Boosting Signal Strength with Poynting

[morkhans]

Ok kewl. I'm a RF engineer, and just curious to see you use those units as I don't often see them. 40dB is alot of gain, so I don't completely believe those numbers, though for just an indicator sake, it seems alright. It's interesting to see this thread start again after so many months. I'm interested in this topic as well, as my sister lives a bit far out. Just trying to find some time before I get to fix that.

My setup is a bit strange. In my study I have a window which looks out over a passage. On the other side of the passage is a wall that ends in the middle of the window. If I setup my notebook on my desk I pretty much have two walls between me and the outside world and virtually no signal. By placing the antenna on the part of the window that is not obscured by the second wall I get much better signal. So yes the gain does look at lot, but it is true

The problem also I discovered when comparing my B970 to the E630 is that the E630 doesn't actually pull that great a signal. Where the E630 suffered at -101 dBm the B970 managed -89 dBm with its internal antenna.

 

[Terencek]

Responding (a little late, sorry) to the suggestion in this thread of switching to a PCMCIA card instead:

Yes, PC-Cards are far far better in terms of the ability to connect the antenna pigtail directly, i.e. copper to copper. BUT this thread opened by specifying that the computer concerned is a desktop, not a laptop, thus no PCMCIA slot. And don't even THINK of putting in a PCMCIA adapter card in a desktop -- my own experience and that of others indicates these are highly problematic and a cause of endless crashes.

Searching the web will come up with any number of ways of actually soldering your own antenna attachment onto USB modems. But the potential for disaster is of course enormous, and goodbye warranty....

 

[nuyork]

If you don't have an antenna already and can't attach something to your outer walls (I live in a complex for instance), check out the Window Mount Antenna. I have been playing with one and it made a huge difference when attached to my E630. It went from -101 dBm to -67 dBm. You still need a pigtail or coupler in addition to the antenna.

Interesting. Any pictures available? There are no pics on the Poynting website.

 

[morkhans]

Interesting. Any pictures available? There are no pics on the Poynting website.

When I get mine back I will post some pictures (it's on loan to someone else at the moment )

 

[darkshadow]

E620 on desktop

I am currently using a E620 on my desktop for internet.

I use the following converter witout a problem:

http://www.sybaritic.co.za/store/product_info.php?cPath=141_143&products_id=10441

I was also getting around -101 dBm without an antenna.
I fitted the following antenna:

http://www.poyntingdirect.co.za/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=K-LPDA-A0044-7M

The antenna has a 7m cable, but with proper alignment to the tower I went to a very nice -51 dBm as measured by the good old MDMA program.

For me the antenna made a huge difference although I am connecting the pigtail directly to the card.

 

[nuyork]

I am currently using a E620 on my desktop for internet.

I was also getting around -101 dBm without an antenna.

The antenna has a 7m cable, but with proper alignment to the tower I went to a very nice -51 dBm as measured by the good old MDMA program.

For me the antenna made a huge difference although I am connecting the pigtail directly to the card.

DarkShadow: Do you perhaps have a metal roof at all? Because that's quite a substantial gain, from -101db to -51db. Something must be blocking your indoor signal.

 

[darkshadow]

No I have a tile roof, but my LOS is not perfect to the tower.
I am located in quite a bad spot where radio waves are concerned
There is hills on 3 sides and tower is behind trees and some buildings.
Adding the antenna lifted my LOS 6m up to above the roofs of the houses, so now I only compete with the trees

 

[ting]

Interesting. Any pictures available? There are no pics on the Poynting website.

The pictures are up on the Poynting site for the Window Mount Antenna.

 

[Colin62]

Adding the antenna lifted my LOS 6m up to above the roofs of the houses, so now I only compete with the trees

And you've asked for a chainsaw for your birthday?

 

[darkshadow]

chainsaw

I was just looking at a special yesterday where you buy a lawnmower and get a chainsaw for free.

The trees are on city property unfortunately

 

[CellPoynt]

Ok kewl. I'm a RF engineer, and just curious to see you use those units as I don't often see them. 40dB is alot of gain, so I don't completely believe those numbers, though for just an indicator sake, it seems alright.

It is possible to get 20dBi increase by moving an antenna from indoors to outdoors due to multipath losses (destructive interference), in building penetration etc we have experienced that. Also note that the internal antennas of most USB devices has around -5dBi or worse gain. An external antenna or window mount antenna has up to 12dBi or so of gain, so add all of these factors up and you can easily get to at least 30dBi additional gain. Hence we developed the ePoynt .

http://www.poyntingdirect.co.za/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=HSPA-A0001

Poynting RF Engineer

 

[sahopeful]

It is possible to get 20dBi increase by moving an antenna from indoors to outdoors due to multipath losses (destructive interference), in building penetration etc we have experienced that. Also note that the internal antennas of most USB devices has around -5dBi or worse gain. An external antenna or window mount antenna has up to 12dBi or so of gain, so add all of these factors up and you can easily get to at least 30dBi additional gain. Hence we developed the ePoynt .

http://www.poyntingdirect.co.za/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=HSPA-A0001

Poynting RF Engineer

Hey guys/gals;

So I bought and installed the poynting quad-band yagi antenna, and generic coupler module, at my sisters place (previously no Vodacom signal inside the house). It works wonderfully.

Using the MDMA software I get a peak of about -86dBm. This is a first setup, and I'm planning to improve the setup with a higher pole. (Perhaps a grounding plane?)

Just a question: Do some Vodacom towers still not have 3G capability? I got direct line of sight to the tower, but it is one of those smallish towers. I'm getting no 3G signal at all (doesn't even register a reading in the MDMA agent).

If it doesn't I'm planning on getting a SMA-M -> N-type male adapter, and solder an appropriate length copper piece to the centre pin and tuning it for 800-1000MHz using a VNA. Then the coupler (sock) wont be needed. It will lose GAIN that way, but then I'll have a little unobstructed antenna in my house (perhaps an isotropic with a bit of directivity). I'll also optimise the length of the coaxial cable, so that I can reduce the losses in that cable.

Personally I'm very impressed by this Poynting antenna, construction and otherwise, and consider using it for the CTWUG activities once I get a permanent home

 

[vodacom3g]

Hey guys/gals;

So I bought and installed the poynting quad-band yagi antenna, and generic coupler module, at my sisters place (previously no Vodacom signal inside the house). It works wonderfully.

Using the MDMA software I get a peak of about -86dBm. This is a first setup, and I'm planning to improve the setup with a higher pole. (Perhaps a grounding plane?)

Just a question: Do some Vodacom towers still not have 3G capability? I got direct line of sight to the tower, but it is one of those smallish towers. I'm getting no 3G signal at all (doesn't even register a reading in the MDMA agent).

If it doesn't I'm planning on getting a SMA-M -> N-type male adapter, and solder an appropriate length copper piece to the centre pin and tuning it for 800-1000MHz using a VNA. Then the coupler (sock) wont be needed. It will lose GAIN that way, but then I'll have a little unobstructed antenna in my house (perhaps an isotropic with a bit of directivity). I'll also optimise the length of the coaxial cable, so that I can reduce the losses in that cable.

Personally I'm very impressed by this Poynting antenna, construction and otherwise, and consider using it for the CTWUG activities once I get a permanent home

Yup, not all 2G towers have 3G on them. We all wish we were there already!

Agree on the Poynting antennas, well built and functional. I use 2 of them, one for 3G and one for WiMax.