Does external antenna really work?

[sag]

Hi there!

If i get iBurst and I live in a "Outdoor/Extreme Outdoor" area, should I get an extra antenna? Then should I take the WBS approved one or can I get another one, since iBurst.co.za says "Only WBS approved external antennas should be used."

Thanks!

 

[GuRu]

the answer to this question is one which i am still waiting for !

 

[Raithlin]

craigsa has in his signature a line to the effect that the antenna makes a difference.

 

[GuRu]

i know of another user who has ext ant and they are changing to adsl 192. something i myself am looking into due to the rubber band connection

 

[nocilah]

i have an external antenna... and not sure if it does or doesnt make a difference... so i have seen no difference... i think the problem is iburst user saturation or financial deparrtment putting cuts in b/w.

lets see...

 

[TryIt]

I got an external antenna 2 weeks ago and it made a huge difference. You must move the antenna around until you get a 100% signal (iburst terminal program, not LED's)when you are NOT connected. I found a spot of about 30cm by 30cm where I get a full signal, outside that area the signal drop.

I am on the light green border of the coverage map and my international down/up speed went up from average 64/8 to 775/314. See http://www.dslreports.com/archive/co.za?s=223&r=212

 

[nocilah]

can i ask a really stupid question... are you using the antenna inside or outside and if you are using outside howdo you extend the cable.

 

[TryIt]

can i ask a really stupid question... are you using the antenna inside or outside and if you are using outside howdo you extend the cable.

I'm using it outside, The best spot was in the middle of my 1st floor window, so I just stuck it there with the mirror tape that they supplied with it). I used the cable supplied. I wouldn't extend it, I read somwhere on the internet that you get huge drop in signal strength with every meter that you add to the cable (Don't know if it's true ) Rather keep your modem close to the antenna and get a long ethernet cable from the modem to the PC.

 

[regardtv]

Having both an omnidirectional (don't ask where I got it) and a standard WBS directional patch antenna I can offer the following:

In general even in the extreme connectivity zone you can get good signals from the tower .. the problem is invariably with the return path. The external antenna MAY help here... there is a relative power boost and also the advantge of a directed return signal.

Most people however use the patch antenna to connect to an alternate tower ...(ie NOT Northcliff).

The omni antenna is quite a good bet where you have multiple towers providing the same soft of signal strength ... in other words .. NOT worth it for most people.

There are alternative HIGH sensitivity (low spread) antenna's but I've yet to actually test one myself...


I have been a long time user of iBurst (since September last year) but cannot continue to run my business on this service .... ext antenna or not ...

 

[GuRu]

I think a lot of people think that i am refering to them !

 

[Chronos]

which type antenna?

Does anyone know if the antennas are genernal wifi-type that can be purchased from any supplier or are they proprietory for iBurst?

Also, does anyone have a model no of one that i can use to look around for. (or equivalent)

Thx.

Chronos

 

[P0tenc]

Ask sharedirect(0118030411)...they told me they have antenna's for iburst but its a different make and Cost R499 if i remember right.

I did email them last night with questions regarding their antenna, but I'm still awaiting a reply. You can also try www.phoenixnet.co.za

If you find a cheaper one somewhere let me know as well plz.

 

[Roman4604]

I have the standard WBS antenna mounted externally ... pic. I get 100% signal strength with or without the antenna, howver my throughput is ~350kbps without & ~750kbps with ... so yes it makes a big difference for me.

 

[mR HeAd]

I got iBurst just over a month ago, and it was running at about ADSL speeds, and then got an external arial that looks like a square box, and mounted it on my roof.
Now i get 100%, so definately get an arial if you don't get 100% signal. It is very much worth it.

As for the cable extension, i wouldn't know, cause i got my reseller to mount it.

 

[adsl3g]

Anyone offhand know if the antennaes are available from HiFi Corp? Can only phone tomorrow...

 

[GuRu]

they are proprietory for iBurst.
But rather PM Gres, his ant is more effective than the WBS one also he is'nt full of cr@p and his ant is'nt a ripoff. support local

 

[rustic]

The antenna made a huge dif for me, i think mainly because of the distance between myself and the tower. You can get a loan unit to test.

 

[kingmonty]

I live in birchleigh - which is in the outdoor range of the Kempton towers. Without Antenna: no signal - with Antenna: 80 - 90% signal

 

[seburn]

Extending the cable will cause a loss of approx 1.5db per meter considering db is logarithmic you loose half your signal every 3db = 2meters. However ethernet cat 5 cable which is cheaper can go for up to 100m without problems.

 

[Chronos]

My problem is that i get very good "short-bursts" of signal and speed, but most of the time its struggling to work, you can see the LED's jumping up and down the whole time.

I have not connected it via USB yet to get a full report cause I'm not sure what software to use.

Does anyone know which are my closest towers and where they are? I live in Buccleuch.