External antenna for improving signal for datacard

[hoektoe]

Hi

I would like to know if anyone knows where i can buy external broadband antenna to put on roof for better signal as i am currently only receiving edge while there is 3 g in jeffreysbay.

Where can i buy one to connect to either datacard or 3 g router.

Please help.desperate.cannot cope with this internetless. I'm on mtn but wasn't to got cell c data dongle

[Voldemort]

Log a call with the coverage helpdesk and list your problem, number is 0839001212. They will either send soneone out or send you an arial.

[Terencek]

You can also go the commercial route by contacting SA supplier Poynting (google for details) who do all sorts of data antennas (some of which can be found in Vodashops). Be sure though that you specify a data antenna, rather than a general cellphone one.

I also live in a poor signal area and putting one of their data antennas on my roof turned my normal GPRS/EDGE reception into full 3G/HSDPA -- definitely a thousand bucks well spent! Poynting do 'pigtails' to connect their antennas to most of the common datacards or dongles.

[Voldemort]

Or you could pay R1000 as Terence says...

[Terencek]

Um, yes indeed you could. But I got such a runaround when I tried working through MTN and VC that in the end I simply decided to do my own thing and spend the thousand bucks -- with absolutely no regrets. The advantage of doing it independently is that you are free to then select the operator whose signal is the best in your area at any given time, rather than being tied to one operator.

[hoektoe]

Thanx for the advice terencek, can you maybe specify the hardware you got? Im familiar with pigtails as i have like 4 5.6ghz dishes on my roof at house in durbanville as im on CTWUG ( cape town wireless user group) .

[Terencek]

Unless things have changed, the most popular data antenna Poynting sold was the LPDA-A0044; you could Google Poynting for prices. It came with a 7-metre cable, which should be adequate for most users, and is highly directional -- i.e. you need to point it at your target tower, or if there's a hill in the way (as in my case) over the top of that hill. I checked recently with Poynting and it also covers Cell C's new use of the 900 MHz band. Their literature says this is very specifically a DATA antenna -- if you want to improve general cellphone coverage they sell other models.

You will also need a pigtail to go on the end of the supplied cable to match it to your data device, whether a data card with an antenna input which will require a very specific pigtail, or a generic pigtail with a sleeve-type ending which fits over pretty much any and all the current crop of USB dongles.

The improvement in my own case was dramatic: it unlocked 3G and HSDPA for me where without it I could only get plain vanilla GPRS from a tower about 10 km distant as the crow flies and with an obstructing hill inbetween!

A thread elsewhere on this forum suggests simply putting your dongle where the LNB should be if you have an old satellite dish which you point towards the source tower. Interesting idea, but I haven't tried it.

[hoektoe]

thanx alot!! Sorry to bother one last thing, is there online map or something where on can see where nearest or best tower is?

[ginggs]

thanx alot!! Sorry to bother one last thing, is there online map or something where on can see where nearest or best tower is?
Unfortunately the operators in South Africa are very secretive with that information.

You can try "wardriving" with a Windows laptop and MDMA (http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/59080), or a program like CellTrack (http://www.afischer-online.de/sos/celltrack/) on your mobile and use the Cell IDs to locate your best base stations.

[ObeyTheDiode]

A thread elsewhere on this forum suggests simply putting your dongle where the LNB should be if you have an old satellite dish which you point towards the source tower. Interesting idea, but I haven't tried it.

Since antennas for all frequency ranges are the same of course this will work....

[Terencek]

OK I did try it extensively this weekend, pointing the dish alternately at the two towers serving my area, and my signal actually degraded!!! I live in a poor reception area with a weak signal, so unfortunately for me this idea is a non-starter.