Internet offshore
Skip Gundlach
Have you been able to take your LT into an internet café and use their
connection to get out on your own legs? That is, once into their server,
can you use your computer like you would, say, at home, receiving and
sending mail and the like, or does it all have to be webmail based? (I
thoroughly dislike webmail, but have not found a way around that which isn't
pocketmail or the like.)
The reason for the question is twofold. The first is transparent; I want to
be able to use my own mail program on the internet, if I can, and be able to
store messages in and out, and just do flash send and receive sessions
without the concern for managing a webmail account and keeping it in bounds
for size and the like. The second is that I'm investigating an internet
based phone (each phone has an IP and you plug it in via cat5 vs. normal
telco wire) which, if internet cafés allow you to plug in to their server,
could allow the equivalent of free local calling (back home) for the cost of
the internet time, from anywhere in the world. Since Lydia's joined at the
hip, and the apron strings are 3" SS hawsers, to her children, that could be
a great advantage :{))
L8R
Skip and Lydia
Bruce
At the speed you are going in the boat buying process, don't worry about the
internet thing. By the time you get there it will have evolved to something
totally different than today. Hell laptops will be obsolete. :-)
See you when you get to Florida
Bruce
Rosalie B.
"Skip Gundlach" <sk...@engr.uga.edu> wrote:
>Just checking on experiences here WRT those with laptops...
>
>Have you been able to take your LT into an internet café and use their
>connection to get out on your own legs? That is, once into their server,
>can you use your computer like you would, say, at home, receiving and
>sending mail and the like, or does it all have to be webmail based? (I
>thoroughly dislike webmail, but have not found a way around that which isn't
>pocketmail or the like.)
What's the matter with pocketmail for you?
THe short answer is yes for the places I've been, and I gather it is
also yes for various places in the Caribbean.
Longer answer.
I have three ISPs. This is because I'm amphibious <g>. Half the time
I'm on shore in a house and half the time I'm in the water on the
boat. The three ISPs are mindspring (now earthlink), pocketmail, and
aol.
In the amphibious phase, I turn AOL to vacation mode which is about
$5.00/month - I can get my AOL mail via the net if I want to. (I use
AOL as an address for when I order something over the internet that I
don't really want to give them an address but they insist on it, and
also for AOL travel boards which in some cases are better than the
newsgroups for doing travel information)
I basically only use pocketmail when cruising. When I'm going to be
out several weeks, I have everything from my mindspring account
forwarded to pocketmail (this may take a day or two to kick in). I
also turn almost all the email groups to nomail before I leave. I
have an old analog bag phone, and in the US, I can pick up my mail and
send mail while at anchor. So I don't have to take the laptop into
shore in a dinghy. The bag phone is roaming when not in the
Chesapeake and costs about $1/minute so I keep the transmissions on it
to a minimum.
Also in the US I have a cell phone with no roaming and no long
distance for something like 700 minutes a month/free weekend and
nights. This costs something like $70/month but allows me to talk to
my kids and my mom without worrying about the cost (as long as I keep
track of the minutes) and also call marinas etc. if desired.
In the US, there are a LARGE number of marinas which have free
internet connections for cruisers. And earthlink has a large number
of local numbers to use. If there isn't one (such as in Belhaven and
in the Alligator River) I have to use the 800#. There is a per minute
charge for that and you have to authorize it in advance before you
need it. And I can do the internet too if I want to.
In those places where the marina doesn't have such a connection, I can
then use the pay phone to get my pocketmail, or I can usually go to
the library (like in Marathon) and get my email. Most libraries IME
will not let you hook up your own laptops or use your own disks
because of the fear of viruses (viri?). I have a program where I can
download the pocketmail correspondence to the laptop.
In the Bahamas in Nassau or Lucaya (Grand Bahama), there are internet
cafes where I can bring my own laptop in and hook up and do whatever I
want. Costs 10cents a minute, cheaper than phoning. ALso since I
have a secure browser on my laptop, I can do banking on-line if I want
to.
