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S4GRU

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  1. S4GRU
    Herman, is that you??? Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD
  2. S4GRU

    LG Optimus G

    S4GRU replied to khammondnm's topic in LG

    I like the LGOG a lot. However, I have a different take on signal. The LGOG will hold a very weak signal much farther than my Note 2. However, that is not necessarily a good thing. The problem is that I've found is that the LGOG will hold unusable signals and prevent you from roaming. In my observations, the usable signal of the LGOG is the same as the Note 2. When I drive out of range, when the Note 2 switches to roaming, the LGOG still has a signal. But if you make a call or try to use data in the area where the Note 2 is roaming, you can forget it. 1x and EVDO become worthless around -106dBm. However, I've had the LGOG hold on to signals up to -116dBm. And one time even -120dBm. So really, it's not that the LGOG is the most stellar RF performer, it's that its threshold for keeping a signal is set too high. It needs to be lowered to where if you do not have a good enough signal to be useful, it goes to roaming. It can be frustrating to be in a rural area with a solid roaming signal, but the LGOG clings to a distant weak signal that is so poor that you cannot even text. That being said, the LGOG is a great RF performer all the way up to -106dBm. In my observations, it either had the best signal strength or tied for the best signal strength. I love my LGOG. Best smartphone from LG ever. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD
  3. S4GRU
    I have not ever had a Google Wallet transaction work for me, on any device. I've given up. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD
  4. S4GRU
    The decline in performance is because you are now underneath the signal. Also, under the tower, you can pick up more sectors causing increased interference. I live on the south side of a two sector site, but occasionally I can connect to a sector on the north side, 180 degrees away. And the difference in strength is only 10-15dBm between the two sectors. So that helps to illustrate how much pollution you can get from other sectors on a site when really close to it. The best signal you will get is with Line of Sight to the panel, being perfectly lined up with it, 0 degrees of its center point, at least 100-200' away. I have held my phone right up to a panel before and watch my 1x signal strength go to -30dBm. I ran an EVDO test and got 1.35Mbps. I walked back to my car, about 750' away, but had direct LOS to the same panel. Signal strength was -65dBm and my speed test was 1.35Mbps. This site I'm referring to is in Eldorado, New Mexico on top of a hill. The panels are on poles that stick out of the ground between 5' and 10'. You can walk right up to the panels. Pretty neat thing to check out. But it is a healthy walk up that steep hill. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD
  5. S4GRU
    It's hard to tell on my tablet, but the panel appeared to have Ericsson RRU's attached. Which site in Cruces is it? I may come down and check it out. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD
  6. S4GRU
    You can get an app that will tell you. Other than that, no. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD
  7. S4GRU
    So does Sprint. New Mexico is a great place to set up Customer Service Centers. About half of the population here are fluent English/Spanish speakers. It's the only place in the country that has a huge population of English speakers with little to no accent, but also speak Spanish fluently. Great for customer service. Robert
  8. S4GRU
    We have had member reports of seeing CDMA 800 in Downtown DC and in the Maryland suburbs in the past. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD
  9. S4GRU
    Where T-Mobile works, it works great. I love having a secondary device on another network as a backup and novelty. But in rural areas, Sprint works great in most areas and even getting better. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD
  10. S4GRU
    Besides, SERO is only a good value for the first 2-3 lines on an account. Once you get beyond 3-4, family plans are less expensive. Each additional line on a family plan is less expensive than a SERO plan. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD
  11. S4GRU
    "Chantilly lace. And a pretty face. And a pony tail, hangin' down!"
  12. S4GRU
    Attention S4GRU Members: This Friday, May 17th, S4GRU.com will be offline for approximately 30 minutes while IP Board upgrades us to the newest version on our servers. The exact time is not known, but will be as late in the afternoon as they can schedule it. Please be advised that after the servers reboot and changes take effect, we will likely lose ALL of the site's customizations. There will likely be no logos, no S4GRU yellow colors. We will probably revert to the standard blue/white IP Board skin. I selected a Friday for the upgrade, so I can have the weekend to discover all the bugs and work through them. You will notice some variations to the site post upgrade, even beyond colors and logos. My first priority will be to return the logo, colors and PayPal donation button. The rest I will work back in as I have time over the weekend. I apologize for the inconvenience now. Thank you for your cooperation. Robert
  13. S4GRU
