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USB modem and wireless router


Lesd

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A question for the IT experts I think.

My current home broadband internet set up is a BT line (going to the ISP) plugged into a Billion wifi router which is accessed by two lap tops equiped with wifi cards. When we move onto the boat I'm thinking about buying a vodaphone (or possibly TMobile) USB modem to replace the BT line in the same set up. Do you think the USB modem will work via the wifi router and does the USB modem come ith software I can install on the two laps tops ?

Thanks for any help

Les

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I seem to see topics like this being submitted almost on a weekly basis, on the presumption they are some strange form of joke the humour goes right over my head. This forum is about canals and boats the language is nearly always English. We have a chap in my local pub, sits at the bar playing with his phone for hours on end, never laughed at that behaviour either.

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I seem to see topics like this being submitted almost on a weekly basis, on the presumption they are some strange form of joke the humour goes right over my head. This forum is about canals and boats the language is nearly always English. We have a chap in my local pub, sits at the bar playing with his phone for hours on end, never laughed at that behaviour either.

 

welcome to the modern world. - it appears people who use boats also use computers and the internet on their boats, so it seems that soon these will become common for boat type people.

 

i've used LinkSys Routers before - not the 3G ones.

 

looking at the Linksys Vodafone 3G Router - it doesn't appear to have a USB connection - so am not sure if it will connect to the USB modem as it uses the Vodafone 3G card for connection - so that wouldn't work with the USB modem.

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How about connect the most-used laptop using the 3G card, and share its connection over the wireless? That way you're using one of the laptops as the router for the other.

 

Not quite as elegant, but cheaper...

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welcome to the modern world. - it appears people who use boats also use computers and the internet on their boats, so it seems that soon these will become common for boat type people.i've used LinkSys Routers before - not the 3G ones. looking at the Linksys Vodafone 3G Router - it doesn't appear to have a USB connection - so am not sure if it will connect to the USB modem as it uses the Vodafone 3G card for connection - so that wouldn't work with the USB modem.
If you've a 3G USB Modem like I've got then, if you ask very nicely, Vodafone will swap the USB for the PCMCIA version and you keep the same SIM. Well, at least they did when I swapped my PCMCIA for USB.
I hope all this fangled stuff doesn't mean that traditional boaters are going to stop doing Rosie & Jim? :P [snip of picture]It looks like all the tradition is going out of boating these days.
That's because they've not written Vista Compatible Rosie and Jim drivers .... Edited by Chris J W
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Thanks for the replies so far (even JO's, which did make me chuckle).

 

Just to be clear, I already have the wifi router and the wifi cards in the lap tops. I was wondering if I can just unplug my BT line from the router and plug in the cable from the new vodaphone USB modem instead (may need a cable converter ?) or am I way off the mark ?

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Thanks for the replies so far (even JO's, which did make me chuckle).

 

Just to be clear, I already have the wifi router and the wifi cards in the lap tops. I was wondering if I can just unplug my BT line from the router and plug in the cable from the new vodaphone USB modem instead (may need a cable converter ?) or am I way off the mark ?

 

Ah. I see. Sorry, but you can't. If you think about it, the router already has a modem built in (what the BT line goes into) so you'd have a modem talking to a modem. Can't see I've ever seen a BT line to USB Modem conversion box.

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Oh bugger. How about using the Linksys router with the new Vodaphone data card plugged in instead of the USB modem (I've just been told that the data cards are now as fast as the USB modems). I can setup the wifi on the linksys to talk to my to laptops, I can also extend the datacard aerial port to an external aerial on the outside of the boat for maximise signal strength (I dont think the USB modem takes an external aerial). I'll have to junk my Billion wifi router and replace with the linksys but I thnk this setup might work quite well, what do you all think ?

 

BTW. I have just noticed Vodaphone the 'business' tarrif for the datacard or USB is £25 per month, £5 less than their retail offer. May be of use to any company owners/self employed people.

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Oh bugger. How about using the Linksys router with the new Vodaphone data card plugged in instead of the USB modem (I've just been told that the data cards are now as fast as the USB modems). I can setup the wifi on the linksys to talk to my to laptops, I can also extend the datacard aerial port to an external aerial on the outside of the boat for maximise signal strength (I dont think the USB modem takes an external aerial). I'll have to junk my Billion wifi router and replace with the linksys but I thnk this setup might work quite well, what do you all think ?

