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I need reliable wifi at the dock (spotty and slow 3G-to-wifi is not acceptable) however Oasis's marina does not have wifi; the best I've been able to get is internet over phone line (DSL from AT&T, $19.95/mo, no setup or install fee) -- internet via cable is not available either. The DSL is delivered to the slip power pedestal (the breaker/service panel with fancy walkway lamp on it) which has a marine phone jack, and it's up to the slip holder to figure out the rest.
The slip pedestal has two 15A marine circuit breakers, one of which I use for Oasis power. The other I plan to use to power my wifi base station, as follows. There's two units to power (DSL modem, and wifi router). I could have purchased the integrated DSL+wifi unit, however that wouldn't run the enterprise-class wifi router software which I have on mine (DD-WRT which allows for complex rules to be set up, allowing me to share wifi with dock mates, set up network filtering, etc).
The phone line uses a marine connection instead of RJ11 so a short converter cable is needed (round plug to RJ11) for about $50. The power is a 15A marine connection so needs a converter cable ("shore power" style round plug to power socket) for about $80. Next I'll get an enclosure (similar to Enclosure Cabinet NEMA 1 8" x 6" x 4" or perhaps larger) for about $60, open up the two units, remove the boards, install the circuit boards in the enclosure, and fasten the enclosure to the pedestal. In the future I might install a high-gain antenna for better sharing on the dock or maybe a web cam or maybe an internet weather station [Image Can Not Be Found]
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Johnathon
I looked at all of the wifi boosters out there and realized they are all overpriced.
I made my own for $65.00.
It has a waterproof container, and is amazingly strong 500mw. For the same price you can now get a whole watt !!
I just moved my downeaster to a new marina 3/4 mile away and am still getting a signal from the old marina lol
I have just upgraded my computer so give me a couple of days to dig up the info for what and where to order and it will take you 15 mins to set it up on a laptop.
I Also ordered an USB extension so I hard wired the booster right into the cabin with the extension and just plug into it when needed. But if I want to use it in the cockpit I just use the booster right there. I also added clips to mount it right onto any rail for protability in case I crew on a mates boat.
Works great for me!!
Martin [Image Can Not Be Found]
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I just setup a base station for the whole marine where I am at now a week or two ago.. Total cost of about 180 bucks in hardware.. I actually used hardware was planning on installing on valkyr and just charged them for the replacement cost. This included a 8 db antenna a 1 watt access point that just screws into the base of the antenna and a 12volt POE unit that powers the unit through Power Over Ethernet.
Ubiquiti POE-24 Power Over Ethernet 24W (this is a unit that can be plugged into a 120volt wall outlet. it is much cheaper than the 12volt to 24volt unit that I had on hand and we setup off of their 12volt power supply that was powering the marinas VHF)
right now this is around 17 dollars
Ubiquiti BULLET-M2-HP Outdoor 802.11n 802.11g
This was about 84 dollars
In this application it is acting as an access point/wireless router for the Internet connection. You can also use it as a wireless client that redistributes the signal so that you can attach to a remote access point and then either physically attach this to your network and use that remote access point from your computers on the boat. Take a look at the Ubiquity website and the specs there for their products. http://www.ubnt.com/
This was about 39 dollars
this antenna is slightly different that what I used as it has a base that includes a 4 hole mount. I will be screwing this to my mast at the top. Also it is a 12db.. not sure that this will be a good thing but I am going to try it.. it gives a much flatter radiation pattern that will extend farther but that will have a dead zone close to the boat as it is so high up. If it was lower down it wouldn't be an issue. 8 db antenna is probably better but I wanted to play with this one.
so you just screw the bullet access point to the base of the antenna and mount them. Then run an Ethernet cable from the POE injector to the base of the bullet unit. This carries your power for it and your data. You don't lose any signal strength this way with long antenna cable runs. Then you plug your dsl directly into the other Ethernet port on the POE unit
The POE unit that I used is a 12volt to 24volt unit that I was going to wire into the boats 12volt system. It was 39.95
(TP-DCDC-1224) 9-36VDC In, 24VDC Out 19W DC to DC Conv / POE Ins
The TP-DCDC-1224 DC to DC converters offered by Tycon Power Systems are a low cost and high reliability solution for those requiring 24VDC Power Over Ethernet voltage from a 12 or 24V battery system.
They have an integrated POE injector to apply the regulated 24VDC to the CAT5 Ethernet cable. The input voltage must be between 9VDC and 36VDC.
They accept data-in to a shielded RJ45 Jack and provide data-out and POE power on the shielded RJ45 output jack.
They work by supplying power on the unused Ethernet pins 4,5(V+) and 7,8(V-).
They have various protections for surge, short circuit and overload. The units have power output of 19W.
Features
- Input Voltage 9-36VDC; Output 24VDC
- Integrated POE Inserter
- High Power 19W
- Short Circuit, Over Current and Over Voltage Protection
- High Temperature Operation
- Removable Wire Terminal Input for up to 12AWG wires
Dimensions: 85 x 76 x 36mm (3.4 x 3 x 1.4in)
Weight: 134g (4.7oz)
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