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Michieru2
zzz zzz zzz
Premium
join:2005-01-28
Miami, FL
| [EVDO] Sprint-Nextel customer review on EV-DO Rev.A and EV-DO Re
I bought a Novatel Wireless U720 just recently and gave it a try, while Sprint does indeed offer the best overall solution for wireless broadband today I was not impressed and their are many factors to consider.
EV-DO Rev.A speeds such as those posted by users here who live in the boonies usually have the tower to themselves, while here the towers are pounded by customers daily that at best real world results will go from 1.3Mbps to 400Kbps on the fly.
The technology is still in it's infant stages to those who are planning to switch their DSL line to EV-DO; try before you buy.
Depending on the area and the amount of people using the towers can cause serious speed declines and possible signal loss depending on your current location.
Those who wish can buy a amplifer or external powered antenna providing you a nice boost in speed due to the possibility of connecting to multiple towers instead of just one.
When I ran the speed test inside the Sprint store I was getting super high speeds that even beat my DSL line which of course this is due to them having a repeater or some sort of amplification device inside the store.
The overall market on average in Miami averages at around 800Kbps which is still pretty nice considering that it's wireless but the saturation is high, and this is why WiMAX is going to be deployed to get off all the load on the CDMA side.
But if you like mobile broadband and rather pay those extra 10 dollars for wireless mobility I say go for it.
I am just posting an honest review and will say that I rather just pay for 39.99 and use my phone as a modem which provides speeds of around 500-700Kbps max.
While the broadband cards can sure go over 2.1Mbps they need that extra boost of power in order to work properly.
Hardware tested on the following machine:
Macbook 1.83GHZ Intel core duo 2GB RAM Mac OS X 10.4.9
Novatel Wireless U720 EV-DO Rev.A
Sanyo SCP-8400 EV-DO Rev.0 using Bluetooth 1.1 which caps the connection to max 500-700Kbps USB cable can achieve a bit higher speeds.
Tested in the following locations:
Miami Beach, FL
Aventura, FL
El Portal, FL
Interstate 95 between El Portal, FL and Aventura, FL passing golden glades interchange.
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The only limits we have are the one's we set ourselves. | |
JohnnyG101
Mafiaoso
Premium
join:2000-12-25
Charlotte, NC
clubs: 
1 edit | Re: [EVDO] Sprint-Nextel customer review on EV-DO Rev.A and EV-D
I have to agree with Michieru, try before you buy.
I also am using EV-DO through my "Phone as modem" plan for 39.99, with Bluetooth 1.1. My speeds here in Charlotte, NC usually never go above 500Kbps. If I use my data cable I get slightly higher speeds.
Overall I am happy with it. My place of employment blocks ever damn site on the web so this is a perfect alternative. Plus we get an discount with sprint (23%), which pays for the EV-DO by iteself.
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Driving with 2 feet since 1999 | |
Luka1
join:2001-10-30
Index, WA
| (In the pic, you can see that I am a little more than a mile from the nearest antenna. That mile is uneven terrain, and lots of trees.)
I'm still just testing but I thought I'd toss my experience in here as well.
I got the U720 on the 8th. Since then I have been testing to try to find a good signal.
I was told that if a cell phone gets a good signal, and EVDO was in the area, I'd be able to get EVDO with the U720.
The reality has been somewhat less than encouraging.
I have ordered a couple of antennas and will give them a try before I give up. But I think what I have already done is a pretty good indicator of what results I will get with the antennas.
The basic ingredients to my testing are a tracfone, the U720 and computer, and an old satellite dish.
First, I removed the LNB from the dish. I calculated the sweet spot of the dish sans LNB and arm, to be dead center, 11.9 inches out. (The dish is 18 1/4" across, and 1 3/4" deep.)
I rigged up a mount using cpvc pipe, so I could tape the celphone, or U720 to the support in such a way as to put their antennas into the sweet spot. (Not both at the same time.)
Now... I get 3 bars of service on the phone pretty much anywhere on the property, except in the house.
I set up to test, on the covered porch. On the two days I was testing, I was getting 2 bars of service on the phone, just standing there on the porch.
