Three Huawei B260a modem with External Antenna

iPhone.

Hi guys,

just wondering if anyone has connected an exernal antenna to the three Huawei B260a 3g modem and if so which antenna they used and would they recommend it or any other external antenna for increasing signal reception?

William Powell

All I can tell you is that Huawei use a CRC9 connection as a standard connection for their modems/routes so googling "Huawei B260a CRC9" without the quotes should find you something.

tbh I always think the whole point of something like the B260a router (gateway) is that you can place it in a location with a good signal rather than having to resort to an antenna.

What the CRC9 plug looks like

Found this webpage which lists what connectors are used on particular modems.

iPhone.

Thanks william, my reason for asking is because I am seriously considering the Huawei B260a and to this end i trialled a huawei E173 to test the reception/speed available in my home from three.
I seem to be getting pretty consistent 2.5 to 3.0 mb download and approx 1.49 upload with a ping of 60 - 70ms with this dongle and was curious as to whether anyone had tried an external antenna to see if these speeds could be improved upon in any worthwhile manner.

not having the Huawei B260a yet, i am not familiar with it other than the specs etc on the three site. From your reply can i surmise that you feel the Huawei B260a would provide better reception than the E173 in its own right without needing to use an external antenna?

William Powell

If you are getting good speeds I doubt an antenna will increase them. Its far more down to how many other users are also connected at the same time than anything else, remember that advertised UP TO 7.2Mbps is shared amoungst all users in the sector. If your sector is over subscribed all an antenna might do is put you slightly higher up the pecking order when too many users are on at the same time then those with the least good signal lose it altogether (untill the demand drops again) - its called cell breathing.

A usb dongle is limited in its placement because its attached to a PC or laptop, a WiFi router device like can be placed where the best signal is in the house (limited by its power supply so have to have a mains plug near by).

I don't have or use a B260a but to get a signal I use a really cheap router and dongle arrangment so I can place the USB dongle in the best location I can and I don't bother with an antenna.

So as they say its location location location

iPhone.

Well there in lies the crux of it william, not having used 3G for home broadband before, I have nothing to go by - do you consider 2.5 to 3mb to be good speeds? and could not be improved upon to any worthwhile extent with an external antenna?

William Powell

I'd stick my neck out and say anyone who regularly gets over 1Mbps with a Mobile Broadband connection can't complain. I don't even think 0.5Mbps is bad if thats the worst you get, but in some area's its much much worse and there's no garantee 3 aren't going to sign up another 30 users in your area the day after you commit to useing them. It isn't real Broadband, and if used for its intended purpose as MOBILE broadband it can be a good service but if you can get a real fixed line then get it there is no comparision.

Some people are stuck with no other choice and if you understand the limitations then it can fill the gap.

As for your 2.5 - 3 Mbps being good speeds imagine how good they'll seem if 4 or 5 other users start streaming video at the same time your using it. Even the simple maths says up to 7.2Mbps divided by 6 is only going to be 1.2 Mbps each, there's a lot of Hungry 3 All You Can Eat Data users out there not to mention ordinary phone users who get priority.

Some users do and will continue to get really good speeds simply because they are in a sector with few users, all masts have 3 sectors and in some locations having 2 sectors covering a town leaves a third one pointing out over the country with very few users so their are some sweet spots just not that many of them.

I certainly wouldn't be rushing to get an antenna if you are getting 3Mbps speeds, thats half the bandwith in a sector.

iPhone.

You are definitely well up on your knowledge of all this William, fair play to you.
Regarding the Bandwith of 3Mbps does that mean only one other person in my 'sector' is using the service? or am i getting hold of the wrong end of things?
I do currently have a landline broadband connection, and tbh its not all you might imagine it to be , at least i don't think so. For years my only option here was either dial up or isdn, i plumped for isdn as dialup even then was a joke. The costs though as you know were astronomical for that service, especially as it was only being used as a residential service.

Eventually the exchange was enabled and i finally got broadband - but my exchange can only handle 3Mbps max on my line as its not NGB enabled. I hated the idea througout all my days of dialup, isdn and now broadband of having to pay for line rental along with the service charge itself. So to say i was surprised when i recently tested the 3G signal to my home and found I was getting 3Mbps, is an understatement. The best speed I get from my fixed line is 2.4Mbps! and the upload is only about .25Mbps compared to 1.49Mbps upload on the 3G.

I know a lot of people have a lot less options and much worse service from the options they do have available, but I am only trying to make the best decision on the options open to me, as I would expect everyone does with what they also have available.
It's great to be able to get info though from sources like this, and the genuinely interested and helpful people like yourself who offer their experiences and knowledge to help others.

I am in a pretty rural location and I am benefiting i would imagine as you said, from the low client base using the mast. But you have me thinking now, maybe I should just 'suck it up' and put up with the line rental a little longer and see what develops.
Speaking of masts, I checked the comreg mast location map and it shows the mast locations in my area, i can actually see two of them out my front window, about half a mile away line of site - one is meteor, the other 02, neither are 3g enabled. I can't figure out for the life of me where the 100 % signal I was receiving on my three ireland dongle on my recent test was coming from...... any ideas? (there are also two vodafone masts in the area, but not as close to me as the other two mentioned).

