- - Fixed external WiFi antennas on a sailboat or power boat at
anchor is not advised. WiFi is a "line of sight" ultrahigh freq signal and metal masts on your boat or other boats, superstructure, trees, etc. will block the signal you are sending back to the landside antenna. I use the marineRV by RadioWorks as it has a 1-inch marine antenna threaded base. I then put an railing antenna coupling/adaptor on the end of a broken boatpole and position the antenna/boat pole where the signal reception/transmission is best and tie the pole to
rigging on the boat. Depending upon which way the wind is blowing I can easily reposition the assembly.
- - Any external wifi antenna needs to have its own internal signal booster powered by either the USB port or another power source on the boat. The higher the wattage of the output signal from your antenna the better Wifi usage you will experience and the range you can transmit and receive. The signals will also "bounce" off intervening metal buildings or boats. Once in Trinidad I had great fast Wifi from a marina 1/2 mile away. Then a large fishing boat left the dock in between me and the landbase antenna and I lost all reception as the signal no longer had anything to bounce off.
- - Directional antennas (I built one from a Chinese Noodle strainer based on a New Zealand design) do not work when you are "swinging" as
anchor as they are highly directional. Omnidirectional antennas that you can move around the boat to find the "best" position work. And any external antenna needs to be "waterproof" - I used to use Linksys powered externals but they got wet in rain and never functioned again. The MarineRV from RadioLabs is totally waterproof, powered by your USB port and has been working wonderfully for me for two years now.