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xchpstang
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 217
Location: Turlock, CA
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 Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 12:10 pm Post subject: Re: Coverage Near Cragun's |
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| Jim1348 wrote: | | I may be going to Cragun's near Brainerd in a few weeks. Does anybody know if I will have EVDO coverage at Cragun's? |
Why would you revive a year and a half old thread to ask this?  |
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Alex
Site Admin
Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 2051
Location: Dallas, TX
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| Posted: Sat Feb 09, 2008 12:55 pm Post subject: Re: Coverage Near Cragun's |
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| Jim1348 wrote: | | I may be going to Cragun's near Brainerd in a few weeks. Does anybody know if I will have EVDO coverage at Cragun's? |
if you mean this place: http://www.google.com/search?q=Cragun%27s+near+Brainerd
neither sprint or verizon have EVDO there... only 1xrtt |
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Jim1348
EVDO User
Joined: 28 Aug 2005
Posts: 29
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| Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 10:50 pm Post subject: External Antennas |
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I did find the URL for Sprint coverage and I played around with it tonight. So now I have some more follow up questions. http://coverage.sprintpcs.com:80/IMPACT.jsp?PCode=vanity:coverage
I am wondering, for those of you that have used the Sprint Coverage Tool, is it generally pretty accurate? Does Sprint just estimate coverage based upon tower height above average terrain, power output, etc. or do they not go anywhere near that detail for this purpose? Also, for locations that are marginal, does anyone have any idea how much an external antenna will help? I do realize that there is no hard, fast answer for this. Also, I have used a dual-band mobile antenna in hotel rooms in the past, but that was when I had a 1xRTT air card. If I recall correctly, when I switched from 1xRTT to an EVDO air card, I switched from 800 mHz to 1.9 gHz. One of the things that I find interesting in the area that I am interested in is that the coverage pattern does not seem circular, but more like a diamond shape. I suppose the Sprint folks assume using an air card without an external antenna, but I am just sort of wondering how much an external antenna will help? Will it get me an additional 5 miles or is that just going to be wishful thinking on my part? It would appear as if I am 7 miles out of coverage, but it will be interesting to see what coverage I get in the real world. |
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n6gn
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 22 Aug 2006
Posts: 367
Location: Northern California
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| Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:24 pm Post subject: Re: External Antennas |
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| Jim1348 wrote: |
I am wondering, for those of you that have used the Sprint Coverage Tool, is it generally pretty accurate? Does Sprint just estimate coverage based upon tower height above average terrain, power output, etc. or do they not go anywhere near that detail for this purpose? Also, for locations that are marginal, does anyone have any idea how much an external antenna will help? |
From what I can tell, their coverage maps result from an analysis of average terrain data, probably supplied with reasonably detailed maps, used with their system data about antenna location, heading and type.
If you drill down on their maps to reasonable resolution - where you start seeing "holes" in coverage at the periphery-you'll see that the detail is smoothed. That along with your experience that actual coverage can vary a lot in 25' gives you insight that the maps have limited precision. My experience is that they tend to give a reasonable approximation of a boundary within perhaps a quarter mile or so, depending upon the type of terrain and the distance from the most usable tower.
While the gain differential between an internal antenna and an external one, and even to a reasonable degree the difference between a better and poorer antenna location can be measured, the local environment within the last quarter of mile or so makes precise prediction too complex to compute even given extremely detailed maps. The RF propagation models commonly used, like COST231 and Lee, generally only try to predict median levels and those at a mile or more of path length. As the path gets either longer or shorter than this the variation from the predicted value is likely to increase.
If typical paths of interest were all LOS, it would be easy to say that doubling the distance corresponds to a 6 dB (6 dBm of RSSI) difference and 10X distance to 20 dB. In that scenario it would be fairly easy to predict that 10 dB (say) increase in antenna gain would roughly triple the distance.
However, this kind of free space behavior only occurs on free space paths and that is almost certainly not what one is dealing with for mobile systems where the region of interest is on the boundary of working or not from a single local cell site.
n6gn |
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firedude
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
Posts: 435
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| Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 8:12 am Post subject: |
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Well it looks like Sprint beat Verizon on the evdo in San Luis Obispo/Morro Bay areas. Verizon had been telling me all along they were to finally have evdo up and running by March 1st and now they say the latter part of this year. I was told by the local store AND their data folks on the phone. I wasn't pleased to say the least. I'm tired of 1xRTT and got rid of my Direcway satellite (700-800 dl) based on what they (Verizon) told me. I've had the Verizon service for 5 years as backup for my work in case I wasn't in a satellite area. Since the 1xRTT is so slow I hardly used it unless I had to like NOW. ARGH!
I've been communicating with Verizon and since they say I was given (verified) erroneous info they would let me out of my 2 year contract at no charge. I just might take them up on it and take Sprint for a ride and enjoy some good speeds for a change.
This is of course based on the map link posted here, but it does now show evdo for my area. I'll give them a call this morning to verify before I leap off a tall building without a parachute lol. If it's true Verizon is about to lose a LOT of customers here locally. Especially after misleading customers. Sprint projected it here and came through (I think). There is a LARGE data (aircard) user group here with Verizon which is about to go poof and when they do finally come through they won't have a customer base to use it lol!
Guess I maybe (after confirming) check with the guys at 3G and start the process for a Sprint account with a USB aircard. Pull the Verizon one out of the KR1 and slap in the Srint U7270! 
On edit.... I just called Sprint and they do have evdo coverage now in the San Luis Obispo/Morro Bay central coast area of Calif. Looks like Verizon is going to lose a large customer base, beginning with me lol!
Last edited by firedude on Thu Feb 14, 2008 9:12 am; edited 1 time in total |
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firedude
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
Posts: 435
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| Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 9:11 am Post subject: |
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Does the sprint U727 require any kind of pre-activation for use with the KR1 router?? Need to know as the 3G order form asks. Thanks!
Tony |
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Alex
Site Admin
Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 2051
Location: Dallas, TX
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| Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 9:33 am Post subject: |
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| firedude wrote: | | Does the sprint U727 require any kind of pre-activation for use with the KR1 router?? Need to know as the 3G order form asks. Thanks! |
the Sprint U727 will not work with KR1, no matter what you do.
Go with one of the cradlepoint routers. much much better!
then ebay the KR1? none of sprint's usb options work with KR1. |
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firedude
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
Posts: 435
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| Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 9:46 am Post subject: |
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Thanks Alex,
I just found out as I called 3G a few ago.. None of the Sprint USB cards work in the KR1.  I just bought the KR1 a couple months ago from 3G and can't afford to be collecting routers. Bummer I was ready to order lol. Guess I'll be forced to hang out with the 1xRTT a few more months and hopefully Verizon will come through. |
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Alex
Site Admin
Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 2051
Location: Dallas, TX
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| Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 9:58 am Post subject: |
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the longer you hold on to kr1, the less you can get for it.
especially once the kr2 begins shipping, whenever that is.
just fyi |
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firedude
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
Posts: 435
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| Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 10:10 am Post subject: |
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Guess I should have done more research before buying the KR1!  It's like anything else though in marketing new items. Everything becomes extinct in a short period so new items can (have to be) be sold. Just like in the world of computers and just about everything else. My fault for not doing research. |
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Alex
Site Admin
Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 2051
Location: Dallas, TX
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| Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 10:20 am Post subject: |
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| firedude wrote: | | My fault for not doing research. |
i'm a gadget freak too. buy first, think later. no apologies needed. |
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