Outside of the US, pocketmail doesn't have an 800# so you have to pay
for an out of the country call. And outside of Nassau or Lucaya, some
marinas charge $1/minute to hook up a laptop which can build up fast,
but is still probably cheaper than a phone call. (In the days where a
phone card bought in the US still worked, a 500 minute card was worth
less than 30 minutes in the Bahamas.)
Cruisers who are 'out there' usually use winlink or sailmail or a ham
radio connection. I know there are internet cafes out there too. But
I really don't have any hands-on experience with them.
I also know folks who cruise in the US primarily who have a cell phone
connection to the laptop so they don't even have to bring the laptop
in to shore. I have the stuff for that (cable, modem, software) but
I've never bothered because in the US there are so many places that I
can just hook up to a land line, and pocketmail fills the gaps where I
can't.
>
>The reason for the question is twofold. The first is transparent; I want to
>be able to use my own mail program on the internet, if I can, and be able to
>store messages in and out, and just do flash send and receive sessions
>without the concern for managing a webmail account and keeping it in bounds
>for size and the like. The second is that I'm investigating an internet
>based phone (each phone has an IP and you plug it in via cat5 vs. normal
>telco wire) which, if internet cafés allow you to plug in to their server,
>could allow the equivalent of free local calling (back home) for the cost of
>the internet time, from anywhere in the world. Since Lydia's joined at the
>hip, and the apron strings are 3" SS hawsers, to her children, that could be
>a great advantage :{))
If you want to know specifics, a lot of my trip from the winter
2001-2002 is in segments at
http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/4a9c6/
unfortunately on this site the URLs for each segments can't be clicked
on, so you'll have to cut and paste
The bag phone is roaming when not in the Chesapeake and costs about
$1/minute so I keep the transmissions on it to a minimum.
Vic Fraenckel
| internet connections for cruisers.
Is there any documentation of these locations?
Vic
--
________________________________________________________
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Rosalie B.
>| In the US, there are a LARGE number of marinas which have free
>| internet connections for cruisers.
>
>Is there any documentation of these locations?
Skipper Bob's marina book has some of them.
I have made extensive notes about the ones I've visited, and he has
some of my notes. Also the URL under my signature goes to a page
which has all the stops on our trip last year, and if you past the URL
for each of the stops into the browser, you will find that I've
listed the marina under Sports Tips, and usually I have said what the
internet connections are.
Please note that documenting this stuff takes a good amount of time,
and it is a work in progress.
Also it is only from the Chesapeake to the Bahamas - haven't been
north of that.
grandma Rosalie
http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/4a9c6/
Jeff Morris
exception) in my trip down the coast. There were a few places with phone jacks at the
slip that were inexpensive enough to use (And a few that were way too expensive.) Many
marinas had a phone jack available to transients - but usually it was the "credit card
line" that they didn't mind loaning if it wasn't busy. One marina, in St. Augustine, had
a couple of computers set up in the lounge.
I can believe things have changed a bit in two years, especially at the upscale places,
and a few years down the road we'll probably have WiFi fairly common, but I'm a bit
skeptical that there are a large number of marinas with free internet.
-jeff
"Rosalie B." <gmbe...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:hbaqbvsng3ccn1doc...@4ax.com...
Rosalie B.
>Maybe its changed in the last two years, but I didn't find any "free internet" (with one
>exception) in my trip down the coast. There were a few places with phone jacks at the
>slip that were inexpensive enough to use (And a few that were way too expensive.) Many
>marinas had a phone jack available to transients - but usually it was the "credit card
>line" that they didn't mind loaning if it wasn't busy. One marina, in St. Augustine, had
>a couple of computers set up in the lounge.
It isn't free INTERNET. It's a free place to hookup to a phone line
that you can use to dial into your own ISP to get email. Some of them
are indeed the fax lines. Sometimes it's a fancy set-up with a big
lounge with TV etc, and sometimes it's just a plug in the wall which
has an active phone line. In some cases there are time restrictions
and sometimes the place you have to put the laptop aren't very
comfortable. I've had to make my cursors bigger so I can see them in
the sun in some places.
