LadyG

You know the obvious solution

Oh dear, just found a flaw in my plan. At the moment i have a sim card in my mi fi, i probably have one in my phone, i pay Three two contracts, but ive no idea which payment is which or about usage. If i now add a mains router, do i have to buy another sim. I think 1pmobile charge about £10 per month, so that would be three contracts, which has to be excessive.

Yes, im up North and usually have a signal on Three, though every so often it seems to crash for a few hours. I suppose the new router might need a new sim card, i did not think about that. I could maybe try out EE on one and Three on the other. Obviously it would be better to have good aerial eg Poynton, and i l ll probably try to get a magnetic mast sometime, that would be a solution. The fitter who was here yesterday did say i have 12v, but i dont really understand, did he mean the round pin sockets. I dont know if there is power to the round sockets, if the new router comes with round a round plug, and works that would be one step forward. I dont understand where i could plug in a DC to DC, the only thing i am sure of is the single 240v socket which is fed from the invertor, and the four usb sockets. There are also two round pin sockets and four square sockets, i thougt they might need shorepower.

I envisage using my invertor to power the new router. Not sure if the indoor aerials it comes with will cope. If the new battery will get the mifi working again, I would then have two systems. I think the fundamental problem is getting the Three signal inside the boat.

Ive got a reliable engine and have it serviced once a year by someone who knows about narrowboat engineering. I can change the oil myself if i have to, i cant check engine mounts or gearbox. I dont know enough to say my engine is well maintained, i expect the professional to do that I do the daily checks and always use a torch to inspect tbe engine and i clean the hoses etc.

I was envisaging drilling in to the steel. I ve ordered the router and will see if it works using my magnetic twin aerials. If not , I'll regroup.

Yes, i could do that, ty, but my current set up, mi fi (needs new battery £19), wired through open window to twin antenae (£19.99) and a monthly sub to Three seems to work without my intervention, which is what i want. I could try to get boat 12v usb stable , but it will either work, or it will die, in which case ill send it back. The usb sockets show some sort of rating, I assume tberefore that they have some sort of buffereing capability in order to output tbe rated output.

I have considered the Poynting but it requires tools and skills i dont possess. I should now have three options: mooring near good signal/new router/original mifi. I hope the new router arrives before the boat fitter who is due here this week, and should manage the internet stuff.

Ive ordered Huawei B535-232 which is about £87, saving £55 , aparently. (Amazon). Its supposed to be 12v and has twin aerials attached, not sure if i can replace them with my outdoor aerials. Ive got great internet from the pub next door ( they sell White Rat, a rather nice IPA style beer).

Yes, Im sure there are better gadgets, ill have a look at the one you recommend. I think its a matter of getting a better signal, not sure if it does that , its probably Three problem most of the time. I prefer not to have to use two gadgets to access one, if you see what i mean. I probablydont do downloading stuff or uploading stuff. Todays problem is getting a delivery to somewhere i can walk to, a lot of sellers wont clik and collect high value hi tech gadgets. I think the pub Im moored at is providing my internet, who knows ....... PS i tried to paste that number and it came uo with lots of items, maybe £600. My budget is £120 UPDATE I ve managed to order a replacement battery to be delivered to an amazon counter tomorrow. I still want to replace my huawei E5785 which is now about five years old, but its a nightmare. I need to use amazon due to ease of delivery. I am just guessing that if they cost about £120 they are worth looking at. I want a battery that will last for ten hours, and have twin Ts9.. I cant see how to google the difference between those that cost £600 and £60, i assume that the bigger ones can run an office and the little ones cant. I only have two gadgets, and use a usb socket. The first fatal flaw seems to be the female socket on the gadget. I think this is built in obselesence and very annoying. After all my recent problems i now need to buy new cables, must be a common probkem as the local Shell garage has a stand full of expensive options.

Or build a narrowboat with swivel lee boards (or a centreboard as found on the Mirror Dinghy). You could have wooden outriggers for crossing choppy seas. Its a pity horses are no longer allowed on the towpath, they would save the CRT a fortune in grass cutting costs if we all had one, it would save the cost of mining lithium.

I know, that is why i am replacing the router. Its not easy to replace things if i am out in rhe sticks Its impossible to get on the net without having it plugged in. Its faulty, that is why i am replacing it with an updated mi fi. Its not easy as it keeps dropping the signal.

