Cell Signal Booster

[SeaRay Sam]

Hey all. I spend weekends on my 340 with my family on Fire Island. It’s a barrier island south of Long Island, NY. The marina we stay at, Watch Hill, is great but their wifi is terrible and the cell signal is also poor. We stream Netflix at night and we can’t do it there with the weak signal. Often, I can’t even stream music from my phone and calls drop when sitting on the boat.

I looked into cell boosters and there is a lot of information and even more varying price points. There are options at $199 and then well into the $1,000’s. I don’t need the booster to work while we are underway but looking for the best booster for when we are stationary at the marina. We have AT&T and ideally would like this to be 5g compatible so it works for years of usage.

Anyone have any experience on this topic?

 

[Skybolt]

Hey all. I spend weekends on my 340 with my family on Fire Island. It’s a barrier island south of Long Island, NY. The marina we stay at, Watch Hill, is great but their wifi is terrible and the cell signal is also poor. We stream Netflix at night and we can’t do it there with the weak signal. Often, I can’t even stream music from my phone and calls drop when sitting on the boat.

I looked into cell boosters and there is a lot of information and even more varying price points. There are options at $199 and then well into the $1,000’s. I don’t need the booster to work while we are underway but looking for the best booster for when we are stationary at the marina. We have AT&T and ideally would like this to be 5g compatible so it works for years of usage.

Anyone have any experience on this topic?

http://clubsearay.com/index.php?threads/ubiquity-bullet-m2-vs-peplink-max-br1-mini-wan-wifi.101605/

 

[dtfeld]

There is a wealth of info here...

--> https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/

They are always trying new equipment...boosters, cellular modems, antennas etc.

The problem you have is bad/low signal...and that's one other the hardest issues to solve.

I would suggest a directional or Yagi antenna.

 

[KevinC]

Hey all. I spend weekends on my 340 with my family on Fire Island. It’s a barrier island south of Long Island, NY. The marina we stay at, Watch Hill, is great but their wifi is terrible and the cell signal is also poor. We stream Netflix at night and we can’t do it there with the weak signal. Often, I can’t even stream music from my phone and calls drop when sitting on the boat.

I looked into cell boosters and there is a lot of information and even more varying price points. There are options at $199 and then well into the $1,000’s. I don’t need the booster to work while we are underway but looking for the best booster for when we are stationary at the marina. We have AT&T and ideally would like this to be 5g compatible so it works for years of usage.

Anyone have any experience on this topic?

We go out to Watch Hill regularly and I stream TV on the boat using YTTV that I run on a PC that I installed onboard that connects to the hotspot on my phone.

Sometimes I have to find the best location for the phone for the signal and when throughput is poor I will get a highly pixelated stream. Since I handle the streaming via a PC if service is real bad I can always play content that I have stored on the drive. From what I have been told all the services are back hauled to the mainland via wireless up-links so there is a limited amount of bandwidth.

Most of the time we only watch TV for just a little while in the morning or evening before going to sleep. On up in the cockpit I have not had any problem stream music to my phone and playing it via bluetooth on the stereo. Again, music could be download for offline use too.

Not sure how good the marina WIFI is going to be until the new restaurant is finished being built as I think Doug had the uplink on the restaurant to get the best line of site and just a couple of repeaters on there too. The marina could use a good mesh system but that probably would not be in the works and would also be dependent on the uplink.

Unfortunately most people will want to watch TV on a rainy day which will saturate the uplink which will also be degraded by the poor weather conditions - kind of a doubling of the problem.

Maybe someday 5G will be built out there but that would require a significant investment by the carriers out on the barrier island so I would not count on it too soon - but who knows. Since the 5G signal does not travel as far it needs a lot of mini stations for coverage - usually backhauled via fiber and that infrastructure does not exist out there like it does back on the mainland.

-Kevin

 

[dtfeld]

Another option is Plex. Is a media server, but I have a couple hundred movies on a hard drive that can be streamed to all the TV's on the onboard network.

If the Internet isn't up to the task, we have options.

You can run this on a laptop, dedicated mobile PC, NUC, or even a RPi. No reason to be without entertainment, but sometime, takes a little advanced planning.

https://www.plex.tv/

 

[GnrlPatton]

Another option is Plex. Is a media server, but I have a couple hundred movies on a hard drive that can be streamed to all the TV's on the onboard network.

If the Internet isn't up to the task, we have options.

