The Poynting antenna discussion thread

Teejaybee said:
1. How far apart must they be from each other on the pole? I read previous posts where it says approx 0.5m apart but then I saw the post about it's better if they are closer together if installing in a built-up area?
2. Does it matter which one is on top - horizontal or vertical (I wouldn't think it matters)?
3. Must they both be exactly aligned and both pointing directly at the tower - or is there some benefit in slightly offsetting one from the other?
TJB
Click to expand...

Just a heads-up : I think there is an aspect of spacing which has perhaps got lost in translation. I've posted my interpretation of it (which I state clearly here is just that - an unconfirmed interpretation) as a comment to Doc Fourie under the same Poynting LTE antenna video on YouTube. Let's hope he responds!

Whatever the answer, the general advice already given by several people still applies : purchase kit and set up according to basic guidelines and your specific situation, and then experiment!
 
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Azimuth said:
With this particular installation I need to decide on an appropriate Poynting product that supports 2300MHz (Telkom Mobile LTE).

I wonder if I should ask Poynting if I can test three products against each other? The LPDA-0020 (from jcheek's installation it seems the ultimate for Telkom Mobile LTE), the XPOL-06 or twin OMNI-0069's.

While it seems clear that there is NLOS I have to wonder about signal reflection from those hills.
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It's interesting running through the options for this, with the knowledge that there's no Line-Of-Sight for Telkom Mobile and under the assumption that there's no predominant reflected signal, ie this is an installation that will probably rely on multipath reception :

1) XPOL-0001 (integrated two-element, 2.5dBi gain). 2300-2400MHz not officially supported. Probably a bit gain-light ?
2) Twin OMNI-0121-V3 (6.9dBi on their own, not sure what a dual would do). 2300-2400MHz not officially supported (yet?), but on paper it looks fine.
3) Twin OMNI-0069-V3 (around 6dBi on their own, not sure what a dual would do). 2300-2400MHz not officially supported (yet?), but on paper it looks fine.
4) XPOL-0002-V1 : Fairly directional. 2300-2400MHz not officially supported.
5) XPOL-0002-V2 : As above, but 2300-2400MHz IS officially supported. (not available in SA yet).
6) Twin LPDA-0020 : Very directional (9dB gain on its own). 2300MHz supported. Probably a bit too directional ?
7) Twin LPDA-0092 : Very directional (11dB gain on its own). 2300MHz supported. Probably way too directional.
8) XPOL-0006 : 11dBi gain, fairly directional. Specific for 2300MHz.

I think my money would be on the XPOL-0006 or twin OMNI-0069's, though Poynting might still recommend the new XPOL-0002-V3. A comparative test would be really useful ...
 
Thanks for the analysis - nice to bump heads on things like this. The owner is relatively satisfied with his current 3 bars signal although there isn't fantastic throughput. He said from the start he doesn't want something as industrial as an LPDA-0092 install. I'll have egg on my face if I install something and don't get results!

I seem to remember :p end 2013 that I tested with my twin LPDA-0092's and got 4 bars signal without really trying and 25Mbps throughout. That's what made us revisit the install all this time later as it was "on the back burner". One of the kids tried to hold a 3m pole stationary outside while we tested inside. :D
 
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:)
Invested in a Huawei B880-73 modem/router, 2X Poynting LPDA yagis, suitable mast and wall attachment bracket.

Wow, results outstanding with Telkom mobile LTE:

http://speedtest.ookla.com/result/2655979521.png

Have a spare bracket and mast with easy alignment available, please pm me.
 
jcheek said:
With all our enthusiasm for LOS and ultimate speed, it's easy to lose sight of one important fact : by going highly directional, you are also "locking yourself in" to one tower. The effective "beam width" on a twin-LPDA array is much narrower than on an XPOL or twin-omni setup, ie it can only really "see" one tower. An antenna system that isn't quite as directional retains the ability of your modem/router to switch to another tower if it offers better signal or the original tower goes offline. It also means you might still be able to "see" another network's tower well enough to get service without having to move the antenna.
Click to expand...