>
>I can believe things have changed a bit in two years, especially at the upscale places,
>and a few years down the road we'll probably have WiFi fairly common, but I'm a bit
>skeptical that there are a large number of marinas with free internet.
Maybe you just didn't ask. *I* ASK. Hopefully and politely, but
expecting that I will be accommodated.
Here is my list from north to south for the time frame of 1999 to 2002
- the ones that have an actual separate line for transient boaters
(not a fax line) are **
Maryland:
Inner Harbor Marina, Baltimore- fax line in the office - office is
open 24/7
Mears, Oxford - no provision
Blackstone Marina, Hollywood - no provision
Point Lookout, Ridge - no provision and no cell phone service. But
the latter two are near our home, so we just go home to get email.
Virginia
Windmill Point, White Stone - let me use phone line in the office
**Chesapeake Boat Basin, Kilmarnock - email line in the boater's
lounge
Dozier's Marina, Deltaville - used computer line in their office.
*York River Yacht Haven, Gloucester Point - supposed to have an email
line in the lounge, but I never found it.
Cooks Landing Marina (York River) - had an extra phone line that I
used. Very very few transients here. Very isolated
**Southall Landings Marina, Hampton - free email line set up for
cruisers with desk in the office.
**Old Point Comfort Marina, Hampton - used the business center in the
Chamberlin Hotel - free
Waterside, Norfolk - use of fax line
North Carolina
**Coinjock - has a desk in the store for use of cruisers with a
separate phone line
Elizabeth City - free use of a line at the Chamber of Commerce
**Alligator River Marina - boater's lounge with free phone line for
email if you use an 800#
Robb's Marina, Belhaven - free use of fax line in office if you have
an 800#
Dowry Creek, Belhaven - email in office
**Whitaker Creek, Oriental - boaters lounge with email line.
Oriental Marina, Oriental - supposed to have free phone lines at the
dock- sometimes they work and sometimes not. Otherwise you can use the
payphone jack if you can make it work. I can't. I have to use one of
the motel phones.
Dudleys, Swansboro - boater's connection for email in the store.
**Harbor Village Marina, Hampton - large boaters lounge with email
line.
Southport Marina, Southport - line available in the office
**South Harbor Village, Southport - separate phone line for cruiser's
email in office.
Bald Head Island - Real Estate office has free line for boaters if you
have an 800# (all phone calls off the island are long distance)
South Carolina
*Dock Hollidays, North Myrtle Beach - line for boaters in office
Cricket Cove (can't remember what they had)
Barefoot Landing - no access
Wacca Wachee Marina, Murrell's Inlet - can use line in office
Boat Shed, Georgetown - can use line in office
Leland Marine, McClellansville - used phone line in dock masters shed
Isle of Palms Marina, Isle of Palms - supposed to have phone lines at
the dock for free - often don't work
Charleston Harbor Marina, Mt. Pleasant - have phone lines at the dock
- $2/day
Charleston Maritime Center, Charleston - no access - used son's phone
lines at his house
Ross Marine - access in the office and possibly in guard shack
**Dataw Island Marina - email line in laundry room or on porch
Downtown Municipal Marina, Beaufort - use fax line in store
**Outdoor Resorts, Hilton Head - use of line in RV office
Georgia
**Palmer Johnson, Thunderbolt - separate email line in bathroom/lounge
(they used to have two lines - one for the ladies room and one for the
men)
Kilkenny Creek Marina - used his phone line with computer on freezer
because the payphone didn't work for pocketmail - very isolated.
