8.ta Netgear DGN2200M and Huawei E367 Modem speed issues

[Baba Vakai]

I do have a good reception, ( around 4mbs on E1752), the reason why I have opted for the B683 is that , i think its the only router with positive feedback . I think I read somewhere were 1 was complaining about the TP- link and the complexity of the set-up ther-of.

My main option was the DGN2200, but with all this negative comments, I thought I would rather settle for the B683. I do biliv its better I jus buy once something that is practical that I can use.

So I will await your feedback and thanks for the advice.

 

[sajunky]

And, as kingrob pointed out, the Huawei will have a better internal antenna for the 3G connection than a USB dongle would.

I wrote that you know a lot about routers. But you seem don't recognise who wrote about stronger internal antenna. Shame... :-(

 

[fluffypony]

I wrote that you know a lot about routers. But you seem don't recognise who wrote about stronger internal antenna. Shame... :-(

You are correct - it was sajunky who said that. I've edited my post accordingly. Also, I think you mean that you wrote that I *don't* know a lot about routers.

 

[sajunky]

You are correct - it was sajunky who said that. I've edited my post accordingly. Also, I think you mean that you wrote that I *don't* know a lot about routers.

I don't write about these things as my networking skills are little bit outdated, but I am able recognise professionals based on their writings.
Once again I am asking. Did I write anything wrong?

 

[fluffypony]

I don't write about these things as my networking skills are little bit outdated, but I am able recognise professionals based on their writings.
Once again I am asking. Did I write anything wrong?

No - you're actually quite correct about the antenna, which is why I was quoting you

 

[fluffypony]

Ok - so a bit of feedback. The B683 is a very pretty looking router, but the firmware is definitely not up to scratch with the likes of Billion, D-Link, Netgear, and others that have a home/SME networking line. Things like putting port forwarding under "Security" and calling it "Virtual Server" are the sort of things that would bug power users, but I would imagine that most home users won't care about nuances like this. The firmware seems stable enough for long-term use.

Now to the most important aspect of this discussion: speed. Initial tests show that latency is on-par with the DGN2200M. Speed is slightly improved when using the B683 with no external antenna (vs. the DGN2200M+E1820 with an external blade antenna). This is in line with what sajunky mentioned about the internal aerial of the B683 vs. the minute dongle of the E1820. In terms of actual numbers, I'm seeing about a 300kbps speed increase - 1.3mbps down and up. Plugging in the external blade antenna (not included, my own one) and switching the antenna mode on the router config to "outer" gave me a significant bump, though. It's difficult to get consistent results, but I have had some tests hit 3.6mbps down, which is much closer to what I'm expecting from an HSPA+ network.

That having been said, there is something important to bear in mind. My E1820 dongle has a CRC9 (SMB) connector for the aerial. The blade antenna, however, has an SMA (male) connector on the end. So I have had to use an SMB->SMA (ie. CRC9->SMA) adapter. It is possible, however unlikely, that my adapter is faulty, and the antenna has served little purpose before. With the Huawei B683, though, it has an SMA female port on the back, so no adapter necessary.

So your mileage may vary. I am thinking that I may sell the DGN2200M and replace it with a straight ADSL2+ router that can run OpenWRT, and then let OpenWRT handle the failover to 3G. This will save me the hassle of needing to drop a BSD box down to act as a gateway.

 

[sajunky]

That having been said, there is something important to bear in mind. My E1820 dongle has a CRC9 (SMB) connector for the aerial. The blade antenna, however, has an SMA (male) connector on the end. So I have had to use an SMB->SMA (ie. CRC9->SMA) adapter. It is possible, however unlikely, that my adapter is faulty, and the antenna has served little purpose before. With the Huawei B683, though, it has an SMA female port on the back, so no adapter necessary.

So your mileage may vary. I am thinking that I may sell the DGN2200M and replace it with a straight ADSL2+ router that can run OpenWRT, and then let OpenWRT handle the failover to 3G. This will save me the hassle of needing to drop a BSD box down to act as a gateway.

You can't imagine things can be mess up. Read about E1820 here: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/276198
In short, external antenna in E1820 doesn't work as expected. It helps, but it does't reflect in RSSI indicator. What more important, it doesn't transmit anything. It works as secondary diversity antenna (receiving only). Newer generation modems like E367, E352, E353 have properly implemented external antenna connector.

If you want router with more advanced firmware look also for Mikrotik RB750GL or similiar models.