Similar to my comment in the above post, with all our enthusiasm for Line-of-Sight installations, we should not discount the "simpler" antenna solutions, whether discreet (two omnis) or integrated (like the XPOL-0001).

For example, I was very impressed by the results that Biggles190 saw with Telkom Mobile (as described in this post) using the "plain old" XPOL-0001.
He achieved speeds very similar to what we are seeing with high-gain LOS installations, using just the XPOL-0001, even though Poynting - according to some of their information sources - don't officially sanction its use with Telkom Mobile yet.

In areas where one already has reasonable signal, I believe a lot of the signal/speed advantage is achieved by simply having the antenna system up on the roof as opposed to inside a modem/router which in turn is closed up inside a house. This is also borne out by the fact that the Huawei B593's internal antennas perform pretty darn well when the device itself is (temporarily) up on the roof!
 
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Have posted for info on the: Cellular antenna installation and alignment thread:)
 
jcheek said:
Similar to my comment in the above post, with all our enthusiasm for Line-of-Sight installations, we should not discount the "simpler" antenna solutions, whether discreet (two omnis) or integrated (like the XPOL-0001).

For example, I was very impressed by the results that Biggles190 saw with Telkom Mobile (as described in this post) using the "plain old" XPOL-0001.
He achieved speeds very similar to what we are seeing with high-gain LOS installations, using just the XPOL-0001, even though Poynting - according to some of their information sources - don't officially sanction its use with Telkom Mobile yet.

In areas where one already has reasonable signal, I believe a lot of the signal/speed advantage is achieved by simply having the antenna system up on the roof as opposed to inside a modem/router which in turn is closed up inside a house. This is also supported out by the fact that the Huawei B593's internal antennas perform pretty darn well when the device itself is (temporarily) up on the roof!
Click to expand...

I'm definitely going to give the XPOL-0001 a whirl. My intention is to actually measure the LPDA-0020, XPOL-06 and XPOL-0001 against each other and post feedback here. :)

You are indeed correct with elevation and no obstruction (inside a house). Perhaps in the future, the Huawei B-series will come with an outdoor antenna and 5m cable. At the rate at which they innovate, I honestly wouldn't be surprised. Even better if Poynting could convince them to use their XPOL-0001. ;)
 
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Azimuth said:
I'm definitely going to give the XPOL-0001 a whirl. My intention is to actually measure the LPDA-0020, XPOL-06 and XPOL-0001 against each other and post feedback here. :)
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Also try for an XPOL-0002-V2 .... I'm sure there's a pre-production prototype lying around somewhere ;-)

Azimuth said:
You are indeed correct with elevation and no obstruction (inside a house). Perhaps in the future, the Huawei B-series will come with an external antenna and 5m cable. At the rate at which they innovate, I honestly wouldn't be surprised. Even better if Poynting could convince them to use their XPOL-0001. ;)
Click to expand...

I'd put "SMA ports that protrude properly" and "Bring back the Cell_ID reporting" higher on the list!
 
Previously I briefly mentioned that I ran 3G while waiting for LTE provisioning on my SIM card.

The XPOL-0002 spec says it is a "future-proof solution for 4G / 3G and 2G networks" and "ideal for any application using the GSM network (LTE/HSPA/3G/EDGE/ GPRS)".

So riddle me this:

Before, using internal antenna:

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1406130954.039715.jpg

After, using external antenna:

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1406130976.859167.jpg

No change in signal strength

View attachment 134805

Speedtest shows a slightly different story. Speeds are also very consistent.

Internal antenna

912003718.png


External antenna

912004975.png


So does this mean that 3G equipment transmits at a much lower power rate than LTE equipment?
 
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I've ordered the A-XPOL-0001. I've been told TM will be setting up a tower closer to me than the one I'm currently connected to within the next 2 months.

