My 4G setup/project

[swwifty]

I wanted to do a complete post on my setup with context, and technical details on what I did. I'll start by giving some context on the why.

Last year I moved to the Northeast GA mountains. I work as a Systems Engineer, and work full time remote. Thus, as part of this move, fast and reliable internet was a must. I was fortunate that the home and location we picked has good reliable internet (Dual bonded DSL that gets me 21 mbps down / 1.25 mbps up ). Most of the county I live in does not. When we moved, I switched from T-Mobile phone service, to Verizon, because T-mobile at the time did not cover this area. I knew I could use tethering as a backup (it was in fact faster than my DSL at about 30mbps down / 15 mbps up, on my phone) for my primary wired internet connection, but never thought of using it as a full time secondary connection.

Fast forward to August of this past year. One day (for reasons I cannot recall) I started researching using a 4G connection as a primary internet connection. I stumbled upon a provider (who will go unnamed for a variety of reasons) that sold service with AT&T, and provided a Mofi 4500 router. Not knowing much about LTE and the associated hardware, I decided to take the plunge as they offered a 30 day no questions asked return (at the time I didn't even know if AT&T would work in my area for sure, as I only had phone service with Verizon.). I got the modem and it did in fact work (well enough that I continued to pursue making this a permanent solution). I started digging into it and learning, and after a while, I discovered the The Wireless Haven store. I quickly realized I could build a much better version router/modem with my own pieced together hardware. I had a raspberry pi 2 that wasn't doing much, so I opted to put together a setup with that. This led me down a serious rabbit hole of 4G hardware, learning about how LTE works, and doing tons of experiments in different locations with different antennas to learn as much as I could through experience. I won't go into all of that here, as you can find alot of those details in thread here: [url]http://wirelessjoint.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=103&sid=8880a1d14ec89a4dbb2aaef90f2e4259[/url] which reviews flat panel antennas sold by The Wireless Haven store.

Now, let's get into some of the technical details of what I settled on:

Main hardware:

Raspberry Pi 3 (Running latest version of GoldenOrb aka rOOter)
Sierra MC7455 Modem
2 - 17dbi 1900mhz (band2) Yagi Antennas

Supporting Accessories:

USB Enclosure for modem
PoE splitter
Gas Lightning Surge Protectors
Mini Circuits NHP-600+ High Pass Filter
10ft LMR 400 cable
4ft LMR 195 cable
10 foot antenna mast and gable mount
40+ feet of outdoor 4 pair ethernet cable (Serious thanks to this ethernet cable from my co-worker who gave this to me for free.)
Outdoor Waterproof enclosure

I ended up mounting the antennas on the south side of my home (the direction the tower is from me, aimed them with a compass cause I don't have LOS even with no leaves on the trees). I put the PI and all the needed parts on the outside of the house, so the antenna cables could be as short as possible. Otherwise, I would have had to have 40+ feet of cables, and some serious signal loss through them, so I opted for a outdoor setup. After some seriously extensive testing, I opted for now, to use the 17dbi yagis which are designed only for band 2. Where I live, I can get signal on band 12 (700mhz), and band 2 (1900mhz). I found through extensive testing, that band 2 was much faster, even though the signal strength was much weaker from it. Band 2 is 20mhz wide and Band 12 is 10mhz. I also suspect that band 12 is much more congested where I live, because there is very few cell towers, and users on the outer edge of the cell (like me) are most likely using band 12 as their primary cell, and band 2 as their secondary if they are lucky enough to get any signal. Hence, this is why I opted for this setup. When I was using antennas that gave me the ability to use carrier aggregation I found that they weren't much faster at all, then just band 2 alone. Time will tell, but I have the flat panels still in the event I need to fall back to them.

Time for some pictures.

6500562927016073818.jpg

Yagis on the top, below is a Ubiquiti Nanostation that I moved outside as part of this project. It's used to connect my Mom's home (about 500 feet away from my home) to my own network, so she can freeload internet off of me, hehe. On a side note, moving it outside, has made the signal much more stable. I previously had it in a window in my office. Her's is mounted on the outside backside of her house high up near the roof line. I'm also going to add a guy wire setup to this mast. It's fairly stable right now, since the yagis are fairly light, but in the future if I use the flat panels for some reason I don't want them up there unsupported. They are significantly heavier than the yagis. Plus, I want to be able to add more antennas up there for my Software defined radio possibly in the future.

