O Canada! > Canadian > Rogers > Rogers Rocket Stick Shared with a 3G Wireless Router

reply to Joeflash

Re: Rogers Rocket Stick Shared with a 3G Wireless Router

FYI, there's also an awesome review of the Cradlepoint MBR1000 here as well:
»www.evdoinfo.com/content/view/2259/63/

reply to Joeflash
Joeflash: Can you let us know how your Cradlepoint router worked with the Rogers Rocket stick.

Alos have you had any experience with a booster. I borrowed one from our local store, (Call Capture signal amplifier - cost ~$200) and could not get any appreciable difference in speed.

The speed I get (tested with speedtesy.net) without the amplifier varies from 430KB to 1.4MB download, and 500KB to 30KB upload. Quite a variation with the stick in the same spot!

Tony

I'll be getting it in the next month, so I'll let you know how it works. I'm hoping that the router will also solve the disconnection issue as well, (see »Rocket Stick dropped connnections - alt.connection software?), since it has its own connection firmware compatible with the Rocket Stick.

After a certain point, I don't think speed will be affected much by signal strength. I was getting the same connection speeds as you until I improved the signal. Using a few active USB cables, I put the rocket stick on the end of a light curtain rod and lashed it to the side of my house. Now the stick is above the roof, and the surrounding treeline, and I get a steady 3 bars (max) signal all the time, even in pouring rain and cloudy weather. And although my speed has gone up from 0.5-1.0 Mbps dn/0.1-0.5 Mbps up, to 1.0-2.5 Mbps dn/0.5-1.2 Mbps up -- I can't get any higher than that, even on a clear day. So it's probably got a lot to do with tower proximity, and network load. A lot of cottagers around in the Wasaga Beach area, so maybe a lot of people are on the network.

I've been keeping copious notes, and I also discovered that when I'm only getting 1 or 2 bars signal, weather affects the speed a lot, with partly cloudy days being the worst, cloudy not so bad, clear skies the best. Now that I get a decent signal strength, the speeds correspond more closely to network load times than weather patterns, hence my earlier supposition.


1.5 Mpbs down is a typical speed for me. It's not great, but it's better than no internet at all, or dial-up, or hyper-inflated satellite charges.

If you're already getting 3 bars, then by my estimation you'll need a really good signal booster from some place like »www.maximumsignal.ca/store/produ···0&page=1, which is not cheap. I'd love to be able to justify that kind of expense, but the Rocket-Stick-on-a-stick will have to do for now.

Thanks for this information Joe. Myself and a friend are anciously awaiting you're report on the Cradlepoint MBR 1000 and the Rocket Stick.

Just as a matter of interest, I have assembled my own "home spun" 3G router using an Alix board and Mikrotik for a router OS. It is complete with a wired LAN and WLAN interface. It works very well allowing me to place the router/3G stick in an optimal signal area along with providing a shared connection to the stick. This is a great solution for those who are "hi-speed disenfranchised" and where 3G is the only viable alternative. Although the Cradlepoint 3G router may be slightly cheaper than a Mikrotik home spun, I like the functionality and flexibly of Mikrotik and the fact that it also
lends itself to being fashioned into and exterior mount type setup. Anyway, just thought I'd share my experiences with those who may be interested.

Very interesting, dgc3154! Would you mind giving a little more details about that setup?

What are the specific pieces of equipment you've had success with so far? Was the board from Routerboard.com (affiliated with Mikrotik) or an Alix board you've gotten somewhere else that ended up working with RouterOS?

Thanks for sharing!

I have assembled this on both an Alix 2D3 and 3D2 board with whatever appropriate mini-pci radio I've had around. Usually Ubiquiti or Mikrotik R52H. Routerboard has a USB version of the 433ah board available although I have not tried it as yet as they do not have an appropriate enclosure to allow use of the usb....that is, without modification. I have used both Mikrotik OS ver. 3.23 and Zeroshell..the latest version escapes me. I built one unit for exterior mounting in an outdoor enclosure with an external omni antenna which worked well to provide internet access to a large family cottage/compound....I don't think their usage bill will be too pretty mind you. Anyway, all in all I think that the "stick" is a pretty good bet, perhaps better than portable , as lately I have seen a lot of congestion on portable, at least in the Muskoka area.