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digimania
EVDO User
Joined: 25 May 2005
Posts: 30
Location: Greater Richmond Area
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 Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2005 8:25 am Post subject: |
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Yes, the MCM was what I was using to connect. I was running it in test mode. I tried all three options; CMDA, HDR, and Hybrid. I could not lock EVDO, and had slow connection speeds with 1xRTT.
My connection is super fast now... for 1xRTT anyway.
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enigmedia
EVDO Fledgling
Joined: 15 Aug 2005
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2005 4:01 pm Post subject: |
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| Michael wrote: | 15 miles away is probably a show stopper. The closer tower is 1xRTT only and that is the one that your PC5220 will pickup. If you have a PC5220 BEFORE doing the latest firmware upgrade noted in this thread, you can do the following tip to block out 1xRTT and only listen for EVDO, try it and see:
Sniffing Out New EVDO Towers with a PC5220
Unless, you have nothing between you and the 15 mile away tower (like a desert or lake), I don't think a Booster Antenna or signal amplifier is going to pull it in. |
Thanks for this test...I tried it and got "No Service", so I presume I'm well out of range of an EVDO antenna.
So, I return to my second question...if the best I can get is 2/4 bars with National Access and my 5220 card, are there any inexpensive antennas (that don't require roof mounting) that will get me to 4 bars? |
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enigmedia
EVDO Fledgling
Joined: 15 Aug 2005
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 1:12 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="Michael"]15 miles away is probably a show stopper. The closer tower is 1xRTT only and that is the one that your PC5220 will pickup. If you have a PC5220 BEFORE doing the latest firmware upgrade noted in this thread, you can do the following tip to block out 1xRTT and only listen for EVDO, try it and see:
Sniffing Out New EVDO Towers with a PC5220
Hi Michael: I finally got my $79 antenna and with it hooked up to the PC5220, I was able to get 4 bars, which = ~125Kbps on National Broadband service. I followed your instructions and forced EVDO, and I had 3 bars with EVDO. But while in test mode, I couldn't connect (after about 30 secs. I get a "no response from remote host" or some message like that).
Is there a way to get that EVDO connection to work now? |
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perl
EVDO Newbie
Joined: 29 Aug 2005
Posts: 1
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| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 5:29 pm Post subject: DO Not upgrade your 5220 to 2.35 if you use hdr only!!!! |
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[quote="boater805"] | Michael wrote: |
NO, the 5220 can NOT use MCM after the firmware upgrade. I reported that here and now a 2nd user has confirmed it.
Bad Bad verizon for doing this without warning. |
Another confirmation. I will call Audiovox tomorrow, but I expect no joy there. VzW knows nothing about this "problem."
I tried the SierraWireless 580 Watcher (since the cards are the same) but it must look for an identity string because it will not see the 5220.
I am hoping Audioxox will push SierraWireless to update MCM -- We'll see. |
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enigmedia
EVDO Fledgling
Joined: 15 Aug 2005
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 6:13 pm Post subject: |
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| enigmedia wrote: | Hi Michael: I finally got my $79 antenna and with it hooked up to the PC5220, I was able to get 4 bars, which = ~125Kbps on National Broadband service. I followed your instructions and forced EVDO, and I had 3 bars with EVDO. But while in test mode, I couldn't connect (after about 30 secs. I get a "no response from remote host" or some message like that).
Is there a way to get that EVDO connection to work now? |
I tested it a few more times, and I can force EVDO in test mode, but I can't connect...I suppose the antenna's been set up, but the system's not set up to the network? Should I be able to connect when I'm in "test mode"? |
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Michael
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 5308
Location: Cary, IL
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| Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2005 8:34 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, you can connect when in "test" mode. However, what others are reporting, this is broken in the latest firmware. I haven't upgraded a PC5220 to the latest firmware, but I will be and do some testing and see what happens.
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enigmedia
EVDO Fledgling
Joined: 15 Aug 2005
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 7:25 am Post subject: |
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| Michael wrote: | | Yes, you can connect when in "test" mode. However, what others are reporting, this is broken in the latest firmware. I haven't upgraded a PC5220 to the latest firmware, but I will be and do some testing and see what happens. |
I am still using the old firmware, but can't connect. Does that signify that the point I'm connecting to hasn't been fully brought online by Verizon yet? Should I just keep trying to connect every couple of days? |
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Michael
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 5308
Location: Cary, IL
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| Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 8:13 am Post subject: |
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That is most likely.
Before EVDO came to my home, I was able to do the MCM Debug mode and "see" EVDO, but never connect. Within a week, I was able to connect to EVDO (after the new towers were fully activated).
