repeater or multiple antennas?

tod · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 7:48 am Post subject: repeater or multiple antennas?

I am currently getting good results with a panel antenna, USB modems, and CTR350 router. I am manually switching between 2 modems when they approach the 5GB cap. I may have to go to 3 modems soon. I was considering switching to a load-balancing router (MBR1200) to avoid the card-swapping.

With multiple modems connecting simultaneously in a load-balancing setup, am I better off with:
1) a cellular repeater with 1 outside antenna
2) a separate outside antenna for each modem
3) single outside antenna with a splitter wired to multiple modems
4) other?

Torrey · Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 2:55 pm Post subject:

Since Load Balancing only uses the second card when the first card is only in use by another client or data transfer, its not going to evenly split the bandwidth between both cards.

I would recommend manually switching between the 2-3 cards as you need. I would recommend a direct connect antenna and if needed a direct connect amplifier. The direct connect systems will always provide better results, and since you only need one cellular device at a time it's definitley the way to go. Keep in mind that if you have different models of aircards, you will need a different antenna adapter cable for each card.