Ipad 2 on ad-hoc wifi network

[Orchidius]

Hi everybody,

I am the proud owner of a newly bought Ipad 2. I plan to sail across the Atlantic ocean, and the Ipad will be an important tool during that voyage. I have a laptop that runs my navigational software, but obviously the conditions in the cockpit are not really laptop-friendly. The plan is to use the Ipad as an external monitor to show me the software the laptop is running. I found a nifty app that does just that, splashtop. However, splashtop uses wifi to get the signal across. All good and well in the marina, but out on the ocean there is no wifi signal... So the laptop has to create an ad-hoc wifi network for the Ipad to tap into. That's where I'm having trouble.

Some extra details on the laptop and what I've tried so far:

Laptop is a Lenovo T61 with windows 7 ultimate installed. I have created a ad-hoc wifi network on the laptop no problem. I have used all 3 sorts of security (none, WPA2 and WEP) on various attempts. The creation of the network is no issue at all. The Ipad just refuses to connect to the actual network.

Any clues?

 

[twerppoet]

It might be possible, probably using network sharing rather than AdHoc; but in the end it would be easier to simply buy a cheap wi-fi router and use that to create a local network on the boat.

Disclaimer: I have not used the linked method myself, not owning a Windows computer. I did use a similar setup on a iMac for a while, and it worked well enough. I was happier when I got the new router instead, as it was easier to set up, maintain, etc.

 

[Orchidius]

I've considered it and it would be the easiest solution, but there's a major but... Living on a self-sufficient boat means that all electricity consumed on board has to be produced by the boat itself. Energy consumption management is very important. You also want to keep all systems as simple as possible, so in that respect something generated by the laptop itself would be much better as a second device that in itself is prone to failure and breakage by the humid and salty conditions. It's really gotta be an ad-hoc network coming from the laptop itself :s.

 

[twerppoet]

Did you check out the link I supplied? Part of the setup is AdHoc, but it is necessary to also use the network sharing part to actually create network. AdHock by itself is one-to-one and does not create the needed DHCP server, so that the iPad can be given an IP address on the same network as the laptop.