Blurb about 3G cards in US vs EU

Urban Weigl

uncle_sam_ie wrote:

I'm 7 miles to the nearest 3G mast. Do reckon it would pick up the signal.

Sadly, I doubt it, unless you have great line of sight (even if you do, I don't know if that isn't too far). Remember that 7 miles is 11km, which is quite some distance! I really don't know much about 3G coverage, but my gut tells me it won't work that far. Then again, I've tested ordinary 802.11b Wifi, and that seems to work great up to 16km or so with pretty low gain antennas, as long as you have line of sight... The only report I've read that mentioned distance when using this 3G outdoor antenna was somebody using it 6.5km away, and he got excellent speeds and 3 bars reception. Perhaps you could call Voda and see if they plan any 3G masts closer to your location in the next 6-12 months?

I am not qualified to answer your question with any kind of certainty. Perhaps somebody else could?

uncle_sam_ie

Urban Weigl wrote:

Sadly, I doubt it, unless you have great line of sight (even if you do, I don't know if that isn't too far). Remember that 7 miles is 11km, which is quite some distance! I really don't know much about 3G coverage, but my gut tells me it won't work that far. Then again, I've tested ordinary 802.11b Wifi, and that seems to work great up to 16km or so with pretty low gain antennas, as long as you have line of sight... The only report I've read that mentioned distance when using this 3G outdoor antenna was somebody using it 6.5km away, and he got excellent speeds and 3 bars reception. Perhaps you could call Voda and see if they plan any 3G masts closer to your location in the next 6-12 months?

I am not qualified to answer your question with any kind of certainty. Perhaps somebody else could?

That's ok, I'll be in the US next week buying my Macbook pro. I'll just have to drive the seven miles. It will beat the 25 mile I have to drive to cork now for broadband at my in-laws house.

jwt

LOL :rolleyes:

Progress Irish style eh?

John

uncle_sam_ie

jwt wrote:

LOL :rolleyes:

Progress Irish style eh?

John

Ya, when I told my family in the US that I have to drive to get broadband access they wanted to know if I was using a car or a horse and buggy to get there

Urban Weigl

The Linksys 3G router is going for 148 ex. VAT on elara.ie. I just ordered mine on Monday (yesterday), and it's supposed to arrive tomorrow (Wednesday). Total cost was 190 including vat (once you figure in shipping and everything).

Not too expensive really. The Vodafone unlimited data plan is 49 euros for the 3G mobile connect card, than you get the first month free, and 49 euros a month that (all prices including VAT).

So basically, it works out at 190 euros for the Linksys router + 49 a month. Less if you can claim VAT back!

cgarvey

Yeah, the router is fine for some.. but if travelling, it's not something you can easily carry around the place. I'm still debating the various options.

uncle_sam_ie

Urban Weigl wrote:

The Linksys 3G router is going for 148 ex. VAT on elara.ie. I just ordered mine on Monday (yesterday), and it's supposed to arrive tomorrow (Wednesday). Total cost was 190 including vat (once you figure in shipping and everything).

Not too expensive really. The Vodafone unlimited data plan is 49 euros for the 3G mobile connect card, than you get the first month free, and 49 euros a month that (all prices including VAT).

So basically, it works out at 190 euros for the Linksys router + 49 a month. Less if you can claim VAT back!

Is easy to make the router mobile if I wanted to take it on the road?

cgarvey

Car adaptor of some sorts. The Pound (sic) Shops sometimes sell the variable voltage cigarette ligher adaptors for CD players, etc. Dunno about that particular router, but the routers I have here are 100-200mA, which should be fine for said adaptors.. but you'll need to check the voltage/current requirements for that router. Worst case scenario, you could get an inverter (to turn your 12V DC into 220-230V AC) which gives you an ordinary socket to plug your router into.

Apart from that, it's just the bulk I was referring to in an earlier post.

.cg

JohnnieM

It's not exactly cheap at €179, so I'm still looking for a better source. Remember you'll still need the Vodafone 3G Mobile Connect card, which is €99 with a 12-month contract. If you've a new laptop from Dell or Apple, which has the newer ExpressCard slot, Vodafone tell me that it's possible to source a USB or Firewire PCMCIA adapter. They are currently testing an ExpressCard-based 3G Data Connect card, but this won't be available for some time.[/QUOTE]

Also dont forget usage charges on 3g are based on volume not time you pay so much per mb.. there are packages available 6mb is 18 euro and they get cheeper the more you pay up front... horrendous for downloading not to bad for surfing .

