Thanks. I will try outside the house and do some testing.
TIPS Cellular.everything
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KNERD
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Do you have the SIM stuck in a router or what?
Activated SIM put in a Verizon Novatel 4G T1114 router
Post -#442 -
https://www.voip-info.org/forum/threads/cellular-everything.25370/post-172610
wardmundy
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The perfect complement for $10 a month...
This Secret 30GB Hotspot Plan Is Just $10 Per Month From T-Mobile
T-Mobile quietly launched a mobile internet plan for just $10 per month. Check out all of the details here.
tmo.report
Have T-mobile Whole Home Internet as backup in-case internet goes down. Get 75gb at my house in rural NJ(yes we do have some rural areas, lol). Just tested Cudy LT500D and $10\month deal. Initial test 30gb. Thinking if I get one of those external antenna kits like MIMO 4x4 and mount to roof, might get quite a bit better service.
either way, to save $40/month, after Cudy cost and t-mobile activation is a win for me... Again, only used for backup...
Just my two cents, oh wait, one cent - taxes........
either way, to save $40/month, after Cudy cost and t-mobile activation is a win for me... Again, only used for backup...
Just my two cents, oh wait, one cent - taxes........
I'm using it for my primary internet. I just got a modem that uses the Qualcomm SDX65 chipset. Allegedly this chipset does channel bonding better than the modem/router I was using (a tmobile G4AR). Connected to a WaveForm 4x4 MIMO, this new modem doubled my download speed during the early evening, when speeds slow the most for me. It's a no-name modem from some dude in NY.
shucks, only $30 when bundled with their top (most expensive) voice plans. I've been holding onto my grandfathered lines with 6GB lte hotspot for a very long time. bundling with those is $45/mo instead. Do you know if any of the current 55+ senior plans qualify?
Halea
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Hi Brian! Consider installing a multiband cellular booster (understand two way amplifier) which you should be able to find for like $100 (5 band USA version) on Amazon. That should provide you additional gain to improve your bandwidth AND provide you with consistent performance. That's a small one time investment definitely worth the cost and the effort of installation. (Most people who say that those boosters don't do anything either have 0 signal to begin with, or have no clue how to install it. I saw pictures where some jokers installed the directional log antenna pointing up to the sky!!!)
KNERD
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T-Mobile Says It May Slow Home Internet Speeds of Some Users in Times of 'Congestion'
If you are a heavy T-Mobile Home Internet user and live in a busy area you may find some times when your speeds are dropping, but this isn't a full-on "data cap." Here's what's happening.
www.cnet.com
@Halea, can you recommend any?
Halea
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I use a booster made by Nstcell. I have several of them with different antenna configurations at my different places. My home setup is the simplest like in the picture below:
The amplification unit covers all frequency bands currently used for 4G in the USA and costs around $100. I might have paid as little as $80 with discounts and as high as $130. This unit offers the maximum amplification/gain currently allowed by FCC for private use. You don't need to notify the cell companies or apply for a license to FCC.
Different configurations with the same amplification unit are currently available on amazon. You can find it also on ebay. (just search for Nstcell cellular booster)
The bundled antenna kits are excellent but you have to choose the right model or you may have some feedback issues. If you have a ham radio friend ask him to help you for your actual physical setup (antenna locations, directions, height).
For outdoors you typically use the log antenna (the trapezoidal plastic box). It needs to point towards the cell tower as much as possible. You need to figure out which cell tower has the best signal and most bands that you need, and are actually being used by your cell service provider. It becomes a challenge when you work with multiple companies (like verizon, tmobile and at&t) at the same time. In such instances you might need an omnidirectional high gain antenna (which looks like a cylinder) which is quite expensive and makes the layout more complicated as the feedback effect becomes more difficult to prevent.
The amplification unit covers all frequency bands currently used for 4G in the USA and costs around $100. I might have paid as little as $80 with discounts and as high as $130. This unit offers the maximum amplification/gain currently allowed by FCC for private use. You don't need to notify the cell companies or apply for a license to FCC.
Different configurations with the same amplification unit are currently available on amazon. You can find it also on ebay. (just search for Nstcell cellular booster)
The bundled antenna kits are excellent but you have to choose the right model or you may have some feedback issues. If you have a ham radio friend ask him to help you for your actual physical setup (antenna locations, directions, height).
For outdoors you typically use the log antenna (the trapezoidal plastic box). It needs to point towards the cell tower as much as possible. You need to figure out which cell tower has the best signal and most bands that you need, and are actually being used by your cell service provider. It becomes a challenge when you work with multiple companies (like verizon, tmobile and at&t) at the same time. In such instances you might need an omnidirectional high gain antenna (which looks like a cylinder) which is quite expensive and makes the layout more complicated as the feedback effect becomes more difficult to prevent.
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Thank you, @Halea !!!!
Actually, I'm not looking for a broadcasting in the home. All I am looking for is external antenna that I can attach to the cuddy's external antennas. For internet, I'll run two WAN ports(cable ISP and Cuddy cellular) in a PFsense. The antenna is just to get better download speeds. On floor near glass slider I get 30gb. In my car, down the road i get 75gb. So hoping I can break the 100mbps download speed using an external antenna attached to roof of house(25' up with no trees) pointing towards closest tower...
