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Butterfly8

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Hi all

 

House now sold and now living in temporary accommodation till early spring when my new liveaboard will be ready.

 

One of the things I've got to sort out is access to the internet and digital TV channels - and my mobile contract is up for renewal now so I need to get the best one for use on the boat...

 

- Digital TV is the most straight forward and I'm wondering what people recommend is the best equipment?

 

- As for the internet, I will be working from home alot of the time, also have a daughter who will happily sit on Facebook/etc all evening... Would want to download the odd film/tv programme and music occasionally. We will have two laptops, a Blackberry and I'm thinking of getting an IPhone 16mg

 

I've used a dongle before and it turned out to be expensive given the amount of hours we access the internet. Any views on this or alternative suggestions?

 

I've also heard that its possible to use a mobile phone as a modem for a laptop, and to watch films (plugging it into the TV) and i'm wondering if this would work with an Iphone? Is anyone doing this and if so what is the speed/coverage like?

 

Any views/advice would be very much appreciated.

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3 MiFi 15gb per month £18.99 per month 24 month contract.

 

It's just like having a wifi router on board. You can login with up to 5 different users.

 

 

Thanks - if this covers our usage that would be great.

 

Do you have any recommendations for digital TV?

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One plan from three, from £25 sim only - all you can data, and yes your iPhone will work with this and be a wifi hotspot.

 

Digital TV, depends if you have a home mooring to choose between satellite or teristerial to be honest.

Edited by Robbo
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Any connection using a cell phone provider will be affected by the coverage, or lack of coverage at a given location, so, if you are on a permanent mooring then check that you phone works before splashing out on a data only contract that may not work because there is no coverage at that particular location. Don't rely on the coverage maps provided by the operators as they generally don't have enough detail to allow you to see that on one side of the cut its superb coverage, but on the other its impossible to get a signal.

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Another vote for 3 network and MiFi. If you are not going to be at a fixed location I think Freesat satellite TV is best because it's so easy to set up - the dish is pointed in the same direction regardless of where you are and a quick look at the Nicholsons shows which way is 158 degrees. With a small dish you have approaching 10 degrees of tolerance in each plane. You do however have to bear in mind that you won't get a signal through buildings or even trees so you sometimes have to be careful where you moor.

 

ETA One of the big advantages of the MiFi is that you can put it in the window, or even outside ( in a poly bag if raining), in areas of weak reception. Bandwidth is usually sufficient to stream live TV eg BBC iPlayer if you did moor with a tree between you and the satellite, though data usage can be high when doing that.

Edited by nicknorman
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Shouldnt there be a sticky thread for all the commonly asked questions?

maybe in the FAQ section?

I'm not the one to stand up and perhaps say the mods are pretty shi poor at other aspects of modding that arent just removal of content, not that theres any issues there at all and liek i said i'm not the one to do it :) lol

Internet whilst living onboard should have a dedicated thread that people can update/check whenever they feel like. It would save everyone repeating themselves constanly

:cheers:

 

another vote for 3 network. :rolleyes:

 

another sticky would be the "...takes a 12v input can i just cut the adaptor off and wire straight to boats electrics."

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One plan from three, from £25 sim only - all you can data, and yes your iPhone will work with this and be a wifi hotspot.

 

Digital TV, depends if you have a home mooring to choose between satellite or teristerial to be honest.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

I want to know if I could use the mobile and the monthly data allowance on that, instead of having a dongle or sim contract as well?

 

I will be a continuous cruiser, so it would be good to know if anyone can recommend good satellite [ digital systems and the costs, etc.

 

One plan from three, from £25 sim only - all you can data, and yes your iPhone will work with this and be a wifi hotspot.

 

Digital TV, depends if you have a home mooring to choose between satellite or teristerial to be honest.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

I want to know if I could use the mobile and the monthly data allowance on that, instead of having a dongle or sim contract as well?

 

I will be a continuous cruiser, so it would be good to know if anyone can recommend good satellite [ digital systems and the costs, etc.

