Putting up an Antenna for 3G

G

giovannidc

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Cape Town
I'm really battling with getting 3G signal where I stay and was thinking of putting up a 11dBi 3G yagi antenna on the roof and connecting that to my 3G router. I assume I would need to point the antenna to nearest Vodocom tower, but the problem is I don't know where it is. Anyone know how I can find the locations out of these towers?
 
Hi,
The info that's available on tower locations is really sketchy - seems the network providers believe they're giving away trade secrets if they publish this info. The most reliable way to get the orientation of the antenna right is to temporarily mount it on a long pole (I used the pole from an aluminium swimming pool brush) which will give it similar height to the eventual mounting point, hook up the antenna to a usb modem plugged into a notebook running mdma and perform a manual search. Rotate the pole about 15 degrees at a time, waiting about 30 seconds each time and check the RSSI value on mdma (lower is better). Once you have the best 15 degree sector, you can fine tune by moving it through smaller arcs within that.
Once you have the best signal, mount the antenna on the roof, but be prepared to do some more tweaking once it's in place. Good luck and be safe
 
try contacting the vodacom rep on this forum

what Q-Tech said above is a good method, just remember that RSSI closer to zero is better/stronger (i.e. -54 is better than -91)
 
Take is to the next level. Make note of CellID changing during adjusting antenna. Then do speed tests when connected to that CellID during rush hours. Stronger CellID can be congested and you will have to chose between signal strenght and overall network response.
 
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Although most people in most places will need only 1900 MHz reception, you can verify this a few ways. One, call your provider. They may or may not be helpful. Two, access the "field test" screen of either your cell phone or your cellular modem. Instructions vary widely by model. Users of Verizon Access Manager software can press CTRL-D and enter the password diagvzw, then click "Field Test." A window will open with lots of statistics about your connection.

One of the best performing antennas for PCS cellular actually isn't a cellular antenna at all--it is a Wi-Fi grid antenna designed for 2400 MHz reception. Sold online by HyperLink Technologies, the HG2424G 24 dBi High Performance Die Cast Reflector Grid actually loses only a small amount of gain at the EVDO 1900 MHz frequency
 
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