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Best Dongle for Picking up Signal

KOR101 · 2017-01-07 22:28:32

I have a Meteor dongle (Huawei E3372 4G Stick) which struggles even to pick up a 2G signal in my home in rural Kerry. But my phone, a Moto G 2nd generation on the Vodafone system can sometimes even pick up a good 3G signal. I'm pretty sure Meteor and Vodafone are using the same mast, so I'm assuming the phone has a better…

07-01-2017 10:28pm

#1

KOR101

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I have a Meteor dongle (Huawei E3372 4G Stick) which struggles even to pick up a 2G signal in my home in rural Kerry.

But my phone, a Moto G 2nd generation on the Vodafone system can sometimes even pick up a good 3G signal.

I'm pretty sure Meteor and Vodafone are using the same mast, so I'm assuming the phone has a better antenna than the dongle.

So, my question is which is the absolute very best device in which I could put the Meteor sim in terms of picking up the signal.

Someone suggested to me something like a Huawei E5220 21.1Mbps Unlocked Mobile Wi-Fi Router. Another suggestion was using a USB to USB cable and hanging the dongle out the window.

Anyone got any advice?

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#2 07-01-2017 10:42pm

ED E

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KOR101 wrote: »

I'm pretty sure Meteor and Vodafone are using the same mast, so I'm assuming the phone has a better antenna than the dongle.

Big assumption. Even if Vodafone and Meteor are using the same BBU and RRUs and have them pointed in the exact same directions with the exact same output power on the same band one will still be a good 2m above the other and thus have a potential advantage.

Also bars mean little in the real world, if trying to diagnose signal issues you want to be looking at the RSSI/RSSP values as 2 bars on X can be 3 bars on Y.

KOR101 wrote: »

Anyone got any advice?

Dont use a dongle. Invest in an LTE/UMTS router and use that. Save your sanity.

This
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-B593s-22-Unlocked-Wireless-Router/dp/B009QW3ZG4
Or this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/ce3/Huawei-Unlocked-E5186-Wireless-Mobile-Wi-Fi-Router/B018TO4I9W/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1483828931&sr=1-3&keywords=Huawei+4G+router

Would be the "absolute very best" devices.

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#3 07-01-2017 10:57pm

KOR101

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ED E wrote: »

Big assumption. Even if Vodafone and Meteor are using the same BBU and RRUs and have them pointed in the exact same directions with the exact same output power on the same band one will still be a good 2m above the other and thus have a potential advantage.

Also bars mean little in the real world, if trying to diagnose signal issues you want to be looking at the RSSI/RSSP values as 2 bars on X can be 3 bars on Y.

Dont use a dongle. Invest in an LTE/UMTS router and use that. Save your sanity.

This
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Huawei-B593s-22-Unlocked-Wireless-Router/dp/B009QW3ZG4
Or this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/ce3/Huawei-Unlocked-E5186-Wireless-Mobile-Wi-Fi-Router/B018TO4I9W/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1483828931&sr=1-3&keywords=Huawei+4G+router

Would be the "absolute very best" devices.

Thanks Ed, that was just the sort of advice I was looking for.

A fiend of mine said he may be able to get me a spare Huawei E5220 for free. I take it that that would be a very poor substitute for something like the E5186. Dealing with a really crappy signal is the issue, 300 MBPS and 64 devices just makes me smile.

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#4 07-01-2017 11:18pm

ED E

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It depends.

If there's a loaded 3G cell 5km from you a €40 and a €400 unit will perform identically. Dongles suck as they usually get placed in the worst area. Even a E5220 can work much better as you can prop it up in whichever window has the best LOS or place it in an attic in some cases.

If I were you the first thing I'd do is put a Meteor(if thats who you wanna use) SIM in an unlocked/meteor phone and walk the site. Check the perimeter of the house. Then check the windows. Find out what coverage you get. Use a "Network info" app to watch the real value (-90dB say) not the bars.

Once you've found the best spot you could borrow the E5220 and place it there. If it gets a good strength and ok speeds you're done. If it gets a low strength and ok-low speeds then its time to upgrade to a high end unit.

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#5 07-01-2017 11:29pm

KOR101

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ED E wrote: »

If there's a loaded 3G cell 5km from you a €40 and a €400 unit will perform identically.

I'm not sure what you mean by that. The mast is probably less that 1km away, but around the side of the hill I'm on, so there is no line of sight. I think that's the real issue. It's really about signal propagation, and which device picks up a signal best in those circumstances.

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#6 07-01-2017 11:57pm

ED E

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Sorry if that was a bit unclear.

Reasons for being slow:
Busy Cell - Device doesnt matter
Crap Device - Mainly on faster cells (none of them in Kerry :rolleyes: )
Poor Signal - Device can help

If the hill isnt too tall an external weatherproof box and a pole is a great solution. If it is then you'll probably be looking at an antenna and 593-22.

For the former see this thread:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056698625

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#7 12-01-2017 11:20am

Mc Love

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I had the Mifi device and was picking up a good 4g signal in Kerry (Dingle). Was even faster than my home broadband in Limerick

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#8 29-03-2017 4:46pm

KOR101

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Dont use a dongle, use.....

Or this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/ce3/Huawei-Unlocked-E5186-Wireless-Mobile-Wi-Fi-Router/B018TO4I9W/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1483828931&sr=1-3&keywords=Huawei+4G+router

Would be the "absolute very best" devices.[/quote] Was thinking of getting this. What would be the very best antenna to get for it?

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#9 29-03-2017 5:19pm

Turnipman

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KOR101 wrote: »

Was thinking of getting this. What would be the very best antenna to get for it?

On the router's Amazon page, there are links to "Answered Questions" - one of them recommends this antenna:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mixed-Gadgets-Antenna-Huawei-E5186-Connector/dp/B00VB9YF78/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490807930&sr=8-1&keywords=antenna+E5186

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#10 29-03-2017 7:03pm

KOR101

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Turnipman wrote: »

On the router's Amazon page, there are links to "Answered Questions" - one of them recommends this antenna:-

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mixed-Gadgets-Antenna-Huawei-E5186-Connector/dp/B00VB9YF78/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490807930&sr=8-1&keywords=antenna+E5186

Yes I saw those as commonly bought with the router. They are for 4G as well. Only 3G in the area at the minute.

Given my extremely weak signal, I was think of something a lot more dramatic like. If I'm going to do it, I may as well do it well.

https://www.irishwireless.net/xpol-a0002

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