    I'm not shocked at all. They have an entire WCDMA network with backhaul in place. All they are doing is adding LTE to their existing network. If they couldn't do that fast, that would be an epic failure. Sprint does not have their own high speed network and backhaul to piggy back on. If you think about the Sprint Network Vision overhaul, it's the same scope of work as a new carrier starting service nationwide. All new switches/cores, all new backhaul, all new site equipment from top to bottom. The amount of work Sprint is doing in a short time is unprecedented and is 5x more work than what Tmo is doing right now. And that doesn't even count that Tmo LTE will end at the city limits for years, where Sprint is going nationwide. It's 3x more work than Verizon or AT&T is doing. And getting it done in 24-30 months nationwide is beyond amazing. Comparing Tmo LTE deployment to Sprint Network Vision is nowhere near an apples to apples comparison. Robert
  14. S4GRU
    That's a big improvement over Tmo WCDMA upload speeds. Gotta like that. Robert
  15. S4GRU
    I think Softbank is more likely to expand coverage with new sites than the current Sprint. However, in the current scheme of things, I don't predict a huge swing. If you think about it, it's unprecedented. No major wireless carrier in the past 10-12 years has started an organic large scale tertiary/rural market build out. No one has done it because it is expensive and extremely risky. I believe Sprint is up to something though. We know that Sprint has been testing LTE 800 in Montana. We can't help but assume the sites there in this FIT are not limited to LTE 800 only. To really properly test the LTE 800 network, you'd have to add LTE 1900 and CDMA 800/1900 to test device network priorities and handoffs, etc. We don't have details of the 800 FIT there. But it is probably between 5 and 20 sites in a cluster. One would have to assume that the FIT will be turned over to native service when testing concludes. It seems like an awful waste of money to set it up and tear it right back down. If they leave the FIT running up there, it could be used to see what it does for new rural build out. They would know exactly how much it cost. They would be able to monitor how much usage and roaming cost it saves and they could get a good gauge on operational costs. Heck, it may make a lot of sense just to deploy CDMA 800 and LTE 800 in these new markets. They could save on site spacing and just put one carrier of each up initially. If a specific city starts to take off with a customer base, they can add CDMA/LTE 1900 for capacity. Add additional sites when/if the population can support it. Even a city like Billings, a well placed site in the middle of town could serve almost the whole city with 800 SMR. And the places it doesn't reach can roam. If and when roaming becomes a problem, add another site on the fringe. Not a bad idea, really. It just comes down to economics. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD
  16. S4GRU
    Where are they working right this moment? I do not know. I only know where they've been based on the NV Sites Complete Map. Robert
  17. S4GRU
    They have more LTE sites complete in Bradenton than anywhere else in the market except Ft. Myers. Three sites have been accepted there the past 10 days. That's a pretty good clip. They are actively working in the area. If that's not enough for you, we won't beg you to stay. Do what's best for your needs. But please don't post your complaints here. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD
  18. S4GRU
    Park Avenue Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk
  19. S4GRU
    Coverage on Sensorly is provided by people who run the Sensorly app on their phone. Crowd sourced. People tend to drive on roads and highways. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk
  20. S4GRU
    I was not aware that 600MHz was relegated to LTE only. No matter what then, it looks like Tmo's voice future for low frequency will be VoLTE. And it will match their LTE coverage and likely be a noticeable improvement over their AWS/PCS voice footprint. VoLTE on 600MHz sounds much better than VoLTE on AWS or PCS with anemic coverage. Robert
  21. S4GRU
    Some would argue Sprint needs more low frequency spectrum to be able to have at least one 10MHz wide channel like Verizon and AT&T. Then Sprint could use SMR for all its voice needs forever. They could then use PCS and EBS/BRS for data capacity. Sprint doesn't even have enough SMR for a 5MHz LTE carrier nationwide. Tmo definitely needs their share too. Tmo and Sprint should both go for a 10MHz swath each. One problem for Tmo is if they go to TDD banding on 600MHz, that limits them to VoLTE only for voice. And Tmo needs voice and data on 600 to help them compete. Robert via Samsung Note II via Tapatalk
  22. S4GRU
    We have a few sites around here that are now down to 1-3Mbps on VZW LTE 750 at peak times. However, they have been steadily dropping since last Fall. So we will probably be down to that in the next few months. I purchased a new VZW LTE hotspot last month that is AWS LTE capable because of their oncoming LTE capacity crunch. Robert
  23. S4GRU
    And now you have a nice LTE glow! Man, that is a strong signal. Robert
  24. S4GRU
    I have only seen LTE signals stronger than -70dBm RSRP a handful of times. That's near the top of the chart. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD
  25. S4GRU
    It's mostly because of different technology and bands. However, traffic is also a factor. AT&T and VZW have double the customers. Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD
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