I am connected via wilson pro amplifier using yagi antenna. I am manually configured for LTE Only, Band 4. I have 3 bars signal strength and my connection details are:
RSSI: -80dBmSINR: 0.8dBRSRP: -112dBmRSRQ: -17.0dB
We are up in the mountains in Colorado. We get 8mbps down and 1mbps up. At night, with less traffic, we get up to 14mbps down. This is great for us. But, like anyone, we want more!
When i switch the band mode to AUTO, we get 5 bars of signal strength, but we don’t have internet access - why would this be? What am i missing?
I purchased a MIMO antenna hoping it would give me more signal, but i don’t see the improvement.
What are you connection details when you set the device to Auto? It sounds like when you switch to auto your RSPR is great but your RSRQ and or your SINR may not be very good.
Generally, about “amplifiers”: They “fix” certain issues but often introduce many more. In general, the type of which you speak don’t bring much to the party if the underlying system is well engineered. However, once in a while their use is entirely logical. So … obvious questions since the Wilson device has been inserted between the Pepwave and the cellular network:
Which Pepwave product are you using – by model number?
What is the architecture? Pepwave router with OEM antennas “talking” to the Wilson amp via 4G? And, they are nearby? How far apart?
What are the band capabilities of the Wilson product? (This is really important.)
What antenna(s) is/are in use with the Wilson? You say “antenna.” A single antenna is connected to the Wilson? “wilson pro amplifier using yagi antenna:” One antenna? And, you describe this antennas as MIMO. Right? And, is it really a yagi – or is it a LPDA (log periodic dipole array)? [I strongly suspect the latter.]
Why are you using the Wilson device? What happens when you connect one (or, more likely, two) LP/yagi antennas to the Pepwave box?
Bottom line: Initially, I’d want to focus more on the RF architecture on your end than the set-up of the Pepwave (I guess it is a Pepwave …) device.
2 – We have a Yagi Antenna connected to Wilson-Pro amplifier. The amplifier is direct-manual-wire connected to Pepwave Max-BR1-Mini
3 – Don’t really know what the band capabilities of the Wilson-pro is – It’s designed for AT&T so I would imagine 2,4,12,17?
4 – I am using a single Yagi antenna connected to Wilson-Pro. I also own a MIMO antenna that obviously has 2 leads – they go through a combiner/splitter that was recommended by Wilson. Don’t really see a difference with MIMO vs Yagi.
5 – we are up in a high valley about 9 miles from Cell Tower with mountains between us and tower – don’t have much of a signal – maybe 1 bar w/o amplifier.
OK. Back to Q5: Have you connected the two transmission lines of two directional antennas directly to the BR1? (The antennas may be enclosed within a single radome or may be the LPDA type with exposed elements – not an issue vis-a-vis this question. But they will have two transmission lines with SMA connectors on their ends.) What happens when you do that – and are certain to point the antennas at the best cel site? (Try to use offset the polarization of the two antennas by roughly 45 degrees.)
Wilson: Gee, I hope the folks who gave you advice regarding the combiner/splitter gizmo are fully qualified RF engineers. We’ve been doing communication systems engineering for a long time (decades) and would avoid that approach in the cellular realm (although we’ve used it extensively for other arenas, e.g., land mobile.). Maybe someone with experience with Wilson products can jump in here and be of assistance.
Regardless, I’d want to know what sort of signal you have with gain antennas aimed at a good target – without ancillary products between the BR1 and the antennas. The BR1 has a good modem in it which can use two antennas effectively.
Yea, let’s play with this a bit. I think it would be good to characterize the environment in which you find yourself. If you can hook things up that way I’d be curious as to what the 4G metrics look like as reported by the BR1.
GM! Well, the first issue is that RG6 cable has nominal impedance of 75 Ohms. We want to use 50 Ohm cable as that’s what the BR1 expects to “see” and the antennas you are likely to use will be 50 as well. So, the first step is to use the right cable. I’d look for two pieces of transmission line “pre-connectorized” with a male SMA one one end and whatever connector mates with your antenna(s) on the other, likely SMA or N. Lots of folks recommend Times Microwave LMR400 and sometimes we use that (or similar), but there are numerous other alternatives. (RG6 is a “good” cable – just not for this application. It’s mostly used with MATV/CATV.)
If this gets overwhelming, send me a PM, I’ll give you my phone number and I’ll walk you through it via phone.
I ordered the proper cable and adapters today. Should be here tomorrow. Hope to get re-connected with new stuff over the weekend. Will keep you all posted. And a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed to getting this straightened
out.
Great! Minor note: The “job done right” will normally not require any adapters at all. Best to use the exactly-correct connectors properly applied to the cables.
Ok – we got the new cable installed. I hooked up the 2 new cables using MIMO antenna to Max-BR1-Mini w/o the amp and it was no-go. We don’t have a strong enough signal up here. So, I punted on the MIMO and went back to single YAGI.
Next, I angled my Yagi antenna up about 30 degrees toward horizen. I was told by 4GAntenna Shop tech a while back that I might have to do that given the lay of the land where I am. He said I could be dealing with an “umbrella effect”.
So, with antenna angled up and the proper cable I was able to achieve 20mbps down and 3mbps up on the LTE circuit. I basically increased our speed 4 fold. Pretty sweet.
