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mrbouchez
EVDO Newbie
Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 10
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 Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:02 pm Post subject: Sprint EVDO - Warcraft user Home Network questions. |
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I recently got Sprint service for home. I'm in a rural area so cable and DSL are out of the question. I mainly use the internet for games, World of Warcraft, with some surfing and Email.
I was glad to hear that Sprint offered service as my only other options were DTN Speednet which didn't have a very good record and Wildblue/Hugesnet which also didn't have very good reviews and have very bad latency.
First, here is where I stand now. I'm less than 2 miles from the tower. There is a large stand of trees between me and the tower. I get a decent signal now, 4 bars/80% signal most of the time but I still have a relatively high latency. Latency runs from 800-1500ms in game. I have 2 computers that will be connecting to WoW at the same time.
I'm looking to reduce the latency of my EVDO connection and have been doing some research. I have a few questions for all of you.
1. Tunnelers. Programs like PingFU from Artofping.com. Do they help with latency from this type of cell connection?
2. Antennas. I've purchased a Wilson antenna but didn't see much improvement. Is this the right type of antenna? Does the position of the antenna matter? If I elevate the antenna at what point will the length of coax cable hurt my connection?
3. Amps. Some posts say don't bother, others say they are great. What about hardware vs. software driven amps?
4. Repeaters. Are these different from amps? Will adding one improve my latency?
Anyone know anything about any of these products? Thanks in advance to those who bother to post a reply. |
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Alex
Site Admin
Joined: 19 Sep 2006
Posts: 2054
Location: Dallas, TX
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 5:10 pm Post subject: Re: Sprint EVDO - Warcraft user Home Network questions. |
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| mrbouchez wrote: | | I'm looking to reduce the latency of my EVDO connection and have been doing some research. |
you do not have much control over your latency.
all you have control over, is the signal you have to cell tower.
want to know what latency would be like with best possible signal?
drive to your cell tower. sit under it. test all you want.
that will show you how good your latency can possibly get.
its not likely to differ much, but if it does, its because of signal gain.
and if it does, then you need to read/understand this article:
http://www.EVDOinfo.com/rssi
answers to questions at end of article, make it easier for us to help you decide on items that can improve your signal (not latency) |
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mrbouchez
EVDO Newbie
Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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Alright then. That article explains it pretty well
I presently get -82 dBm maximum, sometimes -96 or a little more. The best I've been able to get my signal is 80% and it usually runs at that rate. If I can get the signal to float around 100% wouldn't that reduce my latency?
I'm less than 2 miles from the tower, with a little help shouldn't that full signal be possible?
What is causing the signal to dip down to 40% and back up? Shouldn't it stay at a mostly constant level? |
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Semi75
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 25 Feb 2006
Posts: 230
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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That latency is unusually high, are you connecting to EVDO or 1xRTT? Those pings ate abour right for 1xRTT but very high for evdo. It will show up as on or the other on your connection manager under the sigbal meter.
Also you said Warcraft, is the World of Warcraft? If so you are defintly out or the normal ping range for evdo users. Thy running ping command from the C prompt and see what you are really getting. |
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Semi75
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 25 Feb 2006
Posts: 230
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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I can't edit my post.... 
A -80 signal is a good signal and a -100 is very poor. The lower the reading the better you are. With a steady -80 reading you have a good signal and an antenna/amp will not help latency. Confirm as in my previous posy you are in fact connected to an EVDO signal, I suspect you aren't. |
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mrbouchez
EVDO Newbie
Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 9:36 pm Post subject: |
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| The connection type says RAS. I am connecting with the Sierra Wireless Compass 597 which is an EVDO modem, I guess that dosent mean Im on an EVDO connection. can I get an EVDO connection from 2 miles away? |
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mrbouchez
EVDO Newbie
Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 6:26 am Post subject: |
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Thats strange, this is the first forum I've posted on that dosen't allow you to edit your own posts..
I will have a laptop to use this weekend for testing. I just want to get this strait so that I'm checking what I need to check to help get this resolved.
I need to load WoW then drive to the tower while logged in to see what kind of results I get from closer to the tower. I need to check the connection type, signal strength, and watch the in game latency.