OK well ive decided to buy a new mifi. What a mess of potage: E5785 has a dozen or more variations, and there are other gadgets which have different numbering, possibly designed for houses with several rooms. Looking up up best deals gives me a clue, but apart from thinking i want twin aerial sockets Ts9, and a biggish battery, a screen that shows me what is going on, and costs about £120, im stuffed. I assume i want unlocked and LTE (the latest models have this). There are some that come with external aerials, but more of the puck design not masts, and often not waterproof to industry standards. PS Delivery might be an issue: there is an Amazon counter nearby. Ty

Yummi, Ive got all the ingredients, subbing lamb chops for pork. Ive been binge watching masterchef and its clear to me that one needs to dice onions, shallots and mushrooms as fine as possible to give sauce real body.

Buy a decent Dutch barge which already has offshore certification, find someone who can teach you a bit about motor boat handling and pilotage. Spend a year or so pottering about the coast, learning how to handle it, how to navigate, wihout modern navigational software. Use paper charts and pilot books. Anchor up, (try tbe west coast of Scotland. I've sailed with lots of people, and some of them were just plain reckless. Needless to say i only sailed with them once! When you are young and fit, and adventurous its a rite of passage. Once you are over 23 life takes a differ course. I sailed rag and stick, for many a year, enjoyed every minute. Motor boats also need skill to handle, it does not take long to learn how to steer, but ther's a bit more than that to it. When I left Goole on my NB, my heart sank, its so boring, lol.

Your track record of posts on here suggest nothing else. Which foot were thinking of, right or left? My understanding is that if the CRT can't manage the organisation it will be replaced. What good will that do? There is no boating community that has one goal, one strategy, one plan. Its just lots of people who have boats which happen to be on inland waters. Some dont even live in Englsnd and Wales!

I dont know what the naysayers expect the CRT to do, if people are so unhappy with their circumstances they need to change them, not expect a navigation authority to do it for them.

My Samsung phone gets quite hot, I think its a design flaw, nowhere for the heat to disapate, I've no doubt it encourages people to buy a new phone every year or so...

I know you shouldn't, but ive been doing it for years. I'm not convinced the battery alone is at fault, well it is faulty but I still get a signal. Its been swollen for years, I could buy a new battery, and if things don't improve comms-wise buy another E5785, then keep the batteries charged every alternate day. Its a lot of faff compared to leaving the mi fi plugged in. Update: after fifteen hours of intermittent signal everything is back to normal. I think it was related to boat 12v electrics as everything was undercharged, and voltage seemed lower than expected after cruising for about 4 hours, I reset all my battery isolators Off, then ON, reset all the DC breakers, and things seem to be back to normal.

Aha, yes, i am indeed, lol.

Yes, exactly, why replace the possibly undersized chain with strong chain and then insert a weak link of unknown strength. I'd just coat the existing links with paint, and attach with whatever linkage you have to hand. It can be redesigned at a later date if necessary. Personally I'd rather use a bit of cord rather than cable ties, easier to cut should that be necessary. I'd say that fender looks a bit undersized, have a look at other boats of the same prow design and see what they have come up with. In my opinion the main fender function is to prevent you catching on lock doors, which can have several designs to catch the unwary.

I thought I'd like to have a few days on the Bridgewater, but it seems I need to pay for a boat safety tyoe Certificate, as well as a payment to use the water, is this so, I thought there was some reciprocal agreement?

I'm looking to buy a replacement mi fi, as the existing one (E 5###) is five years old, the battery is swollen and is struggling, it is always plugged in to a USB socket. It seems to need the corr3ct battery installed I have twin antennae which sit on the roof, and is satisfactory. Is amazon the best place to buy one, I'm out in the sticks, but I expect I can find a locker. I've looked at the mi fi, it's E5785 , it cost about £120 and has a big battery. Looking for a replacement I assumed E5785 would all have twin sockets which is what I am interested in. But these things don't seem to be mentioned in product details.i assume they are not provided if not mentioned. But I wonder if they are not mentioned because they are open to breakage if used frequently, as they do look fragile? Needless to say the help lines are no help finding the twin socket types PS I use a USB socket, there are different ratings, but I just ignore that. Is there a gadget that can plug in to a USB socket that will stabilise the output to meet the needs of the router As I fear that the electrics probably don't have much stability? Looking at some technical stuff it seems that LTE is the new Internet access, so I think I should get a router that has it, but not sure about 4g or 5g, I thought 4g was the standard for fastish data and 2,4 or some such had a broadbrush approach. PS I've bought a new Samsung phone and tablet r3cently. Do I have to turn LTE on?