EVDO questions

zhane · EVDO Newbie Joined: 19 Mar 2008 Posts: 6

Satellite internet users say that if i can get EVDO i should get it instead of satellite internet, so they sent me here and here are a few questions i have about it.

I do know that an ALLTEL phone can get 1-2 bars where i am, and that currently their internet is unlimited yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

I live in Jonesboro, Louisiana if u all wants to know.

I have about $300 bucks that i saved up to buy satelitte equipment, but it sucks. so I wanted to shop for some stuff like a modem/router/antenna if it can boost my signal, but b4 that I have some questions.
-What is better a cell phone or a Modem Card
-What is a good Modem Card/Phone
-What is a general price for an antenna if it can boost my signal
-What is the general price for wireless router designed for broadband cards(not totally necessary, but my current router needs my pc to be on to use with my ds/psp)

1.) online gaming with Nintendo DS (specifically metriod prime hunters) I used 28.8 kbps dial-up right now (yes it can be put into a wireless network) and i can gerneally play crappy. Will EVDO work a lot better?

2.) Does the connection drop? I know calls can drop, what about this.

3.) Id rather have and internal antenna, but i can also get an external antenna if it works better. Are this antenna's universal, or do they work only with specific hardware.

4.) Does EVDO have transmission delay? Like satellite internet.

5.) Clearwire(i think thats the name) is EVDO right, but they have those boxes that are modems, does alltel sell those?

6.) What other providers have UNLIMITED plans?

7.) Is your intenet monitored. Like do these companies like track where you go when on the net? like if i go to yahoo.com, will it show up on the bill? I think i read somewhere that some intenet providers track what websites you go to.

I have some more questions, but I can't remember all of them just yet.
I haven't really decided on to get EVDO or Satellite just yet, i just want the best deal for me and having unlimited access is a MUST for me cause the internet is about all i do. Ive done some amazing things with dial-up, like getting it onto a wireless network.

oh thanks for reading all of that text i typed Smile

GraphicWonders · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:38 am Post subject:

Try reading here, it will answer a lot of your questions:
http://www.evdoinfo.com/

As far as gaming, until Rev.A is available, it will be poor.

Also, go here (they provide this WONDERFUL forum!!) for lots of choices of EVDO routers/antennas/etc.
http://3gstore.com/
_________________
GraphicWonders

jfarris · EVDO Junkie Joined: 10 May 2007 Posts: 182

As for gaming, it depends on what you want to play. Shooters work just fine for me on EVDO, but that's all I play online. What they call "high twitch" games, like sports games, tend to be fussy on Rev 0. All of this should improve on Rev A, though, from what I hear.

Sprint is the only other unlimited provider that I know of that is EVDO.

Clearwire is WiMax, not EVDO.

EVDO does have latency (I assume this is what you referred to as transmission delay), but not as bad as satellite. I get around 175-200 ms ping on EVDO, where I would get 1000-1500ms on WildBlue, sometimes spiking to around 3000ms.

The connection can drop, depending on distance, terrain, and sometimes just the tower.

I know Alltel shows how much bandwidth you used, but I've never seen any tracking of sites on my bill. They could still track, honestly I really don't know. Some ISPs do.

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

1) EVDO is better than dialup.
2) Yes, connections drop. depends on signal and tower. Not a big problem.
3) Start with at least indoor/portable booster antenna 3gstore sells.
4) Yes, there is 'latency', buts its much less than satellite. like 150-200 vs. 500-1000
5) Clearwire is not EVDO. its fixed wireless.
6) Sprint is unlimited but does not have EVDO in your area.
7) All ISP's *can* track and report, but no... your porn visits will not appear on bill
Shocked

GraphicWonders · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:27 am Post subject:

See! That's why this forum is SO great. jfarris & Alex Smile

lewxam · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:33 am Post subject:

Forget the satellite. I just got rid of mine. EVDO is a much, much better alternative.

GraphicWonders · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:51 am Post subject:

jfarris · EVDO Junkie Joined: 10 May 2007 Posts: 182

zhane · EVDO Newbie Joined: 19 Mar 2008 Posts: 6

thanks guys, i made a big post the other day, but spam thing obviously didn't post it. I forgot all that I said in the original. so right now i've decided to get the alltel $60 a month plan. Oh 1 more question? is all of Alltel now using REV A? or are they still converting over.

