WiFi onboard

[foleyhancox]

I have seen lots of posts, past and present, about WiFi. I have also been given advice of how to get the best WiFi on board. I have been advised to get the following:

Poynting XPOL-1 V2 5G aerial/ antenna 

Huawei B535 With an EE sim. We are with EE. 
After reading others posts and listening to advice I am confused as people are mentioning multiple cables/sizes connections, 12v plugs. 
Is there anyone who can just say whether the above is fine or is there an alternative? 
Also pictures of the wiring setup or cable connectors may help me.

Many thanks if you are able to help. 

 

 

[LadyG]

I have a. HUAWEI mifi with twin sockets, and a pair of antenna which sit on roof, it's working well, better since i bought Samsung phone and tablet.

THREE

My Mifi is plugged wired to  USB, its got a standard socket..

I did try with putting the mini in window, but not so good, also overheats in sunlight.

The tiny aerials were £19.99 from amazon, magnetic, but window needs to be cracked open all the time.

Edited February 9 by LadyG

[booke23]

You could get a small WIFI device and just hang it in a window for less cost. What you propose is good and will perform better than a WIFI device in the window.

 

That model of Poynting antenna will plug straight into the Huawei B535. You could just plug the B535 into a 240v plug with the supplied power supply. Obviously that requires your inverter to be on. As the B535 actually runs on 12v, I prefer to run it direct from the boat's 12v system. To do this safely you need to use one of these: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314575275471?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=qvcqqyobsg-&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=DxlPIgDkRra&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY to ensure the router isn't destroyed the 14.2 volts the system might get up to when the engine is running. 

 

To connect it to the voltage regulator you could just cut the wire off the mains transformer and wire that to the 12v converter, but that renders your mains transformer useless so I bought this from ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351319811869?var=620459416696 the 2.1mm plug is the exact model of dc plug the B535 uses. 

 

That's all there is to it!

Edited February 10 by booke23

[David Mack]

9 hours ago, booke23 said:

As the B535 actually runs on 12v, I prefer to run it direct from the boat's 12v system. To do this safely you need to use one of these: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/156026270327?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=kF-Pw2gqSvK&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=DxlPIgDkRra&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY to ensure the router isn't destroyed by the 14.2 volts the system might get up to when the engine is running. 

That is a step down converter, with an input voltage between 15 and 72 V. So not much use on a boat (unless it has a 24V dc system).

[blackrose]

Or if like me your inverter is on all the time anyway because you have a mains fridge, then don't bother with all these fiddly 12v bits and pieces and just run the router from the mains.

[booke23]

41 minutes ago, David Mack said:

That is a step down converter, with an input voltage between 15 and 72 V. So not much use on a boat (unless it has a 24V dc system).

 

I put the wrong link in. Should have been this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154964822532?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=kF-Pw2gqSvK&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=DxlPIgDkRra&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

Edited my original post to correct. 

[JoeC]

13 hours ago, foleyhancox said:

I have been advised to get the following:

Poynting XPOL-1 V2 5G aerial/ antenna 

Huawei B535. 

 

 

This is the same equipment that I have been using for two years without any issues (Huawei B535-333) - I mounted the Poynting on a pole to get a bit of height.

As for which SIM card to use ... that is another question where you will get loads of answers as each service provider has slightly different coverage. I started off Plusnet (EE) then went to Three and then EE as got a fairly good SIM deal via Amazon which worked out at about £13 per month for unlimited data.

I am a continuous cruiser so wherever I go the signal strength will vary and in a few cases non-existent.

Edited February 10 by JoeC

[IanD]

1 hour ago, blackrose said:

Or if like me your inverter is on all the time anyway because you have a mains fridge, then don't bother with all these fiddly 12v bits and pieces and just run the router from the mains.

If you live on the boat full-time all year round then I agree it makes little difference, but most boaters don't do this.

 

If you want to use the router for monitoring/alarms when away from the boat it's better to run it off DC (the DC-DC converters are dirt cheap) so that if AC disappears -- shoreline goes off, or inverter stops if you're using one -- the router still works and you can be notified of the fault/alarm. Or if you're not plugged in and the inverter isn't running, but you have alarms for things like bilge pumps.

 

Happened to me when the marina accidentally disconnected the shoreline while doing some maintenance work, meant I could ring them up and tell them.

 

Anyway that's a plus point that I can see running it off DC, and a minus point running it off AC, so given the choice you might as well use DC... 🙂

[GUMPY]

4 hours ago, blackrose said:

Or if like me your inverter is on all the time anyway because you have a mains fridge, then don't bother with all these fiddly 12v bits and pieces and just run the router from the mains.

Except when the inverter goes into power save mode as there is not enough load to keep it on you lose the interweb🤔

[blackrose]

30 minutes ago, GUMPY said:

Except when the inverter goes into power save mode as there is not enough load to keep it on you lose the interweb🤔

 

I don't think my inverter has power save mode. The quiescent current is only 0.6A and it doesn't require a certain load to keep it working. That sounds like another silly high tech feature that certain expensive electronics manufacturers add which ends up creating more trouble than it saves!