Its always about getting more, more, more - regardless of how much time is invested, and other more important chores are neglected, lol...
Thanks again!
brian
Actually, I'm not looking for a broadcasting in the home. All I am looking for is external antenna that I can attach to the cuddy's external antennas. For internet, I'll run two WAN ports(cable ISP and Cuddy cellular) in a PFsense. The antenna is just to get better download speeds. On floor near glass slider I get 30gb. In my car, down the road i get 75gb. So hoping I can break the 100mbps download speed using an external antenna attached to roof of house(25' up with no trees) pointing towards closest tower...
Its always about getting more, more, more - regardless of how much time is invested, and other more important chores are neglected, lol...
Thanks again!
brian
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Halea
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Got it!
Then you can probably mount two of these log antenna on a mast and point them to the cell tower. Since the Cudy LT500D seams to have two 4G LTE dedicated antenna you would need to extend them both to the roof.
Just make sure that they are about a foot apart vertically.
You have to be careful with your coax cables so that the gain that you achieve with the antenna is not all eaten up by the loss in the length of your wires.
You can get these logarithmic antenna tuned to 4G LTE on aliexpress for cheap. They are quite well designed. They are essentially PCB boards without any active elements, enclosed in a weatherproofed plastic case. They offer about 20 dB gain.
Your net gain will depend of how much you loose in your wires. Buy your wires from a reputable source. They should be able to tell you with great accuracy how much loss you incur on per-foot-of-coax basis. If you have a lousy cable and it counters all the gain that you achieved with your log antenna your effort will go to waste.
As a footnote, the booster electronics can also be used as a 70db two-way, multi-band line amplifier if it is inserted between the antenna and the Cudy box judiciously so that it doesn't overload the receiver. But that's not for the faint of heart
wardmundy
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As many of you may know, Tmobile recently raised the rates on all of their so-called Price Lock Guaranteed plans despite a 48% increase in net income just last year and a contract in which they agreed to never raise the rate on these plans. Here's the response I received on my "lifetime" Magenta Max Military Plan:
That sent us scrambling for a new provider, and here's where we ended up. With the new US Mobile PayByTheGig plan, you basically create a data pool and then sign up as many phones as you like. All get unlimited calling and texting. The first phone is free, and additional phones are $8 each. With a 50GB monthly data bucket, the cost for 4 phones comes to $50 versus $160 on the T-Mobile plan. Of course, you have to add in the cost of minimal Netflix and Apple TV+ if you use those streaming services. Bottom line is we saved about $100 a month by dumping T-Mobile. The other major advantage of U.S. Mobile is that each phone can choose their network: AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile. And you can switch for $2 after the first two changes.
FYI: Google Fi had similar pricing for 4 phones during their half-price $50 special last week, but you were limited to the T-Mobile network which didn't help with a couple of our phones.
Start by reviewing the actual data usage on your current plan so you know how much data you need each month. Each GB above your quota costs $2 with US Mobile, and you can switch your data bucket size at the end of each month. With Google Fi, extra gigs are always $10 with no ability to increase your bucket size.
Hope this helps someone else screwed by the greedy folks at T-Mobile. My referral code for US Mobile is included to save you a little more if you decide to switch.
That sent us scrambling for a new provider, and here's where we ended up. With the new US Mobile PayByTheGig plan, you basically create a data pool and then sign up as many phones as you like. All get unlimited calling and texting. The first phone is free, and additional phones are $8 each. With a 50GB monthly data bucket, the cost for 4 phones comes to $50 versus $160 on the T-Mobile plan. Of course, you have to add in the cost of minimal Netflix and Apple TV+ if you use those streaming services. Bottom line is we saved about $100 a month by dumping T-Mobile. The other major advantage of U.S. Mobile is that each phone can choose their network: AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile. And you can switch for $2 after the first two changes.
FYI: Google Fi had similar pricing for 4 phones during their half-price $50 special last week, but you were limited to the T-Mobile network which didn't help with a couple of our phones.
Start by reviewing the actual data usage on your current plan so you know how much data you need each month. Each GB above your quota costs $2 with US Mobile, and you can switch your data bucket size at the end of each month. With Google Fi, extra gigs are always $10 with no ability to increase your bucket size.
Hope this helps someone else screwed by the greedy folks at T-Mobile. My referral code for US Mobile is included to save you a little more if you decide to switch.
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kenn10
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@wardmundy Glad you have seen the light. I've had no issues with US Mobile and my three lines and a 10Gig pool is only $36/month. Two lines on the most basic T-Mobile senior plan had jumped to $80/month before I switched to US Mobile.
wardmundy
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My similar post on Reddit has received over 1,000 visitors an hour over the past 5 hours. Hope it hurts them in some small way. On US Mobile, we've ended up with two using Verizon, one on AT&T, and one on T-Mobile with the flexibility to switch networks individually whenever necessary. Mighty fine.
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kenn10
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I had posted about US Mobile in our local Facebook group about goings-on in Highlands. There has been quite a reception for it. I didn't try to refer people but just told them about it. People have been paying too much for cellular service up here (especially when considering how crappy our reception is from all carriers.)
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