Capt Ron · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2008 8:43 pm Post subject:

Alltel is rev 0 except in a very few locations.
_________________
Ron

F34R · EVDO Junkie Joined: 27 Sep 2007 Posts: 153

i can tell you from experience that gaming is pretty decent on Rev.0, but like stated above, some games just don't work well with it.

Here is a list of games I've tried:

Xbox 360

Halo 3 - Plays perfectly with voice chat on too
Gears of War - plays well, sometimes lag will hit ya, but overall, playable
Forza 2 - Plays perfectly with voice chat on too
Madden 08 - unfreaking playable lol. too much lag, but I hear people with DSL and cable connection have problems with this too
COD4 - Plays perfectly with voice chat too

PS3

Warhawk - Plays perfectly
Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds - Plays perfectly
Burnout Paradise - Plays perfectly

I don't have a headset for the PS3 yet, so I didn't test any voice stuff with it.

Hope that helps. I'm using a PC5750 on a Rev 0 setup in a KR1 router. Both the 360 and PS3 are wired into the router instead of using the wireless. The reason behind this is you are able to get an Open NAT on the 360, and a Type 2 NAT on the PS3 when wired. Using the wireless it is near impossible to get both systems on a good NAT. Even when using port forwarding and DMZ settings.... too much of a headache.

Anyways, I've been using the EVDO for about 5 months now, so if you have any other questions that haven't already been answered, let me know.

zhane · EVDO Newbie Joined: 19 Mar 2008 Posts: 6

cool thanks, i do have one question, do the evdo routers only work with a specific modem card, or are they all universal?

F34R · EVDO Junkie Joined: 27 Sep 2007 Posts: 153

it definitely isn't universal... make sure the card is compatible with the router you buy.

whyzeman · EVDO User Joined: 14 Dec 2007 Posts: 83

I'm on Alltel in Southern Miss, so in addition to the great answers you've recieved so far...

-What is better a cell phone or a Modem Card

I hear that the Modem Card is better because you won't have the hassle of "tethering".

-What is a good Modem Card/Phone

I'm using the KPC-680 that I got for 50 dollars with a 2-year contract although you can get one off-site for around the same price and not worry about the 2-year.

-What is a general price for an antenna if it can boost my signal

3GStore sells all you'd need. I think I paid 60-ish for mine. If I were you, I'd start off with the signal booster and if need-be work your way up. That is, if you even need an antenna at all.

-What is the general price for wireless router designed for broadband cards(not totally necessary, but my current router needs my pc to be on to use with my ds/psp)

I'm using the 350 I bought from 3GStore and in the end, it hit me for about 170 dollars (including shipping). Excellent device.

1.) online gaming with Nintendo DS (specifically metriod prime hunters) I used 28.8 kbps dial-up right now (yes it can be put into a wireless network) and i can gerneally play crappy. Will EVDO work a lot better?

I plan on testing my PSP at a later time, but I really can't answer that one.

2.) Does the connection drop? I know calls can drop, what about this.

Alltel has a tendency of dropping the connection every 12 hours. There was also an issue about dormancy (the connection going to "sleep" when you're idle for x number of minutes), but since connecting the card to my 350, if it does disconnect, I don't know about it.

3.) Id rather have and internal antenna, but i can also get an external antenna if it works better. Are this antenna's universal, or do they work only with specific hardware.

To the best of my knowledge, the antennas are universal, you just need a specific antenna adapter (which 3GStore provides as part of purchase).

4.) Does EVDO have transmission delay? Like satellite internet.

This one has been answered pretty well already.

5.) Clearwire(i think thats the name) is EVDO right, but they have those boxes that are modems, does alltel sell those?

This one has also been answered.

6.) What other providers have UNLIMITED plans?

I know for a fact that Alltel has unlimited as previous answers indicated Sprint does as well.

7.) Is your intenet monitored. Like do these companies like track where you go when on the net? like if i go to yahoo.com, will it show up on the bill? I think i read somewhere that some intenet providers track what websites you go to.

If they wrote down every site I went to and put it on my bill, they wouldn't send me an envelope. They'd send me a crate. But, I do think certain activities throw up a red flag (like downloading 4 gigs of data overnight or in constant communication with Chinese servers for hours at a time).

zhane · EVDO Newbie Joined: 19 Mar 2008 Posts: 6

cool thanks 4 the help again Smile

I've decided to go with the Kyocera KPC680 PCMIA card which includes an adapter. I am gonna order it through letstalk since they have a good deal on it, unless you guys think i should go directly to Alltel.

I'm gonna try the Kyocera KR1 wi-fi router through tigerdirect. They have a good return policy.