format, I could name the AP if I wanted, as well as the SSID. However,
the bridge is notable only from its MAC address. Setting my home page
to a blank (no characters on the line) has no effect - and in any case,
unless I were to click the home icon, other than at startup, the home
page would not appear.

So, I'm looking into (don't really know where to look - one of the
cites in this thread looks promising but I have to say that I'm so gun
shy about Senao that I'd want to see one working before I went through
anything remotely like what I have with wlansolutions) some other
bridge which would see all available without selecting one for me, and
let me push a radio button rather than have to type in the actual name.
In this area, at least, while not so in my particular location at the
moment, there are many instances of duplicate SSID names.

The one I have (from the wlansolutions website "Multi-Client
Bridge/Access Point Module Prism 2.5 High Power (200mW) 2611 CB3 PLUS
MD" - the module, not enclosed version - 200, not 250mw, though Ric has
the same product name unit - perhaps in the desktop version - on his
boat) requires typing in the SSID - which, if there are more than one
of the same name, makes for pot luck in selection. If, as should be
possible, the scan shows two of the same name, a given MAC should show,
and if that one is selected, that should be the one for the bridge to
associate.

So, perhaps better covered in a different thread, are there any other
suggestions for client bridge replacement candidates - ones which would
allow me to click my bookmark/favorite/whatever to reach the
configuration page, and point and click on the desired connection point
- but also *not* connect to any until asked, regardless of strength??

BTW, at least at the moment, the link Ansley provided stalls and goes
nowhere when attempting any info other than the home page...

--
Ian Malcolm. London, ENGLAND. (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)

Thanks for all the dialogue. I'm passing it along to various other
non-subscribers to see if there's a solution visible.

L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery!
Follow us at http://groups.google.com/group/flyingpiglog and/or
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheFlyingPigLog

"Believe me, my young friend, there is *nothing*-absolutely
nothing-half so much worth doing as simply messing,
messing-about-in-boats; messing about in boats-or *with* boats.

In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter. Nothing seems really to matter,
that's the charm of it.

Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your
destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never
get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in
particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to
do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not."