Honosuseri Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Right peeps, this might prove to be an interesting "build log" on the forum! As some of you know, I'm currently on a commercial support vessel being converted in to a luxury yacht for my uncle. It's a family project... I decided to bring my Shield TV onboard and he's impressed with what it can do and how easy it is to use. There's a "home cinema" below deck but it was extremely low tech. Ripped out the ancient CRT TV and replaced it with a 2nd hand LCD TV for now. Definite improvement BUT a long way from what we ultimately want. Exterior work on the yacht is going ahead in Latvia and I'm trying to plan this out in the 5 days it'll take us to get there from Norway. Some advice and recommendations would be welcome with the following topics... First issue is internet connectivity. Forking out for internet via satellite isn't really an option as it's uber expensive. Yes we can use our phones as WiFi access points BUT we don't get signal down in the cinema room (odd as i do in both the engine rooms). I don't have much experience with the USB dongles for internet, although if memory serves some Asus routers can use them if connected. If i can locate the router to provide WiFi to the cabins and run a CAT cable down to the cinema room, that seems to be a viable option. Second issue is the display. A short throw projector and screen seems like a sensible choice to me. I can have a small cabinet to hide it and the STV from view. If any of you reading this can recommend what you're using or one that's good value for money, that would be awesome! Waffled on enough, I'll attach a few photos and upload more as the project progresses. Thanks in advance for any assistance provided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatman84 Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Man this is a pretty epic setting for a build log I think you memory serves you right on the Asus routers supporting usb dongles but you need to check compatibility. If you have a spare laptop maybe this program could be a good solution http://www.connectify.me Good luck with it all...sounds like fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kondorito Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 Ok, this is some epic stuff! Please keep us updated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honosuseri Posted May 8, 2018 Author Share Posted May 8, 2018 Thanks guys! Yes I'm aware of connectify. There is a laptop on the bridge for the course plotter (i.e maps/charts). I had considered the possibility of using that with connectify and try wiring in a router (on a lower deck) as an access point. I need to weigh up options and honestly would prefer a hardware solution, to avoid using the Bridge's laptop. I have some friends who live "off the grid" and am waiting to hear back how they do it. I realise it's a luxury yacht and you'll think my budget is "unlimited" BUT it's really not! Obviously I'm not going to buy cheap crap, although I'd like to keep costs down and use good value devices. It's eye watering the costs going elsewhere on the vessel, the cinema room is hardly a high priority. We still have to do interior changes and decorating, never mind the exterior alterations. Of course I'll keep this updated. I'm quite excited to have Hyperspin shown off on the high seas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honosuseri Posted May 9, 2018 Author Share Posted May 9, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honosuseri Posted June 17, 2018 Author Share Posted June 17, 2018 @thatman84 Can you or one of the other admins/mods move this to the projects section of the forum please? Pity I've not had many replies, I'll be back to the boat in July and need to crack on with this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thatman84 Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 Done! ah don’t worry, the place is quiet in general and activity is the key to visibility ? i am subbed for updates, looking forward to seeing the progression Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honosuseri Posted June 18, 2018 Author Share Posted June 18, 2018 12 hours ago, thatman84 said: Done! ah don’t worry, the place is quiet in general and activity is the key to visibility ? i am subbed for updates, looking forward to seeing the progression Thank you! I flew back to the UK Friday night. The Yacht has already changed quite a bit (all that ugly red railing has been chopped off for a start!). I'll upload some photos once she's been sand blasted, painted and the sheet metal welded on. I've seen there are Asus routers that accept sim cards but can't find anywhere that stocks them damn it! The bridge needs to be overhauled, internet sorted...then I'll crack on with the Cinema room Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richie_jones Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Good read, look forward to updates.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honosuseri Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 I'll attach some more photos to keep you guys "interested" until the geek stuff begins! As you can see I've had a bit of fun on the boat and we've already made a start on exterior and interior changes. Before anyone asks..YES..that is a former military patrol boat we are moored next to Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honosuseri Posted August 10, 2018 Author Share Posted August 10, 2018 Just an update to let you know the project isn't abandoned! I'll be flying out to Latvia soon, to be back on the boat. The plan was to go to St. Petersberg but getting the visa was too much grief. The boat will now come to the UK for a short spell before moving on to Gibraltar. Will probably take nearly two weeks to get her to the UK from Latvia. I'm glad it's coming home with me. I have some more toys I want stowed on board. I have a spare UPS which can replace the one that's gone bang on the bridge. Every time we switch from shore power to the boat's generators the autopilot loses power and resets to factory defaults. It's a PITA and the UPS will cure that. I've been doing homework on the Projectors. As the cinema room is below deck and has no windows, blacking out the room is a simple as turning off the lights. A projector seems the way forward rather than a large TV. The Xiaomi Wemax seems reasonabubble for the money. Being laser it's long life, we don't have to worry about stocking expensive bulbs. A 150ish screen thrown just inches from the wall is great and I really don't want to faff around, mounting the unit to the ceiling and running cables. The input lag doesn't seem too bad for gaming, although I'm sure the STV will churn out movies more than games anyway. A router that will accept a 4G simcard is ~£100. I can run a cat 6 cable down to the cinema room. The deck above and cabins will have WiFi to service our phones. Those seats that wouldn't look out of place on a Boeing 747 will be removed and replaced with sofas. We're toying with converting the stability tank into an aquarium. The family room will have a sky light and would have a "glass floor" to see the fish below. The tank is actually behind the wall in the cinema room, so we might well be able to view the aquarium from there too and pull down a projector screen for "cinema mode". We don't know of any other yacht that's done this, so fingers crossed we can make it happen. The cinema room is actually a very reasonable size and I would like to get a PC built in there to do room scale VR. The Shield TV will do for now, until the new GPUs and CPUs are released later this year. I do have a nice VR arcade I've personally configured for the New Retro Arcade: Neon game on Steam. So I'm very keen to get this shown off on board. I've waffled enough for now. Wish me luck and if any of you have any advice, thoughts or insights... please do comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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