Lake Champlain United - Forums

How common is free WiFi access for boats on the lake? I would be particularly interested in Burlington and points North of there.

Do marinas typically have open WiFi available for free to non-members or transients?

Do many lakeshore property owners share their WiFi with boaters?

If worse comes to worse, once I'm actually living there (Isle Lamotte area), I could setup an access point that might be good for 5 miles or so, meaning a 10 mile section of the lake.

That would be great

What kind of equipment do you have to get 5 miles? I've been trying to get a wifi with better range at the office.
Ken

Uh...

5 Miles from WiFi?

I mean "I" can do it, but not without a parabolic dish...
Below is a project I play with now and then...
I have connected to usable signals in Essex NY from CHarlotte Beach:



Many Marinas have open WiFi...I can use Point Bay WiFi from the camp where I keep my boat...

In addition, there are MANY camps along the shores with open AP's...

Holy cow!!

Doesn't that interfere with communication with NASA and the International Space Station?

lateforwork wrote:Holy cow!!

Doesn't that interfere with communication with NASA and the International Space Station?

No law against that...



The world record for unboosted directional WiFi is about 189 miles:

Italy

The longest unamplified Wi-Fi link is a 304 km link achieved by CISAR (Center for Radio Activities) in Italy.[9]

* link first established on 16-06-2007
* it appears to be permanent from Monte Amiata (Tuscany) to Monte Limbara (Sardinia)
* frequency: 5765 MHz
* IEEE 802.11a (Wi-Fi), bandwidth 5 GHz
* Radio: Ubiquiti Networks XR5
* Wireless routers: MikroTik RouterBOARD with RouterOS, NStreme optimization enabled
* Length: 304 km (189 mi).
* Antenna is 120 cm with handmade waveguide. 35dBi estimated

The reason I even asked about WiFi is because the coverage maps for 3G/4G from both Verizon and ATT look very weak in the Isle Lamotte area...my shoreline (Chazy, NY) is shown as no coverage for data, and with Verizon, only roaming coverage for voice...

I don't live there yet, and have not done any testing...but, would eventually like Internet from boat one way or another...WiFi or cellular data.

Fortunately, there is Time Warner broadband available at the future homesite in Chazy...and, I'm considering using a WiFi bridge with sectorial antenna and bi-directional amp...

I don't want to re-invent the wheel, either, if there is sufficient broadband available on the lake in that area...provider coverage maps tend to be unreliable...

Wow, that's cool

Imagine in 2012 half of the fishing boats on Champlain with a dish mounted at the bow or keel.

Well, if WiFi is not widely available, what are people's impressions regarding AT&T vs. Verizon coverage on the Northern portion of the lake, for either data or voice?

I may break-down and buy an iPad, but I will need to desiginate the carrier when buying it, and it can't be changed afterward...so, stuck with either AT&T or Verizon...

Which is best North of Burlington?