*Jekyll Harbor Marina - outside email line for cruisers
Golden Isles - restricted use of line in harbor master's office
Florida
** Fernandina Beach - separate email line in the office
*Pablo Creek, nr Jacksonville - email line for cruisers up in office
(not open on weekends)
St. Augustine Municipal Marina - charge $1.50 per session - can do it
free in the library
**Oyster Creek Marina, St. Augustine - Cruiser's lounge with email
line
*Palm Coast - email line on a pay phone in the hotel
**Caribbean Jacks, Daytona - separate email line in boater's lounge.
**Halifax Harbor, Daytona - separate email hookups at each dock area
(ie. one for A dock, one for B dock etc - very big marina)
Seven Seas Marina, Port Orange - no access
**Titusville Municipal - email line outside available all the time
Intercoastal Marina - don't remember any hookup here.
Melbourne Municipal - grudging use of line in office
**Harbortown, Ft. Pierce - separate email line for cruisers
**Ft. Pierce Municipal Marina - separate email line for cruisers
**Riviera Beach - separate outside line for cruisers email
Miami - no access - I go to my daughter's house
Marathon - get mail in the library on their computer. There is
supposed to be a hookup at one of the marinas, but I didn't use it.
Key West - you can get email for free in the library on their
computer, or you can use an internet cafe. If you have military base
privileges, there are free email lines at NAS Boca Chica at the
marina, and at Sigsbee Park where the RV campgrounds are.
>
>"Rosalie B." <gmbe...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
>news:hbaqbvsng3ccn1doc...@4ax.com...
>> "Vic Fraenckel" <vfra...@nycap.rr.com> wrote:
>>
>> >| In the US, there are a LARGE number of marinas which have free
>> >| internet connections for cruisers.
>> >
>> >Is there any documentation of these locations?
>>
>> Skipper Bob's marina book has some of them.
>>
>> I have made extensive notes about the ones I've visited, and he has
>> some of my notes. Also the URL under my signature goes to a page
>> which has all the stops on our trip last year, and if you past the URL
>> for each of the stops into the browser, you will find that I've
>> listed the marina under Sports Tips, and usually I have said what the
>> internet connections are.
>>
>> Please note that documenting this stuff takes a good amount of time,
>> and it is a work in progress.
>>
>> Also it is only from the Chesapeake to the Bahamas - haven't been
>> north of that.
>>
>>
>>
>> grandma Rosalie
>> http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/4a9c6/
>
grandma Rosalie
http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/4a9c6/
Jeff Morris
As I said, most marinas have a phone line available - but when you said "free internet
connections" I thought you were implying something beyond that. Maybe someday.
-jeff
"Rosalie B." <gmbe...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:p4arbvcssf9obcj1o...@4ax.com...
Rosalie B.
>Sorry Rosalie, that's a nice list you have.
>
>As I said, most marinas have a phone line available - but when you said "free internet
>connections" I thought you were implying something beyond that. Maybe someday.
>
OK the original question was - can you use your laptop with someone
else's server to get internet connection.
And my answer was that I could connect my laptop with my own ISP
without using an internet cafe's server if I was in the US.
I only have experience with using someone else's server to connect in
the Bahamas where my server didn't have a local number available and
calling long distance was WAY expensive (like $1/minute)
I could use my own laptop there after they set it up to use their
server, but I could only receive email, do the newsgroups and surf the
net - I couldn't SEND email except from a web based site.
grandma Rosalie
Skip Gundlach
"Rosalie B." <gmbe...@mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:klrpbvs18qrd13u87...@4ax.com...
> emailed and posted
>
> "Skip Gundlach" <sk...@engr.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> >Just checking on experiences here WRT those with laptops...
> >
> >Have you been able to take your LT into an internet café and use their
> >connection to get out on your own legs? That is, once into their server,
> >can you use your computer like you would, say, at home, receiving and
> >sending mail and the like, or does it all have to be webmail based? (I
> >thoroughly dislike webmail, but have not found a way around that which
isn't
> >pocketmail or the like.)
>
> What's the matter with pocketmail for you?