The phone had two bars when I started. When I taped it in place on the dish, it fluctuated. So, I spent some time adjusting the dish to get the very best signal on the phone, and left the dish right there for the remainder of the testing.
I removed the phone, and waited for the signal to go back to two bars. I walked back to the dish, and as I was putting the tape across the phone to hold it there, the bars jumped, BANG right to 5 bars. In another few seconds the signal went all the way to the max. 7 bars on this phone. And stayed there.
I left it there and watched the bars for nearly 20 minutes just to be sure the signal was going to stay the same. The signal bars remained pegged.
Ok, next test is using the U720.
With the dongle plugged into the side of the laptop... Nothing. Period. Nothing of any kind.
With the dongle plugged into a powered USB hub, and let to stand by itself, a few feet from the dish, and about 4 feet in the air... Connection manager was saying that I might have a chance at roaming.
Mount the dongle on the dish...
I get a 1xRTT signal that goes from -101 to -122. Nothing like steady.
And a rock steady -116 EVDO signal.
Diagnotics report that: the Sprint PCS Network Availability test was Successful. [3G CDMA] This means there IS a Sprint signal here. And it is 3G CDMA.
If I allow the card to roam, and I allow it to pick any service available, it gives me a connection that is there, but is slower than the dialup I am on right now. It is a 1xRTT signal. And a weak one at that.
If I tell it that it cannot roam, I can still get enough signal that the connection manager just keeps connecting and unconnecting. With error messages tossed in about a third of the time.
If I tell it it can roam, but can only give me EVDO signal, it just sits there and eternally searches for the signal.
Bottom line, even though there is a signal sitting out there somewhere tantalizing me... So far I have not gotten any better service than dialup. And I am not going to pay three times as much for that kind of service.
I decided to order the antennas just to give the card a fair chance. These are antennas made for the card. Not something I jury rigged from an old satellite dish.
If one of the two antennas gives me the signal I want, I'll keep everything and continue the service. And I will, of course, go back to experimenting occassionally to see if I can rig up something better my own self.
Like maybe a bi-quad rigged to the dish... Or maybe my own version of a panel antenna. LOL | |
CMoore2004
Premium
join:2003-02-06
Jonesville, MI
1 edit | Seeing the tower directly to the west, I'd get a yagi antenna. If you're only over a mile away and barely able to get a signal, chances are any antenna you get is going to need to go higher. Seeing as you don't want the U720 outside, you'll need to get an antenna on a mast of some sort and a repeater to relay the signal.
Just to add to it... if you do get the Sprint service working well, you'll be able to drop the landline and dial-up service. Dial-up $15/month. Phone line, $45/month. There's your $60/month for a better service. You could get VoIP with ViaTalk or something for less than $15/month and get unlimited calling in US/Canada.
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Sprint Mobile Broadband PX-500 | Windows XP MCE SP2 | Mobile AMD Athlon 64 4000+ | 1.5GB RAM | ATI Mobile Radeon X600 128MB | 120GB HDD | |
Luka1
join:2001-10-30
Index, WA
|
A yagi is one of the two antennas I ordered.
I reviewed the Sprint coverage map again last night, and figured out that I am less than 1/4 mile from the edge of their highest powered EVDO coverage area.
You'd think that that means I might have a slim chance of actually getting that same coverage. LOL I have everything crossable, crossed, in the hope...
I do think the yagi is probably the best hope.
Although I may end up putting in a signal combiner, and try to combine the signal from both the yagi and the omni trucker, to see if that makes any difference...
As for getting rid of the landline... Not going to happen.
Aside from the fact that I am an old fart and reticent to entirely depend on the new technology...
Where I live, we have natural disasters like floods, and huge windstorms every year. More than half a dozen times in the years I have lived out here, the phone, (land line) was the ONLY communication I had with the outside, after a flood or windstorm blocked the roads, completely wiped out the roads, knocked out power, etc.
And I'll keep the dialup for backup, for the same reason.
Of course... If I end up with a great signal, the service proves to be as relaible as dialup, etc... I may decide to reconsider later. After all, a generator can keep the computer up and running. So, if the broadband signal is still there when the power is out... | |
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