chamb

You might use some data if you are looking at the Sensorly map as you drive around. It is continuously updating as you move around. I do this quite often.

I think Sprint users are one of the highest users of Sensorly, Maybe partly because of this site stressing that we should be using it, and again, because of the users not needing to be afraid of going over their cap on data being used. Just think if you were using AT&T or Verizon with a data cap, would you be willing to allow Sensorly to run for hours not knowing if it was going to take you over your limit?? I simply have a power cord to make sure it does not impact my battery and allow Sensorly to run with no qualms anytime I am traveling in an area that I think might not be previously mapped. I never really tried to figure out how much data it uses, but I doubt that it is a heavy user. The data that it captures is already on your phone. (signal strength and GPS location). Sensorly just grabs what is there and packages it into a predetermined format. Then it uploads to the Sensorly web site. Sensorly is collecting this data maybe every 100 -250 feet you move, both signal strength and GPS location. It holds onto the data until it has quite a few readings and then it uploads it in a group. OR, depending on your option settings, it may wait until you get connected via W-Fi and upload.

Sprint has Unlimited Data, so any Sprint user is more likely to use Sensorly than a user on other carriers. If you were on AT&T or Verizon, using Sensorly could cost you money if you use too much data.

Designing antennas for Cell/PCS phones has to be a very tough job. The phone can be in any position at any time. When held up to the ear, it rarely is totally vertical and can be almost horizontal. The phone can be laying on its back on a desk. Or in a holster on a guys belt or upside down in a ladies pocketbook. It has to be able to pick up a signal of almost any polarization. Did we determine that the multi-band antennas used at a NV site would normally transmit a 1900 and a 800 signal in the same direction with Sprint having the ability to possibly shift one of the two signals slightly if desired? This is what I originally believed to be true, but the earlier statement about a 90 degree difference in the elements really can be interpreted in several ways. I am thinking it may be that the 800 signal might need to be shifted in direction slightly at some sites to keep the more powerful 800 signal from being aimed at another nearby site. You would not really want two adjacent sites blasting out a 800 signal directly at each other. This might cause issues where it did not with 1900 signals.

I always thought that Cell/PCS signals were always vertical polarization probably because of the old pull-out antennas on the older cell phones. Horizontal polarization is not normally a good thing for portable devices. At least that is what I was taught many years ago.

Can somebody clarify this a little. In Multi-band antennas, if the elements are at 90 degree angles to each other, does this mean that the 1900 signal and the 800 signal will be sent in entirely different directions?? If your home is in the "Poor Spot" for a 1900 signal because of the 1900 signal not being aimed at your location, is it possible that the 800 signal might just be leaving the cell site in a different direction and be aimed at your location even by default? Would the 800 signal leave the cell site at a 90 degree angle to the 1900 signal. I know that they can have the capability to move the aiming left or right or up and down slightly, but is the starting point off by 90 degrees as the default??? Good technical question maybe.

Yes, you need to emphasize it more - Shentel has really put nTelos to shame working just up the road.

Does a turd float or sink in a punch bowl???????????????????

Surely they will have issues getting enough money to build the infrastructure if they try to do it themselves. It would take billions and years to get it done. I do not see it happening. If they try to have somebody else host the network and do all the work, do they even have enough money to pay for the hosting considering that they start with no customers and would have steep competition? Is there any chance that the country needs or can support another LTE provider?? Would it be wise for any company that could do the hosting to even think of getting involved with this fiasco?? Cash up front should be the policy of any potential hosting company.

Sensorly has been "Slow" for quite awhile. It can easily take as long as 48 hours for it to completely update. Sometimes it will show up on one "Zoom" level fairly quick and then over a day or two, other zoom levels start showing it.

Then I would say your are a very good guy. I do the same thing in my home territory. York is not easy for me. I get there about one time a month and have a job to do when I am there. Just not a place I can really spend time to map totally. Keep up your good work.

Yep, I do not live in York, but I do find myself in York occasionally. Every time I go there, I have more LTE than I did last trip. Shentel is making progress for sure. We need a "local guy or gal" to run around all over the area with Sensorly running. I see many of the main routes are mapped, but it seems that much more area could be mapped. I ran Sensorly for about 6 hours today, mostly in York. I was not there to try and map the city so I traveled the routes that allowed me to get a job done for me. Sensorly is not working well. It can take 36 hours or more to see any results of your mapping and even then, you might have to check several zoom levels before you see your work. It usually updates all levels eventually, but it sure does take a long time. I hope Sensorly can get this issue fixed. I also ran route 30. York to Chambersburg. Also ran into Hanover (route 116 and route 94 from Route 30). Getting better everywhere but it will take some time to show up on Sensorly.

From what I can tell, the SEARCH function will not work with only 3 characters.

Sites that have the complete equipment installed but are not broadcasting LTE most often have a back haul issue. Having fiber placed in a trench or a microwave dish installed does not mean that there is not an issue with back haul at the other end of the back haul link. link.

