UT150 Gaming Question

staylory · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 18 Mar 2008 Posts: 19

Hey guys. I'm new to aircards. I just got mine Friday. I live in a rural area so I havn't been able to get dsl, cable or any of the "good" stuff lol. I've been confined to dial up and hughesnet. So far I'm extremely happy with my aircard.

I play Guild Wars a good deal and my ping usually stays around 250-400ms while playing. Its almost always downloading something in the background though so I think that may be running it up a bit. However a few of my friends are wanting me to get on xbox live to play a fps. I was wondering if there is any way to lower my ping.

Where I live I have 2 bars of signal and it's 1xEVDO *not sure what this means*. Will an amplifier or antenna help any? Also, I'm going to have to get a router for my aircard so I can split the connection, will the amplifer/antenna work with the router as well?

Thanks,
-Taylor

staylory · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 18 Mar 2008 Posts: 19

After reading up a bit more on antennas I have decided that I would prefer an "indoor" antenna if there's a such thing. I'm living with someone at the time being and I don't really want to ask her if I can put an antenna on her roof.

Thanks,
-Taylor

Capt Ron · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:58 pm Post subject:

No, it will not improve your ping. But it will most likely improve your signal level and probably speed.
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Ron

staylory · EVDO Fledgling Joined: 18 Mar 2008 Posts: 19

Will the booster antenna be a good one for me? I have a UM150 with alltel. I keep a constant 2 bar signal level and I need to keep the antenna inside. From what I read the booster antenna will do what I need it to. But I noticed on 3gstore they only offer the booster antenna for the um150 with verizon. Will it still work with mine?

Also, is an amplifier really necissary? I have googled it and I can't find anything on what an amplifier actually does.

If I do all of these and it increases my signal strength and speed then my download and upload rate should go up right?

Lol, sorry for all the questions.

Thanks,
-Taylor

Dauthus · Posted: Tue Mar 18, 2008 10:29 pm Post subject:

All I can tell you is if you are going to try a first person shooter prepare to be owned with a wireless card. If your ping isn't under 150, you are going to get quite mad and wonder why you empty a clip into a guy and he still kills you.

I know, I have been trying for a couple of months to enjoy call of duty 4 with a pc and a UM150 from Verizon. Ping bounces all over the place. Sometimes in the 200s, then the 500s, then 600s, then back to 150s. It really makes playing hard.

I don't know the explanation for this, but I did take my laptop to the parking lot of the verizon wireless store (where the signal is maxed out) and my ping was in the 60-80 range. At home it bounces all over the place. Don't know if it was because it was bouncing off different towers, or what. I just know it lowered the ping.

Good luck and let me know how it comes out. I am in the exact same position as you and have been using DirecWay aka HughesNet for about 6 years now. I can honestly say HughesNet is horrible, but horrible is better than nothing in my case.

Rider_55 · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:38 am Post subject:

Dauthus: I am having the same problem with PC COD4 Pings all over the place and constant connection lost warnings. Have you tried an antenna of any type and if so did it help any? I don't mind spending the money to help things out but I just want to hear of an success story or two on the situation. On a related note on the same connection session I can play Counter Strike: Source with a relatively stable ping so if you get to frustrated try falling back to that for your FPS fix.

Dauthus · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:48 pm Post subject:

I did buy this antenna:

http://3gstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=100&products_id=653

It helped with the signal quite a bit. I am not sure if it helped the ping any though. My signal was quite poor without the antenna, and most times I couldn't get one at all. The antenna fixed that.

In all honesty I am still working on trying to get the ping down. I will let you know if I can figure out anything that stabilizes the ping and keeps it in the 150 or less range consistently.

Dauthus · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:51 pm Post subject:

Rider_55 · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 2:56 pm Post subject:

nschwen · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 3:36 pm Post subject:

For gaming, it's all about a stable signal. Ping will never be great with EVDO. Well, 'great' is relitive; a ping of about 150 is the best average you will be able to acheive in my experience; and in reality you're probably looking at 200-300. The game server you play on, and how far it is from you, will play a factor. The best you can do on your end is try to stabilize that ping; and a stronger signal is the way to get there.

Think about talking on your cell phone. You get the occasinal garbled word, dropped call, etc. The same thing is happening to your data stream with your EVDO connection. That garbled word on a phone call translates to a 'lost' data packet on your data card, so that packet needs to be re-requested and re-sent, taking extra time, upping your ping. That's why you'll see your ping jump around.

How do you fix it? Trial and error unfortunatly. I've been playing the signal game for a couple years now, and it just takes time, and sometimes, money. An indoor antenna might help (also refered to as an omni, or non-directional antenna). A signal amplifier might help. The combination of the two might help. But a larger variable than all other things combined is location of whatever antenna you have, be that the 5 foot outdoor model or the little one built into your card.

Finding the right location takes time and testing. If you can figure out where the cell tower you're connecting to is, the best location will likely be somewhere with direct line of sight to it. If you can't see the tower, then you're dealing with cell signals bouncing off everything around you, and only trial and error will tell you what the best spot in the house is for you. It will likely be by a window, in the general direction of the cell tower. Put your card in a laptop, hook up whatever antena you have, and start trying different spots, and watching your signal. It will take a minute or so for the signal indicator to update each time you move. That's where the time part comes in. Get used to waiting around. Wink

Sounds like the OP doesn't own the house he's in, so might have limited placement options. If so, I'd start off by trying an omni antenna. This one is good in my experience:
http://3gstore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=100&products_id=656
These work for any card, it's jsut a matter of getting the right cable/adapter. The guys that run 3gstore.com (and this forum) have been very helpful for me in the past. A signal booster (it goes between your card and your antenna) is the next step to try. Is the name implies, it boosts the power of your signal.

The above is not as good as an outdoor antenna, but you do what you can. Again, it's all about improving the stability of your signal. More bars is better. THe software that came with your card will likely give you more information than just bars (the actual number behind it) which is very helpful in determining the best location.

Anyhow, these are the ramblings of a fellow EVDO gamer. Smile

I don't personally play FPS type games, which are notoriously low-ping dependant. But if you can get a good steady signal they should be playable. My gaming use of EVDO has been World of Warcraft to this point, and pings there hover between 300-500 on the server I play; which is fine for that game.

Personally, I started out with the antenna I linked above (had 2 bars). Then I added a signal booster (got a couple extra bars). Then a bigger omni anntenna (made little difference). Then I opened the window, and clamped that antenna to the deck outside, and got a full 5 bars (-60 to -70 on the actual reading, a very strong signal). Then I drilled a hole in the wall while the wife wasn't looking so I could close the window (no increase in signal, but great increase in warmth!)

So to summarize:
Step 1 - Find the best location - Free!
Step 2 - Add an antenna - $50-$100
Step 3 - Add a booster - $200-$300

Once you've done all those, that's about as far as you can take it. EVDO isn't ideal for gaming, but if you don't have access to DSL/Cable, it's beats all other options. Dailup doesn't have the bandwith, Satelite has 1000+ ms pings. Someday WiMax will save us all, but until then, this is the best I've found.

Good luck!

Capt Ron · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 6:44 pm Post subject:

I suggest that you try this program to test your ping, and then you will see where your ping problems are. I think that you will find that the problem is somewhere along the sites rather than in your equipment. Signal level has very little to do with ping, if you have a usable signal.

Try this free program Ping Plotter Freeware: http://www.pingplotter.com/
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Ron

Uberbob102000 · Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:50 pm Post subject:

I must just be lucky then because I have no problems playing FPSes on the PC with Rev 0 EVDO. I get consistent 150-200 ping always and with my friends Rev 1 I get 80-120.