Nothing - I'd reserved that a big spot in our actual time of departure
checklist for what we'd actually use. As Bruce pointed out, the internet
world is changing so fast that what's a good idea today may not be tomorrow
(or, more properly, not the best). However, what I'd objected to was the
inability to do anything other than small text messages, and having to pay
for local dialup, assuming there was a way to even reach my pocketmail
number from wherever we were ($$ as you identified when you're offshore).
In past cruises, Lydia and I have met many who use it, and like it very
well.
(clip of other dialup and cell phone talk discussions)
> In the Bahamas in Nassau or Lucaya (Grand Bahama), there are internet
> cafes where I can bring my own laptop in and hook up and do whatever I
> want. Costs 10cents a minute, cheaper than phoning. ALso since I
> have a secure browser on my laptop, I can do banking on-line if I want
> to.
That's exactly the scenario I have in mind. I could pull my mail from my
mailbox, send over webmail with copy to me (so as to have a 'sent' file in
my computer), or, if my current ISP has it set up, be able to then pull IMAP
folders when I'm finished. It's my distaste for webmail that makes that so
attractive. The reason you can't send over most of the local server
connections is that you don't have their email information to put on the
mailserver definition. However, you can always pull mail, and of course,
*your* mailserver which is the place you pull from would not change,
regardless of the server you're using. I currently use that functionality
for Lydia's mail, here (she still lives 90 miles away), and when she writes
outbound, it goes through *my* mail server, but shows her proper return
address. I also have it set up for her mother and my father to get mail
when they're here, on the same basis, but don't have their accounts mirrored
in my computer - just "live" only when they're here.
However, the other use was for internet phone, and, eventually, I assume,
also video conference equivalent. The phone system I'm investigating has
its own IP and can be set for the amount of bandwidth you want to use,
60-90k being ample for voice, using VoIP to "dial up" wherever you're set up
(if your home base for the phone is Atlanta, it's got an Atlanta phone
number which will ring - and be seen on caller ID as coming from that
number - regardless of where you've got it plugged into an internet wideband
line) to do that. Of course, if you have IM of whatever flavor, once you've
logged in (on your laptop), you're able to do that (thus the video
conferencing/videophone concept above), as well. So, if there's widespread
ability to plug into a cat5 line and get on their server in internet cafes,
one could take the phone in, plug it into their Cat5 outlet, and you're then
on the equivalent of a local dialtone to wherever you would call. 10 cents
a minute to call home from Trinidad or Barbados or Greece or
whatever/wherever sounds pretty good to me :{))
>
> Outside of the US, pocketmail doesn't have an 800# so you have to pay
> for an out of the country call. And outside of Nassau or Lucaya, some
> marinas charge $1/minute to hook up a laptop which can build up fast,
> but is still probably cheaper than a phone call. (In the days where a
> phone card bought in the US still worked, a 500 minute card was worth
> less than 30 minutes in the Bahamas.)
As above. Of course, you know our habits, so we're unlikely to be in a
marina other than occasional fueling and provisioning, though we'd certainly
dinghy ashore to tour the local area, and log on, as well. For example,
while we didn't do that in our recent trip to the VIs, there was an internet
cafe right on the beach of Trellis Bay where we were anchored for several
days. If they'd had that facility (plug and play), we could have called
home for the price of browsing...
>
> Cruisers who are 'out there' usually use winlink or sailmail or a ham
> radio connection. I know there are internet cafes out there too. But
> I really don't have any hands-on experience with them.
We're expecting to use the sailmail/SSB functionality, thus the 'nice list'
SSB/Modem on our preferred equipment on boats we'll look at. However, if we
also have the ability to do full-function mail, that would be lovely, as
well. We're also looking into the functionality of HamPhoneRelay (or
whatever the functional name is for that service) as to whether we want to
become licensed and have that type radio (well, I know we can clip the
resistor and have 'that type' radio :{)) - but if we weren't going to be
using that sort of service we probably wouldn't bother)...
