First I mounted an iPad above the helm using a Sea Sucker product. It looks great. Then I put a Verizon MiFI and a wireless router on the boat. The wireless router pushes internet related traffic to the Mifi and manages the local traffic on the boat.
Finally I mounted a wireless IP camera on the bulkhead behind the engine. it's an outdoor camera with IR for night viewing. I get a nice view of the shaft, bilge and engine. Time will tell if it stands up to the marine environment.
The electronics are all 12V so I cut the tips off of the power supplies and used them to hard wire everything to the bus fed by the DC main breaker. I put a 10a inline fuse on the + side.
The setup also allows me to put weather radar, the Navionics app, MarineTrafffic.Com and etc on the iPad when I'm running (albinowners.net when I'm at the dock
). And of course I can switch over to a live view of the engine room. I think I will add another camera to watch the steering gear. And BTW the iPad has been bright enough so far.Cost? $1/foot for marine 16/2 wire, a few butt splices, $49 for the camera and about $100 for the iPad mount. The rest of the stuff was in stock around the house. It's definitely less expensive and more functional than the Raymarine solution.
