Jump to content

Trip

S4GRU Staff
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    2,291

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    90

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Trip

    Signal Booster Question - Feasible? Which?

    in Network, Network Vision/LTE Deployment

    Posted

    Trip, your RG-6 is 75 ohm.  Does the booster not recommend a 50 ohm coax?

     

    AJ

     

    That's what I can't figure out.  When I look at the manual for it, the end of the manual has specs which say "50 ohms/75 ohms".  And antenna kits that you can buy for huge amounts of money for either one.  I'm going to wait for it to arrive and then figure out what to do from there.

     

    I did manage to get the FCC ID for the third manufacturer, and its performance in the FCC tests showed the worst roll-off on 800 MHz of the three.

     

    - Trip

    Signal Booster Question - Feasible? Which?

    in Network, Network Vision/LTE Deployment

    Posted

    I actually bought the weBoost Home 4G yesterday on Amazon while it was on sale for $311 (still is that price as of this post).  I likely won't get to try it out until mid-January; I'm waiting to order an antenna until it arrives to be 100% sure I get all the right adapters and everything as well.  What I'm reading implies that it has an F-connector on it, which is good because I have a spool of RG-6 and the appropriate ends/tool for making such a cable.  All I would need to worry about is the antenna and any adapters it needs.

     

    I'll have my fingers crossed about the distance.  I really hope that it works. 

     

    - Trip

    Signal Booster Question - Feasible? Which?

    in Network, Network Vision/LTE Deployment

    Posted

    So I feel stupid.  I work in OET and forgot I should be able to look up the performance in the OET registrations!  So that's what I've done.  So far, what I see is this:

     

    weBoost's Home 3G and Home 4G look to be about the same on 800, flat on the uplink and a slight rolloff at the bottom of the downlink.  On PCS G-block, though, the 3G is worthless (fast roll-off) while the 4G appears to have been tweaked to support it, being completely flat on downlink and only a slight rolloff on uplink.

     

    zBoost's 3G and 4G/B12 exhibit more severe rolloff on 800.  On G-block, the downlink is flat but the uplink has a very sharp roll-off, so neither one will work well for G-block.

     

    Can't find the FCC ID number for this company, so I've sent an e-mail asking for it:  http://wirelesscoveragesolutions.com/

     

    It looks like if I want to try anything, I should be considering the weBoost Home 4G, so far.

     

    - Trip

    • Like 4

    Signal Booster Question - Feasible? Which?

    in Network, Network Vision/LTE Deployment

    Posted

    I took my T-Mobile phone and it saw LTE on PCS from the site in question at -122 dBm.  I don't really have an 800 MHz yagi to play with, and that was on the ground.  I figure a good yagi with some height should improve that signal by a minimum of 15 dB, and probably much more given the frequency difference between PCS and 800, which would theoretically, from a signal strength point of view, make Band 26 usable.

     

    - Trip

    Signal Booster Question - Feasible? Which?

    in Network, Network Vision/LTE Deployment

    Posted

    Problem I see you having is the tower is 10.6 miles away. That is about 17 km. LTE uses a cyclic prefix and guard time to allow UEs close the the antenna and far away to synchronize to the site during random access (connecting for the first time) and not interfere with each other.

     

    http://lteuniversity.com/get_trained/expert_opinion1/b/hongyanlei/archive/2010/12/21/cell-size-configuration-in-random-access-procedure-i-preamble-format.aspx

     

    If the preamble format is set to 0, this means the maximum cell radius will be about 14 km. I have only ever seen format 0 used on Sprint sites. If you only wanted to do voice, you would probably be fine, but LTE would likely not work.

     

    Sprint antennas are cross polarized +/- 45° from horizontal from my experience. For the donor antenna, use a yagi/LPDA which supports your bands and has a narrow beam width (I'd say 60° or less). I have mostly seen them mounted vertically.

     

    Place the donor antenna on the roof for isolation from the serving antenna. To further ensure isolation, place the donor antenna on the side of the structure closest to the site. Insufficient isolation leads to the serving antenna signal feeding back into the donor antenna. Think of a microphone in front of a PA speaker. I would put the serving antenna on the ground floor in the center of the structure.

     

    Best bet on choosing a device is calling the company and asking if the specific frequency bands you need are supported.

     

    [EDIT]

    Just looked at the weBoost 3G and unless there is a second PCS LTE carrier, you will be out of luck. The PCS range is 1850 - 1990 MHz. G block down link is 1990 to 1995 MHz. The 800 range is 824 - 894 MHz so the down link frequency is covered (866.3 MHz for 8763) but the up link on 800 is lower than that (821.3 MHz for 26763). I am assuming your market uses the same eARFCN for 800 LTE as mine does.

     

    http://niviuk.free.fr/lte_band.php

     

    The weBoost 4G covers 1850 - 1995 MHz, but the 800 range is the same so it would work only for G block.

     

    I know this does not solve the cell radius problem, but is relevant information nonetheless.

     

    Thanks for your detailed response. 

