Unfortunately not on Waiouru! But through the generosity of Peter & Margaret who have allowed us to use their boat… Kelly-Louise. Peter blogged about Kelly-Louise (KL) today <here> and made the comment she was a basic fitted boat with a simple equipment setup. I feel he has been too harsh with his comments. KL is far superior to any of the hire boats we have been on during our previous cruising holidays.
She is approximately the same length as Waiouru which will give us an idea of the space we will have to live within. We’ve confirmed our impression storage space will be essential and we will need to be disciplined with the management of our possessions. Everything will need its place and we will need to ensure that item is immediately returned to it’s “home” once it’s no longer required. No clutter! 
I’ve discovered there is no 3 data coverage for our Android smartphone on the mooring. Voice and text coverage is also “patchy”. However there is a solution to every problem. It’s only temporary, so Peter; please don’t think your boat hook will be damaged.
The external high gain vehicle mobile phone aerial we brought with us from Australia has been temporarily mounted on the boat hook. I’m currently looking for a suitable branch to substitute for the pole.
You can’t get much more temporary than this! The aerial is sellotaped to the end of the pole.
The end result is…… There is no data signal from 3 inside or outside the boat using the dongle or the smartphone. However when I connect the external aerial to the dongle we get a signal strength of HSPA 4 bars (max possible signal strength is 5). So I assume the aerial has been very successful. As I mentioned in an earlier post; the intention is to eventually mount the aerial on the roof of Waiouru.
For the moment, it is sufficient we have an internet connection! Now I must go and search for a more permanent pole.
2 comments :
Now that is interesting. I am presuming you are using the sim card from your smart phone even in the dongle, ie you are connecting via 3G mobile data. I have often wondered why mobile broadband would work in a particular location when mobile data on a smart phone wouldn't. My daughter in law purchased an iphone on a 3 talk and data contract, and it simply would not work on data at their home address in Wigan. I tried my 3 mobile broadband mi-fi dongle at the same spot, and it brought in 4 bars HSPA? The same mi-fi dongle, at the boat mooring, brings in between full signal 3G and 2 bars HSPA, fluctuating, by just standing it in the canvas cratch area, without any arial, although there is no signal within the steel boat. It is on a 3 mobile broadband contract. I can only think that mobile broadband, and mobile data are completely different signals transmitted from different masts, but I am no expert 3 could not explain to my D-I-L why hers wouldn't work, and allowed her to cancel her contract early.
Peter,
I suspect you are correct and the 3 mobile & data are separate. The samsung galaxy has a voice signal but no data. The dongle has a separate sim data card and there is no signal in the boat. However when I connect it to the external aerial the signal strength is very good.
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