This is part 2/3 of my EVDO quest. This is where I’m going to post pictures and detail my setup. I will also mention a few technical details of the different types of mobile internet and what is what. This will focus mostly on the Verizon network. My next blog will compare dial up, satellite, and evdo with in depth technical analysis. Lets get into the details shall we?
Before I even start, I need to define a few terms that might confuse you. I will use Kbps and Mbps quite often in this article. These stand for Kilo/Mega bits per second. These are used to measure connection speed. DON’T CONFUSE THESE WITH KB/S AND MB/S which are your actual download speeds (KiloBytes/MegaBytes per second).
I live approximately 6 miles from the closest cellphone tower that I can get a half way decent link to. There is another in the opposite direction about 5 miles away, but in our location, we could never get over the hill and trees to establish a connection of over 1 bar even with a specialized booster system. I also should state that we live in a valley almost, although there is a passage through the hills that is relatively at the same level above sea level, this is the general direction the cell tower that we connect to is in. If we were to connect to the other tower, we would have to bypass the highest hill in our entire county to get to the tower in that direction (Cattaraugus County, NY).
Before I get into any details, I connect to the Verizon EvDo network. AT&T does not service our general area, Sprint roams in our area. I’m not sure, but on TMobile, I get 1 bar in perfect conditions, so that may be an AT&T tower roaming. I will leave that up to an expert to comment on if one wishes to do so.
Verizon EVDO is a specialized data network developed for cell phones to connect to the internet. EVDO stands for Evolution-Data Optimized. As you might guess, its made for high speed internet and is similar to the 3G technology offered by AT&T for the IPhone and other similar phones.
Verizon EvDo has a few different revisions, plus there is another 1x voice network that can handle internet data (although very slow, it does work). Verizon’s 1x network that supports both voice and data is able to support a 128Kbps data speed (both uploading and downloading) and is suitable for voice. The 1x network in many instances is stronger and able to maintain a connection in weaker signal areas, therefore in an area like mine, I normally connect to the 1x network without any kind of boost to the signal or locating my cellphone in good signal spots.
Verizon’s Evdo has 2 current Revisions that I know of. The Revision 0 standard can handle a 128Kbps upload speed and 1.8Mbps download speed in optimal signal conditions (about 16KB/s up, 150KB/s down). This is slightly older though, the current standard is EvDo Rev A. This standard can handle 2.1Mbps upload, 3.1Mbps download under optimal conditions and with appropriate equipment (or about 268KB/s up, 400KB/s down). In most conditions, you won’t ever achieve these speeds unless you are right next to the tower, but in most cities, you should achieve a very fast connection because you need an ideal signal.
For the past year, I have been using a tethering plan to get data on the Verizon network with my EvDo Rev 0 phone. I noticed at the end of last summer, I was always getting on the 1x network, but I could always go outside and fix that problem. This year, I know I have all summer, and I want decent internet access for voice over ip, etc.
Knowing that boosters existed, I had my father pick one up (on my tab). I had a Zboost yx500 cel (800mhz only) booster here and we put the external antenna outside at the highest point. Like the product said, it did give me 4 bars of signal inside, but it was only within an inch of the unit. Data also wasn’t much better than what I could get when taking my phone outside with a computer. I was let down, and had the zboost returned a day later.
Now comes the amazing part of using the dish: I was looking online at more powerful boosters and discovered that many people use parabolic antennas for reception. We have a huge 10′ cband satellite dish in the back yard that has been unhooked for at least 5 years now. We were actually considering scrapping it for junk money! I’m glad we didn’t do that now. Anyways, I wondered for a few days if I could use that to get a decent signal. I was bored about a week ago so I thought, why not take my vx6800 evdo rev a phone out to the dish and put it in front of it and try to focus a signal to it. Surprisingly although the 6800 has a horrible antenna (no signal most places here), I got 1 bar with the dish pointed way off, so I took some tools out and pointed the dish with my father the other day. To our pleasant surprise, I started getting 4 bars and an excellent signal when we got the dish aligned appropriately and used its focal length to focus a signal onto the phone. To put the signal in perspective (using ##debug on the phone pad to get the field test screen), I went from a -110db signal to a -70db signal. Thats about a 40db gain, stronger than most amplifiers will guarantee.
To point the satellite dish, I sort of cheated using GPS. I know where both towers are exactly, so I got the altitude and coordinates of the tower. I then used the GPS to point the satellite dish correctly onto the tower. It took a little time (vs a guess and check approach), but it provided a really good signal on our first try.
Knowing that the zboost would bring the signal inside (and boost it slightly), I had it brought back and we mounted the antenna correctly onto the dish. Since the old dish had RG6 satellite cable already ran into the house, we used the existing low loss cable to connect the booster to the antenna (instead of the RG6 cable provided with it).
As the box says, the signal did come into the house as 4 bars within 4 feet of the base unit. I found that 2 bars were still visible within 25 feet of the unit (before I go behind a lot of walls). Unlike Jordan (In his blog here) and using the yx500 single band unit, my signal did go further. I know this is because I have a very strong signal outside for it unlike Jordan had. I would still say the unit is a bit far fetched on its estimates of signal coverage area, but its more than fine for me (I don’t even use a cell phone for voice in my room, although I can now). So I recommend if you get a zboost system, make sure you have a very strong signal outside.
Now for the boost that the zboost provided. Inside within an inch of the unit, my previous -115db signal is now -35 to -40db. This is better than it would be in the city (I get about -70 on that 6800). I’m very happy with this setup, although I may consider finding ways of pushing the signal further into the house so I can talk in another room without problems if I ever would want to. I also can use 2 data connections at maximum speed at the same time. I will compare my exact speed results, but for now, I will say that I am averaging about 2Mbps down, .4Mbps up on my evdo rev a connection.
So now for photos of my setup:
This is by far the best connection to the internet I’ve ever had and my next blog in the next day or two will explain exactly why I say this! So the next time you have the signal blues, try using a big dish to focus directly on your signal, you might be surprised, I know I was!
Links to other blogs that also may interest you:
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Tags: 3g, at&t, cband, cel, cell, evdo, phone, rev 0, rev a, speed, tower, verizon, wi-ex, yx500, zboost
Posted in Mobile Technology, Technology
The zBoost is a great unit and is one of the best sellers of SolidSignal.com – If you use a YX029 antenna, in conjunction with a YX510; you should get even better reception and range!
Nice work, Phil! I’m glad that it worked out for you. Interesting that the Dish worked. What signal frequency are you in?
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Jordan: I use the 800mhz single band model (yx500-cel model). Its cheaper and focuses on the 2 towers closest to me which are both 800mhz towers. It works fine for what I need.
SolidSignal: I’m considering doing that just because I’m curious to see if it will increase the range and reception, but as it stands, I’m getting better reception now than what I normally would get in the city and I don’t need that signal any further than an inch away from the unit (I’m not a big fan of using cell phones, but internet on them is wonderful).
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