Internet Connections

In order to use the DiveRecorder Live Results pages you will need an Internet Connection from the venue in addition to being granted access to the Live Results system by me.

As a guide to the bandwidth required, we ran a busy Meet in December 2019 with just over 1000 dives each day. The daily bandwidth was a little less than 0.1GB (100MB) so this is unlikely to be an issue. However, you should always try to minimise your bandwidth by ensuring that all your computers have their Windows Updates postponed for the duration of the Meet which is easy in Windows 10 version 1903 and later. Select the icons below for sample network diagrams.

Cabled Internet Connection

The best option is to get permission from the venue to connect to their cabled LAN or VLAN from the WAN port of your Router. This will isolate the Meet from the venue network while giving you a reliable and quick connection to the Internet.

If the venue will not allow the use of their cabled Internet Connection or do not even have one, you will have to fall back on one of the wireless Internet Connection methods described below.

Wireless Internet Connections (mobile broadband)

3G / 4G router. This is as easy as using a cabled router but requires a suitable router with a data SIM either directly inserted or via a USB dongle. Unfortunately the main mobile providers appear to be discontinuing USB dongles and also moving customers from simple PAYG contracts to monthly contracts where the customer pays even if they don't use any data. Worse still, if not used regularly, the SIM may be automatically disabled. This could make this method expensive and unreliable unless used frequently.

Wireless bridge. This is the de luxe option for connecting the diving LAN to any local wifi hotspot or public wifi LAN. You can think of a wireless bridge as a device for converting a wifi connection to a cabled connection which you then connect to your router's WAN port. This gives you full control over your diving LAN. There are many wireless bridge devices available, but you should check their specifications to be sure the one you select will actually do what you want. Also it is possible to configure many routers to act as a bridge so you may be able to use an old or spare wifi router as a bridge.

Mobile hotspot. This method can work well if there is a good mobile Internet Connection but it may require some greater networking knowledge. If you have your own dedicated hotspot device or use your mobile phone you can keep the diving network private.

Public wifi.. This is the least satisfactory method. If you run your Meet on a Public wifi LAN your network is open to the public and is also subject to very poor performance if the venue is busy. But if that is the only way to connect to the Internet you can isolate the diving network in much the same way as using a mobile hotspot (above). That should allow the Meet to run OK, but Live Result updates may be very slow or even time-out and fail depending upon the number of Public users.

More Information

Current version

Version 7.0.7.2
20 January 2024