2018-11-18 15.52.35.jpg

Waterproof box for Pi/Modem. On the left you can see the gas surge protectors and the high pass filters. On the right is a ubiquiti grounding device for the ethernet. I have yet to finish grounding the antenna cables, and antenna mast to the ground block, and then taking that to the ground. (I just finished all of this last Friday). Hoping to complete the grounding this weekend, or next.

2018-11-18 15.46.35.jpg

Inside the waterproof enclosure. Modem on the left, Pi in the middle, PoE splitter on the far right. I used velcro to attach all of this (some very strong stuff), so I can remove it, if I need to work on it and not have to remove the entire box from the wall, etc.

Finally, the all important speed test.

finished project speed test.png

Also, an RF profile of the terrain I have to pass over to make a connection. This tower is 5 miles south of me. Tower is on the far left in this profile, my house is on the right.

Screen Shot 2018-11-20 at 8.40.00 PM.png

Edit: forgot to include a picture of signal strength info

Screen Shot 2018-11-21 at 6.59.48 AM.png

You can see the signal strength isn't all that great on band 2, but it's enough to get me 85mbps down and 15mbps up on non-peak hours.


All of this 4G setup, is connected to a firewall I have running PFsense. This firewall then load balances the traffic between my 4G connection and my DSL connection. It will appropriately remove a gateway if one of the connections goes down. This accomplishes exactly what I was trying to do. I ultimately wanted a backup connection, but didn't want to pay for something I only used when my main connection was down. Now I have the best of both worlds!

Also as a part of all this, I worked through totally revamping my internal network. I purchased also a managed ubiquiti switch, so I could setup vlans to isolate traffic for various internal parts of the network (guest wifi network, etc.) There was a lot of work done to accomplish this, and I'm very satisfied to have 90% of it completed now.

I'm sure at the moment I'm leaving out some details (I'll update this post if I think of anything else I forgot), but please feel free to ask any questions.

[swwifty]

Today, I decided to re-do the water proofing on my coaxial cable. I had originally, only wrapped them with some coaxial seal, but realized that wasn't correct method. It rained the first time this past Friday evening, and one of my antennas (the main one) suddenly had 10dbm (10 times less!!) less power received for RSRP signal. I couldn't figure out why my main antenna would have so much less power received than the other diversity antenna. The only thing I could figure is some moisture or water got into my connection on the main antenna. I did some research on how coaxial seal is normally installed and realized I didn't do it with the ideal method. The ideal method is wrapping first in electrical tape, then coaxial seal, then finish with electrical tape. When I took the connections apart, I didn't detect any water in the connectors, so time will tell if that was the issue (or I had an environment / RF issue, or something else).

During this work, I opted to do a quick comparison of using one antenna to two antennas. I wanted to see what level of MIMO i was getting in this final location (I previously did some mimo tests in other locations).

Signal stats with both antennas attached to the modem:

Screen Shot 2018-11-25 at 4.21.31 PM.png

Speed test with both antennas (this at 3pm in the afternoon on Sunday, aka peak hours)

Screen Shot 2018-11-25 at 4.21.25 PM.png

Signal stats with only one antenna attached (the main one, which is the highest one on the antenna mast as well)

Screen Shot 2018-11-25 at 4.23.11 PM.png

Speed test with only that one antenna attached:

Screen Shot 2018-11-25 at 4.24.05 PM.png

As you can see, I'm clearly getting spatial multiplexing (aka two data streams, or what we commonly call MIMO) which is giving me double the data rates in download. Uplink is the same, as uplink does not use spatial multiplexing, and only transmits on the main antenna.

And last but not least, I'm starting to detect a lot of other new cells, that are on the same frequency. I think they are cells on the same physical tower (just different sector antennas). I was detecting a few others (other than the one I was connected to obviously) when all the leaves were still on the trees, but I think I'm detecting a lot more now than the leaves are mostly all on the ground. I also think this is why I see my RSSI values fluctuate between about -78 to -91 dbm. If I recall correctly, RSSI is calculated including interference from other cells.

Screen Shot 2018-11-25 at 4.29.52 PM.png

[JimHelms]

I commend you on your installation. Neat plumbing job as well.

To weatherproof outdoor connections, I use dielectric grease inside all connectors before screwing them together. Once together, I seal the outside of the connectors with F4 self-fusing Silicone tape.

[swwifty]

I commend you on your installation. Neat plumbing job as well.

To weatherproof outdoor connections, I use dielectric grease inside all connectors before screwing them together. Once together, I seal the outside of the connectors with F4 self-fusing Silicone tape.

