Wifi boosters?

[rusty69]

We are in a very sketchy location for 4g signal. I would agree, if there is no signal,then an aerial ain't going to make any difference, but can be (in our case) the difference between receiving consistent internet availability or not.

 

Since installing the router and aerial earlier in the year, the signal hasn't dropped out once. Its still not a brilliant signal, but enough to support youtube, i-player etc. With the mifi in the window prior to the aerial,the main problem is it would overheat in the summer months.

 

Its easy to check there is any kind of signal availabilty outside the boat prior to investing in the aerial, as previously said.

 

I used to have a directional 3g high gain aerial many years ago ,and am convinced the low gain omni is better (as solwise indicate could be the case on their website)

 

Wow, what a ramble.....

[Dr Bob]

29 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

We are in a very sketchy location for 4g signal. I would agree, if there is no signal,then an aerial ain't going to make any difference, but can be (in our case) the difference between receiving consistent internet availability or not.

 

Since installing the router and aerial earlier in the year, the signal hasn't dropped out once. Its still not a brilliant signal, but enough to support youtube, i-player etc. With the mifi in the window prior to the aerial,the main problem is it would overheat in the summer months.

 

Its easy to check there is any kind of signal availabilty outside the boat prior to investing in the aerial, as previously said.

 

I used to have a directional 3g high gain aerial many years ago ,and am convinced the low gain omni is better (as solwise indicate could be the case on their website)

 

Wow, what a ramble.....

Wow, have you worn out your keyboard?

[rusty69]

4 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

Wow, have you worn out your keyboard?

ye

[ditchcrawler]

39 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

I agree with that but our experience to date in all of the black holes we have visited was there was enough signal to be able to pick up. Yes, I am sure there will be spots with 'not enough' signal but the better you antenna is, the fewer those spots will be. We were in Braunston Thurs/Friday. No vodaphone signal at all.......well none that we could  pick up but 4 bars on the 4G by the Admiral Nelson, at the bottom lock and by the middle water point.

But I get Vodafone on my phone with a boaters phone aerial in Braunston. I also get 3 mobile with a Mifi mounted in a wooden pigeon box above the galley, so outside the steel box

 

[Alway Swilby]

4 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

Lower Heyford. We were parked just south of the bridge near the water point both up and down on our way to Thrupp in May/June and had very good signals with our twin external antenna. That's why I am so adamant about getting a decent signal everywhere. Yes you can get a signal in a lot of places with a mifi box stuck in the window but I like a signal all the time. Our antenna is on a 4ft pole placed on a stub on the roof. Takes 10 secs to put up or take down.

We have a similar router set up Dr Bob although our antenna is only 6 inches above cabin height. We also use EE but via Virgin Mobile who use the EE network. In the last 18 months of extensive cruising there have been only two places where we couldn't get service: above Beeston Stone Lock on the northern Shroppie and above Allens Lock at Upper Heyford. Worked fine at Lower Heyford at the moorings you describe. However at Allens Lock there were spurious bouts of 2G connection allowing occasional emails to get through but any sort of browsing was a complete no no.

[Alway Swilby]

Another benefit of our router is that it creates a 5 Ghz wifi signal as well as the standard 2.4 Ghz. So if you're moored in say Castlefields basin in Manchester where there are a gazillion other wifis in the air causing interferance to your local connection you can use 5G instead which is much less cluttered (for now).

 

[rusty69]

1 hour ago, Dr Bob said:

Wow, have you worn out your keyboard?

-73dBm current signal strength on EE,the 3 sim in the other slot isn't quite as good

Edited October 6, 2018 by rusty69

[Dr Bob]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

But I get Vodafone on my phone with a boaters phone aerial in Braunston. I also get 3 mobile with a Mifi mounted in a wooden pigeon box above the galley, so outside the steel box

 

I think that highlights the benefits of better antennae. My phone picks up vodaphone signals better than Mrs Bob I phone but ziltch in Braunston. With a separate antenna your vodafone works  in Braunston. Get a good omni directional antenna like the Solwise one and you have the best chance of signals all over. Shame I cant plug the phone into it.