3 hours ago, IanD said:

If you want to use the router for monitoring/alarms when away from the boat it's better to run it off DC 

🙂

 

Yes I agree with that, if that's what you're doing. I'm not though so there's no reason for me to run it from DC. 

[IanD]

25 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

I don't think my inverter has power save mode. The quiescent current is only 0.6A and it doesn't require a certain load to keep it working. That sounds like another silly high tech feature that certain expensive electronics manufacturers add which ends up creating more trouble than it saves!

 

Yes I agree with that, if that's what you're doing. I'm not though so there's no reason for me to run it from DC. 

 

No, it's a feature which can be useful on inverter/chargers bigger than yours (for electric-heavy boats) which have higher no-load power consumption, up to 5A (60W) in some cases. It can always be turned off to stop possible AC power cuts if you don't want to use it. Some setups even allow this to be done remotely, via the DC-powered router... 😉

 

Not all high-tech features are silly, and not everyone has the same setup and requirements as you (or I) do... 🙂

Edited February 10 by IanD

[cheesegas]

Routers designed for mobile use like Proroute and Teletonikas are a bit more expensive but they have wide range DC inputs, often 9v-30v meaning they can be powered straight from 12v. High end ones even have built in GPS receivers so all you need is a £10 GPS antenna and you've got a built in boat tracker.

 

I have a Teletonika RUTX12 on my boat with two SIMs and two 4G antennas. It balances the load across the two modems, and if one connection is too slow to respond, it'll funnel it all towards the better one automatically. Works great for most of the south east, I get 10-100mbps depending on location. Three and EE SIMs at the moment but around the Stort, O2 seems to be a better option so I might swap the Three one out.

[blackrose]

23 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

Not all high-tech features are silly, and not everyone has the same setup and requirements as you (or I) do... 🙂

 

Yes, and I never said that they were or they did.

[IanD]

20 minutes ago, cheesegas said:

Routers designed for mobile use like Proroute and Teletonikas are a bit more expensive but they have wide range DC inputs, often 9v-30v meaning they can be powered straight from 12v. High end ones even have built in GPS receivers so all you need is a £10 GPS antenna and you've got a built in boat tracker.

 

I have a Teletonika RUTX12 on my boat with two SIMs and two 4G antennas. It balances the load across the two modems, and if one connection is too slow to respond, it'll funnel it all towards the better one automatically. Works great for most of the south east, I get 10-100mbps depending on location. Three and EE SIMs at the moment but around the Stort, O2 seems to be a better option so I might swap the Three one out.

 

They do but they can be a *lot* more expensive depending on what you're looking for, and also lack some useful features.

 

I was looking for a 5G 4x4 MIMO router, the Proroute NR550 was £570 compared to £150 for an ex-Three NR5103E. It does support dual-SIM failover (good!) but doesn't have USB file-sharing which I wanted, nor a mobile app for management/logging.

 

Ideally I'd have liked all the above features, but couldn't find anything that provided them -- then you have to make a choice as to what best suits you, and I went for the NR5103E on the principle that it did everything except dual-SIM and was cheap enough to replace if/when something better came along.

 

As usual it's horses for courses, there's no single ideal solution for everyone... 😉

 

5 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

Yes, and I never said that they were or they did.

 

Oh come on, stop wriggling -- you said that particular one was silly, and it's not, there is a good reason for it -- but you don't want to admit you were wrong... 😉

Edited February 10 by IanD

[blackrose]

28 minutes ago, IanD said:

Oh come on, stop wriggling -- you said that particular one was silly, and it's not, there is a good reason for it -- but you don't want to admit you were wrong... 

 

I'm not wriggling, why do you feel the need to be so aggressive Ian? You seem to love an argument for it's own sake.

 

Yes I said that particular feature was silly, and for most users I think it is, because as I said it creates more problems than it solves. I did not say that all high tech features were silly as you implied. Please don't try to put words in my mouth. There's really no need.

Edited February 10 by blackrose

[cheesegas]

Just now, blackrose said:

Yes I said that particular one was silly, and for most users I think it is. I did not say that all high tech features were silly as you implied. 

Just because it's not useful to you doesn't mean it's silly. And also, with Victron inverter/chargers, it's disabled from the factory so it doesn't cause any issues at all unless someone goes meddling in things they don't know about.

 

I've used this feature on a few installs, mainly with bigger boats where the user doesn't want to be going up and down ladders to get to a remote panel to switch the inverter on. Quite useful, and it can be easily enabled and disabled in software. Cheapo inverters may have this feature permanently enabled though, or need a jumper inside physically moving to disable it.

[blackrose]

8 minutes ago, cheesegas said:

Just because it's not useful to you doesn't mean it's silly. And also, with Victron inverter/chargers, it's disabled from the factory so it doesn't cause any issues at all unless someone goes meddling in things they don't know about.