Thanks Jim! I thought today about putting some plumbers tape on the threads, but I figured what I did was good enough. I learned the technique online from guys who do cell tower installs, so I figured its probably sufficient

[swwifty]

I just had an interesting "a ha!" moment. Yesterday, after I re-did the water proofing on my coaxial cables, it started raining. I've been monitoring closely to make sure my signal stats stay the same between antennas. Most of last night it rained, and this morning, it cleared up and is now fairly windy with gusts up to about 20mph I'd guess.

I notice this morning that the RSRP values on the main antenna (which is setup in a vertical orientation for vertical polarization) is flucating again between about -112dbm and 120dbm, while the secondary antenna (which is horiziontally oriented for horizontal polarization) is flucuating between about -107dbm and -112dbm. I actually don't think this issue, is related to what I think was a water ingress issue this past weekend. When that happened my signal strength weakened to about -124dbm, and stayed there for almost a day.

A screen shot of the signal stats I'm referring to. The RxM is the main antenna (which is the highest one in the pic below) stats, and RxD is the secondary antenna (which is the lower one in the pic below)

Screen Shot 2018-11-26 at 12.57.29 PM.png

2018-11-26 12.41.02.jpg

A little back story on how I got to this theory. I have two Ubiquiti Nanostations that I use to connect my Moms house that is about 500 feet away from mine (for internet and network, etc.) I've learned a lot about wifi technologies as well, throught out my adventures into 4G. The nanostations have two antennas as well for MIMO. They have a vertical polarization antenna, and a horizontal one. I've noticed there are differences in signal strength between these polarizations, and in doing research, I learned that vertical polarizations are effected most commonly by vertically oriented objects like trees, and horizontal polarizations are effected mostly by horizontally oriented objects (like roofs for example).

Fast forward to today. I think what is going on is the vertically polarization antenna at the top (my main one) is being effected by the trees swaying in the wind. I don't have direct line of sight (even if the trees at my house were all cut down). There is a few ridges that are in between my tower (as depicted above) that are slightly in the way, along with the trees.

Now the question is whether I should change the top antenna to horizontal polarization, or just leave them as is, so I have polarization diversity. Also, below is a screenshot that shows my view to the tower. This picture is about 75 feet higher than the roof line of my house, so I can see the tower. I took this picture to help me orient my antennas further, and give me some reference points, as I can't see it directly on my roof.

2018-11-26 12.16.13.jpg

[swwifty]

Also, this note from wikipedia on polarization and reflections. It might be my metal roof causing this issue too.

Screen Shot 2018-11-26 at 2.40.09 PM.png

[swwifty]

so, after some more experimentation, I don't think this is a polarization issue. I swapped the connectors on my modem, to see if the problem stuck to the same antenna, and it did. I also took the top antenna which was oriented vertically for vertical polarization, and turned it horizontal. This made no difference.

The only thing I can figure is the antenna got water damaged, or was defective all along and I didn't realize it. I have a hard time believing there's a 10dbm signal difference between these two antennas when they are only mounted 24 inches apart (2 wavelengths at 1.9ghz)

Screen Shot 2018-11-26 at 4.06.30 PM.png

I guess I'll see if I can get it RMA'd and go from there.

In other news, swapping the antennas, gave me an even faster new high score for upload speed of 22mbps!

[JimHelms]

Good analysis and information on signal reflections.

Since you have swapped the point of connection at both the modem and the antennas, this would sort of rule out it being a coax cable or connector.

It would appear that the antenna may be the issue.

[swwifty]

Good analysis and information on signal reflections.

Since you have swapped the point of connection at both the modem and the antennas, this would sort of rule out it being a coax cable or connector.

It would appear that the antenna may be the issue.

Well, the one thing I haven't done is swapped the antennas, so they are using different cables between the antennas and the modem itself.

I'll need to swap the antennas between the cables, to confirm where the issue lies.

Keep in mind, I have that high pass filter, and gas tube lightning ground in line for both antennas as well. I've now been seeing a difference as high as 15dbm for RSRP on the antennas. Clearly something isn't right. I would expect maybe 3-5dbm, at most?

I"ll try to swap them in the next day or two, and see what happens. If it is water ingress damage, tough lesson to learn that's for sure. It would surprise me though cause when I disconnected the "bad" antennas cable to redo the connector, there was no hint of water in the connection at all.

[swwifty]

A few updates, since I last posted.