>
> I also know folks who cruise in the US primarily who have a cell phone
> connection to the laptop so they don't even have to bring the laptop
> in to shore. I have the stuff for that (cable, modem, software) but
> I've never bothered because in the US there are so many places that I
> can just hook up to a land line, and pocketmail fills the gaps where I
> can't.
That, too, is in our potential. We've been advised that there is at least
one provider in the USVI, where we expect to base for most (6-7mos) of the
year, where data is not considered in the minutes charged for cellular use.
And, as the speeds keep ramping up, we could live with a dialup speed for
the privilege of being able to be on line in the equivalent of a landline
connection. In our case, of course, we don't expect to be stateside more
than very infrequently. If we lived as you do, we'd likely follow the same
course.
L8R
Skip and Lydia
Larry Robbins
Having left Florida a couple of years ago for the Caribbean, I have found
numerous internet cafes which offer laptop connectivity on a broadband LAN
or dialup connection. Some cafes are not familiar with customers walking
in with laptops and the attendants are not network savvy and can be
reluctant to allow a customer to unplug an ethernet cable from one of the
house desktops and hope it will auto configure with a wizard because they
don't know their IP data... Other places offer laptop stations with power
and LAN lines and interfacing help at the ready. Before I left land (in
2000), I was able to use a free portal operated sound card based Long
distance dialing system. It sounded a bit like a vocoder but was usable. I
gather that these services have disappeared and have been replaced by stand
alone "high bandwidth" telephones such as net 2 phone. Time is bought in
blocks and either used or resold at internet cafes and such. I am a ham and
use airmail and winlink for great plain-text, non-commercial email and a
superior set of weather and information products downloadable thru this HF
SSB pactor modem based technology. With good propagation thru-put of
5-8KB/minute is normal, but one has to be prepared for the unreliability of
the medium due to propagation and interference anomolies. For me, the holy
grail used to be lots of fresh water, but with the advent of efficient RO
watermakers, it has become affordable broadband access offshore. I await
the development of better multiplexing to allow more stuff to be crammed
into the Finite spectrum. Larry
Steve
the Inside Passage, through BC and SE Alaska, this summer..
I assume there will be internet caf'es along the way but since I anchor out
and I am reluctant to take my laptop in the dingy, I would like to try
connecting to the net by cell phone.
My Verizon anolog service is between contracts and I hear they are going to
drop anolog 'soon'. (Bye Bye bag phone).
Anyway I got a new offer from Verizon to upgrade to digital with a free
phone thrown in.. I called them on that offer this morning and found out
that the phone is capable of messaging and connecting to the internet with
their $60 software..
I am only taking their minimum service package (about $32) which will
include free roaming and free long distance for xxx number of minutes a
month. (All of the packages are very confusing but Verizon allows me to
change service option form month to month, depending on my needs.)
The internet access fee is only $6.xx a month extra. Canadian service will
be about $10 more each month but I can cancel that when I get back. The $60
software is so I can connect the phone to my laptop..
I think everything sounds too good to be true, but it comes with a 16 day
cancelation clause so I'll see what it is. The sales rep that I talked to
didn't seem to familiar with the Internet connections stuff.
I'm curious about how fast this connection will be.. If it is at least 56k
baud then it would be good for my text email transfers and I will go to the
Internet Caf'es for anything that will have pictures or for web surfing.
Just my recent experience and thoughts FWIW.
Steve
s/v Good Intentions
Steve
mention that the internet access 'may not' be available in all areas.. Hmm..
Any idea of how I can verify what areas of Verizon coverage along the BC
coast will or will not have internet access??
Steve
s/v Good Intentions
Jeff Morris
presumption is you're using the phone for simple WAP based surfing to get stock quotes or
download ring tones. But if you plug into you laptop, you're connected at approaching 144
kBaud.
However, the issues are coverage and cost. AT&T charges by the kilobyte, with no maximum
charge. Their "high use plan" is something like $19 for 8 megabytes transfer - rather
worthless. Sprint, however, has a $10 all you can use plan (for now). A friend has been
using this for continuous surfing while anchoring around the Georgetown, SC area.