JohnnieM

It's not exactly cheap at €179, so I'm still looking for a better source. Remember you'll still need the Vodafone 3G Mobile Connect card, which is €99 with a 12-month contract. If you've a new laptop from Dell or Apple, which has the newer ExpressCard slot, Vodafone tell me that it's possible to source a USB or Firewire PCMCIA adapter. They are currently testing an ExpressCard-based 3G Data Connect card, but this won't be available for some time.[/QUOTE]

Also dont forget usage charges on 3g are based on volume not time you pay so much per mb.. there are packages available and they get cheeper the more you pay up front... horrendous for downloading not to bad for surfing . Type of User Bundle Size Price per month*

Regular 50MB €20
Daily 100MB €40
Heavy 500MB €75
Super 1GB (1000MB) €85

cgarvey

2 coorections .. the MobileConnect card is €49 with a 12 month contract (for a limited time I think). There is an unlimited data plan (subject to an AUP) for €49/mo. Prices include VAT.

Zaphod

What sort of IP address do you get with this service - is it public/private, static/dynamic?

cgarvey

public dynamic, but it looks like it's firewalled off

Zaphod

So what are my chances of being able to run VNC over it?

cgarvey

As a client (in terms of performance) or a host (in terms of port blocking/firewall)?

As a host, not much unless you use man in the middle (UltraVNC does have a MitM app which might help, or some similar concept.

As a client, the performance is fine. I've only barely noticed latency (over my interleaved DSL). Even over GPRS, it's a whole lot more usable than dialup.

.cg

Zaphod

Unfortunately for me I was hoping to use it as a host. Thanks anyway.

Mr Burns

Does vodaphone 3g card work with a standard PC? Can the card be made fit?

cgarvey

You can buy a PCI > PC Card/Cardbus adaptor (the PC Card extends out the back of your case). Use the provided (albeit short in length) external antenna and if you're in a good signal area, you should be OK.

Here's one example, but I've no idea how reputable they are, or if you'll get it cheaper / locally.

JohnnieM

cgarvey wrote:

2 coorections .. the MobileConnect card is €49 with a 12 month contract (for a limited time I think). There is an unlimited data plan (subject to an AUP) for €49/mo. Prices include VAT.

I stand corrected

cgarvey

JohnnieM wrote:

I stand corrected

Be seated

JohnnieM

cgarvey wrote:

Be seated

Laugh....Good on Ya..

Zaphod

Would this be suitable an as external antenna or does anyone know what polarisation Vodafone use?
http://www.therfidshop.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_44&products_id=42&osCsid=evnagfhutamc6s3s17sgaqksv3

trap4

Zaphod wrote:

Would this be suitable an as external antenna

Does anyone know? I'd love to invest in one of those for the rare days where I can't get 3G.

Urban Weigl

Short answer: yes
Long answer: yes, but you'll also need to get an adapter (pigtail) for your card

Zaphod

The site in question sell 2 versions of the antenna, one with a 50cm HDF195 (GBP36 + VAT) cable and the other with a 7m HDF195 cable (GBP42 + VAT) both with SMA male connectors. Unfortunately they don't sell Lucent MC -> SMA pigtails.

In the end I went with the Thiecom.de antenna mentioned already by UW. Antenna + 8m cable + pigtail + postage came to just over €104.
www.thiecom.de

trap4

Please let us know how you get on with that setup Zaphod and what kind of difference it makes.

leoc

trap4 wrote:

Please let us know how you get on with that setup Zaphod and what kind of difference it makes.

Also, d'you mind if I ask what the part numbers were for the pigtail and cable you ordered from Thiecom?

Zaphod

SLP17 - antenna
SMA8FME - cable
PIG2FME - pigtail

I have an Option Globetrotter card which has a Lucent MC female connector but another member PMed me that Vodafone are also selling Huawei cards which have different connectors - possibly SMK.

In case anyone else is wondering about using these cards as a VNC server as per #45, the client can't connect directly. However, the server can connect to the client in listening mode. Alt. the client can connect if both use the NAT-to-NAT connector and UltraVNC.

It'll be at least 2 weeks before I can get to try out the antenna.

leoc

Yes, mine is the Huawei E618. I think that's the current model:

The current Vodafone Mobile Connect sales pack includes a Vodafone-branded Huawei E618.

sez Vodafone New Zealand. Its website seems to be more informative than vodafone.ie right now; it lists the various Mobile Connect cards, but still doesn't give the antenna connector details. I'll have to ring Vodafone IE's Data Support people, when they get back to work on Monday morning.

Sparky

Seems to look the exact same as the o2 datacard.