Averaging over 1Mbps for the last few weeks here

boater805

I've been getting a consistant 1Mbps/120kbps here in Ventura for the past 3 weeks and vzw says this town doesn't even have evdo yet. Smile

I use a 5220 card on a sony vaio. No external antenna needed here (3 to 4 bars without it). In Long Beach I use an external antenna and force evdo which takes me from 0 bars and no evdo to 2 to 3 bars with evdo at 400 to 800 generally.

DB
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dmdrums · EVDO Newbie Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 10

How did you force over to EVDO? I hate it when I have an EVDO signal and it reverts back to Nation access - then I have to hang up and redial.

Let me know!

DM

boater805 · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 1:59 am Post subject:

1. open MCM (mobil connection manager) (note: be sure you're running
ver. 2.5)
2. click on the Help button
3. Double right click in the "about" box or on the logo. A small input window will open in the lower part of the About box.
4. enter ##DEBUG (all uppercase) in that input box and hit enter.
This will open the engineering menu (the debug module)
5. Click on the TEST tab
6. Check to on "enable test mode"
7. Click on HDR only
8. Click the UPDATE TEST MODE AND RESET button
9. Enter 000000 (6 zeros when it asks for your code)
10. Wait til the modem resetting message at the top of the test screen
finishes and then click OK button
11. Click OK button on the MCM help window
12. Let mcm finish initializing and when READY go ahead and connect.
You should now be getting double the data speeds you were recieving
when hybrid was the mode setting for the modem in the test window of
the engineering menu (at least I get double -- went from 400 kbps to
850 kbps on multiple tests).

Note: you will need to select hybrid or CDMA mode using the same
proceedure as above in order to function in non evdo areas. HDR is
High Data Rate ONLY and forces evdo only mode.

Boater805
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dmdrums · EVDO Newbie Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 10

Any idea if this could work with version 5.2.6?

If not, how do I get the older version?

dmdrums · EVDO Newbie Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 10

Also, how much signal do you have? I only get about 53% and with that I can pull about 550kbps with the V620.

Ordering the booster antenna as we speak - will report back on it after I do some testing!

Dalton

boater805 · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 2:08 am Post subject:

My signal strength in Long Beach is around 18 to 65% with the external antenna.

The following url has the MCM ver 2.5 available to d/l.

http://www.evdoinfo.com/Downloads/Drivers/

Boater 805
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dmdrums · EVDO Newbie Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 10

Just ordered the antenna! What results should I expect to receive?

If you don't move the computer and have no antenna - then hook it up, how much change is there? Give me an example! Thanks a million for your help!

Dalton

dmdrums · EVDO Newbie Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 10

Does version 2.5 work with the v620 also?

boater805 · Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2005 2:40 am Post subject:

There is no "rule of thumb". An external antenna will generally give you about 3 to 5 db of gain over the built in. But there still must be signal for you to recieve and that depends on line of sight, distance to tower, signal to noise ratio, etc etc. In fact, if the antenna helps lower the noise it may actually decrease your bars but still improve your bandwidth. The built in antenna is omni-directional. External antennas you'll find here, panel antennas generally, and some others are designed as directional antennas and will tx/rx a stronger signal since they are most efficient in their energy radiation being focused for the major portion of the signal to concentrate in a specific direction. Of course, if you don't point your directional antenna in the *right* direction to point at a tower then you may actually reduce your signal. When hooked up and with your vzw connection running rotate the antenna 2 degrees at a time, waiting about 30 to 45 seconds each time to get a response. Note the strongest direction and that's where you want to point.

DB
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unplugged

dmdrums · EVDO Newbie Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 10

Does that mean that VZW will be adding another list of cities when phase 4 is complete? Any ideas on which others they will add?

You might know how to help me........
I travel to a location on the RI/CT boarder that has VERY weak cell coverage. I can send text messages and hold 15-45 second phone calls, but not a lot of luck. Is there ANY way that I can place a repeater of some sort with a big antenna on the roof of the house and get coverage? The house is on a lake 1 mile long that I frequently go fishing. Phone works fine on the OTHER side of the lake....go figure. Bought the booster antenna for my EVDO and upgraded from the 3220 card to the V620 when they activated EVDO in Phoenix, AZ (where I live). Hoping the card might work in CT. Any ideas?

unplugged · Posted: Fri May 13, 2005 11:21 pm Post subject: Re: Coverage

dmdrums · EVDO Newbie Joined: 05 Apr 2005 Posts: 10

Funny you should point that out....my brother was not too happy when I left him on a rock in the middle of the lake with his fishing pole - while I took a phone call and was uneble to pick him back up for 10 min.

I must say that I am VERY impressed with the booster antenna. I have the v620 card and was unable to receive ANY signal (VZW access said 0% signal). I attached the antenna and couldn't believe my eyes....29% signal and I'm online. My VZW cell phone (v710) won't even work here...just tried to get my voicemail and it hung up on me. Fortunately Sprint works here - but I'm not normally a sprint supporter.

No EVDO here in the middle of nowhere, but I'll take NationalAccess any day over dialup. If you are in an area that has VERY weak coverage, try getting the antenna and setting it up next to the window - worked for me Smile

unplugged · Posted: Sun May 15, 2005 12:22 pm Post subject: Re: Coverage

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