Wirelessly Wiring the High Seas

By Alan Spicer March 2004

Wireless Distribution System with available wired CAT 5 ports

LinkSys WRT54G v.2 Wireless Router w/4-port Switch two or three of these are used to provide a Wireless Distribution System to allow Better Wireless Coverage and Roaming around a Yacht (or a home / Small Business Office)

Mega Yacht in Bahia Mar Marina - Fort Lauderdale, Fl.

Yachts in Bahia Mar Marina - Fort Lauderdale, Fl.

Fort Lauderdale, Fl. Our Home Base

Introduction to us and what we do

This is Alan Spicer Telecom Co. We are a Computer, Communications, and Computer Networking Service Company near Fort Lauderdale Florida. Our contact information is below.

Wireless Yacht Networking using Linksys and SVEASOFT

This year I was working on a Motor Yacht that had an existing LinkSys WRT54G Wireless Broadband Router / Access Point which was using already one wired port to reach down into the Engine Room space. There was a need to link up this unit with the rest of the yacht where a wired network was already an existing on the Bridge (wheel house) area. There was also an existing 802.11b LinkSys unit but the two LinkSys products were not able to talk to each other, and it was desired to link-up the whole yacht as well as to link two completely different Internet Systems: An underway SeaTel Wavecall Satellite System and a new In-Dock DirecWay Broadband Satellite System we were installing.

I researched the LinkSys products, purchased two of the WRT54G routers, and immersed myself into an interesting After-Market software realm related to them. As it turns out these routers actually run an embedded Linux Operating System and the Source Code was released as what they call Open Source (see: http://www.opensource.org/) and under something heavy Linux Users know as the GNU General Public License (GPL for short: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html ). Linksys offers some of their product software source code this way. See:

( http://www.linksys.com/support/gpl.asp )

I ran into several improvements or enhancements to the stock software (called firmware) for the LinkSys WRT54G via searches on the Internet. Seattle Wireless (http://www.seattlewireless.net/index.cgi/LinksysWrt54g) being one of them, before I bumped into a company called SVEASOFT (http://www.sveasoft.com/modules/phpBB2/). SVEASOFT was releasing enhanced firmware's on a regular basis and one of the first ones that I tried provided WDS Repeater Mode. This Wireless Distribution System provided the solution that I needed to be able to link 2 LinkSys WRT54G's together and provide a whole yacht wireless coverage without running additional wires that I had been looking for.

I was able to upgrade the firmware on 4 LinkSys WRT54G Broadband Router Access Points and link two together in a test lab here. I duplicated the same thing onboard the yacht and had it working. I set up the default route and a method for switching between the Seatel Wavecall and the Direcway Satellite systems and have either one of them work as the Internet Gateway.

The original software required some hand configuring (a bit technical) but later releases saved these settings and allowed them to be configured from a normal web page as the original LinkSys firmware software had allowed.

There are quite a few more enhancements to these routers with the SVEASOFT firmware, many of which only computer experts would recognize or could use. But many settings such as power level and antenna diversity could be changed which allowed tweaks to an installation.

Working on Motor Yachts

Working on Motor Yachts is not like any other environment I've worked in. You almost always have to call ahead and let the Captain or Engineer know that you are coming. The working environment is different from the moment you step onboard. You remove your shoes, and some days when they are washing down the decks, your socks too. Lots of things on a yacht are very expensive. Expensive wood finishes and furniture. You have to be very careful, bring drop cloths to protect surfaces, and take more precautions than you do at other types of service sites for computers and networking.

Instructions, Documentation, and Support

I provide complete documentation on these jobs, including a diagram of how the system is connected and configured. Instructions are included in this project documentation. Some manuals come with the equipment, such as the Direcway Modem and the Linksys Routers. The Linksys Routers manual will not include the advanced features that come with the after-market firmware that I have installed on them. As far as technical support you are free to email or call me whenever you need help ... I will also provide contact information for the Satellite Installer so that you can reach him as well.

Other Projects

I have worked on over 20 Motor Yachts in 2004 and in a few  homes as well. The Direcway Satellite Internet System, including my "Connection Sharing" Wireless Roaming Enhancement can be done in homes or small businesses as well. So if you are interested please give me a call.

Please visit my web site on: http://telecom.dyndns.biz for further information on services that I can provide.

I have also sub contracted under another local company and have worked with adding or improving computer and Internet networking for yachts with Inmarsat (Sat B, Fleet 33, Fleet 55, Fleet 77) Wavecall, and VSAT ... as well as doing computer upgrades and fixes. I have Internet Service Provider experience and have worked with Cable Modems, Dial-Up Internet, and DSL type of connections.

I'm also working on some ideas for sharing WiFi Hotspot connections.