Improved Wireless Internet On Your Boat

Most marinas offer wireless internet access to their guests. Some marinas offer this for free, others charge a fee for access. In either case, they have invested in some kind of wireless infrastructure that includes antennas, radios and ultimately, an internet connection that gets shared among all the online users. Getting a reliable and consistent connection on your boat can be frustrating.

The problem that many boaters face is that the signal strength inside their boats is often too low to allow their laptops and portable internet devices to connect well, consistently and at a reasonable speed.

Most laptops and wifi-enabled portable devices have a tiny, small-gain antenna that is adequate for connections to wireless access points that are nearby or in the same room or building. The problem is simply that unless you are lucky enough to have the marina's antenna system right near your slip, you will be facing many physical obstacles to get a decent signal into your boat and ultimately, into the device you are trying to get online with.

When you think about the simply fact that most boaters are below decks (at or below the waterline) when they are trying to get online or are behind glass, fibreglass and often several other boats, possibly with masts and other signal-deflecting surfaces, it is no wonder that a strong and consistent signal is the holy grail of marine wifi! Marinas simply don't want to put out tens of thousands of dollars to have antennas at ever dock or group of slips and instead, try to offer a reasonable blend of performance and reliability with a few omni-directional antennas. This is simply a matter of economics.

Now, there are options. You can try to relocate your laptop or device, you can move higher in the boat, you can buy an external USB network interface with a larger (higher-gain) antenna OR you boost the signal that is outside of your boat to the inside of your boat.

This is where our gadget comes in to play.

We have designed a wireless signal booster / repeater that will lock onto the marina's (or any available access point during the off-season) access point, amplify and repeat its signal into your boat allowing for strong and consistent internet connections.

The unit will allow you to physically connect your computer(s) to it using a standard network cord (CAT5 with an RJ45 connector) and it will also (if you choose to do this) allow you to connect wirelessly to it. This allows for endless possibilities and connections.

It is quite simple to install and use. You purchase this device, plug it in to 120VAC (optionally it can be ordered with a 12VDC cigar lighter plug), position its antenna near a window and connect to it with either a CAT5 cable (included) or enable the wireless feature and connect wirelessly.

The default setting is to simply find a signal nearby and to start repeating and amplifying it.

For those with some technical know-how, the default radio power for most off the shelf units is approx 25mW. This is not adjustable. Our unit is set to 200mW.

The MarineWIFI unit comes with everything that you need to get it online quickly. Optionally, you may want to consider an external marine-grade antenna (that pole mounts like a VHF antenna either on a railing or surface-mounts on your boat's superstructure). This allows for even more distance and you might even find WiFi available at or near your favourite anchorage that had previously remained hidden since your laptop's antenna is so weak.

The only other options are the 12VAC cigar lighter plug or inverter and a few more antenna options.

It does not matter what kind of wireless equipment your marina uses. Our device will find, repeat and amplify it. If you need some code to access the connection now, then you simply type that code into the device and it will connect on your behalf.

We made this simple folks. After all, we are boaters and we just want this to work. It is reasonably priced at $199.95 CDN.

Got questions? Feel free to post below or make your selections from the products below and we will fulfil your order quickly and ship your gear the next day.

Click HERE To ORDER IT NOW