New here, need your help to get rid of satellite internet!!!

mooch

Hello, I've been trying very hard to get away from satellite internet and have appreciated the wireless experiences and the know-how that have been conveyed by so many folks on this forum. I'm only about 3 miles from a tower and about 6 months ago, I saw that I was well within Sprints range (per their website), so I picked up a sprint U720 modem . The modem alone was not cutting it, I then bought an indoor booster antenna, an external wilson trucker antenna and also a signal amplifier from the 3G store. Unfortunately, I was not able to get a strong enough and consistent signal to be able to commit to the Sprint service so I ended up returning everything and went wimpering back to satellite access. I'd like to add that the 3G people handled my return very quickly and based on that experience with 3G I figured I'd use them again if anything changed with the sprint coverage in the future.

Well, the future has rolled around and my area has now been upgraded to REV A. My second attempt at this has involved picking up a Spring Sierra 595U modem and I'm currently at about -105 without an antenna and the signal is very spotty even though my los doesn't seem THAT bad. For that reason it seems that I need to get some type of dish or panel antenna higher up on the outside of the house in order to get a decent signal. Though I've tried to read up on the many threads on this subject I'm still too much of newb to figure a few things out that relate to external directional antennas. For example:

-Where can I buy the external antenna adapter for this modem that is used in conjunction with a longer cable for an external antenna.

- Can I buy a length of pre-made high quality coax that already has the proper adapter for this modem. I need a length that is long enough to reach the roof (something like 25-30 feet).

-Using the best/lowest loss cable available what is the longest I should go?

-Thoughts on what specific coax would be best?

- Am I right in my assumption that a external directional antenna would be the way to go since I've already not had much luck with the omnidirectional units?

-If directional would be best for my needs...I'm confused on all the options. Dishes, panels, grids, homemade collinears, etc....
Thoughts on which might be easier to set up and also work well at pulling in a better signal.

Thanks for helping me get a better understanding of external antenna setups! I'm determined to get away from satellite internet!!!!

Mark

Alex · Site Admin Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 1893

magicjimmy

mooch

Alex · Site Admin Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 1893

mooch · Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2007 6:29 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the suggestions on the air card. I hear what your saying with the omni external antenna not working well with the 720, I experienced that and have since seen posts indicating the same. Regarding the battery in the 595U, from what I've read so far I was under the impression that the battery going dead would not be an issue if connected while keeping it in the docking station as the trickle charge would make up for any loss. but then again, I could very well be behind the times as to what the latest is on the battery situation.

From what I've seen of comments by 3G folks, it doesn't seem that external directional antennas are in favor. I've also seen posts where people have asked for feedback from other users who have used some type of directional antenna with a USB modem and it seems that the people who have succeeded in pulling in a difficult signal have used directional antennas with some type of dish attachment. At this point though, I've not yet pulled together enough info to attempt putting something like that together.

If anyone can provide me with any tips on a good setup for a directional (preferably parabolic?) antenna, it would be appreciated. At the moment, in addition to antenna setup I'm also lacking in the areas relating to cable and adapter specifics. I have seen that a good recommended coax is LM400.

Thanks for pointing out that the bread and butter for 3G is the sale of modems, I did'nt realize that. At the same time, it's hard to imagine that 3G savors the thought of dealing with a customer who is pretty much testing the waters in a fringe area who has a good chance of returning the modem. But then again, possibly 3G still somehow makes a few bucks on returned modems?

Michael · Posted: Wed Jul 04, 2007 6:31 pm Post subject:

mooch · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 11:44 am Post subject:

Alex, as I've thought about this a little more, regardless of the additional expense, it might be best to go with a router to cut down on the amount of cable needed and to add some flexibility as to where I put my desktop pc.

I was looking the mb6000 router you had suggested and saw that it mentions that it's easily upgradable to REV A. Would you be able to tell me whats involved with the REV A upgrade process on this router? I take it that the Linksys router (WRT54G3G-ST) is REV A compatible? Other than the Linksys router being a few bucks more, when it comes to these two routers, would there be a reason that I might pick one over the other?

I'm also thinking of the merlin S720 for a modem.

Thanks for your help!

jon8105 · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Posts: 147

Mooch,
I don't know if this will help you, but I had the Verizon USB720 and was unable to pull EVDO Rev A with or without an antenna. So I contacted 3Gstore and we swapped to an AC595 card and I am going to probably go with a yagi antenna. Once I got the card and got it working I was able to pull Rev A with no antenna.

If it were me, and this is just my opinion, I would go with the AC595 card instead of the S720. Also, I just bought the MB6000 router from 3Gstore today and should have it tomorrow. Now I am in the process of finding the best antenna for my situation since the omni doesn't work. But hey, at least I have Rev A!!

good luck

mooch · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 12:26 pm Post subject:

jfulmer · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 30 Jun 2007 Posts: 113

I was also a satellite refugee. Except for a crazy bought of disconnecting that started last night, I've been very happy. And 3G did steer me away from the USB modems when I told them I was in a fringe area. You might consider (if you're still in the 30 day period) returning the modem you have and placing an order through 3G (so you don't have to deal with Sprint directly Smile

But, your exact questions:

jon8105 · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 05 Dec 2006 Posts: 147

mooch

Jfulmer, thank you very much for your .02 worth !

Your point that I wouldnt want to plug the extension cable directly into the modem makes sense. I also agree with returning my 595U and then ordering my non-USB card from 3G.

The only thing I didnt understand entirely was your mention of an additioanal 5 feet for RA...I know I'm gonna kick myself for sounding stupid, but whats RA?

Thanks again for taking the time to answer my questions!
Mark

mooch · Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2007 1:28 pm Post subject:

jfulmer · EVDO Heavy User Joined: 30 Jun 2007 Posts: 113