Hi David:
We at MCSI have been on this same hunt for 3 years. As you know or will
discover, there are a lot of alternatives, some of which "almost work". To
save yourself a lot of miscommunication you might want to consider these
important questions.
Does it work while underway? There are wireless solutions that work at
dockside in a major cell site area (although even these are very slow.) Or
in a strong CDPD area (but there are really few of these.) But in a
non-urban area such as the West Coast of the US, Canada, Alaska and probably
the same on some parts of the East Coast, even while close (5 miles or less)
inshore, then it's a whole different story. And of course there are huge
areas that have no type of wireless coverage at all.
Are you talking WWW access speeds or simple and very short textual email?
(rhetorical question). The point being what's an acceptable connect speed
for one might not be for another. IMO 9600 reliable baud would be at the
lowest end of acceptable, but you'd be hard pressed to find that reliable
speed with current technology while moving.
How much does it cost. If you can afford to go to large Inmarsat systems,
that's a whole different ballgame. Even so, it's slow, but it does work.
LEOS is the answer to our hopes I think. But it is still in its infancy and
the current crop of devices are slow and cumbersome. It is also still
expensive.
Let us know what you discover.
Joe & Debbie Engel
Marine Computer Services & JRE Computer Consulting, Inc.
MV Freda Fly - 1973 40' Tollycraft Tri-cabin
Portland, OR
-----Original Message-----
From: David A. Stahl [mailto:david@KENNETT.NET]
Sent: Tuesday, February 29, 2000 2:09 PM
To: trawler-world-list@samurai.com
Subject: TWL: Cruising Communications
TWL Folks,
I have decided to do a study on the technology of connecting to the
Internet via cruising yachts. <SNIP>
Hi David:
We at MCSI have been on this same hunt for 3 years. As you know or will
discover, there are a lot of alternatives, some of which "almost work". To
save yourself a lot of miscommunication you might want to consider these
important questions.
Does it work while underway? There are wireless solutions that work at
dockside in a major cell site area (although even these are very slow.) Or
in a strong CDPD area (but there are really few of these.) But in a
non-urban area such as the West Coast of the US, Canada, Alaska and probably
the same on some parts of the East Coast, even while close (5 miles or less)
inshore, then it's a whole different story. And of course there are huge
areas that have no type of wireless coverage at all.
Are you talking WWW access speeds or simple and very short textual email?
(rhetorical question). The point being what's an acceptable connect speed
for one might not be for another. IMO 9600 reliable baud would be at the
lowest end of acceptable, but you'd be hard pressed to find that reliable
speed with current technology while moving.
How much does it cost. If you can afford to go to large Inmarsat systems,
that's a whole different ballgame. Even so, it's slow, but it does work.
LEOS is the answer to our hopes I think. But it is still in its infancy and
the current crop of devices are slow and cumbersome. It is also still
expensive.
Let us know what you discover.
Joe & Debbie Engel
Marine Computer Services & JRE Computer Consulting, Inc.
MV Freda Fly - 1973 40' Tollycraft Tri-cabin
Portland, OR
-----Original Message-----
From: David A. Stahl [mailto:david@KENNETT.NET]
Sent: Tuesday, February 29, 2000 2:09 PM
To: trawler-world-list@samurai.com
Subject: TWL: Cruising Communications
TWL Folks,
I have decided to do a study on the technology of connecting to the
Internet via cruising yachts. <SNIP>