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enigmedia
EVDO Fledgling
Joined: 15 Aug 2005
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2005 8:36 am Post subject: |
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| Michael wrote: | That is most likely.
Before EVDO came to my home, I was able to do the MCM Debug mode and "see" EVDO, but never connect. Within a week, I was able to connect to EVDO (after the new towers were fully activated). |
Sounds like that's my situation...thanks for confirming it! |
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boater805
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 183
Location: California
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 1:28 pm Post subject: Re: DO Not upgrade your 5220 to 2.35 if you use hdr only!!!! |
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[quote="perl"] | boater805 wrote: | | Michael wrote: |
NO, the 5220 can NOT use MCM after the firmware upgrade. I reported that here and now a 2nd user has confirmed it.
Bad Bad verizon for doing this without warning. |
Another confirmation. I will call Audiovox tomorrow, but I expect no joy there. VzW knows nothing about this "problem."
I tried the SierraWireless 580 Watcher (since the cards are the same) but it must look for an identity string because it will not see the 5220.
I am hoping Audioxox will push SierraWireless to update MCM -- We'll see. |
Good News for me !! ...
Yesterday I finally got a level 4 tech that agreed to send me a replacement 5220 card. It arrived this morning via FedEx overnite (at vzw's cost) and I uninstalled the new access manager software, plugged in the card, called verizon to activate the new card, opened MCM and ran the activation wizzard and ... PRESTO, I have MCM working again, I have the engineering debug menu, I can control EVDO only, I no longer suffer the decline in speed performance.
So, lessons learned:
1. Don't install the new access manager (and its forced new firmware).
2. Contrary to what Audiovox tech told Michael, the newly shipped 5220 cards DO have the OLD firmware.
3. If you are persistant then Verizon eventually will send you one of the new cards with the old firmware on it and you can undo the mess the new access manager created. If you need copies of the old access manager or MCM I can supply them to michael to arrange a download source here for them.
It's been a frustrating 3 weeks but life is good again.
On Verizon's plus side is that they gave me a warranty replacement even though I'm on the 22nd month of a 2 year contract. The didn't require me to extend my contract for the warranty replacement nor to change over to the 59.99/month rate.
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Did you ever stop to think .... and then forgot to start again? |
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Michael
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 5308
Location: Cary, IL
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 1:33 pm Post subject: Re: DO Not upgrade your 5220 to 2.35 if you use hdr only!!!! |
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| boater805 wrote: | | Contrary to what Audiovox tech told Michael, the newly shipped 5220 cards DO have the OLD firmware. |
We don't know for sure if the replacement that you got came from the new shipment from a few weeks ago (with the new Firmware), or existing inventory. It appears, it came from older inventory, which once this runs out, the only inventory they will have will contain new firmware.
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boater805
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 183
Location: California
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 3:03 pm Post subject: Re: DO Not upgrade your 5220 to 2.35 if you use hdr only!!!! |
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| Michael wrote: | | boater805 wrote: | | Contrary to what Audiovox tech told Michael, the newly shipped 5220 cards DO have the OLD firmware. |
We don't know for sure if the replacement that you got came from the new shipment from a few weeks ago (with the new Firmware), or existing inventory. It appears, it came from older inventory, which once this runs out, the only inventory they will have will contain new firmware. |
I don't want to bog down in a war on words. Its true I don't know for sure anything except that the new firmware breaks MCM and the replacement card they sent me has the old firmware. Added to that, my only knowlege is to quote what you have posted about 5220 card availability the past few weeks ...
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 4:18 am Post subject: Reply with quote
Hello, I know this sounds like a salesman, but believe me it is not. "If you want a PC5220, or you know of someone that wants one, you need to order by Monday 6/22/05, or you may never see one again".
Call around, PC5220s are not available at Verizon Stores, even call Verizon direct, they don't have them. We have a promise from high ups at Verizon to get one more shipment and it will be our last one.
So, pass the word... (Posted by Michael, site admin)
Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 5:43 pm Post subject: Reply with quote
We have some news related to the PC5220.
Apparently, the substantial order that Verizon received last week of PC5220s was a final order from Sierra and was destined for Service and Insurance (to handle those that break or lose their PC5220). So, it originally looked like we couldn't get any, even though, we KNEW they had just taken delivery of them.
