Product Review - Huawei Mobile WiFi

I recently was located for a reasonable period of time in an area with poor mobile and WiFi connections and it got me thinking about mobile WiFi. A sailing friend, Marcus, has used a system for sometime and I recalled the conversation with him at anchor one summer evening.

The result was a quick search on Amazon (other on line retailers are available) which turned up the Huawei E5330. There is actually a large number of devices available but for cost and reviews quality this seemed to do the job, certainly as an experiment.

The small package duly arrived with Amazon's customary efficiency and I had included the purchase of a 2Gb EE data sim card.

Huawei E5330 Mobile WiFi unit

The unit is small 9cm x 6cm and comes with a USB charging lead for it's internal power which is similar to a mobile phone battery. The lead is the same USB configuration as any SMART phone which is handy.

The sim card inserts just like a mobile phone and on the inside cover is the security code, that can be changed once you are up and running.

The lights from left to right show..signal strength, WiFi , Power, don't know, and a standby type dot that shows the unit is running.

The unit claims 21 Mbps download speeds, which means video and films will run....the battery has a standby time of 300 hours, and most impressively up to 10 devices can be run using the unit at a time.

Both Android and Apple apps are available to manage the device and check status etc,

At the time mine cost £28 but I see they are now in the £30 region. As I mentioned I bought a 2Gb sim on the EE network. - this cost me £6.45 and lasted for 30 days - this is a minor issue - these type of data cards come pre bundled with an amount of data - use it or lose it.

However the advantages are you can use a different provider from your mobile provider so coverage can be more easily assured and with a bit of research, prior to a trip somewhere, I will buy data cards that have the best coverage for the area I am visiting. 

Marcus recommends buying two or more cards so if the 30 days expires or you run out of data allowance, simply insert another card...it's cheaper than topping up the existing card. The 30 days runs from the first time you activate the card so it's worth making a note of the relevant dates so you're not caught out.

I have also come across 6Gb cards that run for 90 days from activation, currently the EE version costs £14.99 - compared to £10 per month to have an extra 2 Gb of data on my phone, this works out far more effective as my tablet, laptop as well as my phone can use the connection.

So far very impressed and I am looking forward to seeing how it works out on the water next season...I'll let you know.

05/12/15

Update : I bought one of the 6Gb cards once the 2Gb had expired - had it for over a month now and still have 4Gb data left at least - going to be pushed to use it all in the time but at £14 or so compared to the £35 it would have cost through Vodafone seems a good deal. Might try a different provider next time as EE seem to have blackspots in some areas I visit but I suspect much the same with the others...we'll see

Review of 2015 season

Well the season seems to be well and truly over, and whilst memorable in so many ways seemed to peter out quite quickly and ended on a sad note.

Overall I achieved 35 nights afloat, starting with the Chichester rallies and then following the move to Ashlett Sailing Club, the Longest day cruise, the epic Falmouth jaunt and of course the Poole rally. In addition some 'interesting' days taking Sharon out for a sail, meant quite a lot of sailing. Not as much as I would have liked and work definitely got in the way, especially during the latter part of the season


Happy memorable events:

Helping out on the Drascombe by Churchouse stand at London and Southampton Boat shows - interesting and fun...apart from the feet from all the standing up...

The Chichester rally, 'blessed' by Ruth and Howard Worsley and their epic adventures with their mast falling down, jib unfurling and several other closely averted disasters - someone must be watching over them.....

The move to Ashlett - sorry to leave Adrian and Richard in Chichester, but it made sound practical and economic sense

The reception at Ashlett - very friendly and welcoming and of course, the regatta

The epic Falmouth jaunt - good company , great sailing and wonderful places.

Poole - the prolonged visit to the pub in the company of , yes, you've guessed it,  Brad and Bob - loosing the dinghy and Adrian's glasses.


Not so memorable events :

Being stuck on the A34 coming home from Falmouth, waiting for the AA  - a 14 hour journey



Sad events :

The passing of Douglas Hopwood, a real gent and excellent sailor who brought humour, knowledge and friendship to all he encountered.



I have still to put the boat to bed for the winter which I hope to do this weekend and then the dinner at Chichester Yacht Club later this month really does bring the curtain down on the 2015 season


2016 - well lots to look forward to including the first outing of Drascamp2016 in July ..lots to do before then.

Southampton Boat Show - Friday and Sat 11th/12th Sept

Sharon from Churchouse had a problem. Simon was going to be at Goodwood, result of a present earlier in the year and she needed help on the stand. After my time at the London Boat Show earlier in the year I was keen to see the difference between the two shows so duly arrived on Friday morning at Gate A to be presented with my pass and start trying to help sell the dream.

The stand was right by the entrance, which appeared to be both good and not so good...sure people came in and wandered around the first area we were in, but  then they moved moved onto see the rest of the show and by the time they came back many must have been 'boated out'.

That didn't deter a steady stream of visitors over the two days I was there. The weather smiled upon us and the Red Arrows gave a great display. There were some very encouraging enquiries about boats and orders places for covers and other essentials.

Drascombe by Churchouse stand at Southampton

The overriding impression I got was the affection that the Drascombe range, particularly the Lugger, are held in by so many people. So many people came up who had had one, still have one, plan to downsize back to one, grandparents had one, father had one.... the stories went on.

I met the author Sam Llewellyn who dropped by to see Sharon, as well as Catherine Jackson and Jonathon Savill from the new magazine Classic Sailor .