 

BTW. I have just noticed Vodaphone the 'business' tarrif for the datacard or USB is £25 per month, £5 less than their retail offer. May be of use to any company owners/self employed people.

 

Yep, that's what you'll need. And, yeah, the PCMCIA card will take an external aerial, though as far as I remember you've got to pay extra for the aerial. On the few occasions I've had a crummy signal with the USB I've just used an USB extension and dangled it out of the window.

 

Sure that you may get a taker here if you put the current router in the "For Sale" section.

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Yeah, seams im here too late!!

- Depends how much your going to use it, but certainly £100 for the linksys is quite steep (although i would be good).

- I would be tempted, for now anyway, to just use the normal modem in one laptop and then have a adhoc wlan between the two.

 

 

 

Daniel

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I have been using a T mobile USB modem for some months now and depending on what I want to do I plug it into either of the 2 laptops we have (I often take one out with me and browse via wi-fi surfing) as and when we need to.

 

The laptop that normally lives on board is connected via a standard 100 Meg hub as it was so easy (and cheap) to do so. When I set this up wireless routers were not easily available to the general public so traditional cable network was the only option.

 

Works great.

 

As far as I am aware all of the USB modems come with driver software (Voda and T mobile definately do as I have tried both)

 

I refuse to enter into an argument about 'traditional' boating. I live on my boat - I have central heating on my boat - I have mains on my boat - I have a diesel engine on my boat - I have a washing machine on my boat. None of these are 'traditional' but at the end of the day it is a boat and my home, not a museum.

 

Damn - Ijust entered the argument <_<

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I know you guys are far ore experienced than me at broadband on a boat, but there is a company that makes a really cool modem that also if a wifi router, an adsl modem and has 3D card as back up - I think you slot in your card.

 

I will try to find the article in PCPro...

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  • 2 weeks later...
I hope all this fangled stuff doesn't mean that traditional boaters are going to stop doing Rosie & Jim? :lol:

 

It looks like all the tradition is going out of boating these days.

 

If you know anyone who is doing Rosie and Jim pease report them it cant be legal! :)

Edited by Maffi
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I start by apologising to the users of the forum for the rant I am about to express . . . . .

 

I seem to see topics like this being submitted almost on a weekly basis, on the presumption they are some strange form of joke the humour goes right over my head. This forum is about canals and boats the language is nearly always English. We have a chap in my local pub, sits at the bar playing with his phone for hours on end, never laughed at that behaviour either.

 

 

 

Well don't read them then !

 

And more to the point this forum wouldn't work if people couldn't access the 'net would it ?

 

If you don't think that using internet on a boat is a subject for the forum that is your choice but as the ONLY common link we all have here is that we use the 'net to be here your lambasting people who ask how to go about it seems wrong.

 

Sorry folks, but sometimes you've gotta say what needs to be said.

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  • 1 month later...
If you want to do this with a good bit of kit, have a look at this unit http://www.draytek.co.uk/products/vigor_3g.html

 

I'm using one at present and it works very well on TMobile internet. Connected to 5 users laptops.

 

 

Im trying to get my wireless internet sorted now but am running into problems with my planned solution which was a linksys 3g router with a vodaphone 3g card on the WAN side and wifi on the LAN side to connect 2 lap tops....after spending 2 hours on the phone going round and round it appears that vodaphones latest pc card (the Huaei E870) is not proven to be compatible with the linksys router, so I can take a chance or shelve it and move to plan B...

 

So plan B is the drayteck solution but this is only compatible with the vodaphone USB card, which wont take an external aerial (the main reason for initially wanting to use the data card was because it will take an external aerial). So my question is; will having the USB modem onboard cause problems with 3g reception ? I've heard of people dangling them out of windows but is that necessary / wise ?

 

Thanks for your help.

Les

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Yep, that's what you'll need. And, yeah, the PCMCIA card will take an external aerial, though as far as I remember you've got to pay extra for the aerial. On the few occasions I've had a crummy signal with the USB I've just used an USB extension and dangled it out of the window.

 

Fine if you have a PCMCIA card/slot. I have just replaced an ageing gateway laptop and found the new standard is an Express Card slot. So my perfectly reliable card is now destined to join the 72pin RAM.

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Yep, just when you think you're up to date it all changes again!

 

I've just been on http://www.airtimemanager.co.uk/datacard/b...s_products.aspx

looking at vodafone's new 7.2Mb service on USB or ExpressCard, i can't see 7.2Mb being available outside of major cities though.

Edited by Scotty
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