Any other suggestions? |
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mrbouchez
EVDO Newbie
Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:46 am Post subject: |
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I found this article one this site
Help, EVDO is SLOW, or what is 1xRTT and EVDO
My question is how far from the tower does the EVDO signal extend? I understand that obstructions like buildings can interupt the signal strength. Do trees also effect the signal? If so then I may have found the majority of my problem. |
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necbone
EVDO Newbie
Joined: 15 May 2008
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 8:01 pm Post subject: |
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1xrt is the slow one, Rev A is the fast one.... I play wow, conan, eve, and a bunch of games using my sprint 597...
to strenghten my signal or whatever, I got the booster and it worked, it doesnt seem that sophisticated but it seems to make my signal stronger and more steady, thats what you want, consistency with mmo's....
use a laptop and go around yur house and figure the spot for the be -db and set up shop there, thats what I did, and now I'm at a consistent 60%-80% and barely have lag when playing games.
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mrbouchez
EVDO Newbie
Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 6:28 am Post subject: |
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| Would a booster help with my 1xRTT connection or is that just to boost the EVDO signal? |
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Jim_in_VA
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 09 Apr 2007
Posts: 437
Location: On the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
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mrbouchez
EVDO Newbie
Joined: 12 Jun 2008
Posts: 10
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| Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 6:52 am Post subject: |
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Thanks Jim, that link will come in handy and I have seen it before I just dread calling Sprint customer service to get the password.
But again, that article refers to EVDO which I now know ends 10 miles from my home. I'm running on a 1xRTT connection. I intend on trying to optimize everything I can on my end but will changing the HA also improve a 1xRTT connection? |
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Jim_in_VA
EVDO Junkie
Joined: 09 Apr 2007
Posts: 437
Location: On the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
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| Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 7:03 am Post subject: |
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yes, the HA change should affect 1xRTT as well. Another good article which helps tremendously is http://www.evdoforums.com/thread504.html. When I needed my MSL i simply told the CSR that I needed to check the signal/noise ratio and that the bar graph wouldn't give me that...got it right away, no problem.
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nschwen
EVDO User
Joined: 15 Oct 2005
Posts: 62
Location: Hastings, MN
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| Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 12:15 pm Post subject: Re: Sprint EVDO - Warcraft user Home Network questions. |
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| mrbouchez wrote: | | Latency runs from 800-1500ms in game. |
Understand a bit about how WoW reports latency. It takes an average of all response times and reports that. What typically causes a high number like that is not a true average ping time of 1500ms, but a big lag spike; most commonly a dropped (lost) request that had to be resent. If my assumption is right, while WoW reports 1500ms latency, you can perform actions in-game (cast spells for instance) and see the result in far less than a second and a half.
So the real trick in improving WoW 'latency' is reducing lost packets. Do a test and see how many you're getting. From a command prompt run the following:
ping google.com -n 100
This will perform 100 pings to google, and at the end report your min/max/average ping, plus how many packets you lost. Lost packets are what really really kill in WoW, as everything stops while that one lost packet is re-requested from the server. Be aware as well that pings to google will likely look amazing compared to what you can actually achieve in WoW. As a reference, I average about 100-130ms pings to Google, but see 300-500 in WoW (very playable btw).
If I were you, I would do the following, working down the list until you can get an RSSI in the 60-75 range (about the best you realistically need, or can expect):
1. Get a good external antenna. (<$100) Likely an omni, given you don't have clear line of site to the tower. I'm in the same situation and have had much more luck with my omni (non-directional) over a yagi (must be aimed). Yagi might be better in theory however, but will require a lot more tinkering.
2. Experiment for best antenna location. Try different sides of the house, heights, etc. If the ideal location you find isn't close to where you use your connection, consider using a wireless router to bridge from the premium location to where you need the signal.
3. Add an amp ($200-$300). This, in my case, moves my RSSI from the 80's to the 60's. But if you're already getting 60's or even low 70's with just the antenna, I would save my money.
That's what I did, and now enjoy a very stable connection for my very rural location. In my experience, a tunneler (like PingFU) will do nothing to help you. As you said you're getting 4bars/80% signal, my guess is improving your signal quality will do more to help than anything else. |
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nschwen
EVDO User
Joined: 15 Oct 2005
Posts: 62
Location: Hastings, MN
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| Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2008 12:57 pm Post subject: |
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I just stumbled on another post you made with much more detail.
http://www.evdoforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=9854
(Should really keep the same problem in the same post, just keeps all the known info together)
Anyhow, looks like you got a good antenna, and have it outdoors, though low to the ground. I'd try moving that up. Find somewhere on your house you can clamp it temporarily (maybe to a downspout?) just to do some testing.
It also sounds like you have a router (CradlePoint, but didn't say which. Shouldn't matter really though).
You didn't say what effect the new antenna had on your RSSI though. For all testing you do, use the modem in a laptop so you can see the RSSI in the Sprint connection manager (percentages aren't nearly as telling). For every change you make (moving an antenna, whatever) wait a minute or so and make note of the effect on the RSSI number. |
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