 

Sorry, not used to using the forum yet but grateful for any info from those actually using the equiment

 

I did have a quick try to find anything related to this but it wasn't listed as far as I could see

 

I've decided to send less on my mobile and use the 3 Mi-fi for internet so

:cheers:

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Yep the one plan on either the 30 day contract or more (not payg), your allowed to tether and you get around 2000 mins/ texts etc. Only down side is that you won't want to put your phone outside to get the better reception!

 

I regularly download around 50gb a month. Three is abit hit and miss on reception though but data rates are good when you have decent reception. Customer service is poor.

Edited by Robbo
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Thanks

 

I want to know if I could use the mobile and the monthly data allowance on that, instead of having a dongle or sim contract as well?

 

I will be a continuous cruiser, so it would be good to know if anyone can recommend good satellite [ digital systems and the costs, etc.

 

 

Hi

 

We continuously cruise and use a WinTV dongle for our TV, which is connected to a normal aerial on the roof. We find we get a pretty good signal in most places, though sometimes with a bit of fun and games on the roof pointing the aerial in the right direction! The dongle cost about £60 and is a one-off payment which gives you all Freeview channels. We use it to watch TV on the laptop.

 

For internet we have a 3 dongle on a monthly rolling contract that gives us 15gb for £15.99 per month, but we only got this usage when I threatened to cancel because 5gb per month wasn't enough! You'll find the Facebook use and browsing don't use very much of your allowance, it's the TV watching and program downloads that chew it up big time.

 

When my mobile contract comes up for renewal in February I'm planning to ditch the dongle and get a 3 android phone which you can use to set up your own hotspot. They're offering all you can eat internet at the moment which sounds brilliant.

 

Just one other tip in case you haven't come across it, you can buy a gizmo from Maplins (and other electrical stores I'm sure) that converts 12v to 19v to power the laptop, rather than running it via an inverter, which wastes a lot of power.

 

Hope this helps :)

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We've just ditched the dongle and got an android phone with 3 all-you-can-eat internet. It usually works well as a WiFi hotspot , especially if placed in the cratch, plus has the added benefit of internet on the phone so often the laptop is not needed.

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One plan from three, from £25 sim only - all you can data, and yes your iPhone will work with this and be a wifi hotspot.

 

Digital TV, depends if you have a home mooring to choose between satellite or teristerial to be honest.

 

I'm pretty sure you can get All you can eat data on a SIM only PAYG for a £15 per month top up, and are allowed to tether.

 

Ive always had trouble getting my iPhone 3GS to act as a "personal hotspot". Seems to want to do it by Bluetooth or USB cable, and I cant get my netbook or iPad to see it, or vice versa.

 

Also, as I want to have my phone in my pocket, or somewhere handy, I wasnt sure about how much power the Hotspot would use.Anyway - it made sense to have a dedicated system for the boat, and the mifi just works - although if the OP needs more than 15Gb per month, it obviously wouldnt be the right option.

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I'm pretty sure you can get All you can eat data on a SIM only PAYG for a £15 per month top up, and are allowed to tether.

 

Ive always had trouble getting my iPhone 3GS to act as a "personal hotspot". Seems to want to do it by Bluetooth or USB cable, and I cant get my netbook or iPad to see it, or vice versa.

 

Also, as I want to have my phone in my pocket, or somewhere handy, I wasnt sure about how much power the Hotspot would use.Anyway - it made sense to have a dedicated system for the boat, and the mifi just works - although if the OP needs more than 15Gb per month, it obviously wouldnt be the right option.

 

I find that the iPhone hotspot will only except connections as soon as you enable it or if there's already a connection - I presume this is due too power saving, etc.

 

There is a all you can eat data on payg, but your not allowed to tether. http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBISAPI.DLL?Command=New,Kb=Mobile,Ts=Mobile,T=Article,varset_cat=internetapps,varset_subcat=3583,Case=obj(3833)

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3 MiFi 15gb per month £18.99 per month 24 month contract.

 

It's just like having a wifi router on board. You can login with up to 5 different users.

 

I pay £14.xx for mine as I have another Three contract. So it's worth putting all eggs in one basket.

