In broadband coverage area but no signal at all.

sdpshroom · EVDO Newbie Joined: 07 May 2008 Posts: 7

Hi I had done some research into this Internet service and was a bit weary when I decided to give the 30 day trial a shot. I checked Verizon's map and I am way into the coverage area for broadband but that's not the problem. I live in a valley and not many people get cell phone reception at my house unless they stand out in the middle of the road.

Well I just got home with my Verizon USB720 Modem and wasn't expecting much. I got it installed and to no surprise, no signal.

I was wondering if I should even bother with trying an external antenna or am I completely screwed here? I'm pretty sure any signal would be better than my current ISP, Hughesnet satellite =(

I am wondering about those Omni external antenna and that maybe if I mounted one on my roof or somewhere I would be able to pick up a signal? Just how much do those antenna's increase the signal? Is it worth a shot? Please any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.

widgetman101 · EVDO Junkie Joined: 02 Apr 2008 Posts: 210

Do you have a laptop you can walk around your property and hunt for a signal. If so do that and let us know were you find the best signal and let us know what the RSSI level is.

sdpshroom · EVDO Newbie Joined: 07 May 2008 Posts: 7

I don't have a laptop but my brother does. I will have to try that when he gets home.

Both sides of my house are surrounded by steep hills/cliffs so ill have to take the laptop up there and see what happens. Thanks.

sdpshroom · EVDO Newbie Joined: 07 May 2008 Posts: 7

Alright good news, I got a hold of a laptop and connected the modem to it and walked around my house and I actually found a signal at a couple places. Two places in particular seemed to work the best.

The first area was directly in front of my house in the middle of my driveway. I was able to connect to the broadband network and the signal strength ranged from 115-99.

The second area that worked pretty well was on my roof. I was able to connect and get some signals from 115-103.

The location on my driveway seems like a decent candidate for an antenna but the cabling would be a problem. All of the external antenna's I have looked at come with a 10-15' cable which would be far too short for what I need.

But perhaps the roof would be a better option even tho I got a lower signal ? I don't know what do you guys think? Is the antenna going to boost performance that much to make it worth it? Or should I just suck it up and stick with crappy hughesnet for now?

Any input would be awesome. Thanks.

widgetman101 · EVDO Junkie Joined: 02 Apr 2008 Posts: 210

Well I was reluctant like you when I got mine. I had a -87 through -90 dBm level and could only connect to the national access. My HDR broadband signal was really high and I couldn't ever connect even forcing it.

I got the 14dBi Yagi and installed it about 25 feet in the air and after some playing around I get between a -72dBm through -77dBm level on Rev-A.

So the antenna I got gave me a signal boost of roughly 30-35dBm sustained on HDR mode.

When I say sustained I mean keeping the signal. When I would force HDR mode without the antenna at some points it would drop down to around -91 dBm but then shoot right back up to -115+ dBm which is why it wouldn't connect.

My setup also has 30 feet of coax run so there was some loss in the cable as well. I'm pretty confident to say if your getting some type of signal a high gain Yagi like I got is going to do wonders for you.

You just need to contact Verizon and find out if there using 800mhz or 1900mhz in your area. This is the antenna I ordered.

http://www.repeaterstore.com/products/antennas/wilson/yagi-800-301111.html

sdpshroom · EVDO Newbie Joined: 07 May 2008 Posts: 7

Ah nice that is good to hear about the antenna. The thing that worries me is the cable length. Does any kind of coax cable work with the antenna or do you need some special type of coax ? I have a bunch of spare cable lying around and some I can even take from my satellite internet connection (Which I won't be using anymore if this EVDO works)

I also ordered the big Omni external antenna (Verizon USB720 Omni External Antenna w/cables and Mount 32")after reading a bunch of reviews on several different types of antennas. It seems like for people who live in a valley like me, obstacles are the biggest problem and the bigger antenna seems to work better.

Thanks for your input, it helped a lot.

sdpshroom · EVDO Newbie Joined: 07 May 2008 Posts: 7

Hey again I have just installed my omni antenna and I manage to get up to 2 bars of signal strength (~90dbm on average) an this is way better than my current Hughesnet connection. I decided I'm going to stick with this Verizon service because I do not get the ridiculous latency that satellite has.

There is one minor problem at the moment. I do not have enough cabling to reach from the antenna outside to my computer in my room. I am currently connected through the use of 3 USB cable extenders ha.

I'm wondering if it would be a better idea to get some coax cable, I need about 30 feet, and what kind of adaptors do I need to connect them. I noticed that the coax cable is slightly smaller than regular tv coax and I could not find an adaptor anywhere in town. I check radio shack, best buy, and even walmart. I was recommended to get them online from the site I purchased the antenna. (3gstore.com)

Any recommendations on what I need to get this extra 30ft of cable? Please help. Thanks.

sdpshroom · EVDO Newbie Joined: 07 May 2008 Posts: 7

I also have another question if anyone can help. I was doing some research and found out that coax cable has slower data transfer rates than a usb 2.0 cable. Does this apply to the signal attenuation from the antenna to the usb modem?

Since USB 2.0 can operate at speeds of up to 480 mbps and coax Ive seen 100-128 mbps, would it be better to use a usb extender cable instead of getting coax? Or does coax hold the signal better than usb 2.0 ?

AZDude · Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 9:18 pm Post subject:

Well since EVDO only has a speed between 1 and 3mbps, it wouldn't matter anyway. So you can stick with coax.

Also if you don't want to run all of that cable, you can get an EVDO router and use it to broadcast the signal to your computer. Although you would have to get a wifi antenna for your desktop.

sdpshroom · EVDO Newbie Joined: 07 May 2008 Posts: 7

Thanks for your reply. Good point btw about the evdo only being 1 - 3 mbps. But would you happen to know if coaxial can hold the signal better than usb 2.0 or vise versa?

I looked online and found some usb cables with booster chips in them to keep the signal from fading. Would this be similar to the signal booster that connects between the external antenna and your usb modem?

AZDude · Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 11:28 pm Post subject:

I don't know much about cables so I may not be much help there. However I do believe coax cable is more useful for longer distance than USB.

rickey318 · Posted: Tue May 13, 2008 1:15 pm Post subject:

Did your Verizon EVDO card come with a two end usb plug that can boost your device? I would have to say coax cable for right now cause I have not played with USB Cable going to far. You may have to mod your own cable for this and give it a try. Very Happy