1. I went up on the roof to swap the antennas, to test if it was a bad antenna or bad cable, or both, that was causing my poor signal on one of my antennas. In the process of removing all the electrical tape, and coaxial seal, I must have broken the pigtail N connector on the "Bad" antenna, so I will never know 100% for sure, but I put the coaxial cable that went to it, onto the other antenna, and it still had the same signal strength. I suspect the issue the whole time was something with the antenna the whole time. I suspect water somehow got into it, cause it was never the same after the first rain it received while outside.

2. This past Monday and Tuesday it was very cold and windy. I immediately noticed that the signal stats on my "good" antenna, got significantly better (like 10dbm better). I don't know 100% why this was, but it's interesting. I did some reading online about foliage antennuation (which actually has lots of studies done on it) and apparently, wind can have a big impact on signal strength. It would seem in my case, it was favorable. I also noticed the nanostations I use for my short 500ft link, also had a good bit better signal strength (5-7dbm). The signal on the 4G connection, and the nanostations has returned to "normal". Although, the 4G connection is still about 3dbm stronger.

Signal stats when it was real windy. I was also able to get a upload speed of 27mb/sec when the signal was this strong! (RxM is the good antenna, RxD was the "Bad" antenna)

Screen Shot 2018-11-27 at 9.56.00 PM.png

The signal strength now (and holding steady, note RxD has no antenna attached, I took the bad one down. Compare these stats with the ones I originally posted, I've picked up 3dbm since I put these up outside permanently, which is a doubling in signal strength!)

Screen Shot 2018-11-29 at 9.45.31 AM.png

3. Lastly, it dawned on me that my PI 3 is currently limited to a 100mb/sec ethernet connection, due to the PoE splitter. The PI 3 does have a 1G ethernet connection, but the PoE splitter limits that. The ethernet interface also shares a bus with the USB ports, which obviously isn't great for speed either. I wanted to see if my 4G speeds were topping out at my max ethernet speeds, so I did a iperf test between my 4G PI, and my internal laptop (this is through my firewall). The results aren't entirely surprising, but its pretty clear my limit is the ethernet connection. In previous tests, I've been hovering around 85mbps max download. In all my other tests, before this was permanently mounted with the PoE splitter, I saw the same limits, so I'm not 100% sure where the limit was, but I suspect I was hitting this before I realized it.

Code: Select all

[ ID] Interval           Transfer     Bitrate
[  5]   0.00-10.00  sec   102 MBytes  85.4 Mbits/sec                  sender
[  5]   0.00-10.03  sec   102 MBytes  84.9 Mbits/sec                  receiver

[swwifty]

oh, wow I feel real stupid. Apparently, there's a one gigabit version of this PoE splitter that I was not aware of. Guess I'll be ordering that today!!!

[swwifty]

Thought I'd post an update on my antenna situation, as it is very interesting (It can also save you a lot of headaches, so its worth your time to probably read the whole story)

TL;DR: My original antenna was never bad, I was actually experiencing, what must have been, a multi-path fade, that caused the signal on my top highest (connected to my main port on my modem) antenna to have 8-10 less dbm, then the lower antenna. I fixed this issue, by moving my antenna mount up 3-5 inches.

Long Version:

A short recap, before I explain what happened yesterday. A week after I installed my setup permanently outside, it rained for the first time. After it rained, I noticed that the signal strength on the top (main) antenna dropped by 8-10dbm. It seems to fluctuate at that point from about 6-10dbm less than my lower, secondary antenna (that was hooked up to my aux port on my modem). I immediately suspect that i had got some water in my antenna cables. I did some research and learned quickly that I did my waterproofing sub-par (you can read about that in previous posts). I re-did the waterproofing, but the signal strength on the top antenna still did not get much better. I suspect that I had some kind of permanent damage, so I went to test my theory, and while doing so accidentally broke the pigtail on the main (bad) antenna. I had used too much coaxial seal, and had bent it too much while attempting to disconnect it. I still swapped the cable assembly from the main (supposedly bad anntenna) to confirm that it was the antenna and not the cable. I swapped it to the known "good" antenna, and the signal stats stayed the same, so I assumed it was a bad antenna, and got it RMA'd.

Fast forward to yesterday.

