Calyx Institute slow speed on Raspberry Pi 3b with Quectel EM12-G

[Cassiel007]

Hi all, I recently got the Sustainer membership from Calyx and been having speed issues. The Mifi M2000 hotspot but was unable to get signal. With my iPhone 10, I got 2bars and good connection. So I took the sim and stalled into Quectel EM12-G Cat-12 LTE using the IMEI from the M2000. Im running the latest GoldenOrb on a Raspberry Pi 3b. Got 20mb/s the first day for download and 0.2mb for upload but but that has dropped to maybe at best 1.2mb upload and 0 download. . Using a 2 Wilson Electronics Wideband Directional Antenna 700-2700 MHz to connect to The T-mobile antenna that is 4 miles but their are a lot of trees. Any suggestions to improve speeds?

[JimHelms]

@Cassiel007 You will notice I renamed the subject for your post. Please read this announcement prior to posting another topic.

[gscheb]

Hello,
Well you are on Band 12 which is the slowest T-Mobile band and have a bad connection as well. Tell us more about the 2 Wilson Electronics Wideband Directional Antennas and the cables used to hook them up?
Are the cables and antennas 50 ohm? If not that could really mess things up.
Here is some signal stats for reference. Can see all your stats are bad.

Signal Metrics.PNG

[Cassiel007]

Thanks for the chart. This is still terribly new to me. The cables are 10ft LMR200 Low Loss Duplex Coax (Dual) Cables from LTE Fix store. The Pi is in outside under eve of the roof in a waterproof electrical box of course using those cables. Everything is well taped for waterproofing being that I live in FL. The Pi is connected to AmpliFi HD Ubiquiti Labs router via a 100 ft Cat 7 Ethernet net cable.

Back before the old iPad plan was discontinued by AT&T, I was getting around 20-50mb/s downloads and 8-12mb/s uploads regularly. From inside home, my pixel 6 pro connects to B71 with -121dBM/-11db which is poor as well but faster than Calyxn. Granted, not the same band so that might explain the speed.

I thought it was the EM12-G, so I got a new one- No change. I replaced the Pi and usb board again no change. All is left is replacing the cables, ethernet cable (positive its not that), and antenna. Still not sure what to do.

[Cassiel007]

@Cassiel007 You will notice I renamed the subject for your post. Please read this announcement prior to posting another topic.

Thanks Jim, I'll make sure follow the rules better! This site has been an amazing and everyone on here dedicating so much time to help noobs like me has been a blessing.

[gscheb]

Thanks for the chart. This is still terribly new to me. The cables are 10ft LMR200 Low Loss Duplex Coax (Dual) Cables from LTE Fix store. The Pi is in outside under eve of the roof in a waterproof electrical box of course using those cables. Everything is well taped for waterproofing being that I live in FL. The Pi is connected to AmpliFi HD Ubiquiti Labs router via a 100 ft Cat 7 Ethernet net cable.

Back before the old iPad plan was discontinued by AT&T, I was getting around 20-50mb/s downloads and 8-12mb/s uploads regularly. From inside home, my pixel 6 pro connects to B71 with -121dBM/-11db which is poor as well but faster than Calyxn. Granted, not the same band so that might explain the speed.

I thought it was the EM12-G, so I got a new one- No change. I replaced the Pi and usb board again no change. All is left is replacing the cables, ethernet cable (positive its not that), and antenna. Still not sure what to do.

What antennas are these? Are they 50 ohm antennas?

[Cassiel007]

Thanks for the chart. This is still terribly new to me. The cables are 10ft LMR200 Low Loss Duplex Coax (Dual) Cables from LTE Fix store. The Pi is in outside under eve of the roof in a waterproof electrical box of course using those cables. Everything is well taped for waterproofing being that I live in FL. The Pi is connected to AmpliFi HD Ubiquiti Labs router via a 100 ft Cat 7 Ethernet net cable.

Back before the old iPad plan was discontinued by AT&T, I was getting around 20-50mb/s downloads and 8-12mb/s uploads regularly. From inside home, my pixel 6 pro connects to B71 with -121dBM/-11db which is poor as well but faster than Calyxn. Granted, not the same band so that might explain the speed.

I thought it was the EM12-G, so I got a new one- No change. I replaced the Pi and usb board again no change. All is left is replacing the cables, ethernet cable (positive its not that), and antenna. Still not sure what to do.

What antennas are these? Are they 50 ohm antennas?

Yes its 50ohm. I have the set polarized.

Wilson 314411 Wideband Directional Antenna:
Wideband directional cellular antenna
700MHz-2,700MHz frequency
3G and 4G frequency coverage
50 ohms
N female connector

[gscheb]

Have you tried at another location?

[Cassiel007]

Have you tried at another location?

Its on my roof. I have rotated the antenna and tried pointing on other cell towers. There is a forest between me the antennas. Would a panel antenna be better?
https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/anten ... tity_117=1

[gscheb]

Have you tried at another location?

Its on my roof. I have rotated the antenna and tried pointing on other cell towers. There is a forest between me the antennas. Would a panel antenna be better?
https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/anten ... tity_117=1

Remember I read that you changed your modem at one time concerned that there was a hardware issue. If you can think I would take the setup to another location address just to verify it is working properly. Once you know that can look at how to get past these signal issues. Just a suggestion.

What kind of trees are they? Heard pine trees can be difficult.
Personally myself have noticed closer to the antenna the trees are the worse it is. Can go thru allot of trees on the way to the tower as long as there is space between the antennas and the trees themselves.

[gscheb]

Here is an post of mine where had issues like you are having. Accidentally found out that it was one tree causing the issue.
viewtopic.php?p=4589#p4589

[Cassiel007]

Thanks for sharing your post. Periodically, I have great signal and than nothing. So something most likely in the way In the direction of the antenna, I got trees in the way. I am going to move things around and see how that affects signal. I'm playing around with LTE Discovery app and Network Cell Info app to figure direction and signal strength. When I find a solution, I'll post hopeful it will help someone in the future