My new WiFi/Cellular Network Design

[Four Suns]

For those of you interested in this sort of stuff...

I'm upgrading my network on the boat. I'm basically adding a Cradlepoint MBR1200 router ( http://www.cradlepoint.com/products/mbr1200-failsafe-gigabit-n-router-mobile-broadband ) which gives me the ability to have two WAN connections with automatic failover as well as serving as a firewall/VPN/N WiFi access point for the boat.

It seems as though everything is now "Internet ready." I bought a new Blu Ray player for the boat (Sony BDP-S370) and the thing streams Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, etc in addition to being a Blu Ray. So now all the AV stuff on the boat "works better" with Internet. It's time to put a serious network on board.

Here's a link to the full size schematic:

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa263/gpw_wmbg/Four%20Suns%20AV/FourSunsNetwork.jpg

and a preview:

This setup is designed to use a local WiFi connection as the primary WAN connection. The Rogue Wave WiFi/Ethernet bridge has been getting great reviews and is advertised as good for up to 7 miles. This is great because I don't have to worry about the 5GB/month limit on the Verizon cellular network and I can stream movies, listen to Pandora, and all the other Internet content in port over the WiFi connection. When the boat is on the move and no WiFi is around, it will failover to the USB Verizon data modem... And everything on the boat (laptops, iPads, iTouchs, AV equipment and any other Internet crap people bring on board) will still be on the same network without any changes to the devices.

Additionally, we are taking a month long trip this summer and I need to work from the boat. This set up gives me the ability to have a VPN from the boat to home so no traffic can be snooped over the WAN connections... Basically, all our Internet traffic comes home and then gets routed out from here.

All of this is being wired into a 12v circuit. Well... not the AV stuff... but all the cell/network components.

The hard part in all this was getting all the right connectors...

More later.

 

[electricaldoctor]

Very impressive Gary. At least I think it is. All of this internet & computer stuff is way over my head. I do some work from the boat as well, but how I do it is bush league compared to your set up. Good for you. I hope that it works well for you. Enjoy. :smt038:smt038

~Ken

 

[capecodcruiser]

Gary, I would very curious to know your personal experience with the Rogue Wave Bridge. 7 miles is a long ways....

 

[Four Suns]

Gary, I would very curious to know your personal experience with the Rogue Wave Bridge. 7 miles is a long ways....

Yeah... I agree... I can get 1 mile on the old RadioLabs USB thing now... and it's substantially less power. This is the "newer" version of that:

http://radiolabs.com/products/wireless/wireless-marine-antenna.php

If I can keep 1-2 miles, I'll be happy. Generally there is wifi at all the marinas now... but the laptops have trouble with it and the amp/antenna really brings it in. I just want to run multiple things on a secure network... and this should do the job.

 

[Jackie J V]

Very impressive! I've looked at the Digital Antenna before and even bought one for my last boat before having to return because I couldn't separate the antenna as much as required (20' and structures).

Does it work fine on your boat with the external antenna on the roof and I'd presume the internal antenna in the salon?

Paul

 

[mwph]

Gary - As usual, when you detail a post it is very well done. You may have outdone yourself on this one. Thanks for taking the time to post. As a side... How many antennas on the boat now?

ps... If anyone was wondering what "Technical Contributor" meant....well, now you know. It's the exact oppisite of Ass Clown.

 

[Four Suns]

Very impressive! I've looked at the Digital Antenna before and even bought one for my last boat before having to return because I couldn't separate the antenna as much as required (20' and structures).

Does it work fine on your boat with the external antenna on the roof and I'd presume the internal antenna in the salon?

Paul

I probably have about 15 feet between the internal repeater and the omni directional antenna. You just have to be sure that they can't interfere (i.e. point at each other). The other issue is you have to make sure you have good cables and connectors. Mine works great... I've been out 20+ miles from a cell tower and can't get any reception on the bridge (not in the repeater zone) and then go down to the salon and can talk like people are next door.

 

[Four Suns]

Gary - As usual, when you detail a post it is very well done. You may have outdone yourself on this one. Thanks for taking the time to post. As a side... How many antennas on the boat now?

