I’m planning a VenusGX install for a project. But the wifi isn’t great. What are good compatible USB wifi adaptors?
Looking at a Uplayteck USB WiFi Adapter. Thoughts?
Supported adapters are documented in the Cerbo manual.
Unfortunately the documented adapters are either non longer available (at least in the USA) or extremely expensive. From the manual:
There are several supported USB WiFi dongles. Two of them are also available from stock at Victron Energy:
• Partno. BPP900100200 - CCGX WiFi module simple (Nano USB), small, low cost.
• Partno. BPP900200300 - Asus USB-N14, slightly higher cost and also better reception than the Nano USB. Supported since software version 2.23.
• Partno. BPP900200400 - WiFi module long range (Netgear AC1200) - higher cost and also better reception than the Nano USB. Wireless AC, Wireless G and Wireless N; 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz.
BPP900100200 - $30 - readily available on Amazon - however reports about it question how effective it is; it probably would need to be connected to the Cerbo using a long USB extension cable (another $20), but I have not used it.
BPP900200300 - Asus USB-N14 - unavailable
BPP900200400 - Netgear AC1200 - There are so many different devices called Netgear AC 1200 (including one that looks just like the BPP900100200) and at very different prives points ($30, $60, $140…) that one wonders which one to pick.
I bought a Netgear AXE3000 that had the appearance of the BPP900200400 but it turned out to not work with the Cerbo-GX. I’m now going to try the Panda Wireless PAU0D AC1200 which is available for about $34 and for which I can find reports of successful installation.
Given the very poor performance of the Wifi and Bluetooth radios in Victron’s Cerbo-GX, I would have hoped they could be more helpful in identifying workable and available solution - ultimately what many of us need is either deploying a local wifi network that can tie into the Internet (marina wifi in the case of my boat) or an adapter with a long USB cable so that I can place the antenna under my dodger.
I bought and installed the Panda Wireless PAU0D AC1200 wifi adapter. The signal strength (as reported by the Cerbo GX in the app) has not improved - but the precision of the reporting is not great - and I’m still getting drop off from the marina wifi. Unfortunately there are no easy way to accurately measure the signal strength, and I do not know enough to figure out whether there are any settings I could tune from the Cerbo…
My next step might be to buy and deploy a Ubiquiti Bullet plus 8 to 15dbi antenna to create a boat wifi with the hope I can improve on the strength of the local marina wifi as this is a common issue as I cruise in the Pacific Northwest and up in Canada.