The WL500 allows boat owners to connect to WIFI hot spots so that their on board PC’s or equipment can connect to the internet.  With internet connectivity on board you can download the latest weather or chart updates as well as having a mobile office on board. Most harbors, marinas and ports have either free or subscription based services available

The system has a compact, DC powered below deck mounted 500mW booster/modem and external, hi-gain (6dBd/8.15dBi/12dBm) antenna with 10m (33ft) low loss LMR400 coax interconnect cable.  The antenna measures 0.9m (2.95ft) and can be supplied with desk, mast and industry standard 1” x 14TPI mountings.  The modem connects to an on board PC through a regular USB connection with a plug ‘n’ play driver disk supplied for Windows XP and Vista operating systems.  It supports 802.11b/g protocols as well as WEP and WPA encryption.  The software will show a list of hot spots available and indicate if they are security enabled and their signal strength allowing you to select the most appropriate choice. Even if your system already has WIFI access, this can be disabled and you can take advantage of the superior range (and speed) that this system will offer. WIFI range depends on many local factors but ranges of up to 3-6 miles have been achieved with this low cost system.  In general, using an internal WIFI adapter typically found on a notebook, you’ll be lucky to find the signal at the end of the dock so if you plan to access the internet whilst on board the WL500 could be the solution for you.

• 500mW WIFI system (subject to local regulations)
• High gain (12dBm) omni-directional antenna (subject to local regulations)