WIFI Quick Decision

[lumina]

Hi All,

Anyone have any opinion one way or the other between Bad Boy Express Unleashed vs Rouge Wave vs West Marine Micro295.

My sole objective is to get the best wifi reception for the PC at the dock and a few miles off shore.

Thanks

[Canuck Dennis]

http://www.thewirie.com/productcomparison.html

[Pascal]

i've been using a Rogue Wave for about a year now and very happy with it.

the booster itself is hidden in the arch and hooked to a 3' external antenna. From the booster, I have a Cat 5 cable going down to the skylounge where it's connected to a KR2 router.

the external antenna improves range compared to the short one that comes with the unit.

using a router let's anyone on the boat share the connection, even with an Idevice

i chose the KR2 as it has an express port so i can put my 3G card in and share that when wifi isnt' available, otherwise a basic router will do just fine.

i've been able to get excellent wifi connections in places where i got nothing the year before. From the Mooring field in nantucket to Great majors aka Pig beach off Staniel Cay. Excellent reception on the moorings at Warderick wells, even Normans Cay. I did a test offshore chub cay, about 2 or 3 miles out and was able to get on line

One very nice thing about the Wave is that it doens't require any software or drivers, you just access its webpage which lists the available hotspots. Using the router, i dont' even need my laptop to pick a hot spot, i can just do it from my IPhone and then anyone on the boat can connect.

no regrets whatsoever.

[lumina]

Pascal,

There seems to be more than one kr2 model, can I ask which you have and how much you paid for it.....also....how much did you pay for rouge wave ?

Gene

[lumina]

Canuck,

Are you using the wire now and are you happy with it ?

[Pascal]

teh Rogue wave was around $400 I think, dont' have the file handy.

the antenna was the 30" 825-WLW, $133 from Solid signal.com, it comes without cable so you need that too. i believe you need a female plug to connect to the Wave and also female on the antenna side, but double check.

i don't see a model nr on the router, which variation of the KR2 you you depends on which air card and cell provider you use. I think the Verizon version is different. there may be newer routers out there, i think the KR2 is an older model. again, it depends on the kind of air card you want to put in there.

the wirie is interesting and cheaper but you have to use windows Internet connection sharing to share it.. not ideal. same with the USB cable connection instead of cat 5. the big plus of the Wave is that there is no driver and the cat 5 cable from the booster can be jsut about any length where as with USB, the 15' may be too short from the top of the boat down to the saloon for instance.

[Canuck Dennis]

Am just researching right now...looking for the easiest one to hook up as it will be rail mounted on the f/b,,no arch.

[lumina]

Thanks to everyone for your feedback.

Pascal, l went with the rouge and your configuration leveraging a router.