JHWardJr@aol.com wrote:

I've been using Verizon's broadband access since August when I converted
to my Palm Centro smart phone. I love it. I have internet access
wherever I am via the phone, I can tether it to the laptop for Verizon's
dialup broadband access, or I can link it via bluetooth if I need to
plug the phone into the antenna/amp and don't want to park the laptop on
the pilothouse console.

As a bonus, I downloaded Jeff Seigel's Active Captain, and also got
Garmin XT for the Palm and a Freedom Keychain GPS. Now my smartphone is
a phone, chartplotter, turn-by-turn GPS, database manager for all
onboard systems, and internet access in the palm of my hand. We have
used it extensively while cruising the Erie Canal system for finding
phone numbers, marinas, groceries, general information, and phone. Our
family members are all on Verizon, so our long-winded conversations are
all "in-network" read: free. We have 2 phones, one for each of us, I pay
for my Dad's phone, and my wife's mom's phone. Our monthly bill for 4
phones and "unlimited" (5GB/mo.) internet runs about $174/mo on a 700
minute plan. The phone conversion cost me about $130 after rebate,
Keychain GPS was about $75, Garmin XP about $200. The Centro is not easy
on batteries, but I have yet to run it dead. Close, but not dead! The
bluetooth eats power because it's running 2 radios. But I really like
it. Active Captain is simply amazing, and no, I do not get paid for
plugs <G>.

I also have a 300 mw bridge with a 10db gain wi-fi antenna. It's great
if there are any open hotspots, but they're becoming fewer as people
gain the knowledge to lock up their wireless. A good wifi connection
will outrun Verizon Broadband, but Verizon's availability trumps the
speed of ever more rare open wifi hotspots. I have used the Verizon
connection to maintain our blog with uploading over 400 photos, and
managing the blog via my tethered dialup. A bit slower, but it's there.
Poor coverage dramatically slows the broadband speed, but throughout our
trip thru NY, our coverage was very good. Rarely did we have an area
that had no coverage. Sometimes no EVDO (broadband), but rare.

If I had it to do over, I'd spend the money on the wifi bridge
elsewhere. Now that I have it, I'll use it when I can, but I wouldn't
recommend investing in it with the dearth of free connections nowadays.

steve sipe
Solo 4303 "Maerin"
still wind-bound in upper chesapeake
south bound next week!!

I'm sure everyone is sick of hearing about all the testing I've done over
the last couple of years with cellular amps.  The exciting news is that
there's a new device that I've been messing around with that I'm very
excited about.  It changes everything...

I have a full amp installed in my pilothouse with an antenna out on the
arch.  It has done very well.  The full amp solution was a few hundred
dollars (maybe $350 - $500 depending on wiring, antenna, etc).  Then you
need to install it, run wiring, power, etc.  I'm glad that I went to the
trouble of doing it but it was a pain.  It has worked flawlessly between
Maine and Florida and we maintained a full internet connection and multiple
bars everywhere in-between (except for that screwy 20 mile Pungo-Alligator
Canal).

In the last couple of years, cellular signals have gotten a lot better along
the coast.  The need to have the amp on all the time has gone away.  I find
that we now turn it on only when we need it - and frankly, it's happening
less and less.

So now comes this new device - and I'm not going to tell what it is yet!
Instead, we're moving our 11 part series of articles on mobile phones onto
the ActiveCaptain web site.  The articles were launched this Summer on Mad
Mariner but now we're hosting them ourselves.  There are now 16 articles
(plus a glossary) and we've made major changes to the "Boost your Signal"
article describing all about this new device.  It all goes live on Tuesday
along with a total re-write of the Going Mobile section.

If I haven't teased you enough...

The new device costs 1/3rd the price of a traditional amplifier.  The new
device needs no installation - you use it when you need it.  Not only that
but you can easily take it in your dinghy or in your car and use it there
when you need it.  It also amplifies multiple phones at the same time (I
tried 3 at the same time).

And yes, it works...

---=
Jeffrey Siegel
M/V aCappella
DeFever 53PH
W1ACA/WDB4350
Castine, Maine

www.activecaptain.com
Content, Communications, Community

..

Tom Wadsworth wrote:

I use Digital Antenna's PowerMax DA4000 with an 8' 9db antenna. It
works, although I would echo the comments of others who felt that their
need for the booster was becoming less frequent. I had used a booster
for several years on a previous boat but I had the iDen model which they
no longer make. I still have it, but not too many folks are using the
iDen system, so I couldn't find a buyer for it when I switched from
Nextel to Verizon. Note that my system is a wired system. The repeaters
seem to be universally badmouthed, so I never even considered one.

Steve Sipe
4303 Solo "Maerin"
southbound by next week.