E1820 External Antenna Connector

Jola

Jola

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I've heard that the E1820 has an external antenna connector - can anyone confirm this ?

Mod note:
Forum members are not reporting an increase in signal strength or transfer speeds using the E1820's external antenna connector.
Cell-C's network department recommend the Poynting ADPT-026 Inductive Coupler for the E1820, see this post.
 
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Jola said:
I've heard that the E1820 has an external antenna connector - can anyone confirm this ?
Click to expand...

Yes, it does, but note the following. The external antenna is only an auxiliary antenna for diversity. This means it should improve reception, but the modem will still only report signal strength as seen by the main internal antenna.
 
1geoff99 said:
Yes, it does, but note the following. The external antenna is only an auxiliary antenna for diversity. This means it should improve reception, but the modem will still only report signal strength as seen by the main internal antenna.
Click to expand...

Interesting, where did you find this information? Link?
 
The K4505-z also has the external antenna connection. (Ginggs posted a pic somewhere earlier).

1geoff99 said:
Yes, it does, but note the following. The external antenna is only an auxiliary antenna for diversity. This means it should improve reception, but the modem will still only report signal strength as seen by the main internal antenna.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the NOOB question, but does this mean that an antenna attached to the external connector will NOT improve download speeds?
Found this http://www.sotel.de/antenne-fuer-vo...m-kabel-12dbi-gewinn-p-138015.html?language=e
Want to know if it is worthwhile investing in one?
 
1geoff99 said:
Yes, it does, but note the following. The external antenna is only an auxiliary antenna for diversity. This means it should improve reception, but the modem will still only report signal strength as seen by the main internal antenna.
Click to expand...
Interesting info, thanks. What antenna and pigtail connector are you using?

I tried with the pigtail from my Huawei E620, which I believe is a CAB-038, and I didn't see any change in the signal strength. It didn't "click" in like it did on the E620, so I assumed I didn't have the right pigtail.

Some more info on this from the Huawei Technical Forum.
 
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ginggs said:
Interesting info, thanks. What antenna and pigtail connector are you using?

I tried with the pigtail from my Huawei E620, which I believe is a CAB-038, and I didn't see any change in the signal strength. It didn't "click" in like it did on the E620, so I assumed I didn't have the right pigtail.

Some more info on this from the Huawei Technical Forum.
Click to expand...

This is what I'm using...
http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/2635...or_outdoor_use_great_for_boosting_signal.html

I definitely get improved speeds with the antenna plugged in. Note that your reported signal strength does not change when you use an external antenna for the E1820 (I suppose because the external antenna is auxiliary).

e.g. antenna plugged in: 733 kB/s down*
antenna unplugged: 468 kB/s down*
Upload speeds are also better.

*Average from 5 consecutive tests.
 
1geoff99 said:
This is what I'm using...
http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/2635...or_outdoor_use_great_for_boosting_signal.html

I definitely get improved speeds with the antenna plugged in. Note that your reported signal strength does not change when you use an external antenna for the E1820 (I suppose because the external antenna is auxiliary).

e.g. antenna plugged in: 733 kB/s down*
antenna unplugged: 468 kB/s down*
Upload speeds are also better.

*Average from 5 consecutive tests.
Click to expand...

I can't reproduce the above test results so I now consider the E1820 antenna connector to be non-functional.
 
1geoff99 said:
I can't reproduce the above test results so I now consider the E1820 antenna connector to be non-functional.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your feedback.

@Cell_C: What is the official answer on this?
 
Coupler test on E1820 modem:

I have set up a circular patch antenna with the position optimized with respect to signal strength (carried out with ADPT-026).

The pigtails tested where:
ADPT-026: http://www.poyntingdirect.co.za/pADPT-026/Adapter-cable-for-all-USB-Modems---SMAf.aspx
CAB-038: http://www.poyntingdirect.co.za/pCAB-038/Adapter-Cable-for-HUAWEI-3G-Card.aspx

I can conclusively say that the CAB-038 pigtail is doing nothing for the signal and the download speed.

Initially the modem is placed in an 3G deadzone:
ADPT-026: -79dBm signal / around 5Mpps DL / 2Mpps UL / 110ms latency
CAB-038: No signal, cannot connect

Next I placed the modem in my window where I pick up a bit of 3G signal:
No connector: -99dBm signal / 0.4 Mpbs DL / 400ms latency (Speedtest freezed at UL)
CAB-038: -101 dBm signal / 0.3Mpbs DL / 380ms latency (Speedtest freezed at UL)
The connection was un-browseable and I have to force it back on 3G numerous times when it automatically switches to EDGE.

A pity I could not get upload speeds on the last location. I did try a couple of times but due to the bad connection many times I could not even run the speedtest and these where about the only tests where I got any results.