I have some experience with Shentel upgrades. Yes, you should probably see a minimum of 3 DB level improvement but this varies depending on how the old and new antennas are aimed. This can be different. Backhaul --- Yes, they may install the antennas and RRU's first and then the back haul later. Might be an entirely different crew installing the back haul. It could be quickly or take months. No, you will not be able to tell if the site is configured for capacity or a bigger coverage area. Looking at the site will not really tell you. If you see sites that are upgraded but not on the S4GRU maps, get photos and post them in the thread designated for this with comments so the site administrators can check things out. If the site happens to be 4g LTE active, please download the "Sensorly" app and take a drive on the roads around the site so it shows on the Sensorly mapping. Your personal info shows you have a "Flip Phone". If that is correct, you may not have the ability to check for LTE or map Sensorly.

Here is my experience. It may not be typical. I got a boost in service that was much more than I expected. I am 3 miles from the cell site. The cell site is on elevated ground. In the winter when there are no leaves on the trees, I can actually see the cell site with binoculars. A garage is attached to my home and it is in-between the cell site and my normal work area in my home. BEFORE network vision - I had a -103 level and if I moved around, the signal would drop to -105. At -105, the call was gone. AFTER network vision - I have a -98 and it is steady. No lost call ever. And I have LTE with a 10 meg download speed. This is much better than I expected. Maybe the new antennas are better?? Maybe they are aimed better?? Maybe the old radios at the cell site were not putting out full power??? Who knows. Concerning the signal going the other direction - Again, maybe a better antenna at the cell site is helping. Having the RRU's beside the antennas helps too. The RRU can capture the incoming signal without having any loss between the antenna and the RRU. Before network vision, the antenna captured the incoming signal but there was loss in the cable going down to the radios in the ground mounted cabinet. I had a very good experience. However, your experience mighty be different. Distance from the cell site matters. Height of the cell site and the aiming of the antennas matters. Construction of your home matters(Brick, Block, Stone, low E windows, aluminum siding all tend to be a signal killer.) Heavy trees, hills & other homes or businesses that block the signal between the cell site and your home matter. I have quite a few cell sites in the area that are upgraded. I see improvements everywhere. It can be very dangerous to predict just what you will experience. You will see some improvement, but it may only be minimal at best. 800 SMR is going to fix even more issues but I have not experienced that yet.

Five articles about Sprint & Dish http://www.ecommerce...tory/77820.html http://seekingalpha....ger-sprint-dish http://www.heraldnet...704169868/0/biz http://www.denverpos...osal?source=rss http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/04/17/why-dish-is-playing-hard-ball-for-sprint/

Good article on ZDnet. Gives a a clue as to what Dish & Sprint might do. http://www.zdnet.com/dish-and-sprint-can-they-really-deliver-on-a-unicast-vision-7000014032/

NEW Cell Site Near Maple Grove Speedway (Reading, PA). http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=467990 From readingeagle.com The Brecknock Township Zoning Hearing Board has unanimously approved allowing a 120-foot high Sprint Nextel cellphone tower at the end of the 5000 block of Kachel Road. Zoning approval was needed because the tower site is in the general commercial district at an elevation of less than 800 feet. The property elevation is 520 feet. The zoners also granted permission to exceed the usual 5-foot maximum height for the antennas on the tower. Witnesses for Sprint Nextel testified three 6-foot antennas would do the work of the six 5-foot antennas that would otherwise be required. Witnesses also testified that the tower location would close a gap in service for Sprint Nextel customers, extending reliable service by between 1 and 2 miles in all directions. - By Stephen F. DeLucas

Your LTE signal is probably coming from a more distant site than your CDMA1X signal. Your 1X signal is good. You show a -101 RSRP signal for LTE, which should be useable but not full speed. Normally a -101 LTE signal will yield about 8 meg down and 2 up(depending on local conditions). Yes, the HTC EVO LTE hs been noted as being poor at picking up LTE. I dumped mine months ago and have a Galaxy S3 which is much much better. I have seen it hold onto a -129 signal but the connection was not useable.

Thanks for the info. Allegany county, Md sure needed all the help possible. That is a very very hard area to cover properly due to the mountains. Do you know if the 800 service is operational yet?? If not, do you know the reason why it is not being activated locally?? They sure need 800 more than most areas. I hope this is not ground mount installs as they need the boost of top mount RRU's too.

http://www.nippon.com/en/currents/d00063/ "Son" says -- I am a man and I want to be number 1.

Unless they fixed it, you got lucky. Try zooming in and out. Many times I see the mapping just on one level and zooming in or out, it does not show up, Sometimes it takes days. I used to have the maps displayed on my phone as I drove around so I could see previous mapping. Now, it rarely loads quick enough to be of any help.

Sure looks like they are having some serious issues. A couple of months ago, it worked very well. In the last month or two, it has been having troubles and it is not getting better. I worry about this a little. Sensorly had been a great tool. Right now, it is barely useable.

This article may help explain why Dish is trying to obtain Clearwire http://www.fiercecable.com/story/how-comcast-charter-and-time-warner-cable-will-use-tv-everywhere-steal-dire/2013-03-06