[Rhodes22-list] Internet from your boat?

Tue May 24 12:43:26 EDT 2005

Bill,

My IBM X40 came set-up from the factory for wireless
and I installed a wireless router in my home.  I use
it sometimes if I don't want to wait for the desktop
or want to work on the deck, but have found it
frustrating at home and at work.  At FedEx I usually
just plug into one of the many LAN plugs because the
wireless drops off about every five minutes. I have
had some good success on the road however tapping into
other's unsecured networks rather than pay the hotel's
$10 a day for DSL. Frankly, I don't need it that much
on the boat but would like to have access when staying
overnight.

What is really driving this search for technology is
my best friend.  He would like to spend more time on
my boat and at the building we bought near the lake. 
He doesn't trade stocks much and discourages his
clients from trading, but he needs to handle a dozen
phone calls a day from the boat and look at stock
prices at the same time. He has Cingular as well and
forwarding his office calls to the boat is a
no-brainer. Slow speed wouldn't be a problem for
either of us.  We can get DSL at the building but
neither of us would use it enough to justify it. We
could also use my NetZero dial-up account but we don't
have a landline. Both the Verizon and Cingular data
plans look good but $80 a month times 12 is almost a
thousand bucks.  I can't justify it and my friend Ken
invented copper wire fighting some dude over a penny. 

If we can come up with a cheap solution that allows
him to talk and surf at the same time - problem over. 
The day I beached the boat and unexpectedly spent the
night on the water(or land as the case may be) I just
called Fan on the cellphone and had her look-up what I
needed.  Ken would like to semi-retire and still take
care of his clients.  He can't find anyone to sell to
that he trusts (he struck out on his own because he
refused to stick clients with what his brokerage firm
was trying to sell them) and hasn't been successful
finding a partner other than some local banks who want
to shove the same shitty products on his customers. 
Somewhere out there is a solution!

Brad

--- Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:

> 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
> >>    
> >>
> 
=== message truncated ===

__________________________________ 
Do you Yahoo!? 
Yahoo! Small Business - Try our new Resources site
http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/resources/