Digital Yacht WL400

Another interesting comms product from the Bristol electronics specialist is the WL400. It looks just like a VHF aerial – a bit thicker than usual, perhaps, but nothing that would really stand out. The clever bit is in the base, which houses a USB modem and Wifi  transmitter/receiver, with a single cable connecting it to the USB port of a PC or laptop.

Wi-fi performance is difficult to measure and to guarantee, because so much depends on the performance of the individual hotspot, and on what’s between the transmitter and receiver, but for £299.95, it should allow you to use a typical marina hotspot at ranges up to a few hundred metres, rather than a few tens of metres.