Advice needed on external 3G/4G antenna

heffo500 · 11-07-2019 05:11PM

smuggler.ie wrote: »

Data usage counter on router will/might not match usage counted by ISP due to dropped packets - you might easily go above cap and get charged.

I think once I hit the limit I get a warning message from Vodafone and its PAYG. But thanks for the heads up.

heffo500 · 16-07-2019 03:05PM

heffo500 wrote: »

I think once I hit the limit I get a warning message from Vodafone and its PAYG. But thanks for the heads up.

I hit the limit yesterday so hopefully I'll just be able to stay under the 150gb allowance if not an extra €10 for an extra 100gb isn't too bad. I tried a three sim card yesterday and it was woeful.

Hococop · 19-07-2019 10:45AM

Have my antenna set up a while now but I would like to move it out a bit more as it would give a better line of sight (few trees in our house that might be blocking it a bit) only thing is I'm at the cables limit, it's 30 foot just wondering if I got a longer one like a 40 foot or a bit longer would it make a difference like losses?

my3cents · 19-07-2019 11:06AM

Hococop wrote: »

Have my antenna set up a while now but I would like to move it out a bit more as it would give a better line of sight (few trees in our house that might be blocking it a bit) only thing is I'm at the cables limit, it's 30 foot just wondering if I got a longer one like a 40 foot or a bit longer would it make a difference like losses?

Unless you get very high quality cable and connectors then you'll get massive losses.

For the amateur its often much better to move the device nearer to the antenna's. If you can use Power over Ethernet to power the device you can put it almost anywhere.

Hococop · 19-07-2019 11:07AM

my3cents wrote: »

Unless you get very high quality cable and connectors then you'll get massive losses.

For the amateur its often much better to move the device nearer to the antenna's. If you can use Power over Ethernet to power the device you can put it almost anywhere.

As in get a shorter cable and connect it closer to the router?

my3cents · 19-07-2019 11:09AM

Hococop wrote: »

As in get a shorter cable and connect it closer to the router?

Yep. I don't even use an antenna instead I have my 4G router mounted on the side of a telegraph pole and power it with Power over Ethernet (PoE).

Hococop · 19-07-2019 09:11PM

my3cents wrote: »

Yep. I don't even use an antenna instead I have my 4G router mounted on the side of a telegraph pole and power it with Power over Ethernet (PoE).

So if I was to buy a 10-15 ft cable but I would then need to use those to wi fi extenders would that sti be better than the 30 ft cable I'm using now?

smuggler.ie · 19-07-2019 09:19PM

Hococop wrote: »

So if I was to buy a 10-15 ft cable but I would then need to use those to wi fi extenders would that sti be better than the 30 ft cable I'm using now?

Loss on local network would be considerably less(almost nothing) compare to loss on areal cable.

Hococop · 19-07-2019 09:24PM

smuggler.ie wrote: »

Loss on local network would be considerably less(almost nothing) compare to loss on areal cable.

Interesting might buy a smaller cable, any site to buy off of?

my3cents · 19-07-2019 10:23PM

Yes you can obviously use home plugs but look up Power over Ethernet (PoE) this is where the power for the router is carried on the Ethernet cable.

What I have is a router up a pole powered by PoE the ethernet cable takes the power to the router and is connected a distance away to a wireless router set up as a wireless access point.

lukin · 15-08-2019 10:30AM

How important is height for an antennae? I have mine about 20 feet off the ground, I couldn't get it much higher.
It's a Poynting XPol antennae so I don't want to put it up too high because in a storm it might come down.
I have seen masts online that are 33 feet high but I don't know if they are sturdy enough to support a large antenna like that.

smuggler.ie · 15-08-2019 11:25AM

lukin wrote: »

How important is height for an antennae? I have mine about 20 feet off the ground, I couldn't get it much higher.
It's a Poynting XPol antennae so I don't want to put it up too high because in a storm it might come down.
I have seen masts online that are 33 feet high but I don't know if they are sturdy enough to support a large antenna like that.

Height in most cases needed for LOS, to overcome neighbor roof's, trees, etc.
Somewhere in previous posts should be link to check LOS

lukin · 15-08-2019 11:49AM

smuggler.ie wrote: »

Height in most cases needed for LOS, to overcome neighbor roof's, trees, etc.
Somewhere in previous posts should be link to check LOS

I definitely don't have LOS,neighbour's trees are in the way.

smuggler.ie · 15-08-2019 12:28PM

lukin wrote: »

I definitely don't have LOS,neighbour's trees are in the way.

https://www.solwise.co.uk/wireless-elevationtool.html
instruction below map

lukin · 15-08-2019 12:38PM

smuggler.ie wrote: »

https://www.solwise.co.uk/wireless-elevationtool.html
instruction below map

Thanks, I'll try that.

lukin · 15-08-2019 02:28PM

smuggler.ie wrote: »

https://www.solwise.co.uk/wireless-elevationtool.html
instruction below map

I calculated 40 meters in elevation distance between my antennae and the mast so not a hope of me getting it up that high.
Too bad.

my3cents · 15-08-2019 02:36PM

lukin wrote: »

I calculated 40 meters in elevation distance between my antennae and the mast so not a hope of me getting it up that high.
Too bad.

That doens't mean higher won't work better.