Thanks. The antenna count is the same... One of these antennas is already on the mast and I'm replacing the RadioLabs wifi one with the new Digital Antenna wifi one...

However... I do need to add an AM/FM antenna somewhere...

 

[Four Suns]

I got my Rogue Wave wifi device yesterday. It has a 12v power requirement so we jumped in the car with a laptop to try it out.... I'm guessing I could pick up wifi hotspots in people's homes around .5 - .7 miles... but there are a lot of trees in this neighborhood so that is literally "through the woods" numbers. Hope people don't mind the 1000 pages of porn I dumped on their printers if the network was not protected. (just kidding)

 

[chuck1]

Hey Gary will it still work if you are rocking on the waves? (Grin) Who was it that said the wifi thing would not pickup because the boat was rocking??
Sorry I could not help myself, not enough boating time this year.

 

[Four Suns]

Hey Gary will it still work if you are rocking on the waves? (Grin) Who was it that said the wifi thing would not pickup because the boat was rocking??
Sorry I could not help myself, not enough boating time this year.

Geez... you are a moderator... The "old" Gary would do something like this:

You mean this intelligent comment?

The fundamental problem being WiFi setups are not usually designed to deal with the motion of a boat.

and my response?

Wi-fi has trouble with boat motion? Is this a new discovery? Or does your boat "bob around" at 2.4 GHz?

 

[Kameroo]

Gary, Thanks for sharing that design. It was fun to look at and will be even more fun to go back to when I have more time. Love the Mac Mini!

 

[Nehalennia]

Hey Gary will it still work if you are rocking on the waves? (Grin) Who was it that said the wifi thing would not pickup because the boat was rocking??
Sorry I could not help myself, not enough boating time this year.

Chuck you beat me to it.

Gary that sounds very good. So far my Sprint Air card does what I need, but I don't have the AV system you have. Mo and I have considered adding a small TV, but I don't think we'll ever get a "system" on this boat. Whenever we do upgrade you'll be the one I'd like ask about it.

Nice write-up.

 

[jpk33]

Gary, do you get any interference of the wifi signal when you are running radar? Is there a minimum mounting distance that the wifi antenna has to be seperated from other transmission sources (radar/vhf). - Jeff

 

[Four Suns]

Gary, do you get any interference of the wifi signal when you are running radar? Is there a minimum mounting distance that the wifi antenna has to be seperated from other transmission sources (radar/vhf). - Jeff

My antennas for this stuff are not in the radar beam. I have an electronics mast with wings on it that raises these items above the radar.

So I've not seen a problem... Since the radar is in the generally same spot on the frequency spectrum, I guess it could... I've not seen it with my old set up... I've run around next to shore with the radar on and can still pick up wifi networks on land.... but the wifi is generally for use "in port" and the radar is not running. VHF should not be an issue as that is below 1 GHz...

 

[Daniel P Thomas]

jpk33

You and I must be thinking the same.
I was going to pick up the Rouge Antenna and see if I could get anything in Hammond.

Tired of not having WiFi there after having it over at Marina Shores.
I figured then I could use my Sling Box to watch cable at the boat.

Thoughts?

Dan

Thanks Gary
I was wondering the same thing about location of antenna.

 

[jpk33]

Thanks Gary.
Dan, thats what I was wondering - I get a very weak signal on T - when we were on N I didn't have a problem. We use a verizon air card now (and still would for secure transactions). When are you launching?

 

[LTD.330]

Hey Gary will it still work if you are rocking on the waves? (Grin) Who was it that said the wifi thing would not pickup because the boat was rocking??
Sorry I could not help myself, not enough boating time this year.

Short answer is yes, but the antenna has to be angled back.

 

[Sua Sponte]

Thanks for this thread. Fascinating stuff. Thinking about something similar maybe later this year...

 

[Daniel P Thomas]

jpk33

Hopefully right after this weekend.
I just found out yesterday that the locks are going to be closed May 20 for a minimun of 5 days.
I was tols it was going to be the 24th.
So that changes things.

Are you in yet?

And you do get a signal on the T dock at all?

Dan