[C320-list] 10 pound television

[Andrew Santangelo]

Larry, et al

Regarding wifi, the other issue with data rates is distance.  The  
farther the distance between antennas, especially the little antenna  
on your computer, the weaker the signal and the lower the data rate.   
Also, the fiberglass hull and other goodies impact the signal. So way  
down the dock far away from an antenna inside a boat, things will be  
slow.

BUT, there is a solution - add an external wifi antenna with a cable  
feed into the cabin. Not only will this help with your data rate, but  
also range - up to 15 miles in some cases (antenna on mast, etc).  Yes  
you can use it for TV, iTunes, Netflix, Hulu, but also get weather  
charts, added radar information, updated tides, check on the home  
etc....

Andrew
Dawn Treader, #333
Pier 39
San Francisco

On Sep 11, 2010, at 9:24 AM, Larry & Melissa wrote:

> Since more and more marinas are offering wifi (sometimes free) these  
> days, we decided to invest in a SlingBox (www.slingbox.com). It is a  
> small device that you connect to your set-top box at home that will  
> broadcast your cable tv across the Internet. If you have a laptop  
> (or iPad or Netbook, etc.) with Internet access, you can watch your  
> home TV from anywhere. I also use it when I am on travel to catch  
> home sports games. It is a one-time purchase, no monthly fee.
>
> We've had modest success with it at marinas. Sometimes the wireless  
> connection is not very good or sometimes the bandwidth is limited  
> (you need about 1-2 Mbps download speed for the non-HD version). If  
> the data rate slows down, the slingbox software tries to maintain  
> the picture but at a reduced resolution resulting in a sometimes  
> blurry picture. But when you have a good connection and acceptable  
> bandwidth it works very well. We used it on our recent sailing trip  
> to catch the US Open and a Ravens pre-season game.
>
> Of course, my sailing friends ask me why I would want to watch TV  
> when I'm going sailing :)
>
> Larry
> Easy Going, #609