Facebook

Login

Support Sailonline

If you haven't already - join the SAILONLINE YACHT CLUB!

Please also consider making a donation - all amounts are greatly appreciated!

Board » Technical Support » data usage for sol

I'm considering a pre-paid plan with a mobile usb dongle so that I can have decent internet connection on the boat. Question is: How much data does sol take to load? How much to pick up boat updates, and weather changes?
There was some talk of this in the past someplace in the forum and in chat. I seem to remember that it could take as much as 10 Mbps to load, but don't remember amount to run for say 1 hour,
Is there a way to measure usage? Has anyone done so?
Hi Jack!

I took a look yesterday on the Vancouver race.

14 hours continuous used up 75 Mbytes.

This included opening up a 2nd sol tab(once) to check on another boat. Plus opening up about 20 tabs to look at links referred to on chat and the Imsyc race boats.

Hourly download is in the region of 4 - 5 Mbytes per hour.

Regards
George
I'm considering a pre-paid plan with a mobile usb dongle so that I can have decent internet connection on the boat.

Question is: How much data does sol take to load?
client is about 800Kb

How much to pick up boat updates,
About 500bytes, which equates to 2Kb per minute.

and weather changes?
The wx, race and map data all depend on the size of the map/fleet - I just used the Vancouver race to have a look at exact numbers - the fleet file is 18.1Kb. Wx was about 1.6Kb. The tiles for initial map load were just over 300Kb.

There was some talk of this in the past someplace in the forum and in chat. I seem to remember that it could take as much as 10 Mbps to load, but don't remember amount to run for say 1 hour,
Is there a way to measure usage? Has anyone done so?
(easy way) You could use Google Chrome's 'Developer Tools' and peek at the network - it shows a running total.
To say it can take 10Mbps you are confusing speed with size. It may 'burst' at the full speed of your own internet bandwidth, be that 3.6 or 7.2 Mbps on a 3G wireless, or 150Mbps on adsl2, but will NEVER sustain that for more than a few seconds.

Jawz numbers are pretty typical I think. If you allowed 10Mb per hour (a high value) and factor how many hours per week you spend on SOL you will never fall short.

Maybe they are different in the US, but about the only mobile data plans here that would not provide enough quota are the small 'Email Only' ones around 2-500Mb per month. 2Gb should cover even the heaviest of SOL users, but consider price per Gb to - and that you will probably want to browse other sites (possibly with even more data).

Also bear in mind, having the Navigation page on brainaid's toolbox open will eat a little bit of data as it refreshes periodically, as will any tool that reads SOL data, like his NMEA proxy.

Most browsers do a good job of caching content. I can reload a race, and FF and Chrome both report using wx from the cache, obviously race files cannot be, nor anything generated as a response to client requests. So the 'penalty' for closing and reopening a race is quite small.

I have a 12Gb 3G mobile plan myself, and use alot (comparatively) of SOL data - staying logged into races for long periods and using brainaids NMEA - I also download movies/tv shows, play other online games and alot of other data besides, and never go over - mind you I could use more if it were available ;-)

I help develop the client interface for the best online ocean racing sim there is... __/)/)_/)__
I just used the Firebug plugin with Firefox, opened Vancouver and let it sit for 1 hour - it resulted in about 3.3Mb of data (about 750Kb of which was in cache) - no commands or chat outgoing - but that is only small data so this is around an 'average' for a SOL race (medium size map/wind/fleet?)
I help develop the client interface for the best online ocean racing sim there is... __/)/)_/)__
Thanks Aaron and George. That's some useful info. Now I think I can make a good choice without over paying.

:-)

Please login to post a reply.

Races

Next Race: 00d 00h 00m


Current Races:

Neumayer Station to Biscoe Wharf 2024

It’s Autumn now in Antarctica, the sun is permanently below the horizon, but during the day, from c 0900 to c 1700 local time, there is some twilight – nautical twilight, not to be confused with civil twilight which is brighter. The penguins are starting to huddle together to keep warm and the sea ice is growing. Time to get back to Biscoe Wharf then, before the water becomes impassible. Including a detour past Argentina’s main two Antarctic stations, it’s only 1900nm, so, although we’ll be in a hurry, we will take the bigger, better ice-classed Paratii 2 once more, just to be sure!
Race #1766
INFOby brainaid.de
Paratii 2 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: HLAT - SYC
Race starts: May 13th 19:00 Registration will open soon
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Mellum to Trischen PYOC 2024


The next installment of the sprint race series sees us paying an all too rare visit to the German coast for a 30nm Pick Your Own Course race in Fox 9.50’s. Along the way enjoy the company of the popular harbour seals that populate the Wadden Sea.
Race #1810
INFO by brainaid.de
Fox 9.5 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SPRQ2 - SPRCH - SUPSOL – SYC
Race starts: May 11th 09:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Flight of the Godwit - Hegura to Anchorage 2024


Welcome to the second flight of our bar-tailed Godwit!. This race is the second of three legs reflecting the bird's annual migratory route, and simultaneously the fifth leg of the 2024 Ocean Race Championship. The voyage promises to be not only a test of skill and strategy but an immersive experience in the beauty of the archipelagos of the Aleutian Islands. Join us as we push the boundaries of seafaring prowess on this epic adventure. Let's fly like a godwit!
PRIZE: SMPF
Race #1791
INFOby brainaid.de
Maxi Trimaran PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: OCQ2 - GWT - OCCH - SUPSOL - SYC
Race starts: May 06th 11:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Melbourne to Osaka Prelude 2024

Welcome once again to what these days is Sailonline’s almost annual virtual Melbourne to Osaka Yacht Race. In real life, this double-handed 5500 nm race between these two sister cities, one deep in the southern hemisphere, the other high in the northern hemisphere, is run every four to five years, and is planned to be held again in 2025, so this race is a Prelude in partnership with the Melbourne Osaka Cup 2025 organising committee collaborating with the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV), and the Sandringham (SYC) and Osaka Hokko (OHYC) yacht clubs. On this occasion, we’ll be racing the well-known First 40, a popular size of boat for a long-distance double-handed race. With the doldrums unavoidably lying across the track, you can expect to be at virtual sea for at least a month!
Race #1669
INFO by brainaid.de
First 40 Particulars
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: SYC
Race starts: Apr 20th 00:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Go to race archive

SYC Ranking

  1. Sailonline Yacht Club Member WRmirekd
  2. Sailonline Yacht Club Member FreyjaUSA
  3. Sailonline Yacht Club Member sassy63
  4. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rafa
  5. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Pit8008
  6. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Vida_Maldita
  7. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CollegeFund
  8. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Sax747
  9. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CriticalHippo
  10. Sailonline Yacht Club Member BRENTGRAY

View full list

Series

Mobile Client

SYC members have the benefit of access to our mobile/lightweight web client!

The mobile client