[Rhodes22-list] Internet from your boat?
Bill Effros
bill at effros.com
Tue May 24 15:07:36 EDT 2005
Brad,
Don't get suckered by press releases.
There are places in Greenwich that can't get cell phone service.
I've used a cell phone as a modem. It works. But...
The key to making it useful is the software that connects you to the
Internet. If the software starts you all over again every time you lose
the signal for a fraction of a second, it's not useful.
For what most of us use it for now, high speed is not important. If I'm
heading for the rocks, downloading a chart is not the first thing I'm
likely to do--no matter how fast the connection.
My T-Mobile connection is slow as shit. It's rated at 10-20 kbs. But
it only costs me $20 a month, and I can take it for one month, drop it
the next, pick it up again 2 months later...
And if I'm heading for an area where I don't have a chart I can find the
chart in a minute using google, and download it while I'm making dinner.
If I'm sending an email like this one, it takes me 15 minutes to write
it, no matter how fast my connection, but once I push the send key,
there is no difference in the amount of time it takes to send compared
to my high speed cable at home.
I'm not really going to lug around a laptop on a commuter train so I can
watch CNN in the event of a delay.
I have a WiFi card for my laptop, also, so I can work high speed
anywhere I can pick up a signal. I find I don't do that. The T-Mobile
signal is everywhere I go, it's solid, and it's fast enough for what I
really want to do. Hunting down wifi takes more time than I lose due to
the slowness of my system.
And then there's that $20 a month for unlimited use. I find I actually
use it all the time. The slowness of my laptop compared to my desktop
machine is far more frustrating than the slowness of my connection.
For what it's worth,
Bill Effros
brad haslett wrote:
>Mark,
>
>Here's a good article on your service vs Cingular and
>what's happening down the road.
>
>http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1770717,00.asp
>
>Now here's something else that's interesting; beating
>the system.
>
>http://www.lawtechguru.com/archives/2005/03/19_free_wireless_internet_via_your_3g_cell_phone.html
>
>If I'm smart enought to put it together the low-tech
>solution would work for us until the next level of
>technology comes out.
>
>Brad
>--- Mark Kaynor <mkaynor at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>>Brad,
>>
>>We just used the stock stick on antenna he provides
>>and held it above the
>>car roof for testing last night. In real life, I
>>expect we'll mast mount
>>something like a 9-15 db omindirectional antenna -
>>that'd really boost the
>>signal, I'm thinking <g>. The amplifier works very
>>well - I was impressed.
>>In several locations we were unable to get enough
>>signal to connect w/o it,
>>we were able to browse the web at an acceptable
>>speed w/ it plugged in. We
>>didn't have any bandwidth testing tools on my wife's
>>laptop, so can only
>>report subjectively.
>>
>>We thought about a repeater, but 1) they cost a lot
>>more, and 2) I wasn't
>>too keen on having a bunch of cell phone electrons
>>bouncing around the cabin
>>all day every day. The amplifier connects directly
>>to the card, so almost
>>all the energy is at the antenna. We also have
>>concerns about the speed of a
>>shared connection - I believe we're each going to
>>need our own card, amp,
>>antenna, etc. until someone comes up w/ a dual-card
>>router - that'd be
>>pretty cool.
>>
>>Mark
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
>>[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On
>>Behalf Of brad haslett
>>Sent: Tuesday, May 24, 2005 9:52 AM
>>To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
>>Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] Internet from your
>>boat?
>>
>>Mark,
>>
>>How effective is the amplifier? Where did you
>>locate your external antenna
>>and what type? Is yours hardwired or wireless? I
>>found the best prices
>>last night on WMJ Marine, on amplifiers and other
>>electronic items. Every
>>map of my lake by every provider shows a "black
>>hole" along the course of
>>the river, probably because of the terrain. The
>>idea of having a repeater
>>so that the cellphone and laptop can be used
>>anywhere on the boat is
>>appealing. We have been looking at satellite or DSL
>>for our shop building
>>near the lake at $70 per month. I already pay $10
>>per month for NetZero
>>dial-up while travelling. Cell service may fill all
>>three squares:
>>boat/building/travel. I hadn't really looked at it
>>for about a year but
>>things seem to have progressed quite a bit.
