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Guys,

Need an advice, what is the best solution to install wireless AP in wharf area.

The situation is to give WIFI coverage for the planner to upload and download data.

The only challenges i'm facing is that the uploading or downloading data cannot be done inside the vessel due to the thickness of vessel (metal door).

Please advise the best solution for this. Is it best practice for mesh access point and also to use the Wireless N technologies.

Please advice

Thank you

Guys,

Thank you for all your advices.

Please advice if you have any link on learning the wireless mesh technology on the NET. I need to know how many antenna's required for mesh access points.

Please assist.

Thank you

Shameless plug: I work for [url=http://meraki.com]Meraki[/url] which does wireless mesh & 11n.

You've got a very interesting challenge here. I'm sure one of the reps at my office would be happy to talk to you.

Cheers!

joeybaker - no such thing as a "shameless" plug! We're happy to have someone from every Wi-Fi manufacturer participate.

That said, how about sharing advice from Meraki's POV so everyone on the forum can learn about such a solution, and at the same time see how smart the Meraki folks are. :-)

Asogan,

I realize you may not have the time, but if you get a chance to try using a set of parasitic antennas (which don't use any power at all) connected through a bulkhead , it would be interesting to hear your results.

Either way this thread is interesting - please keep it up.

kevinsandlin right you are! Apologies all for my hasty reply.

I'm not an engineer, but several things come to mind:

? As people have mentioned, metal + radio signals don't mix well. In truth, the surest method of getting wifi onto the ship is via ethernet connections to an AP inside the ship. Of course, that doesn't solve the problem of getting network access to the ship w/o an umbilical.
??802.11n does have some extended range and [i]may[/i] help with getting through. The truth is you won't know until you try ? which is really what you ought to do anyway. Solving the problem with .11n + mesh is probably worth a try.

I would assume that water could create a lot of multi-path - not the same as an outdoor situation with no intervening barriers. Nice smooth and shiny boats would seem to be good reflectors too.

I 'd like to see the results of some 'n' testing in this situation.

When microwave links run over tidal areas, sometimes you have to be careful as the multipath conditions can vary substantially as the tide rises and falls.

Take a look at the most extreme area [ Bay of Fundy ]. There are photos showing the tidal range a short way down.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_of_Fundy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W2sM1Ma7YA&feature=related

Dave

Great video - good luck trying to pin down the first Fresnel zone....or the second, or even the third.

Speaking of which, I have read of people attempting to block the 2nd or enhance the 3rd Fresnel Zone. Is there anyone out there with experience doing this?

As far as ships go, I found this this morning:

"TerraWave Brings Wi-Fi to the Seas for Carnival Cruise Lines"

http://www.terra-wave.com/pdf/Case%20Study%205.pdf

Not exactly the situation, but maybe something helpful.