I received my replacement antenna, and with all my excitement, and eagerness to fix it, I went to install it. I unpackaged it, and went up on the roof and installed it, and discovered to my dismay that the signal stats were about the same. This time about 8dbm lower than the bottom antenna!!!! what the heck. I was so confused. I thought I had isolated the issue to the antenna itself, but now I was second guessing my self. I started to think, what else could it be? I then proceed to try and re-oriented my antenna from a vertical position (for vertical polarization) to horizontal, like the bottom one. This made the signal a little bit stronger (about 2dbm), but not a major improvement. I also tried aiming the antennas in a different position, to see if aiming them directly at the tower, wasn't having the desired effect. None of that made much of a difference. I did find that the bottom antenna got better signal in some positions, but the top one was still bad. Finally, I decided to raise my "bad" top antenna up a little higher, to see if that made a difference? I was running out of options at this point, and just grasping at straws, to be honest. I had originally separated the antennas by 2 wavelengths for 1.9ghz (band 2), which is about 12 inches. I moved it up about 3-5 inches, and BOOM, I suddenly had a 10dbm stronger signal on that top antenna. In fact it was so strong, it was better than my bottom one, which I had previously viewed as good. I'm 99% sure I was experiencing a destructive multipath fade. What I find most interesting is that it persisted for so long, and at that particular point on the antenna mast. Another interesting fact, unrelated, is today we are experiencing a snow/rain/ice storm, and now my bottom antenna is about 8-10dbm less signal than the top, so weather conditions can have a big impact on your signal strengths (especially at this frequency range). It seems though that this particular location was just a multipath fade, that has lasted for weeks. I didn't have this issue when I first put them up, but all the leaves have fallen since I did that, which likely made a big difference (in a negative way in this case). If you notice a big signal difference between your main and diversity antenna, I recommend playing around with the location to see if that makes a difference. If it just lasts a day or two, its probably just a weather impact, but if it lasts for a long period of time, moving the antenna around can make a big difference (well in my case it made a 10 fold power increase!) Anyways, here's some links I recommend on reading about fading.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fading

http://www.sharetechnote.com/html/Handbook_LTE_Fading.html

[swwifty]

Oh, and also, I got the PoE gigabit splitter then realized my netgate firewall is still only 100mbps interfaces (its pretty old).

dohhhh, guess I'll have to upgrade my firewall if I'm ever going to get over 100mbps down on my 4G connection.

[JimHelms]

It is strange how a few inches can make such a difference. I would have never thought the fix would be that simple.

Here is a chart for Bands and wave lengths for those interested:

WaveLength.pdf

[swwifty]

It is strange how a few inches can make such a difference. I would have never thought the fix would be that simple.

Here is a chart for Bands and wave lengths for those interested:

WaveLength.pdf

Yeah, it's really interesting, but in doing more researching on multipath fading I discovered a term called coherence distance. This basically is the space the wave(s) will stay the same. This distance is very short. I'm trying to calculate it for 1.9ghz, but having a hard time figuring out how to do so.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coherence_length

[swwifty]

In other news, this weekend we got about 3 inches of snow and some freezing rain.

The yagis took a beating, but kept working. I was concerned for a while they might get damaged or the connection would go down, but they seem to be okay.

I knew the yagis could be susceptible to snow/ice, but decided to put them up anyways. Be sure to take this into consideration where you live. Flat panels would be much better if you get a lot of snow/ice.

Signal stats while they were covered in some snow/ice (you can compare with signal stats posted in my first post in this thread):

Screen Shot 2018-12-09 at 6.40.47 AM.png

Speed test while covered in snow:

Screen Shot 2018-12-09 at 6.46.27 AM.png

At last but not least, a picture of the yagis while covered in snow/ice (click on the image to get more detail) The nanostation did quite well throughout most of the weather, although the signal stats were effect somewhat, but the link was still very useable. (sorry I don't know why this image preview is sideways, but if you click on the image to expand it, it looks correct).

2018-12-09 07.58.17.jpg

[swwifty]

Also, wanted to share a screenshot from my SDR of band 12 from this same tower that I get band 2. You can clearly see in the signal that it is faded towards the lower end of the band.

Screen Shot 2018-12-10 at 9.36.22 AM.png

[swwifty]

so it looks like my top antenna is in a deep multi-path fade again. I can still get 65mbps down, but my upload slowed down to 5mbps from about 25-30mbps up.

I might have to get up there and move the antenna again, if it doesn't go away soon. This is a good reason not to lock to one band, as you also get frequency diversity, instead of just antenna diversity on the same frequency (which is helping me right now, but still.)

Screen Shot 2019-01-14 at 10.39.11 AM.png

Top antenna is RxM main one. You can see 15 dbm difference in RSRP which is almost 100 times less than the bottom antenna!

[swwifty]

A follow up to my previous post.

