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karlyn
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 02 Apr 2007
Posts: 305
Location: Lynchburg, VA
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 Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 10:51 am Post subject: CTR350 usable range record? |
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Last Sunday I lost my Alltel connection and couldn't get it back so I turned off my router. When I got back to my laptop I see the "wireless networks found" message, which wouldn't surprise most of you urbanites, but as a ruralist it sure surprised me.
Turns out it was a signal from my parents' CTR350 -- from 613 feet away (from house to house, absolutely clear line of sight)!* My Intel PROset/Wireless described the signal quality as "very good," so I decided to connect and see if it worked. Boy did it. I worked off their router for at least an hour and found it perfectly acceptable for my typical work activities, including uploading files to my work server (all were over a MB). Once done with work I did a few tests:
Average download/upload as tested via Speakeasy: 1220 down/92 up
(their connection is Sprint roaming on Alltel Rev 0)**
Average ping (google, 10x): 274 ms
(average using my connection is 223-256 ms)
I've used the connection several times since under different weather conditions and my experience has been nearly the same. Cool stuff!
karlyn
* Distance from house-to-house was measured using a handheld GPS with an accuracy of about +/- 10 feet.
** It was also pretty interested to find that even though I couldn't use my Alltel connection I could use their Sprint connection which is forced to roam on the same cell site. This newer Alltel/Sprint tunneling protocol could be very useful -- it gives me another, better back-up connection in addition to my old dial-up account. |
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n6gn
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 22 Aug 2006
Posts: 295
Location: Northern California
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 11:08 am Post subject: |
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I haven't been following the Cradle Point threads here but I just took a look at the data sheet. It looks to me like they don't bring out an external WiFi antenna connector. Is this correct?
If not, I bet if one were to go into it, disconnect or bypass the internal antenna connection and bring the port out externally - and then connect it to a, say, 2' dish, that a WiFi connection to the Cradle Point could be made at 10 miles or more. That is, if line of sight to another WiFi device with external 2' dish were ensured.
I don't know what power the Cradle Point makes on transmit but it is probably a standard chip set and running at least +15 dBm (30 milliwatts). This is plenty to do 10 miles with directive antennas.
Guess I'll have to get one of them and find out (in my next spare time (:>) )
n6gn |
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karlyn
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Joined: 02 Apr 2007
Posts: 305
Location: Lynchburg, VA
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 11:16 am Post subject: |
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| Correct, n6gn, there is no external antenna. Have fun playing! |
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Jim_in_VA
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Joined: 09 Apr 2007
Posts: 274
Location: http://evdotips.blogspot.com
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 11:39 am Post subject: |
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someone send n6gn a CTR350 so he can mod it!!...Alex??? 
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Alex
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Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 1752
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 12:05 pm Post subject: |
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| karlyn wrote: | | Correct, n6gn, there is no external antenna. Have fun playing! |
n6gn, its not hard. vic did it within minutes of having his first unit:
but we're not "into" playing with wifi range ourselves 
i should note that what vic did should not be "tried at home" by most users. cracking that case open is likely to void your warranty, and vic did have to use some parts that most folks would not have access to. |
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JoeCHecht
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Joined: 05 Jan 2008
Posts: 241
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 1:23 pm Post subject: |
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| Alex wrote: | | karlyn wrote: | | Correct, n6gn, there is no external antenna. Have fun playing! |
n6gn, its not hard. vic did it within minutes of having his first unit:
but we're not "into" playing with wifi range ourselves
i should note that what vic did should not be "tried at home" by most users. cracking that case open is likely to void your warranty, and vic did have to use some parts that most folks would not have access to. |
The internet is a great place for most folks to get access to almost anything.
Whats the name of the connector that plug into the board?
I was lucky, and was able to snip one from a wireless board taken out of a lighting struck HP lapltop.
Joe |
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Jim_in_VA
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Joined: 09 Apr 2007
Posts: 274
Location: http://evdotips.blogspot.com
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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Oh come on Alex...us kids gotta have fun
Take a peek n6gn:
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Alex
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Joined: 19 Sep 2006
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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| JoeCHecht wrote: | | Whats the name of the connector that plug into the board? |
see, thats the thing. the board in the CTR350 did not have a jack. vic used another board that did. like i said, most people would not have what they need to do what vic did. |
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Alex
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Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 1752
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 1:39 pm Post subject: |
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well, at least... the board we found in OUR ctr350 back in sept. did not have a jack. the one jim just put up, sure looks like it has one.
nonetheless, i don't know what that jack is called. i'll see if vic knows. |
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JoeCHecht
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 05 Jan 2008
Posts: 241
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Alex wrote: | | JoeCHecht wrote: | | Whats the name of the connector that plug into the board? |
see, thats the thing. the board in the CTR350 did not have a jack. vic used another board that did. like i said, most people would not have what they need to do what vic did. |
A soldering iron? 
Joe |
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Alex
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Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 1752
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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| JoeCHecht wrote: | | A soldering iron? |
and the right jack. and the right connector. and the skill.
and yeah, even the soldering iron.
remember, i said MOST people. |
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n6gn
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 22 Aug 2006
Posts: 295
Location: Northern California
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Jim_in_VA wrote: | Oh come on Alex...us kids gotta have fun
Take a peek n6gn:
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I'm not really sure from this angle. It might be MMCX (originally Huber-Suhner but now probably all sorts of different manufacturers) but it also might be one of the myriad proprietary connectors that exist. In any case, it looks easy enough to replace with a standard type or else to solder a piece of .085" semi-rigid cable (with SMA on the far end) directly to the board, which might be better.
n6gn |
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Jim_in_VA
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Joined: 09 Apr 2007
Posts: 274
Location: http://evdotips.blogspot.com
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 8:46 pm Post subject: |
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hmm, so you don't think MHF (U.FL)? I'll take a macro shot of it at an angle and post it tomorrow. Maybe that would help identify it.
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n6gn
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 22 Aug 2006
Posts: 295
Location: Northern California
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| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 9:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Jim_in_VA wrote: | | hmm, so you don't think MHF (U.FL)? I'll take a macro shot of it at an angle and post it tomorrow. Maybe that would help identify it. |
I'd need a pretty accurate scale alongside it and a different angle to be very certain. As I look at the picture again though, I think a better solution is to move the blocking capacitor to the trace+connector landing at the middle of the end of the board and then solder a piece of connectored semi-rigid straight into it. Just takes poking a .09" hole in the plastic and then bringing the thing straight out. The grounding on the landing looks good and I suspect that doing it this way could make a pretty low VSWR transition - not that it's all that critical.
Interesting to note the AUX antenna they have as well. Almost like WiFi does. Probably means there's an antenna switch back nearer the T/R diplexer. Could be that the firmware looks for signal on that antenna in case there's nothing coming from the main port - as would be the case if a connector was plugged in but open on the external antenna end.
Now that I think about, the presence of a switch in the connector (to disconnect the normal antenna on the left) sort of rules out MMCX. All the more reason to bypass it all with coax and SMA.
n6gn |
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Jim_in_VA
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 09 Apr 2007
Posts: 274
Location: http://evdotips.blogspot.com
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| Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:53 am Post subject: |
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n6gn:
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