You can run this on a laptop, dedicated mobile PC, NUC, or even a RPi. No reason to be without entertainment, but sometime, takes a little advanced planning.

https://www.plex.tv/

I went down this route too but had problems because my Smart TV needed an internet connection to run the Plex app, even when I was trying to run a local instance on the Raspberry Pi I created just for the purpose. What I ended up doing instead was to install Kodi on the RaspPi, and plug that into my HDMI port on the TV, that setup didn't require connectivity. It runs like a champ and streams HD movies/shows from a 3TB hard drive I bring my content on.

 

[The Bill Collector]

I bought this one last year and enjoyed good results.... https://smile.amazon.com/Verizon-Bo...fb27c&pd_rd_wg=BmeLM&pd_rd_i=B09DV297RP&psc=1

 

[Skybolt]

With regard to Plex, you need to turn off remote access, and all of the fetch info from internet options when the server is on the boat. Then also use folder view mode and it should work just fine, unless something changed in the past year or two. Since I switched over to cellular Wi-Fi I just stream remotely from the house server running Plex. It's but as mentioned it's probably easier to run Kodi on a pie. https://kodi.wiki/view/HOW-TO:Install_Kodi_on_Raspberry_Pi

 

[GnrlPatton]

With regard to Plex, you need to turn off remote access, and all of the fetch info from internet options when the server is on the boat. Then also use folder view mode and it should work just fine, unless something changed in the past year or two. Since I switched over to cellular Wi-Fi I just stream remotely from the house server running Plex. It's but as mentioned it's probably easier to run Kodi on a pie. https://kodi.wiki/view/HOW-TO:Install_Kodi_on_Raspberry_Pi

My issue was with my TV. Because it's a Vizio with Smartcast, the Plex app is only accessible through the Smartcast function. Without an internet connection, Smartcast won't even start up. Frustrating, because my home Plex server has all the content I need! As it stands now, I have to copy from the server to the external hard drive in order to play it through Kodi.

Oh well, it works well enough, and now it frees up my Raspberry Pi on the boat to use as my Victron Cerbo display!

 

[dtfeld]

I've had Plex for a long time...always been able to set it up and run it just about anywhere.

Just so we're talking the same thing, Plex needs the Plex Server and it needs the Plex app on whatever your going to view it on. With a Wi-Fi enabled Pi, you should be able to set up a local wireless network running Plex Server, and serve up about anything locally.

But...point is, having some content on a drive as part of the emergency entertainment kit, is pretty easy these days...Plex Kodi or several other would get you there

We also keep board /card games onboard.

 

[dtfeld]

The question is how to improve cell reception when in a remote location. There are several possible answers, but it likely comes down to a better modem device, a better data plan, a better antenna, and/or a booster....possibly all of the above.

I always recommend --> https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/ and start reading up on what they are doing in regards to the items listed above.

They are doing what you are doing and have a wealth of information. There really isn't a cookie cutter off the shelf solution, because the solution is site specific. And with a boat, the "site" is mobile. Even in the dock, the boat may be rocking.

 

[Arminius]

Elevation is key to rf reception. I suggest creating a wifi hot spot by hoisting a cell signal receptor dialed to "hot spot" to top of mast. A cell phone in a plastic bag would be good. It will rebroadcast cell signal in Wi-Fi to users below. Talk to locals to determine which cell provider has best coverage. Earlier "G"s use lower frequency rf which propagates further. AT&t used to sell an intended device but I doubt it is still supported. Better run a charger up the mast too as cabled USB only goes about 10 feet.

 

[dtfeld]

Another trick is to find the closest cell tower and if you have the right cellular modem/data plan, you can lock in on that tower for the best signal. Using a directional antenna would also help, and the higher, the better usually.

https://www.wilsonamplifiers.com/blog/finding-cell-tower-locations-the-complete-guide/

https://www.cellmapper.net/map?MCC=...Band=0&showSectorColours=true&mapType=roadmap

 

[Arminius]

For the unenlightened, our useful signals are 2-way so receiver power and transmitter are both important. Cell phones contain incredible tech which is generally better than goofy aftermarket stuff. Your initial connection will be in the rf band (lowest is best, 5G C band won't penetrate plywood!) utilized in that generation for cell service at max rating of phone. Phones used to go up to highest wattage signal automatically if needed and their batteries could sustain that output. Elevation is key here. Once you have a solid cell signal, the hot spot setting or dedicated device rebroadcasts at Wifi levels which should be perfectly adequate on a boat but are not going to reach shore unless you are docked alongside a restaurant's router and they leave it on at night-call it 50 feet. I would avoid Apple at all costs as it is the enemy of improvisation.