External Antenna for Huawei E220

dex_10 said:
:confused:Funny enough: With the antenna my reception is better, but when I do a speedtest it's lower. Did it a few times.
Click to expand...

I got to agree with you, my signal strength is stronger but doesn't do anything to my connection speed, if anything seems to give lower speeds.
 
agerbon said:
I got to agree with you, my signal strength is stronger but doesn't do anything to my connection speed, if anything seems to give lower speeds.
Click to expand...

Vodacom arranged this antenna for me because of the bad 3G coverage in my area. It was manufactured by Poynting. I hope that both the Vodacom and Poynting guys reads this otherwise they won't believe us.

I am glad it's not just me! Thought I was going crazy. It does in fact give me lower speeds as well. I have tested this on the E220 and using a cellphone as a modem. Same phenomena on both.
 
The LPDA-A0044 should be available at PoyntingDirect within the next few weeks...It is basically the same as the LPDA-A0021, except it is now die cast. It has slightly improved gain characteristics (12dBi peak) and covers the 3G extension bands (2500MHz to 2690MHz) for future technologies. I will post the link to it as soon as it is available.
 
CellPoynt said:
The LPDA-A0044 should be available at PoyntingDirect within the next few weeks...It is basically the same as the LPDA-A0021, except it is now die cast. It has slightly improved gain characteristics (12dBi peak) and covers the 3G extension bands (2500MHz to 2690MHz) for future technologies. I will post the link to it as soon as it is available.
Click to expand...

It is indeed the LPDA - A0021 that I have. Well then I need to contact the contact person at Vodacom and tell him about this so that they can issue me with this newer version rather, seeing that the current one does nothing for me except for making matters worse.

Just had a look on the box:

Frequency: 824-1000 MHz and 1700 - 2170MHz
Gain: 10.5 dBi - 11 dBi
 
Regarding signal strength and speed, there are factors which could influence the connection speed even with higher signal strength: The number of users on line at a given time will influence the connection speed, the more users the lower the speed. This has to do with available bandwidth and signal to noise ratio. Higher signal strength may not always improve connection speeds, but should improve connection reliability. If you are in an area with many 3G enabled base stations and you are using an external antenna to improve in-building penetration issues, it is often better to use a medium/high gain omnidirectional antenna to allow agility.
 
CellPoynt said:
Regarding signal strength and speed, there are factors which could influence the connection speed even with higher signal strength: The number of users on line at a given time will influence the connection speed, the more users the lower the speed. This has to do with available bandwidth and signal to noise ratio. Higher signal strength may not always improve connection speeds, but should improve connection reliability. If you are in an area with many 3G enabled base stations and you are using an external antenna to improve in-building penetration issues, it is often better to use a medium/high gain omnidirectional antenna to allow agility.
Click to expand...

Before I contact Vodacom, I need to know exactly what to tell them. Connection reliability has never really been an issue for me. It is only the speed problem that I have been having since Jan 2008. I sometimes wonder whether this doesn't maybe have something to do with the switchover from 1.8 to 3.6

Coming back to the antenna: Why would you think we have this strange phenomena and what would be the best way to describe this to the Vodacom rep. and what solution can I suggest to him... The new antenna as mentioned before?
 
CellPoynt said:
Regarding signal strength and speed, there are factors which could influence the connection speed even with higher signal strength: The number of users on line at a given time will influence the connection speed, the more users the lower the speed. This has to do with available bandwidth and signal to noise ratio. Higher signal strength may not always improve connection speeds, but should improve connection reliability. If you are in an area with many 3G enabled base stations and you are using an external antenna to improve in-building penetration issues, it is often better to use a medium/high gain omnidirectional antenna to allow agility.
Click to expand...

Thanx mate was hoping someone would post something like that. Basically if you have a good signal strength but crappy connection there is not much you can do about improving the connection.
 
CellPoynt said:
The LPDA-A0044 should be available at PoyntingDirect within the next few weeks...It is basically the same as the LPDA-A0021, except it is now die cast. It has slightly improved gain characteristics (12dBi peak) and covers the 3G extension bands (2500MHz to 2690MHz) for future technologies. I will post the link to it as soon as it is available.
Click to expand...

So, it'll work for WiMax?
 
Last edited:
Dex, I do not think that the LPDA-A0044 will make a huge difference. The LPDA-A0021 is virtually the same. How far are you from the closest 3G base station? You can also try aligning the antenna better or if possible to another base station with less capacity
 
I have aligned the antenna spot-on at 320 degrees as told by Vodacom. I am about 4km's away from the nearest base station. It is called Diswilmar 2.

I am not sure where the other base stations are and how would I know how much traffic a base station is carrying at any given moment? It is also worthwile to mention that it doesn't matter which time of the day it is, I always have some sort of speed problem.

What would an acceptable average speed be as measured with speed.vodacom.co.za or even speedtest.net ?
 
e220 signal booster

Hi,
I have problems getting more than 2 bars signal.
How do I boost this?
 
aerials

Hi

Go to the following site, i just purchased an extender aerial and it made the world of difference. They are located in wynberg(Jhb).

www.poynting.co.za

Regards
darren



kaspaas said:
Hi,

is there an external antenna for the E220?

I have a client who is just outside the official 3G coverage area of Vodacom, an nowhere near to MTN's coverage.

He gets about 50% of the time a 3G signal (3/5 bars) on his cellphone - so I guess he will be Ok with a decent external antenna on an E220.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X