What you're saying
2 weeks in the Grenadines
We took the BAD BOY Xtreme with us on a recent charter to the Grenadines in the Caribbean in Jan '10. Since we were only going a short time, we mounted it up as high as we could on the bimini frame and put a 12V plug on the cable.
Were we impressed. Worked great! Connected almost everywhere (except for Chatham Bay - not a hotspot to be found). Even connected 4.5nm (5 miles, 8 km) away while we were in the Tobago Cays all the way to Clifton on Union Island. BAD BOY rocks!
- Stu and the crew on s/v Yabajaba, Jeanneau 45
From Practical Sailor, March
2011 issue:
Big Bitstorm Fans
|
Reader Tom Wadlow gives the Bitstorm Wi-Fi booster two thumbs up after using it successfully aboard his Able Apogee 50, cruising throughout Europe. |
As cruisers, we appreciate Practical Sailor’s efforts to keep us informed regarding Wi-Fi developments. Based on your articles, we decided to install a masthead receiver this past spring to replace the USB antenna we had been hoisting 15 feet into the rigging to help receive signals. We chose the Bitstorm Badboy Extreme/Unleashed combination. (PS named the Bitstorm Bad Boy Xtreme the Budget Buy in the April 2010 report.)
It is reasonably priced and easy to install with the possible exception of the wire running up the mast. Electrically, all that was required was plugging in the small masthead unit into the Cat-5 cable (Bitstorm furnished) that we had led up the mast, plugging in the small Unleashed unit we put in a hanging locker, and applying 12 volts to the junction box that connected the Cat-5 cable at the mast step. Very basic.
We were in Scotland when we installed the system, and when we logged onto the Unleashed, we saw several dozen signals but not the marina’s system, which had been strong enough to receive without an antenna. Very strange. A call to the helpful Bitstorm representative in Canada quickly solved the problem. Much of the world uses two more channels than the U.S. and Canada, and the marina was using one of the two other channels, which we were able to easily open up with the rep’s help.
For the rest of the season, we experienced greatly improved reception. Through six countries and 2,500 miles, it became the exception when we could not find a usable signal. We also had the benefit of being able to log multiple laptops onto the Unleashed and even a guest’s iPhone. The laptops could also “see” each other and share data.
- Tom Wadlow, Joyant, Able Apogee 50
I just purchased an xtreme it works great further than The *****
(Ed: name removed) oh ya delivery was punctual thanks
- Dean, Cruising
Sorry for the 'operator error' on my part that caused you to send this replacement even though my original unit was working flawlessly. It is now installed on my 42' sailcat and working great.
- Chris, Florida
You guys are a delight to do business with and I'll be back any time I need something you sell!
Your products are simply superb and your support is the best I know of. It is sooooo fantastic to get a real person on the phone that is technically capable and willing to help a novice like me work through my own mistakes so graciously.
Thanks for what y'all do and I hope we're able to bring you a lot of customers when people see just how great this Bad Boy works!
- Chris, Out cruising
...we are picking up over 60 access points.
- Kerry, South Beach Harbor, San Francisco
My friend and neighbor here in San Diego, Dan, has strongly
endorsed your products. I too am impressed.
- Daniel, San Diego
Thanks so much! And thanks so much for your help with the Badboy. You've been great to assist with the issues we've had recently, and are always so responsive.
The Badboy is working great now. We've not had any more issues since we spoke. I really appreciate your assistance.
- Suzanne, Martha's Vineyard
Wow! Were we amazed. After
finally accepting the idea of
not needing any software loaded,
everything just worked. Without
even having accessed the BAD
BOY, it had already found a
hotspot and was already
connected! Incredible!
- Chuck, San Diego
Our antenna is picking up lots of wifi signals and often allows us onto an unsecure signal.
- David, Out cruising
We received our Bad Boy and installed it up the mast yesterday. We are receiving a good signal and it appears to be working well. I had internet last night! Thank you again for your assistance!
- Malcolm, Cruising the US east coast
We purchased a Bad boy Xtreme/Unleashed system from your company while in Prince Rupert B.C. in late April of this year,
We have been using it as we cruise down the BC coast with no problems.
- Merv, Cruising British Columbia
I have attached some photos of the installation I did this Spring. Thanks again for a great product and phenomenal after sales support!
- John, Out cruising
You are wizards! I followed your instructions and a faulty power switch was indeed the problem. When installing the system, I used an unused switch on the electrical panel to supply the 12 volts. It indeed was arcing and now I have another switch in the line and the two units have been working properly. Thank you very much for your help!
- Jack, Cruising in France
It's been a little over a year
since we installed your product
and we're still thrilled. As I
type this I'm connected to wifi
from our boat s/v Toucan Dream
in the harbor outside George
Town, Bahamas. People are in awe
of your system and we're glad to
say we've helped sell quite a
few to friends. One piece of
advice I'd give is to include in
your instructions details about
connecting the unit to a router.
I've been running it incorrectly
for most of the last year by not
configuring the router as a
bridge. So when I'd power off
and then turn on the router
before the Bad Boy would cause
it hang up and need to be
unplugged from my router and
then turned back on and then
plugged into the router. I
finally got time to peruse
through your FAQ's and found I
need to set the router to act as
a bridge or plug it into a lan
port. I did and Voila! Problem
solved! Of course I'm sure I
could have called and gotten
this advice too from your superb
support person but it really
wasn't a big problem and would
be very nice if you'd include
"directions for dummies like me"
on this with your instructions
as more and more cruisers are
setting it up with a router for
multiple onboard devices such as
iPads, smart phones, laptops.
Looks like you're expanding and we're glad we played a small role in getting a few friends to buy from you. Also, we hear great feed back from all that bought your product on our recommendation so please keep up the great work!
- Christon, George Town, Bahamas
Wanted to let you know I have
got us sorted with our new
equipment purchased from you. Thank you so much for all the help you have given us. Couldn't have done it without you.
- Kathleen, New Zealand