Thanks to Ginggs for lending me his CAB-038 for conducting this test with.
 
great improvement

Hi

I went from no connection (only EDGE) to a stable 5mb/s 3G link.

First, you need to have at least some 3G reception. This in my case was always close to a window. The blue light (green=EDGE / Blue = 3G) on my E1820 use to flick once or twice and sometimes I even got a 3G connection for a minute or two but it always changed to EDGE after a while. The 3G (when I got it) gave me about 1-2mb/s download speed. Not good.

Step 1:
I purchased an usb extension. This helped a bit because your laptop’s communication interferes with the modem (if the signal is weak like in my case). I use the usb extention to get my modem 1-2m away from the laptop.

Step 2:
I then connected the CellC modem to the old TV antennae on the roof of the house (yes, that old TV's antennae that was replaced by a dish).
It was very easy. I purchased one of the small antennas mentioned above by 1geoff99. The small external antenna did not provide a great improvement but did help a little (or so it appeared). I then got the idea from someone to cut the cut the wire of the small antenna and use it to link the 3G modem to my old antennae on the roof. I’m not technical at all but this is simple since you connect only two wires.

The effect is great. I have more than a 100% improvement on performance and my 3G never drops which happened often previously. I now get a great stable connection with an average download of about 5mb/s .

My end product: an antennae on the roof that is connected to a CellC modem that is in a usb extension that plugs into a Sitecom 3G ready router (WL326) purchased from Incredible Connection. So my house has wireless internet.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/992053675.png

Hope this helps someone.
 
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Zaffer said:
The effect is great. I have more than a 100% improvement on performance and my 3G never drops which happened often previously. I now get a great stable connection with an average download of about 5mb/s .
Click to expand...

This is interesting because you seemed to have got the external antenna connector to work.
 
What is even more interesting 1geoff99 is that the location if the CellC modem is still important. I still need to have it close to a window. It is as if both the roof antennae and the modem's location is important. I have no idea why that would be. Any technical expert out there with a theory?
 
Zaffer said:
What is even more interesting 1geoff99 is that the location if the CellC modem is still important. I still need to have it close to a window. It is as if both the roof antennae and the modem's location is important. I have no idea why that would be. Any technical expert out there with a theory?
Click to expand...

Does your RSSI (Receive Signal Strength Indicator) reading change when you connect the TV antenna? (In Cell C management software, click on Settings -> Diagnostics... -> 'Network status' tab)
 
Hi 1geoff99

I'm a bit short on time but did this test for you. It should help.


This test was designed to remove the effect of the usb extention and only test the difference made by the old tv antennae on the roof.

Test 1: No antennae plugged in & no usb extention - 3 speed tests one after another
http://www.speedtest.net/result/992906320.png RSSI = -95dbm
http://www.speedtest.net/result/992907790.png RSSI = -89dbm
http://www.speedtest.net/result/992908908.png RSSI = -107dbm
could not do a 4th speed test since the signal dropped and my connection returned to EDGE. This is consistent with my previous experience that the CellC modem will always drop to EDGE after a few minutes if the antennae is not plugged in.


Test 2: I then plugged in the antennae but still did not use the usb extention. Removed the usb and plugged it back to get rid of the EDGE and did 3 tests after another
http://www.speedtest.net/result/992922612.png RSSI = -97dbm
http://www.speedtest.net/result/992924213.png RSSI = -91dbm
http://www.speedtest.net/result/992926231.png RSSI = -91dbm
This connection with the antennae on the roof never gets a download speed of less then 3mb/s and never drops to EDGE.

This test clearly proofs that the antennae does make a huge difference to download speed and the reliablity of the high speed link.
 
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Zaffer said:
This test clearly proofs that the antennae does make a huge difference to download speed and the reliablity of the high speed link.
Click to expand...

Thanks Zaffer.

I think at one point I was also getting a positive effect from my external connector, but the effect was more subtle than yours, probably because I started off with a stronger signal from my internal antenna and the external antenna I was using was not very high gain. So the difference was not always easy to notice.

I would now like to suggest that the external connector on the E1820 is for an auxiliary antenna and can be made to function under the following circumstances.

1. The internal antenna must be able to at least receive a weak 3g signal.
2. The external antenna must be fairly high gain.
3. The connector type for the external antenna needs to be a CRC9 plug.

Don't look for improved RSSI values, rather look for improved speed and reliability. Setting up a directional antenna may be difficult since reported signal strength doesn't seem to change when you use the external connector on the E1820.

If you receive a very weak or no 3g signal at all on the internal antenna, then your only solution will be to use a high gain antenna via the Poynting ADPT-026 universal adapter.
 
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