A few minutes ago, after talking with someone very high up at Verizon, he indicated that we could get one last shipment of PC5220s. After, this order, we will not be able to get any more PC5220s... (Posted by Michael, site admin)
Posted: Wed Aug 17, 2005 5:40 am Post subject: PC 5220 Availability Status from Booster-Antenna Reply with quote
Hello, This thread will serve to be an announce only thread to update those that have ordered a Sierra PC5220 data card from us and it is on backorder. We were getting in PC5220 daily up until August 5, 2005. If you ordered on or after that date, your card is on backorder. Before that date, we were pretty much the only place that was selling or getting the PC5220s.
Here is what we know.
Sierra Wireless shipped a substantial order of PC5220s to Verizon Wireless on or around August 9, 2005. There were expected to arrive at Verizon on or around August 12, 2005 and expected to be in the "channel" the week of August 15, 2005.
We are waiting for them to show up so that we can order them. When they do show up, we get them the next day, anyone that ordered gets them the following day. As of Wednesday, August 17, 2005, we are still waiting for them to show up.
If you are a PC user and have a PC5220 on backorder, you can use any of the available cards. Please contact us and we can find out the laptop you are using and help select a card that is compatible with it OR one that will offer the best performance... (Posted by Michael, site admin).
So, those posts along with the same info from verizon tech support and customer care led me to conclude the only cards still within the verizon pipeline are "new cards". There is/was no shelf inventory of old cards on the verizon shelves. In fact in your private email to me you told me that your source had confirmed there were no old cards and they had no way to put the old firmware onto a card.
So, regardless of the accuracy of any of the above, my warnings and advice still stand for users ..
1. Do NOT upgrade your access manager and/or firmware on the 5220 if you haven't.
2. If you have and are unhappy then keep after tech support until they do send you a replacement card. Keep stressing that everything was fine until you did the firmware upgrade and you've had problems ever since. Eventually they get the picture.
3. Even with the best efforts, the info we get from verizon, sierra, audiovox, etc. is not always reliable. Keep trying and eventually you will get the answer you want and need. If may not be right either but at least you'll be able to try the fix then and see for yourself. (In my case it worked out well).
4. Michael has been and continues to be an invaluable resource in helping clarify and resolve these issues. If he'll provide a place to download the old vzw access manager and MCM software I'll be glad to supply copies of them for that. If he doesn't want to do that then I'll set up a download on my site. Let me know if you need it and can't find it here.
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Michael
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 5308
Location: Cary, IL
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| Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 3:08 pm Post subject: |
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I agree about the problems with the new firmware breaking the debug mode (and the Mac OS X menu bar) and this is going cause problems for Verizon customers well into the future.
Please understand, that Service & Insurance is a different channel vs. Sales. They do not share the same channels. It is 100% true what I have told you about availability, however, during this time of PC5220 not being available for the last 4 weeks, anyone that needed one replaced via Verizon Service, was still able to have that happen.
What will be scary, is what will happen when only new firmware is available in Service and Insurance channels.
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enigmedia
EVDO Fledgling
Joined: 15 Aug 2005
Posts: 14
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| Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 5:38 am Post subject: |
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| Michael wrote: | That is most likely.
Before EVDO came to my home, I was able to do the MCM Debug mode and "see" EVDO, but never connect. Within a week, I was able to connect to EVDO (after the new towers were fully activated). |
Hmmm...now I'm not so sure that this is the issue. More than a week has gone by, and I still can lock onto EVDO in "debug" mode, with a fairly strong signal, but still can't connect. This is testing near Patchogue, Long Island, NY.
I decided to try from home in the Bronx. I had 4 bars with 1xRTT highlighted in MCM, and when connected, got about 130kbps speed. In debug mode, I got 4 bars in MCM with EVDO highlighted, but again I couldn't connect...that seems like too much of a coincidence. Maybe there's something incompatible with my 5220 card or MCM?
When I click on the help button in MCM, I see the following:
HW Version P8
Modem SW Ver. 2.03
Host SW Ver. MCM : 2.5.0.0
WINCDMA : 2.3.0.0
Is there any possibility that I just can't connect to EVDO with my config? Thanks, Michael, for the previous help! |
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boater805
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 16 Feb 2005
Posts: 183
Location: California
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| Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2005 5:25 pm Post subject: |
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| enigmedia wrote: |
Before EVDO came to my home, I was able to do the MCM Debug mode and "see" EVDO, but never connect. Within a week, I was able to connect to EVDO (after the new towers were fully activated). |
Hmmm...now I'm not so sure that this is the issue. More than a week has gone by, and I still can lock onto EVDO in "debug" mode, with a fairly strong signal, but still can't connect. This is testing near Patchogue, Long Island, NY.
[/quote]
It still sounds like evdo is still configuring in your area. You are seeing the towers but they aren't active yet. I had the same thing for a month on and off before evdo went active in Los Angeles area a year ago.
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