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Hi. I use a 3G Router. It is made by Teltonika and is a professional product. Available here:-

 

http://www.3grouterstore.co.uk/3G/Teltonika_RUT-105_HSUPA_3G_Router.html

 

This solution does cost more to set up but after that, its only the 3G SIM you need on any network. I am using (testing really) a Three data SIM at Napton Marina. I have an external antenna on the roof (6DB gain) and get a great signal and good, reliable speed. As a comparison, I have to stand on the roof to use my iPhone on Vodafone. I did also use the same setup on our trip up from Oxford and am positive I had a connection all the way.

 

Perhaps this will help someone.

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Hi. I use a 3G Router. It is made by Teltonika and is a professional product. Available here:-

 

http://www.3grouters..._3G_Router.html

 

This solution does cost more to set up but after that, its only the 3G SIM you need on any network. I am using (testing really) a Three data SIM at Napton Marina. I have an external antenna on the roof (6DB gain) and get a great signal and good, reliable speed. As a comparison, I have to stand on the roof to use my iPhone on Vodafone. I did also use the same setup on our trip up from Oxford and am positive I had a connection all the way.

 

Perhaps this will help someone.

 

 

Rob, we moor at Calcutt, and the difference between Vodafone and 3 is the same for us so I think that is the dominant factor here, not your equipment. I get a very good signal on 3 on a ZTE MF112 dongle, but struggle inside the boat to get any signal on my phone on Vodafone. The masts for 3 and Vodafone are close to each other in Southam, so not really sure why the big difference.

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Rob, we moor at Calcutt, and the difference between Vodafone and 3 is the same for us so I think that is the dominant factor here, not your equipment. I get a very good signal on 3 on a ZTE MF112 dongle, but struggle inside the boat to get any signal on my phone on Vodafone. The masts for 3 and Vodafone are close to each other in Southam, so not really sure why the big difference.

 

Thanks for that interesting and useful information. The reason I am using the 3G router is being able to use the laptop with no ties anywhere on the boat (i.e. wifi) I am also planning to fit a CCTV camera for remote viewing and having a decent router makes this possible or at least easier to access.

 

Out of interest, I picked up Three 3G Data SIMS on Ebay at a company called PrePaymania for £12.50 inc. postage. They were 3 GB for 3 months. The normal cost in the Three shop is £20.50. Might help if you dont require a contract or want to test one out.

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you are wanting a LOT of data so will probably need an "all you can eat" version, which I think only 3 is offering, and their coverage can be dodgy. Even with unlimited data you should be aware that streaming tele over the cellular network can be a very frustrating experience.

 

As for the television itself if you just want freeview that should be no problem in most areas with a decent antenna and any 12 volt tele -- it is all built in these days.

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you are wanting a LOT of data so will probably need an "all you can eat" version, which I think only 3 is offering, and their coverage can be dodgy. Even with unlimited data you should be aware that streaming tele over the cellular network can be a very frustrating experience.

 

As for the television itself if you just want freeview that should be no problem in most areas with a decent antenna and any 12 volt tele -- it is all built in these days.

Did you move moorings just to get internet?

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Hi

 

We continuously cruise and use a WinTV dongle for our TV, which is connected to a normal aerial on the roof. We find we get a pretty good signal in most places, though sometimes with a bit of fun and games on the roof pointing the aerial in the right direction! The dongle cost about £60 and is a one-off payment which gives you all Freeview channels. We use it to watch TV on the laptop.

 

For internet we have a 3 dongle on a monthly rolling contract that gives us 15gb for £15.99 per month, but we only got this usage when I threatened to cancel because 5gb per month wasn't enough! You'll find the Facebook use and browsing don't use very much of your allowance, it's the TV watching and program downloads that chew it up big time.

 

When my mobile contract comes up for renewal in February I'm planning to ditch the dongle and get a 3 android phone which you can use to set up your own hotspot. They're offering all you can eat internet at the moment which sounds brilliant.

 

Just one other tip in case you haven't come across it, you can buy a gizmo from Maplins (and other electrical stores I'm sure) that converts 12v to 19v to power the laptop, rather than running it via an inverter, which wastes a lot of power.

 

Hope this helps :)

 

Many thanks - very useful info.

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