     

    To your last point first, I am aware the weBoost is not what I need.  I've reached out to other vendors, however, who have either not responded or not made available information I need.  At this point, I'm not sure what to buy, if anything.

     

    I have actually planned to put the antenna on an adjacent building because my father-in-law's roof is a death trap.  One of those old metal roofs with a VERY steep pitch.  You wouldn't catch me on that thing.  I figured the most sensible way to go was to mount it on the shed nearby, then run the cable underground and into the house.  I'd hoped that would work.

     

    But your comments on the maximum cell size are disconcerting.  If what you're saying is correct, then it sounds like there's simply no way to make it work beyond 14.53 km, and he's definitely 10.46 miles away (16.83 km).  If that's definitely a hard limit, then I probably shouldn't waste too much more time on that plan, and can definitely go for a cheapie and just do the US Cellular Band 5.

     

    - Trip

    Current Sprint PRLs

    in General Topics

    Posted

    Changed my mind and tried to do it now.  The key difference between 56030 and 55050, assuming all the reductions in EV-DO are due to change from 56xxx to 55xxx, is Cellcom SIDs 362, 5652, and 5274, now have only 1X roaming, except in NID 7 where EV-DO remains.

     

    - Trip

    • Like 5

    Current Sprint PRLs

    in General Topics

    Posted

    Looks like the main difference between 56029 and 56030 was the removal of the Cricket CDMA/EV-DO.  There were only removals in this change, no additions and no changes from roaming to not roaming or vice versa.

     

    I haven't gone line-by-line, but that seems to be the big difference.  The comparison with 55050 will be more challenging since, of course, it's a different series.  I'll do that later.

     

    - Trip

    • Like 4

    Cheapest way to get LTE service from Verizon/AT&T/USCC?

    in General Topics

    Posted

    Just to follow up...

     

    https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4qtSrW2KKDCQWFpMkEzNFc5NGs/view?usp=sharing

     

    I got my Nexus 5 yesterday.  My wife brought home an AT&T SIM from work which didn't do much of anything for me.  I had also already ordered an H2O Wireless SIM because I saw their pay as you go plan.  Sure enough, that plan supports LTE.  So I'm keeping all background data shut off and as long as everything is good on that front, I should be good for $10 every three months.  Not bad for what I'm trying to do.  Already managed to log a bunch of AT&T sites immediately around me, so it works well.

     

    I also ordered a new US Cellular SIM which has arrived.  I've decided to wait on trying to factory reset/change SIM on it until I visit my parents again and am in the US Cellular coverage area to try to minimize the number of things that could go wrong.  I'm hoping it lets me on the LTE without activation like T-Mobile does, but not holding out much hope.  There may not be much I can do with US Cellular, unfortunately.

     

    And I'm talking to a member here about getting a phone for Verizon which has been tested to work with the unactivated SIM. 

     

    So here's hoping I'll soon be done getting everything together!  :)  Thanks to everyone for all your help and advice.  I'll update this again once I have Verizon and US Cellular going or worked on.

     

    - Trip

    • Like 4

    Marcelo Claure, Town Hall Meetings, New Family Share Pack Plan, Unlimited Individual Plan, Discussion Thread

    in General Topics

    Posted

    I may be posting from a position of ignorance.  Never used Sprint Zone.  Do not want it.  Do not care.

     

    But Sprint Zone can be used to report locations of no native Sprint coverage, correct?  The handset would be roaming, thus could be on a different MCC-MNC at the time that the report is gathered.

     

    So, if that is what you are referencing, it would not close the loophole.  And this is Sprint, after all, so expect loopholes.

     

    AJ

     

    And Sprint doesn't roam on T-Mobile, so if a T-Mobile MCCMNC came through, that would obviously not be a real Sprint phone.

     

    - Trip

    • Like 1

    Cheapest way to get LTE service from Verizon/AT&T/USCC?

    in General Topics

    Posted

    For AT&T I would use there pay as go plan. Its $3 a day for Unlimited Calls and Texts but only on the days you use it. Data is $1 for 100MB for 24 hours. But you can add another package once you use 80mb's up. Basically its $10/GB. Buying the data package and using data doesn't trigger the $3 daily charge

     

    Interesting, I missed that too.  That definitely sounds like the best option I've seen so far, since I won't use any calls or texts.  I'll be looking at that one closely.

     

    - Trip

    • Like 1

    Cheapest way to get LTE service from Verizon/AT&T/USCC?

    in General Topics

    Posted

    Does your USCC phone support ##scrtn# in the dialer to erase your number from the device? Not sure if they use any of the same dialer codes as Sprint, but can't hurt to try.

     

    Sent from my LGLS991 using Tapatalk

     

    Tried this idea this morning.  Doesn't work, unfortunately.  I'm also concerned that I may need to be in the US Cellular service area when I try to get things set up.

     

    Is the number tied to the SIM card?  If so, then swapping out the SIM should solve it, I would think, and I already have a new one on the way.

     

    - Trip

×
×
  • Create New...