However, Sprint is notorious for holes in their coverage, and I don't think anyone has a
GSM tower East of Portland Maine, yet, and Georgia looks rather bleak.
It looks like within a year or two the GSM coverage will extend into boonies somewhat
better - this issue now is whether providers will have a reasonable fee.
-jeff
"Steve" <est...@hctc.com> wrote in message news:vc2aj06...@corp.supernews.com...
Steve
I should have suspected that their could be a megabyte transfer fee.. I
don't remember the Verizon rep mentioning it. I didn't sign up for that yet
since I'm not leaving for 6 weeks. I will contact them and ask about it and
if it is unlimited then I well consider it if I can get internet access at
reasonable intervals along this passage. Verison has done an excellent job
of covering the boonies here in the Pac. NW. 6-7 years ago I couldn't get
anything but anolog in my area. Not so anymore.
While visiting with my son in So. Calif. he showed me that he had something
(I think Nextel) where he could send/receive email messages right on his
phone, while in traffic, without a laptop inter-connection. His phone has a
large screen for viewing text email messages. Of course his company pays for
his unlimited service.
I'm willing to live with text email/internet access as long as I can access
my email account ever couple days for 5 min.
I'm going to use Tom Y.'s 7knots.com to keep everyone informed and he as a
neat system for updating the text of my web pages on his site. The whole
thing is set up to keep the message text to a minimum. (Thanks Tom).
Steve
s/v Good Intentions
Jeff Morris
still learning all the lingo, but there are several types of text messaging, including
basic e-mails. Actually, my old phone had that, but with the tiny screen it was hard to
use. Again, there is a cost, but it may be all you need. The feature that really got me
was the ability to download NEXRAD radar shots from weather.com into my new phone. Its 4
bucks a month, but I'll be able to get a picture of the line squalls while I'm out on the
"T-storm likely" Summer afternoons.
I think the GSM network also talks to Palm and other such devices, so there are a variety
of ways to do it.
-jeff
"Steve" <est...@hctc.com> wrote in message news:vc2hb14...@corp.supernews.com...
Peter Bennett
Determine which Canadian carrier Verizon is associated, then look at
that carrier's web site for a coverage map.
I believe that Telus will have the best coverage on the BC coast. See
http://www.telusmobility.com/bc/coverage/analog_home.shtml
--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI
new newsgroup users info : http://vancouver-webpages.com/nnq
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca
Steve
is anolog, along the BC coast.
When I read Waggoner section on cell phones, They state ".... Verizon and
Telus subscribers, coverage extends, with a few "holes," to Port Hardy.
Telus/Verizon also serves Prince Rupert and the West Coast of Vancouver
Island at least to Tofino. For a fee, AT&T Wireless and CanTel subscribers
can arrange for temparary service from Verizon.... Short term and monthly
programs are available."
This all sounds like Verizon is the priciple cell carrier in that coastal
region.
Steve
s/v Good Intentions
Evan Gatehouse
> I've been following this thread with baited interest, since I am going up
> the Inside Passage, through BC and SE Alaska, this summer..
>
> I assume there will be internet caf'es along the way but since I anchor
out
> and I am reluctant to take my laptop in the dingy, I would like to try
> connecting to the net by cell phone.
That's pretty unlikely actually. You will probably find free internet
access in local libraries, and some net cafes, in the larger towns in
Vancouver Island (such as Nanaimo, Comox, Campell River, maybe Port McNeill,
and Port Hardy). After that, I suspect you might not find anything until
Prince Rupert. There are very few communities along the Inside Passage
(Bella Bella being the only significant one with a population of about 1500;
the others only have a few hundred people).
Alaska has a much higher population density, more cruise ship passengers,
and you'll have better luck there with internet cafes.
--
Evan Gatehouse
you'll have to rewrite my email address to get to me
ceilydh AT 3web dot net
(fools the spammers)
Rick
>to familiar with the Internet connections stuff."