Classic Sailor - a new magazine - wish them well

I had a good look around the new Cornish Shrimper 21, shown round by Ian, the owner of a 21 sail number 007. It looks a lovely boat and I was amazed at how roomy and spacious it was, in spite of a relatively small increase in size from the Shrimper 19. Resoling the kids plimsolls will have to go on hold to afford the asking price though...nice to dream. The other nice thing was to discover he was a reader of this blog,  so cheers Ian...enjoy your boat...

Dining out was an experience especially with Chris and Fiona from Jeckells sails when we visited TGI's with Sharon...but for her sake we won't go there.....

Glad I did the early days...handed over to Stewart Brown for Sunday,  .. and Simon is back for the rest of the week but looking at the weather not sure it's going to be much fun, but hope the sales pick up and the cheque books come out.

Short cruise 28th - 30th August

With days running out I decided to get a quiet sail in before the nights closed in.....Sharon decided she was in need of more lessons so the quiet bit didn't last long.....

We set out on the tide from Ashlett on the Friday morning..with a reef in as the weather promised a little bit of wind...which then died so much so that I took the reef out...10 minutes later I wished I had put another one in...mind you all was remarkably calm from the crew as we heeled at strange angles, but with wind and tide against us, we dropped sail and motored to Newtown Creek for a late lunch. Sharon had heard all about it in various stories from Stewart's etc. but this was her first visit. It did look good in the sunshine.

We continued on the Yarmouth, passing a fleet of Folkboats racing with spinnakers raised..lovely in the sun and were given a fantastic berth in the harbour. We wandered around town enjoying the pier and an ice cream and tried to get into the steak place, 'On the Rocks', which unfortunately was fully booked so we ate in a pub and then Sharon got a taxi to her B&B while I settled down for the night.
The next day, with crew back on board, we visited Lymington and tried to sail to Cowes. The wind died totally and we again found ourselves outside Newtown Creek where we had lunch.
The rain closed in with a vengeance and the skipper was left alone to motor to Cowes whilst the crew read in the cabin. We got a berth in East Cowes marina and went to the bar to dry off and get warm.  Sharon took off to her next B&B whilst I got out of the rain back on board.

Sunday we set off quite early and sailed initially but then had to motor back to Ashlett where we arrived at the top of a big tide...even the pontoon was under water..very strange tying up to cleats that are just showing above the water level.

Moored ..just

Recovery was smooth and I was soon away to catch up with domestic tasks at home.

Ashlett Regatta - Poole Cruise 14th - 23rd August

Ashlett Regatta was scheduled for the Saturday so those that needed to launch gathered on the Friday, mooring up along the pontoon, helping with the set up during the morning and joining in the festivities during the day.

Canoes races, dinghy races and even an umbrella race...won by yours truly (an inflatable powered by a large umbrella - directional stability nil....) were all run during the high tide period before people adjourned for cream teas and preparation for the festivities of the evening.

A hog roast and three bands saw some dancing late into the night.



Sunday

The next day the Drascombe contingent set off to Newtown Creek to spend the night before continuing on to Poole.

Some precarious rafting was observed which lead to much shouted comment across the quiet anchorage...

Monday

We set out mid morning to catch the tide through the Needles, taking the Needles channel to try and get a good angle into Studland Bay, I'm not sure it worked that well but it must still rate as one of the best crossings we've had, good wind, mainly sunny and reasonably smooth seas.

The raft grew of Studland but it was then decided we should be further in towards the shore...I'm sure the skipper on the nearby yacht who filmed the mass movement of 8 or 9 boats still rafted together as they motored across the bay with Stewart stood on the middle boat shouting directions, will be the subject of several pub conversations.

Tuesday

The fleet made their way on the flood into the harbour with several of us going round to Cleavel Point to recce the venue for next years planned Drascamp (more of that later). After a days free sailing and visits to the Haven marina and Wetherspoons we gathered south of Brownsea Island for the night.

Just to late to join the raft......

Sunset behind Brownsea

Wednesday

Rain threatened and then held off long enough to make a break back out to Studland before it closed in again. Adrian and I shared a few beers while we put the world to rights and then after a short siesta I was summoned ashore by Brad and Bob. The water was low enough to wade ashore across the sandy bottom, but I took my dinghy with me, pulling her far up the beach just in case.

The rain kept coming but snug in the pub we had a nice meal and joined in banter with the locals, assisted by two young ladies,who were camping nearby and were drying out underwear on the radiators.

All in all this detained us longer that we planned and on return to the beach found the tide was right up to the high water mark...where was the dinghy.

Thankfully with a light wind and rising tide she had moved a few hundred yards down the beach so we recovered her and got back to our boats. More refreshment was taken on board Bolitho, and the main entertainment of the evening was trying to get Adrian back to his boat without one or all falling in. We managed..just...


Thursday

Next day involved trying to find Adrian's glasses which he thought he had dropped overboard. Much studious wading and even the services of a passing snorkeller were roped in...only for him to find them on his centreboard case where he had left them.

The fleet departed hoping to see some activity from the Bournemouth Air Show but cloud was too low and we arrived at Christchurch after a good sail in the strong westerly.


Friday

A bright windy day saw us setting off for the Needles and heading into Keyhaven where we met Barry and Pauline and adjourned to their house for a BBQ and some music. A very nice evening.


Saturday

A good sail to Newtown for a quick lunch and then a romp across to Keyhaven to haul out brought the cruise to an end.

Another great week.