[Rhodes22-list] Internet from your boat?

Mon May 23 13:04:55 EDT 2005

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

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Kaynor" <mkaynor at gmail.com>
To: "'The Rhodes 22 mail list'" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005 11:50 AM
Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] Internet from your boat?

Brad,

The card that plugs into your computer is assigned it's own phone number, so
two cell phones would be redundant. We looked into satellite and decided it
was too expensive and too slow - on top of the equipment costs, they charge
by the minute and we're online all day for work. We looked at
Winlink/Winmail - this still remains a viable email-only, offshore option as
we're both general-level hams, but we didn't want to spend the $1000 on a
Pactor modem until we really need it - the available technology changes so
quickly. I read that the WinMail guys are actually working on using the PC's
speaker circuitry instead of a Pactor - that'd get the in-the-door cost
down.

Sprint also offers wireless Internet service as do most of the other players
these days - if they're signal is better in the area your friend expects to
use it I'd suggest checking them out.

We live 4.5 hours from the boat, so the only way we get to spend much time
on her is to work while we're here.

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 11:33 AM
To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] Internet from your boat?

Mark & Bill

I took a look at the Verizon site and that may just be the ticket!  Last
year a buddy went with me on a trip to the lake and he lost his Verizon
signal most of the way and had spotty coverage while on the lake while my
Cingular performed flawlessly.  However, I'm going to "borrow" his phone and
see if the coverage has improved.  We had Sprint for two years and it worked
OK provided you climbed half-way up a transmitter tower, wrapped your head
in aluminum foil, and stuck your arms out like Mr. Bean.

The existing marine satellite systems rely on gyro-stabalized attennas, are
quite expensive and bulky.  But for most of us, cell phone coverage would
work just fine.  Boeing has developed airborne internet access and while the
development was slowed by 9/11, it is now becoming available for both
airliners and general aviation.  With the introduction of the Very Light Jet
market in the next year or so, the price will come down as the volume of
consumers go up.  Right now its still expensive. The FAA MUST update their
communication and separation technology to handle the expected traffic
increase and have some works in progress, but then this is the Federal
government afterall. The advertised speeds for Verizon are about the same as
Boeing's service which uses Imarsat, same as the marine systems.

Actually, we've had satcomm onboard our aircraft for about ten years but use
it for datalink only because of the cost.  I ran into a friend of mine at
DFW a couple of months ago that had just shut an engine down on approach
because of severe vibration.  He called back to Global Operations Command to
report the incident and was told they already knew about it.  The jet had
downlinked to maintenance fifteen minutes earlier that it was suffering from
an incipient engine problem and MX was monitoring it.  Thanks for the
heads-up guys!

What my broker buddy wants to do is be able to accept calls from clients
while on the boat and look up their portfolio and current prices.  That may
take two phones, we'll have to look into that.  He trades very little for
himself or his clients so occasional access to the net would probably
suffice.  Personally, I find myself turning my cell phone off more and more
while on the boat.  If you can't drink beer and sail in peace, what's the
point?

Brad

--- Mark Kaynor <mkaynor at gmail.com> wrote:

> Sorry - here's a better link:
>
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/mobileoptions/nationalaccess/index.jsp?ac
> tion=nationalAccess. The Broadband Access is only available in select
> cities
> - the National Access is what you'll connect to most of the time.
>
> Mark
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
> [mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Bill Effros
> Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2005 12:46 PM
> To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Internet from your boat?
>
> Philip,
>
> I don't think satellite is faster than cell technology.  Its advantage
> is that it's available in more remote locations.
>
> Most cell phone companies offer Internet service.
> It is provided on an
> unused portion of the cell phone band, and there is a huge amount of
> over capacity, as a result the service can be very cheap.
>
> Essentially, all you are doing is using your cell phone number
> connected to a modem in your computer.  Not technolgically different
> from any other dial up system except that you don't connect through
> land lines.
>
> Originally they tried to charge by the minute.  But since it is slow,
> that was not attractive.
>
> Different cell phone companies claim different speeds on their systems
> ranging up to 75K bps.
>
> I use T-Mobile.  It costs $20 a month and does not require a yearly
> contract.  I bought a special card that slides into the PC slot of my
> laptop which functions as the cellular modem (some cell phones can
> plug into existing inputs on some computers).  The card costs around
> $350.
>
> I use T-Mobile because it is cheap and solid as a rock.  The software
> provided repeatedly redials and reconnects with the carrier at the
> point where it dropped off.  T-Mobile is supposed to be the slowest of
> the lot, but there is neither a time nor a byte charge--it costs me
> $20 a month no matter how long I'm on line, so I use it in such a way
> that time is not a factor.
>
> Because of this list I get a lot of email, but the speed of email
> uploads and downloads is not significant.  I also use it whenever I
> travel in the US.  I download the entire New York Times every day I'm
> on the road (typically 2 to 6 MB a day) and do all of my normal web
> surfing.  Yes, it's slower than my high speed modem, but what a
> convenience!  (I no longer scout out Internet cafes when I'm
> traveling.)
>
> I also sometimes sign up with GoToMyPC which allows me to connect to
> my PC at home, and operate the home machine as if I were sitting in
> front of it.
> In this mode I can use the speed of the home unit.
> The only information
> transmitted to the laptop is a screen shot of what is going on in the
> home unit.  Using this service I can also upload and download
> files--so everything on the home unit is available on the laptop no
> matter where I am.
>
> I am planning to bring my laptop on board more this year, to see if I
> use it for charting, emailing, or anything else.  I made a Pelican
> waterproof case for my laptop, which has protected it extremely well
> to date.  It is heavy, but almost literally bulletproof.
>
> Bill Effros
>
>
>
> Philip Esteban wrote:
>
> >Bill,
> >
> >Who sells the interface?  Though, I like the
> satellite idea since it
> >has to be faster than dialup.  Don't truckers have
> some sort of
> >satellite?  I know we used it in the Army
> Intelligence during the War.
> >Ground setups are around $500.  Mobile setups may
> be more.
> >Subscription prices aren't much on land, but may be
> more for mobile setups
> if they are readily available.
> >Thanks
> >
> >Philip
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
> >[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org]On
> Behalf Of Bill Effros
> >Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2005 12:17 AM
> >To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
> >Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Internet from your
> boat?
> >
> >
> >Philip,
> >
> >If you can get cell phone service where you sail,
> you can easily and
> >inexpensively get Internet service on your boat.
> >
> >Bill Effros
> >
> >Philip Esteban wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >>I saw a reference in an artile in Good Old Boat to
> a German device
> >>that let the owner access the internet while on
> his boat.  Does anyone
> >>have any information on it.  What is it?  Price?
> Are there other methods?
> >>
> >>Thanks.
> >>
> >>Philip E.
> >>
> >>__________________________________________________
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> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >__________________________________________________
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> >
> >
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