 

I've used this feature on a few installs, mainly with bigger boats where the user doesn't want to be going up and down ladders to get to a remote panel to switch the inverter on. Quite useful, and it can be easily enabled and disabled in software. Cheapo inverters may have this feature permanently enabled though, or need a jumper inside physically moving to disable it.

 

I said it's not a useful feature for most users, not just for me. 

 

I have a different opinion on this to you and Ian, is that ok? You think it's a useful feature, I don't. I hope different opinions are allowed. We'll just have to agree to disagree.

Edited February 10 by blackrose

[Guest]

14 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

I'm not wriggling, why do you feel the need to be so aggressive Ian? You seem to love an argument for it's own sake.

 

Yes I said that particular feature was silly, and for most users I think it is, because as I said it creates more problems than it solves. I did not say that all high tech features were silly as you implied. Please don't try to put words in my mouth. There's really no need.

 

The bloke just isn't worth interacting with. Luckily he has me on ignore, again so when I respond to him he cannot see it thus avoiding a fifteen page argument.

[IanD]

37 minutes ago, blackrose said:

 

I said it's not a useful feature for most users, not just for me. 

 

I have a different opinion on this to you and Ian, is that ok? You think it's a useful feature, I don't. I hope different opinions are allowed. We'll just have to agree to disagree.

 

You do have a track record of denigrating anything high-tech -- especially if it's fitted to other people's boats but not yours -- as "silly", when it's nothing of the kind, it just happens you don't need it or it doesn't suit you -- which is perfectly fine.

 

And I agree that it's not useful *for you*, just like DC powering of a router. But it is useful *for others*, just like DC powering of a router.

 

Making a statement like "That sounds like another silly high tech feature that certain expensive electronics manufacturers add which ends up creating more trouble than it saves!" just shows you haven't really thought about it... 😉

Edited February 10 by IanD

[ditchcrawler]

2 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

I don't think my inverter has power save mode. The quiescent current is only 0.6A and it doesn't require a certain load to keep it working. That sounds like another silly high tech feature that certain expensive electronics manufacturers add which ends up creating more trouble than it saves!

 

Yes I agree with that, if that's what you're doing. I'm not though so there's no reason for me to run it from DC. 

I do the same

 

[foleyhancox]

Thank you for all your advice. Does it matter if it’s the 4 or 5g antenna. I think I have sorted the router. 
Many thanks
 

[GUMPY]

8 minutes ago, foleyhancox said:

Thank you for all your advice. Does it matter if it’s the 4 or 5g antenna. I think I have sorted the router. 
Many thanks
 

If it's a 5g router you will need 4g and 5g antennas, if it's a 4g router just a 4g antenna.

Not all 5g routers have sockets for 4g antennas.

[IanD]

18 hours ago, GUMPY said:

If it's a 5g router you will need 4g and 5g antennas, if it's a 4g router just a 4g antenna.

Not all 5g routers have sockets for 4g antennas.

 

And unfortunately this is often well hidden or not actually documented by manufacturers, I can think of several culprits where the external sockets are either 5G only or don't support all the 4G bands.

 

If you want to use external antennas for 5G then both they *and the router antenna sockets* have to support 4G too, because as 5G works in the UK today (NSA) 4G is needed to set up and handle the connection/control and 5G is only used for high-speed data transfer. If the antenna/sockets are 5G only then the router can't use 4G either directly or to setup/control the 5G connection.

 

https://www.airtel.in/blog/prepaid/what-is-the-difference-between-5g-networking-sa-and-nsa/

Edited February 14 by IanD

[Hudds Lad]

Current 3 contract is now up for the router on the boat, and is set to become much more expensive for unlimited. Am thinking of switching to something like Smarty but unsure as to what happens if you don't pay a month due to not using it, does the account stay dormant until you buy another months usage or does it get cancelled?

Before anyone starts trying to get me to move to a diff network i'll just stipulate we have no problem with 3 where we currently cruise, and unlimited is preferable to a set amount of data as it does get spanked with work/entertainment use, i just begrudge paying £23 pcm when not on the boat (contract was about £16 previously but set length of months) as i don't want to be tied to a 2yr contract again in case we move marinas and the coverage is then pants.

And only looking for 4G so i don't have to upgrade any equipment.

So 4G, Unlimited data, ability to pause when not onboard. Am i looking at the right provider?

[LadyG]

On 10/02/2024 at 09:37, booke23 said:

 

I put the wrong link in. Should have been this https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154964822532?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=kF-Pw2gqSvK&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=DxlPIgDkRra&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

Edited my original post to correct. 

OK, so my Hauwei mifi is permanently connected to a USB, the battery has expanded alarmingly, will I be able to use something like this gadget, and should I get another mifi, rather than just a new battery given that my mifi is now four years old.

I have twin antennae sockets.

I dont think i need 5g

I need something that plugs in to the USB, a few random wires are not going to cut it.

Edited February 14 by LadyG