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

Posted by
captjack1942


Users avatar

Posts
239
Registered at
2008-01-18 03:24:03
2011-06-06 03:38:48 - 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?
Posted by
Jawz


Users avatar

Posts
154
Registered at
2009-07-21 09:51:19
2011-06-06 06:25:56 - Re: data usage for sol
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
Posted by
AGage


Users avatar

Posts
411
Registered at
2008-12-27 10:31:57
2011-06-06 08:04:49 - Re: data usage for sol
captjack1942 said @ 2011-06-06 03:38:48:
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... __/)/)_/)__
Posted by
AGage


Users avatar

Posts
411
Registered at
2008-12-27 10:31:57
2011-06-06 09:19:52 - Re: data usage for sol
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... __/)/)_/)__
Posted by
captjack1942


Users avatar

Posts
239
Registered at
2008-01-18 03:24:03
2011-06-06 18:17:56 - Re: data usage for sol
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:

New Ice Age 2026 - Browerville to Longyearbyen


Our 2026 long-distance ice-boating challenge continues with a second race in Arctic waters, now from Browerville, where we arrived less than a month ago, continuing east, back to Svalbard’s Longyearbyen, leaving Canada’s Ellesmere Island to port and Denmark’s Greenland to starboard. It’s about 2500nm, which, if there’s wind at all, should, well-wrapped in your DN-cockpits, not take you more than a day or three, thus to complete your first (of several) online circumnavigation of the planet of 2026!
Race #1969
INFOby brainaid.de
DN PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: NIA - SYC
Race starts: Feb 19th 07:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Doha Basra TIMED Race 2026

Welcome to Kuwait for a short 78 nm TIMED race from the port of Doha (not to be confused with Doha, Qatar) to Basra, Iraq. Jazirat Light on Auha Island is the only mark to observe, leaving it to port. The Beneteau First 40.7v2 racer-cruiser is our ride this month. This is a TIMEDrace so you may RE-REGISTER HEREto try again after finishing a run. You will have 13 days and 11 hours to test your skill and decision making after the race opens.
Race #2008
INFOby brainaid.de
First 40.7v2 Particulars
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking:
TRQ1 - TRCH - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Saturday,
28 February at 23:00 UTC
Race starts: Feb 15th 12:00 Registration Open!
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

San Diego Islands Race 2026


Sailonline is proud to once again partner with the San Diego Yacht Club for the annual Islands Race! This iconic offshore challenge spans approximately 140 nautical miles, starting in Long Beach, rounding the Catalina Islands, and finishing in San Diego. Shifting coastal winds and tactical island roundings will test every sailor’s judgment and nerve.

This year, our SOLers will race the Ker 40, a proven high-performance design by Jason Ker and built by McConaghy Boats. Fast, responsive, and demanding, the Ker 40 rewards precision and smart strategy. The competition will be tight. Every decision will count. See you on the start line!
Race #2009
INFO by brainaid.de
Ker 40 PARTICULARS
NAM_AWIP WX Updates:
0245 / 0845 / 1445 / 2045
Ranking:
SUPBUD - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Wednesday,
February 18 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Feb 13th 20:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Cross the Convergence 2026 - Samoa to Hawaii


The second race of our new series of ocean voyages across the World’s convergence zones, takes us northward again up the Pacific Ocean, now from Samoa at 13.5 degrees South, across the Equator to Hawaii, famed for its breaking surf and active volcanoes, on the edge of the Tropic of Cancer at 19.5 degrees North. It’s 2300nm, so we’ll take our very steady Steinlager II. Race #1982
INFOby brainaid.de
Steinlager IIPARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: CCZ - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Saturday,
February 21 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Feb 06th 18:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Beketov by Balloon 2026 - In Siberia


Way-back-when France and England, and Spain as well, were squabbling about who should control what of North America, only to lose the most of it to their own insurging colonists, their eastern European neighbour empire, Russia, was quietly assimilating vast, thinly nomadically populated territory of its own – Siberia! Amongst the many explorers and adventurers that served Russia so well in these conquests was the Cossack hetman Pyotr Beketov. Let’s pretend we’re he and eschewing horseback, let’s travel by balloon from Yekaterinberg to Krasnoyarsk – just a short 2000km (1100nm) section of the Trans-Siberian Express’ 9289km!
Race #1972
INFOby brainaid.de
SOL Balloon PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: BOL - SYC
Race starts: Feb 03rd 13:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

West Papua to Oregon 2026

Our next race in our Ocean Championships is the first of a series of great natural migrations we will track in 2026. The leatherback turtle is the most widely distributed marine reptile on planet Earth, and chooses to breed in warm tropical waters, but prefers to forage in more temperate habitats, travelling thousands and thousands of miles effortlessly annually to maintain this way of life. Our race will follow one of the typical trips of this turtle, from breeding grounds in the seas off West Papua to the coast of Oregon. It’s only 5900nm, so to keep up, but in comfort, we’ll follow in our Gunboat 90.
Race #2006
INFO by brainaid.de
GB 90 PARTICULARS
WX Updates:
0430 / 1030 / 1630 / 2230
Ranking: OCQ1 - OCCH - MIG - SYC
RACE CLOSE: Tuesday,
February 24 at 2300 UTC.
Race starts: Feb 02nd 11:00 Registration Closed
▶ Flash
GO TO RACE

Go to race archive

SYC Ranking

  1. Sailonline Yacht Club Member KaSToR
  2. Sailonline Yacht Club Member WRmirekd
  3. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CriticalHippo
  4. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rumskib
  5. Sailonline Yacht Club Member rafa
  6. Sailonline Yacht Club Member Sax747
  7. Sailonline Yacht Club Member vida
  8. Sailonline Yacht Club Member CollegeFund
  9. Sailonline Yacht Club Member bonknhoot
  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