With no external antenna:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/3645169140.png

RSSI (dBm): -69.0
RSRP (dBm): -95.0
RSRQ (dB): -6.0

Once I have the A-XPOL-0001 I'll post the difference. Stay tuned :D
 
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webdev said:
I've ordered the A-XPOL-0001. I've been told TM will be setting up a tower closer to me than the one I'm currently connected to within the next 2 months.

With no external antenna:
http://www.speedtest.net/result/3645169140.png

RSSI (dBm): -69.0
RSRP (dBm): -95.0
RSRQ (dB): -6.0

Once I have the A-XPOL-0001 I'll post the difference. Stay tuned :D
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Great stuff, webdev!

Can you advise:
1) Is that with Huawei B593 ?
2) Is that with internal antennas, or external paddles (ice-cream sticks) ?
3) What 's your approximate location (suburb, city etc) ?

Good luck with the XPOL-0001 !
 
jcheek said:
Great stuff, webdev!

Can you advise:
1) Is that with Huawei B593 ?
2) Is that with internal antennas, or external paddles (ice-cream sticks) ?
3) What 's your approximate location (suburb, city etc) ?

Good luck with the XPOL-0001 !
Click to expand...

1. Yeah, B593s-601
2. Internal Antennas.
3. Sherwood, Port Elizabeth

I've heard that having an external antenna outside moves the radiation out too. So if I don't gain anything else, thats enough for me.
 
Great results webdev.

I must say at this point that I am a bit thrown. One can no longer correlate RSRP to LTE speed. It just seems completely random.

Anyone else notice this?
 
Azimuth said:
Great results webdev.

I must say at this point that I am a bit thrown. One can no longer correlate RSRP to LTE speed. It just seems completely random.

Anyone else notice this?
Click to expand...

I have been reading up a bit on RSSI, RSRP and RSRQ etc - and yes I think these are just some of the factors at play - it's not the be all and end all of download/upload performance. I'm still a newbie at the technical info but learning more each day - so not really competent to comment - so take my comments with a pinch of salt :-)
 
My question remain...
How do some users get 75Mbps d/l and many others like myself only 25Mbps d/l.
It seems if Telkom have different speeds in differnt areas.
Do any other users with perfect signal experience the same?
 
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I have a B593s-601 and extremely slow upload. Speeds like 20/0.5 d/u

I was impressed and got router at TelkomDirect for R1499 once-off !!!! I was speechless about price.

Taped to window I got 20/0.5 stable instead of 4-5/0.5. Poor upload is killing me.
With a test of Poyting PBN-XPOL-06 antenna I could get 20-29/6Mbit. But I would need 15m cables. Will that work?

Wireless Status with internal antennas
1 PLMN: 65502
2 Service status: Valid service
3 RSSI (dBm): -73.0
4 RSRP (dBm): -104.0
5 RSRQ (dB): -10.0
6 Roaming: No

Any setting I can tweak?

Poor Firmware. Had routers with much more:
- multiple supported DynDNS services
- VPN support
- Guest network
- 2.4/5Ghz networks
- file browser for usb devices
- fixed IP addresses for devices
 
K-Tech said:
My question remain...
How do some users get 75Mbps d/l and many others like myself only 25Mbps d/l.
It seems if Telkom have different speeds in differnt areas.
Do any other users with perfect signal experience the same?
Click to expand...

Yes I experience the same.....I did 'before and after' tests - before with no antenna's and after with 2 external Poynting LPDA-0092 antenna's. My signal strength went from 2 bars LTE to 5 bars LTE but my download and upload speeds remained pretty much the same at 12Mbps download and 6Mbps upload. I connect to a 30meg pipe Telkom tower. There is another Telkom tower which is a 100meg pipe tower but I don't have line of sight to that tower now (busy working on that). I am of the opinion that download speeds are mainly determined by the "strength" of the tower that you connect to.
 
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