William Powell

Check this out its by someone far more technical than me and it fits your circumstances perfectly.

My best advice is keep the fixed line broadband.

iPhone.

Wow! definitely keeping the fixed line after reading that, thanks william.

And would you believe it, i also just checked my landline with the eircom service check thingy for broadband, and its said that my line can now handle 7Mbps!! previous best available to me was 3Mbps as i said earlier.

I will be phoning them and seeing if they are willing to do any sort of deal for a 'long term' customer who is was, considering dropping the service to avail of 3G broadband , worth a try anyway, even if I already have my mind made up to stay

Amalgam

I was looking for a 3G Antenna myself, what with Summer coming up. (School's out..)

Stumbled across this eBay seller, not saying you should buy from them, but they have an insane choice of wireless related items for sale, including 3G. Just to give you an overview.

http://stores.ebay.ie/Wi-Fi-arturek

William Powell

If I had any spare cash I'd love to give one of those Yagi's a try, as I'd like to see if they are any good, even it if was just to use it as a sort of direction finder to see where the local masts were hidden located. Now my expereince of WiFi is that you can easily slap on a big antenna and pick up wireless networks that you couldn't see without the antenna BUT thats all you can do, see them, because you don't have the power in the WiFi device to send a signal back so the base station you can see can't pick up your weak responce. I wonder if its the same with 3G?

@ Amalgam, a full report is expected if you get an antenna

johnno1970

[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/John/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG]Someone mentioned "sweet spots" earlier on. Well I must definitely be in one of those, I live in the countryside just outside Ardfert in Kerry, and am consistently getting speeds of over 5mb on 3 using their Huawei wireless router. Just did a speed test this morning which gave me 6.31mb. I could only ever get 1.5mb -2mb on landline, so when the 3 broadband rep. called here about 3 months ago I was very sceptical when he told me that he was getting readings of 6mb in two locations in the house, he seemed quite excited about it too. I told him I would think about it when he called first, I then went and did a bit of research on 3 and saw all the very poor reviews they get, so I decided not to go with them. The rep. called back and said try it for a week, if youre not happy we will take it out. Well from day one I've been getting these speeds and I'm 3 months into the contract now. Absolutely delighted with what I'm getting, how long it will last I dont know, but enjoying it while it does!

William Powell

johnno1970 wrote: »

[IMG]file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/John/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot.png[/IMG]Someone mentioned "sweet spots" earlier on. Well I must definitely be in one of those, I live in the countryside just outside Ardfert in Kerry, and am consistently getting speeds of over 5mb on 3 using their Huawei wireless router. Just did a speed test this morning which gave me 6.31mb. I could only ever get 1.5mb -2mb on landline, so when the 3 broadband rep. called here about 3 months ago I was very sceptical when he told me that he was getting readings of 6mb in two locations in the house, he seemed quite excited about it too. I told him I would think about it when he called first, I then went and did a bit of research on 3 and saw all the very poor reviews they get, so I decided not to go with them. The rep. called back and said try it for a week, if youre not happy we will take it out. Well from day one I've been getting these speeds and I'm 3 months into the contract now. Absolutely delighted with what I'm getting, how long it will last I dont know, but enjoying it while it does!

Most 3 reps will tell you anything, some are even daft enough to post links to there own temp folder :rolleyes:

iPhone.

William Powell wrote: »

Most 3 reps will tell you anything, some are even daft enough to post links to there own temp folder :rolleyes:

hehehehehehehe ........ well spotted William.... I can only imagine the amount of malware on trojans on that pc!!:eek:

johnno1970

Well a 3 rep I certainly am not, what I was trying to do there was give you a screen shot from the speed test page, but that was the outcome. Anyway as I said I was planning on telling the rep to do one until he said try it for a week, only for that I would not be with 3, my point was there are sweetspots out there, not very many of them I would guess, but I'm bang in the middle of one.

William Powell

johnno1970 wrote: »

Well a 3 rep I certainly am not, what I was trying to do there was give you a screen shot from the speed test page, but that was the outcome. Anyway as I said I was planning on telling the rep to do one until he said try it for a week, only for that I would not be with 3, my point was there are sweetspots out there, not very many of them I would guess, but I'm bang in the middle of one.

Not a great idea to recommend something that some people have trouble with on a first post .

If you want to post a speedtest result you'll find there is a URL quoted after you have done the test on the speedtest site, use that not a screen shot (screen shots can be faked - not that you would), then before you post press the Preview Post button to check how your post will look. If its not right make whatever adjustments and preview again before you press Submit Reply.

murphy10101

well, at the moment i have my fone acting as my wifi router and it need to be beside the window to pick up a signal. even with the fone from time to time, it changes from a "H" signal of 2-4 mb to a "3G" signal which is no good and can have no connection at another time!... ya so i was thinking that if i put an Aerial on the roof beside the uhf aerial connected to a router ( probably the hauwei b260a router from three)! wondered would this stop the signal loss from time to time! any ideas if this will work or the products to use?!