I am about to raise the new mizzen mast on my old Van de Stadt ketch
and I have been thinking about some other possible uses for the mast
head. Would it make sense to place a wi-fi antenna up there to make
better use of the hot spots that may be available in some communities?
Any suggestions for other hardware on the mizzen would be appreciated.
I am already putting a spare anchor light and VHF antenna, but I know
I will think of something else, when it is too late.
Tom

On Tue, 1 Apr 2008 18:16:23 -0700 (PDT), "
wrote:

I am about to raise the new mizzen mast on my old Van de Stadt ketch
and I have been thinking about some other possible uses for the mast
head. Would it make sense to place a wi-fi antenna up there to make
better use of the hot spots that may be available in some communities?

It makes a lot of sense if you do it right. The potential problem is
the long run of cable up the mast which will create a lot of signal
loss even with the very best LMR400 cable. The soulution is to use a
weatherproof wifi bridge at the masthead which supports Power Over
Ethernet (POE) technology. POE allows you to run ethernet cable up
the mast instead of coax cable. Two units that I have been successful
with on my boat are the Senao 3220-EXT and also the Senao/Engenius
EOC-3610S-EXT.

http://tinyurl.com/2efrmf

and

http://tinyurl.com/28qx4n

You will also need a high gain, omni-directional antenna and a "Type N
to RP-SMA" cable adapter:

http://tinyurl.com/38mwak

and

http://tinyurl.com/2j6p29

Of the two bridges, I prefer the EOC-3610S-EXT because of its somewhat
greater power and receive sensitivity. The 3220 is slightly easier to
configure however. You will need a source of 110 volt power for the
POE adapter, best bet is a small sine wave inverter which can also
power your laptop.

" wrote in news:3fc8c447-
:

I am about to raise the new mizzen mast on my old Van de Stadt ketch
and I have been thinking about some other possible uses for the mast
head. Would it make sense to place a wi-fi antenna up there to make
better use of the hot spots that may be available in some communities?
Any suggestions for other hardware on the mizzen would be appreciated.
I am already putting a spare anchor light and VHF antenna, but I know
I will think of something else, when it is too late.
Tom


All these will be moot, soon. The big guns have endorsed and are paying
for Xohm.com's WiMax, this year.
http://www.xohm.com
http://www.wimax.com
http://www.dailywireless.org/2008/04/01/7607/
http://www.srtelecom.com/en/products...-LOS-and-NLOS-
Technology.pdf

Up until very recently, WiMax has been a bunch of little, unfunded
wannabees trying to hog the licenses for profit.....BUT, the BIG BOYS HAVE
ARRIVED!

Nokia, Samsung, Intel, Cisco.....

Wimax will have the range of PCS sellphones and the bandwidth of cable
internet....2 miles away from the nearest tower...not 100' from the marina
office. It hands off and roams like sellular data but without sharing
bandwidth with sellular voice customers. 2-4Mbps is realistic.

Xohm is Sprint/Nextel owned, at the moment, and will go up on all their
towers.....eventually.

BIG money is being poured into Xohm's WiMax now....

On Wed, 02 Apr 2008 06:41:59 +0000, Larry wrote:

BIG money is being poured into Xohm's WiMax now....

Maybe in 2 or 3 years. Meanwhile WiFi and/or Aircards are the way to
go. With the right equipment WiFi is operable up to 3 or 4 miles over
water.

I use a marinized version of: http://www.radiolabs.com/products/wireless/waverv.php
Over water I can 'hit' at 2+ miles

Amen to all the respondents about how wifi can work, and how long it
will be before the newer technology is available.

To shorten the learning curve, while I didn't do this (those here for
a while, and those visiting alt.internet.wireless, I think it was,
will recall I went through the tortures of the damned to get to where
I am today), my equivalent is available in 12V, plug-and-play, from
islandtimepc.com. Those interested can see all the installation
details, as well, in my photo gallery.

Bob Stewart, the owner, who's also, now, sold me the 12V replacement
to my rapaciously hungry (over 10A) "laptop", was extremely helpful in
assisting my way through the minefields that a senao rep had created
for me by selling me something which patently wouldn't work. The end
result was essentially what he sells, but I'd already done the 110VAC
POE, so didn't replace it. I heartily recommend him, unless you're a
geek like me and like tinkering, and would rather recreate the wheel.
In the end, I would have been far better served to have bought it
there, immediately, and I'd have had more than 2 additional years of
use, rather than the first two years of agony (and failure, along with
constantly having to defend my time to Lydia, who wanted everything
else to be done first - but, now, having internet phone and her own,
separate, wifi signal aboard, loves it and forgives me) I did...

As to strength and utility, it's now a very rare event that I don't
have a usable signal at anchor, anywhere, and frequently can pick up a
usable signal under way if I'm near (1-3 miles) shore...

L8R

Skip

Morgan 461 #2
SV Flying Pig KI4MPC
See our galleries at www.justpickone.org/skip/gallery !
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"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail
away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore.
Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...


The potential problem is
the long run of cable up the mast which will create a lot of signal
loss even with the very best LMR400 cable.

That cable has a loss of about 6 dB/100 ft at WiFi frequencies. A colinear
antenna can have gain way in excess of the loss and maintain an isotropic
pattern in the horizontal plane. Figure 50' of cable with 3 dB of loss added
to a 9 dB gain antenna is a net gain of 6 dB. It could work out quite well.
One has to consider the entire system, not just isolated elements. This is a
much cheaper and more reliable solution than an active bridge up on the mast
head.

Glory!

Antenna:

http://www.nodomainname.co.uk/Omnico...4collinear.htm

On Wed, 2 Apr 2008 09:32:14 -0600, "Bob Crantz"
wrote:

This is a
much cheaper and more reliable solution than an active bridge up on the mast
head.

Believe it or not my bridges have been very reliable. I know others
who are using similar configurations without any issues. Of course in
the event of a nearby lightning strike, all bets are off regardless of
bridge location. I already have a 9 db antenna and would not want an
extra 3 db of loss in my system if I could avoid it. It can make all
the difference on a distant access point.

"Bob Crantz" wrote in message
...

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...


The potential problem is
the long run of cable up the mast which will create a lot of signal
loss even with the very best LMR400 cable.

That cable has a loss of about 6 dB/100 ft at WiFi frequencies. A colinear
antenna can have gain way in excess of the loss and maintain an isotropic
pattern in the horizontal plane. Figure 50' of cable with 3 dB of loss
added to a 9 dB gain antenna is a net gain of 6 dB. It could work out
quite well. One has to consider the entire system, not just isolated
elements. This is a much cheaper and more reliable solution than an active
bridge up on the mast head.

Glory!


I have personal experience with respect to this topic. Putting a wi-fi
antenna at the masthead is the WRONG thing to do. You don't want it high up.
You want it low down. It gets better reception low. The signals seem to be
stronger low. Mount a good amplified antenna at deck level for the best
reception. No need to worry about long lengths of co-ax at all.

Here's a good antenna that works well and is priced reasonably.
http://www.radiolabs.com/products/wi...ne-antenna.php

Wilbur Hubbard