WiFi/Cell Phone amplifier

[Beta Don]

I have both systems on the boat and both have proven very useful on our current Great Loop cruise

For cel service, I use a Wilson 4G amplifier. Works with any cel provider . . . . it amplifies all 5 frequencies. Mounted their 'truckers antenna' on the mast, which is about 3 feet above the roof on our A27. I chose the truckers antenna over the marine antenna because it has ground plane radials and the marine antenna doesn't. The truckers antenna works on fiberglass semi cabs without feedback between the high and low power antennas. Just as added insurance, I glued strips of aluminum foil to the cockpit ceiling before we reupholstered it. The low power antenna is in the hanging locker, which is also where the Wilson amplifier is located. One night anchored out I had a 1X where the 4G should be on my phone and Internet pages were loading really slow and I remembered that the previous few days we'd been in a marina and I had shut the Wilson amp off. Flipped it on and 1X turned into 4G instantly

For WiFi, I have an Alpha Tube U transponder with a marine antenna mounted on the opposite 'wing' of the mast from the cel antenna and we've had reliable WiFi from sources up to about 2 miles away. A scan of available signals can run to 30 to 50 sources in many anchorages, though of course 95% of those are usually password protected which makes them unusable. There are frequently one or two open ones which you can log onto which are not protected. Also, if you see 'Joe's Burger Shack' on your scan, you can always go there for lunch, get their password, go back to the boat and have WiFi for as long as you're anchored there. Also, many marinas have WiFi which sometimes doesn't cover all of the marina or their mooring field and with the Alpha unit, you're in business no matter how far away the marina office is. My Alpha tube feeds an Alpha router, so once set up and running, both our phones, the tablet and the laptop all have WiFi anywhere on (or near) the boat. Works pretty well most places

Don