Wifi Range Extender - For use with Deeper Sonars
We’ve been using Deepers now for a few years, and owned several different versions, unfortunately the working range on them is often less than half that of advertised.
Throw in some trees and overgrowth and sometimes signal can drop out around 30 meters.
Deeper themselves sell a great looking WiFi extender product, however it’s a little expensive at around £150.
We did some research and most aftermarket ones come in around £120……. after more searching we found the Vonets Wifi extender which is readily available on Amazon for £35-40
Needless to say we bought one.
After some issues setting it up i was never happy with the performance of it and my phone seemed to constantly ditch the connection in favour of the direct to Deeper Wifi connection.
That and mounting the thing was tricky on the bank side, i was trapping it in a rod strap on the bivvy with a power bank on top.
During a session on Cromwells in Spring i was fishing at around 21 wraps (84 Yards) and well in excess of the range of a standard deeper.
I sat down and found a better way of setting-up the Vonets, i renamed the Boosted wifi name to the deeper name +1 (this way you can determine which network the phone is connected to)
I’ve been using it successfully since then and it’s very impressive (have tested the signal to around 150yards and it was still good using my Actor PLUS) Didn’t go any further so don’t know the maximum range !
While i was in France i started brainstorming on a way to make the little Vonets box more mountable / robust and easier to use.
We’ve designed an enclosure to protect the Wifi extender from the elements, make it mountable to a Bank Stick, and designed it to allow a robust USB connection.
The enclosure box is made from the Highest Quality ASA filament, with TPU rubber parts to minimise the chances of water ingress (however like everything electrical care should be exercised and not left out in the rain)
The enclosure utilises CNC Kitchen heat inserts for all screw connections including a 1/4” UNC camera fitting in the bottom.
As there will be a lot of people out there that have already bought the Vonets VAP11S already we’ve decided to produce two different versions :
Enclosure only : Full enclosure with Screws, USB connection point with soldered plug to connect to Vonets Circuit board.
The buyer will have to remove the outer shell of their Vonets in preparation for installation of the circuit board into the enclosure (instructions will be supplied)
Pricing will be £38 plus delivery
Ready to go version, fully assembled and programmed for your specific Deeper Wifi.
Customer will need to send through the SSID of their current deeper.
If updating in the future instructions on how to set-up the Vonets system will be supplied.
Pricing will be £80 plus delivery
There will be optional Long USB A Male to Male cables @ £8 and bank stick to camera thread convertor @ £6 (cost to us to buy)
We will also design a version to incorporate a mobile phone holder for those that want everything on one bankstick or tripod
Actor PLUS - New Deeper Rear Mount Prototype
Over the last year we’ve received several messages from people who want an alternative rear Deeper mount for the Actor PLUS - some like to use the hook release for dropping the rig, others for dropping back leads so we started the designs on a new rear mount.
Taking some inspiration from the Actor Basic rear mount design we’ve created a new quick release system for the Actor PLUS.
Just like the Actor Basic we’ve utilised the rear handle mount to create a clamping body which stays permanently connected to the boat, however we’ve now took the design one step further by creating a screw-less design.
We have designed a long arm to give clearance to the hook release, also it should improve the signal strength from the deeper by being further away from the boat (only a theory - this is still to be tested and compared back to back with original design)
Whilst we’re very proud of our Actor Basic rear mount, one thing we wanted to improve on was the connecting thumbscrew.
On this mount we’ve designed our own sliding dovetail joint, this give a sliding joint for accurately positioning of the arm, with a “lead-in” to make aligning it on assembly easy.
To ensure the arm stays connected we have incorporated a spring loaded locking mechanism - this creates a very easy to use secure connection and means no screws etc can be lost when taking the arm on & off.
Simply push the button and lift the arm off
The design is still a prototype, therefore it’s a bit rough and still to be optimised / made to look a little more rounded etc.
The mount clamping body will also be receiving another dovetail joint on the inside of the boat, this will then become an anchor / quick connection point for future release of the PVA bag dropping box. The PVA Dropper will be centrally mounted (Rather than mounted to a hopper divider) so it can handle XL PVA bags. The lower PVA dropper doors will be aligned with the Steel baitboat doors so if the button is accidentally pressed to close the hopper doors no damage and the PVA dropper doors are just automatically closed
Testing in the next weeks in France - stay tuned for updates.