Didn't want to lose the sale.
I'm in Ketchikan right now, Steve, now that the cruise season has
started the internet cafes have opened so you will be able to connect
via their terminals or you laptop at any of the towns in SE Alaska.
The new GSM data service just isn't an option up here yet with anyone.
It looks like it will be another year or more before it happens. I just
ordered the bits to use my AT&T cellphone for analog connection and it
should arrive today ... will let you know how it works here. I am going
to be sailing between Skagway and Prince Rupert all summer and will let
you know how effective (if at all) the system is ...
Rick
Peter Bennett
Telus was formerly BC Tel - _The_ British Columbia Telephone Company,
and therefore probably has the best coverage - they do have good VHF
marine radiophone coverage (but even that can be spotty, considering
the terrain they have to cover).
Remember that we have very rugged terrain on the coast, and the area
between Desolation Sound and Port Hardy/Alert Bay has a very sparse
population, making it uneconomic for any cell company to provide full
coverage in that area.
I don't believe Verizon operates in BC - I've never seen them
advertized locally. From your Waggoner quote, it appears that they
have a roaming arrangement with Telus.
Glenn Davis
Georgia Strait and Desolation Sound area is that I usually needed to be in
open water to make a reliable connection (Big Bay excepted). My connection
speed under digital coverage was 19 k with analog being much slower.
Perhaps my set-up is too old but I wouldn't count on any high transmission
rates away from Vancouver. There is a Seattle company that is putting
wireless networks in some VI marinas (ie Nanaimo, Schooner Cove, etc)
"Steve" <est...@hctc.com> wrote in message
news:vc3c15b...@corp.supernews.com...
Rick
This message was sent from my laptop via AT&T cellphone connection in
Ketchikan.
I am connected at 19.2 and while a bit slow it seems to be working just
fine for mail and newsgroups ...
I bought the OSITECH wwwl.ositech.com pc card modem with cable and
their software. They have a long list of phones that work with the
hardware/software package. As far as connecting goes it seems to be
seamless and no different from a landline connection.
Rick
Steve
Are you connected digital or anolog??
Steve
s/v Good Intentions
Rick
My phone is a Nokia 5165 and it connects in analog. The card and
software I got lists a number of phones and several (most) will connect
in digital mode as well.
I am pleased with the performance so far. The last time tried this was
about 4 years ago and couldn't even connect in San Francisco Bay so was
delighted at how well this works.
I am in the shipyard at the moment but will be sailing up and down the
inside in a few weeks and will let you know how it works in various
areas ...
Though I don't need to with the cellphone connection and plan I am on I
subsrcribed to an Alaskan ISP for the summer to obtain a local
connection number when landlines are available in Sitka, Ketchikan,
Juneau, Haines and a few of the other stops ... it lets me keep my
normal email address and my laptop and avoid having to use an intermediate.
I tried web surfing but it is a bit too slow for my taste but is fine
for email and newsgroups.
Rick
Rick Morel
>I assume there will be internet caf'es along the way but since I anchor out
>and I am reluctant to take my laptop in the dingy, I would like to try
>connecting to the net by cell phone.
>Steve
>s/v Good Intentions
Hi Steve, been a while.
I've been using a cell phone connected to my laptop for almost a year.
The story of getting it going is at:
http://www.morelr.com/coronado/cellnet.htm
The speed is 19.2K. Sounds slow and it is, but it does seem to be more
like the old 28K, I think because of digital compression. Sometimes it
is slower, such as when anchored out in the real boonies - voice calls
are full of dropouts and such. Thing is, when a voice call is really
useless, the 'net still works.
I went with Cingular because they do have the best coverage. Their
Nationwide plan works almost anywhere with no roaming or any other
charges. I understand their gaps, with a roaming charge, is about 2%
of the US. I can't speak for the left coast, but Gulf of Mexico Texas
to Florida is all covered.
Hope this helps!
Rick
S/V Final Step
http://www.morelr.com/coronado/