I have about the same line of site as you (sfa) but higher up the telegraph pole I use gets a better signal. Difference of about 1 bar between 4ft and 10ft.

smuggler.ie · 15-08-2019 07:23PM

lukin wrote: »

I calculated 40 meters in elevation distance between my antennae and the mast so not a hope of me getting it up that high.
Too bad.

Don't know if you applied elevation to your "points", this could change picture little bit.
You not specify model, but if not mistaking, Xpol is not directional, to my understanding, as long it faces towards mast, LOS is not major factor. Of course, near by obstructions will have effect, thus height would be beneficial.
Again, judging by my own experience with directional antenna, its "trial and error", where mast/congestion is plying main role no matter what.
I have no LOS, latest test show ~50-90Mbps after some adjustment on direction lately, actually away from ~100% axis.

Have you located all masts in your area? Do you know(confirmed!!) which you are connecting to? As mentioned in previous posts, Cellmapper comes handy for this, but require some preparation. See website - might be your are covered by someone already.

lukin · 15-08-2019 08:17PM

smuggler.ie wrote: »

Don't know if you applied elevation to your "points", this could change picture little bit.
You not specify model, but if not mistaking, Xpol is not directional, to my understanding, as long it faces towards mast, LOS is not major factor. Of course, near by obstructions will have effect, thus height would be beneficial.
Again, judging by my own experience with directional antenna, its "trial and error", where mast/congestion is plying main role no matter what.
I have no LOS, latest test show ~50-90Mbps after some adjustment on direction lately, actually away from ~100% axis.

Have you located all masts in your area? Do you know(confirmed!!) which you are connecting to? As mentioned in previous posts, Cellmapper comes handy for this, but require some preparation. See website - might be your are covered by someone already.

The antenna I am using is this one:
https://www.irishwireless.net/xpol-a0002
That site looks like it could be a big help,thanks.

smuggler.ie · 15-08-2019 08:21PM

lukin wrote: »

The antenna I am using is this one:
https://www.irishwireless.net/xpol-a0002
That site looks like it could be a big help,thanks.

Requires rooted phone to participate/map masts(cells)

lukin · 16-08-2019 08:32AM

smuggler.ie wrote: »

Requires rooted phone to participate/map masts(cells)

My own phone isn't rooted, I don't really want to do it to my phone but I have an old Galaxy S6 that I can root instead.

Hococop · 19-09-2019 09:56PM

Have a 3 sim set up with it but congestion is getting bad and wouldn't mind trying a vf one, just wondering if there is a link to set that sim up with my router, (Huawei b593)

Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong thread

smuggler.ie · 19-09-2019 11:50PM

Hococop wrote: »

Have a 3 sim set up with it but congestion is getting bad and wouldn't mind trying a vf one, just wondering if there is a link to set that sim up with my router, (Huawei b593)

Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong thread

You can't set THAT sim up. You need to get VF, providing your router is unlocked

lukin · 29-09-2019 06:36PM

I got my antennae up a bit higher. It was 19.5 feet off the ground, it's now 26.5 feet off the ground. I replaced the 10.5 foot pole I had the antennae on with 20 foot pole. That was the highest I could get it to go because with it being such a long pole it was quite heavy. I also don't want it wobbling at the top. Because of the weight of the pole (weighs about 50 kgs I would say) I had to bolt it to a second wall bracket higher up the wall to keep it secure.
I wasn't actually able to get it in to the wall bracket on the bottom because it was too heavy. I just bolted it on to it, there is two and a half feet of the pole lower down than the level of the wall brace. I will put another bracket underneath that and put the pole in it.
I am not noticing a massive difference in my speeds, maybe a gain of a megabyte or two. I am still glad I did it as I needed to satisfy my curiosity regarding the difference to upload/download.

Hococop · 29-09-2019 08:20PM

Have my antenna set up a good while now just wondering if this makes a difference, I have it set up horizontal on the pole, does that make a difference as it seems the antenna looks like it should be vertical ( basing that off the logo on it) ?

homingbird · 01-10-2019 03:00PM

For anyone looking for a external router i have ordered one .
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33008995315.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.11344c4doBJHlI

Also a good app from the playstore is openSignal it does alot & will help you find the best place to position your aerial outdoor router.

Kalyke · 01-10-2019 06:42PM

homingbird wrote: »

For anyone looking for a external router i have ordered one .
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33008995315.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.11344c4doBJHlI

Also a good app from the playstore is openSignal it does alot & will help you find the best place to position your aerial outdoor router.

I presume it is unlocked and suitable for use with any Irish network?

homingbird · 01-10-2019 07:24PM

Kalyke wrote: »

I presume it is unlocked and suitable for use with any Irish network?

Yes its unlocked as they are selling it for all over the world so i doubt they would be selling it locked . They are a very good company as i have brought repeaters of them before with no trouble . Just hope i dont get hit with customs i stand a good chance as they send it in a plain brown box .I have little or no coverage in my house but just outside my back door i am getting speeds up to 70megs download speed.
I thought about weatherproofing my router but when i saw this i am willing to give it a try;

homingbird · 01-10-2019 07:35PM

https://ibb.co/album/c4pDqa

I got these speeds from my 3 andriod phone.

Shefwedfan · 14-10-2019 09:11PM

Ok, the cables on my current cheapo antenna got broke so going to buy something new.....

So is this any good?

https://www.irishwireless.net/3g-4g-antennas/xpol-a0001

Or what should I be looking out for. I think I started a thread before but I cannot find for life of me.....

Advice needed on external 3G/4G antenna

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