I had been quite sceptical about the various products that have been promoted to increase WiFi reception when on board but when visiting the London Boat Show I took the chance to enquire about the latest ideas and then compared the various offerings that were available. This resulted in me buying a range of products from 'mailasail' (
Some months passed by after the show until I started preparing Lady Martina for the forthcoming cruising season on a fine day and so I could drop the mast and start to try installing the WiFi Bat aerial on the last and threading through the cable from the centre of the mast to a point in the saloon which could be reached from any laptop aboard. This proved to be quite difficult, as always, given the volume of equipment already installed upon the mast and seeking to be connected but, with the aid of some favourite flexible trace cables that the Brooms engineers treasure I was able to do so. (It is on the far left or starboard side of the mast in the picture).
Having then cruised off to some new ports as the season commenced, I was amazed at just how effective this areal proves to be; delivering literally dozens of signal sources at full power regardless of their distance and the intervening interference of masts and vessels that often make port WiFi a very hit and miss affair. Also being a BtInternet user (and this having the advantage of the BT-Fon and BT-Openzone network that radiates from sites all round any habitation), there was never a shortage of choices which did not even need the marina code to activate.
The secret of these 'active' WiFi devices is that fact that they take power from a USB socket and use this to activate circuitry that both amplifies and organises the WiFi signals, making light of the task of getting connected. I have yet to use the 'Red Box' option t act as a radiating source and connection hub around the boat and find that just the WiFi bat is sufficient for my present needs.
In conclusion, every boat should have one!
