External Antenna

[vodacom3g]

By now you should have received a letter that will allow you to pick up an external antenna.

If you have not received such a letter, please e-mail:

[email protected] and supply the following details:

·3G Cell phone Number :

·Customer name and surname:

·Delivery Address:

·Additional cellphone or contact number:

·Email address:

An antenna will then be dispatched to you.

Just a note on the antenna: It WILL help with extending coverage but please don't expect 20dB of gain from this unit.

It cannot perform miracles but will help in marginal situations.

Otherwise have fun. Another surprise might be on the way

 

[rabbiddog]

There are 2 of us sitting in Midrand on 3g. I got my antenna this morning and I get between 2 and 3 bars. the other unit does not even want to connect.

 

[rabbiddog]

vodacom3G
I just spoke to someone who also has 3g and he does knot know about the antenna. I had to read the back of the letter (which I missed the first time) to read about the antenna.

 

[alchamy]

Am I misunderstanding this post? Do the subscribers get the antenna for free?

BTW: well done for getting antennas so quickly. WBS has been promising for almost 4 months now.

 

[rabbiddog]

Yes FREE!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ic]

Green with envy...

Yes FREE!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep this is something that made me green with envy when v3g 1st posted about getting free external antennas for the data cards, now if WBS wants to compete... Shaun, how about it?

 

[Harley79]

Ok, got my antenna today, not that I needed it, but anything for free I want

Would expect it to give me 5 bars if I had 4 without it, but have to say I think it reduces the signal. Any reasons why the antenna my worsen the situation?

 

[Edinetz]

Open a terminal session to the card and interogate the signal strength with AT+CSQ - I think it goes up to 21. I have 2 bars in Pinelands and with the antenna 2 bars as well but in Cape Town I have 4 bars without and 5 with. Maybe you will see the effect of the antenna better with the AT command.

 

[pevans]

Ok, so I'mnew to all this.

I just bought my card yesterday and it didn't come with any external antenna. I bought it cash (not on contract) because I'm using it on a prepaid account. This seems to work fine so far, but what about the antenna?

Will prepaid users also be able to get the antenna? If so, how?

 

[ic]

Send v3g a p.m. with your contact details .

 

[vodacom3g]

Or even better, mail CRMoffice as per the first message in this thread. Give your details and state that you bought the card outright.

 

[pevans]

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

 

[Diago]

Ok - Did I miss something vodacom3G or was there supposed to be a another surprise ?

Yes - I haven't been keeping up with the forum and I am trying to catch up.

 

[vodacom3g]

Yes, it was a while ago. After Vodacom announced the out of bundle rate dropping from R10/Mb to R2/Mb, it was backdated to the beginning of the service for all subscribers.

 

[rabbiddog]

vodacom3g
At times like today, my signal is 3 bars without the external antenna and 1 to 2 bars with it connected. My connection has been bad with it connected.
Is there some explanation for this.

 

[vodacom3g]

Not really sure.

We've had reports of antennas doing a wonderful job. My own never degrades but will give at least the same, if not a bar or two more.

Then we have people who sees no improvement.

Your own situation is quite weird as you sometimes see an improvement and sometimes a degradation.

These antennas are better on certain frequencies. Is this always on 3G or do you switch between 3G and GPRS?

Also, have you notices any directional tendencies. Maybe a ground plane cause by the laptop?

 

[3GisDaMan]

I have the same problem. I live in Durbanville, Cape Town, and I might as well not have bothered with the antenna. It has no effect.

 

[Pwillmot]

I am in Midrand (Vorna Valley) and get typical 3 bars without external antenna - although, at present it is making a liar out of me by displaying 2 bars :-(

 

[diabolus]

When we talk about "improvement" here, does it refer to "getting more bars" ? Because i've gotten between 1 bar to 4 bars at different places, and my actual 'speed' didn't change [i would get say 150kpbs on a 1 bar signal just as easy as on a 4 bar signal].

Does it even matter how many bars you get? Or shall i ask does getting more bars improve speed enough to even bother getting antennas to squeeze an extra bar out of your location?

 

[rabbiddog]

The bars should indicate signal strength. I have had 3 bars and bad signal, then I try the antenna and it usualy helps. Then again I have had 1 bars and loads of speed and the antenna helps squat.

IMO the antenna helps when I have a signal but a bad connection. But once in a while the antenna actualy seems to make things worse (this does not happen often)