Adding an external antenna. Have an amp question.

bowhunter_john

Here is my situation. I live out in the sticks. I’m roughly 3.5 miles from the nearest tower, with many trees, but no terrain between me and the tower. My current setup is a Sprint EX720 data card plugged into a laptop. I plan to add a wireless router. Everything works, and I connect with EDVO rev A, but I only have 1-3 bars and my signal strength fluctuates between -85db to -102db, usually running in the mid -90’s. I have a 50 ft 3-leg tower attached to the corner of my house with a TV antenna on top, that we no longer use because we have a dish. My plan is to install an external antenna on the tower, plus add an amp.

After spending a rainy weekend reading the forum looking for everything I could find on this subject, I have decided to go with the Hyperlink 2.4 GHz Grid Antenna - Model: HG2424G, which best I can tell will work fine with 1900MHz. Using Google Maps I have been able to locate the Sprint tower, so I don't anticipate any problems aiming the antenna.

My question pertains to the amp. The only amps I can find for 1900MHz are dual band. Will either the Wilson AM811201 or the Maximum Signal CA-819 duel band amps work with this antenna? Is one better than the other? I thought I read somewhere that the Maximum Signal amp had to be used with a duel band antenna or it would damage it and void the warrantee. Is this true? Also, is the same true for the Wilson amp?

Anyone help with this setup would be greatly appreciated. Also, if you have any suggestions for a different/better setup, I’m all ears.

Thanks in advance.
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John

Alex · Site Admin Joined: 19 Sep 2006 Posts: 1945

before you invest in antenna and amps, consider this.

do some speedtests with best signal you have NOW.

drive in direction of tower, until you see a stable -85 ~ -80 signal, and stop.

do some speedtests there, for comparison sake.

report your findings here, and tell us, what distance you traveled to get to that better signal.

i think you can see the logic behind this approach.

n6gn · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 4:26 pm Post subject:

I'd suggest that once you are certain which tower you are using and which direction, and have then verified a relatively good shot towards it, that you first put up the antenna with some decent coax, perhaps LMR400. I suspect that you will find that things will work well without an amplifier. If you do find that you still have a problem with too much variation in signal strength, then you can consider an amplifier but you should put it close to the antenna, not at bottom. This is a reason (beside the price) for waiting on the amplifier.

n6gn

bowhunter_john · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 6:32 pm Post subject:

n6gn,

That's what I plan to do. But I want to make sure I buy an antenna that is compatible with an amp in case i find I need to add one.
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John

n6gn · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 6:59 pm Post subject:

biff44 · EVDO Newbie Joined: 18 Feb 2008 Posts: 1

I do not think the HG2424G antenna will cover that frequency. The data sheet only says 2400 to 2500 MHz. Unless you have some other data saying it will work at 1900 MHz, I would be it would not work well at all. These things generally have very small bandwidths.

n6gn · Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:30 pm Post subject:

bowhunter_john · Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 7:23 am Post subject:

n6gn,

Thanks for the info. I think I'll get the antenna ordered and installed and see what I get. Hopefully, I won't need the amp. I was doing some checking last night. If I get a couple hundred yards south of my house where I clear the trees, I can see the red light blinking on top of the tower I need to point at. It just barly clears the horizon at ground level, but my antenna will be 45'-50' up on my tower, so I don't think I'll have any problems with alignment. Now, I just need to muster up enough balls to climb the tower to mount it, LOL.

Also, I plan to buy Wilson 9913 Ultra Low Loss Cable. Is this the right choice?
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John

n6gn · Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 7:36 am Post subject:

bowhunter_john · Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 7:41 am Post subject:

thanks
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John