>>
>>Brad
>>
>>
>>--- Mark Kaynor <mkaynor at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>Brad,
>>>
>>>We paid $175 - regular price from the guy is $190,
>>>
>>>
>>but I got a
>>
>>
>>>discount because I'm a "member" of this forum:
>>>http://www.evdoforums.com/about129-0.html
>>>
>>>Mark
>>>
>>>
>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
>>>[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On
>>>
>>>
>>Behalf Of brad haslett
>>
>>
>>>Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005 6:44 PM
>>>To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
>>>Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] Internet from your
>>>
>>>
>>boat?
>>
>>
>>>Here's another link to some simular products. The
>>>
>>>
>>cost has come down
>>
>>
>>>from the article date, now around $225. Brad
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>http://www.consumersmarine.com/products2/productdetail.cfm?i=910001&c=91&loc
>
>
>>>=PL&m=5&sc=91&v=0&sb=0&p=0
>>>
>>>--- Mark Kaynor <mkaynor at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>>From the Verizon web site:
>>>>
>>>>"NationalAccess is capable of data speeds
>>>>
>>>>
>>bursting
>>
>>
>>>up to 144 kbps,
>>>
>>>
>>>>delivering average speeds up to 60 to 80 kbps.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>Speed claim based on
>>>
>>>
>>>>our network tests with 5 MB FTP data files,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>without compression.
>>>
>>>
>>>>Actual throughput speed and coverage vary."
>>>>
>>>>There are two major factors limiting performance
>>>>
>>>>
>>-
>>
>>
>>>signal strength and
>>>
>>>
>>>>number of users.
>>>>
>>>>If we have 2 bars it's about the same speed as
>>>>
>>>>
>>>dialup - perhaps even a
>>>
>>>
>>>>bit slower. Without having done any actual
>>>>
>>>>
>>>performance tests, I'd say
>>>
>>>
>>>>we probably see 70-100 Kbps with a good signal,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>depending on the
>>>
>>>
>>>>number of users using that cell. Upload speed is
>>>>
>>>>
>>>slower.
>>>
>>>
>>>>Cellular Internet access is like cable Internet
>>>>
>>>>
>>>access in that it's
>>>
>>>
>>>>shared bandwidth, so the more users online at
>>>>
>>>>
>>one
>>
>>
>>>time, the slower the
>>>
>>>
>>>>connection.
>>>>
>>>>In DC we got to use the Broadband Access at
>>>>
>>>>
>>>400-700 Kbps - that was
>>>
>>>
>>>>nice.
>>>>
>>>>Mark
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>>From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
>>>>[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On
>>>>
>>>>
>>>Behalf Of Robert Quinn
>>>
>>>
>>>>Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005 12:31 PM
>>>>To: raz; The Rhodes 22 mail list
>>>>Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Internet from your
>>>>
>>>>
>>>boat?
>>>
>>>
>>>>Raz: Right off hand I do not have the speed but
>>>>
>>>>
>>>it is set at a data
>>>
>>>
>>>>rate.
>>>>I'll hook it up tonight if I have time and get
>>>>
>>>>
>>the
>>
>>
>>>speed.
>>>
>>>
>>>>Mark may have it at his finger tips as he is a
>>>>
>>>>
>>bit
>>
>>
>>>more "techie" than
>>>
>>>
>>>>I.
>>>>{:>)
>>>>
>>>>Bob
>>>>----- Original Message -----
>>>>From: "raz" <razsail at gmail.com>
>>>>To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list"
>>>><rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>>>>Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005 12:22 PM
>>>>Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Internet from your
>>>>
>>>>
>>>boat?
>>>
>>>
>>>>Do you have an idea of the bandwidth (baud)? Is
>>>>
>>>>
>>>it noticeably faster
>>>
>>>
>>>>than dialup (58K)?
>>>>raz
>>>>
>>>>On 5/23/05, Robert Quinn
>>>>
>>>>
>><rjquinn at bellsouth.net>
>>
>>
>>>>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Kathy and I have been using the Verizon
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>wireless
>>
>>
>>>>card for the last 18
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>months
>>>>>with good success. Yes, there are spots where
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>your reception will not be
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>satisfactory but that is true of most cell
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>phones
>>>
>>>
>>>>as well. We find that
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>if
>>>>>it is not critical, we will wait until we move
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>to
>>>
>>>
>>>>connect again. If it is
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>critical, we'll move to a location where we
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>can
>>
>>
>>>>receive and transmit with
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>not problems.
>>>>>
>>>>>Bob and Kathy on the "NoKaOi" and the Lazy
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>Daze
>>
>>
>>>RV
>>>
>>>
>=== message truncated ===
>
>
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