I got up on the roof on Wednesday, in an effort to try to get the top (main) antenna back into an area on the mast that had better signal. Since my antenna mast, is two 5 foot poles connected together, I took the top off that has the yagi antennas on it, and moved it around. At first I didn't notice any difference between the two antennas, but once I let the antennas sit for a few seconds in one spot, the signal stats updated. In a nut shell, the signal varies ALL OVER THE PLACE within a very small area. I saw as low as -102dbm (RSRP) on one antenna, but I did confirm that this is not a water issue on the top antenna. At one point, both antennas had -106 dbm RSRP. I must be getting a lot of reflections and multipath fading going on, through the trees and terrain. If you look at my first post, in this thread, the terrain path makes it seem like this is link is probably a miracle.

In short, I ended up lowering the top antenna about 3 inches (it didn't make any difference, both antennas are about a foot apart now) and I oriented both of the antennas in +/- 45 degrees to try and help with reflections (I previously had them both mounted in horizontal polarization orientation). It does seem that after mounting them in a 45 degree slant (to match the polarization that the cell tower is transmitting at) even though the signal stats aren't stronger, that speeds are much faster. I was able to achieve an upload speed of 20mbps with RSRP at -110dbm, which I don't recall being able to do before. It's clear that the stronger the RSRP is, the faster your download/upload speed will be. Additionally, I swapped the top and bottom antenna on the modem, so the bottom antenna is now the main one (cause right now it has stronger signal) and the top is the secondary. This helps with upload, as it appears that modulation rates are lowered when the main antenna signal is weak for upload (which makes sense).

Logged in this morning, and now the secondary antenna (the top antenna) picked up about 8dbm over night. It's interesting that the fading can change so suddenly, but also be so permanent (this has been an issue on the top antenna for almost a week now).

Current stats:

Screen Shot 2019-01-18 at 2.54.48 PM.png

[tonydobbs]

Thank you so much for all the detailed information you've shared! I'm a software developer living in the mountains of CA trying to achieve similar results and am learning a lot from your posts. I currently have a 8dB panel antenna, and am now starting to consider the yagis. Please keep us posted with your latest developments!

[swwifty]

Thank you so much for all the detailed information you've shared! I'm a software developer living in the mountains of CA trying to achieve similar results and am learning a lot from your posts. I currently have a 8dB panel antenna, and am now starting to consider the yagis. Please keep us posted with your latest developments!

Thanks for the feedback! I actually have some updates to post today, that I will in a bit.

Why don't you post a thread with your setup, and some screenshots of your signal status and stuff, so others can weigh in?

I have some interesting data, thoughts on this band 2 specific yagis now.

[tonydobbs]

Thanks for the feedback! I actually have some updates to post today, that I will in a bit.

Why don't you post a thread with your setup, and some screenshots of your signal status and stuff, so others can weigh in?

I have some interesting data, thoughts on this band 2 specific yagis now.

Very excited to see what updates you have in store. I very much look at your project as an inspiration for what is possible. Now that I've had a taste of real high speed internet out in the mountains, I can't help but want more!

I posted a more specific thread yesterday and received some helpful advice from Jim, I think later today I'll post a proper thread about my setup. It seems that it might be possible that I am pointing at the wrong tower, yet somehow inexplicably receiving stronger signal from that aiming. I'm considering investing in some better tools to help me find antennas, since that apparently has been one of my bigger challenges so far.

[swwifty]

Very excited to see what updates you have in store. I very much look at your project as an inspiration for what is possible. Now that I've had a taste of real high speed internet out in the mountains, I can't help but want more!

I posted a more specific thread yesterday and received some helpful advice from Jim, I think later today I'll post a proper thread about my setup. It seems that it might be possible that I am pointing at the wrong tower, yet somehow inexplicably receiving stronger signal from that aiming. I'm considering investing in some better tools to help me find antennas, since that apparently has been one of my bigger challenges so far.

Great, I saw your post after I posted in here, ooops.

in my opinion, the easiest way to confirm your cell tower, is to drive to the nearest one, and power your router/antenna up, and confirm its the same one.

You can do that with the PCI ID (which you can see in the at!lteinfo command) and the cell ID info in the 'at!gstatus?" command.

That is what I did, to confirm it was the same tower. Also, keep in mind, that different "cells" you see in the at!lteinfo command, can be on the same physical tower, as a cell in LTE is actually one sector antenna/radio on the tower.

[tonydobbs]

Great, I saw your post after I posted in here, ooops.

in my opinion, the easiest way to confirm your cell tower, is to drive to the nearest one, and power your router/antenna up, and confirm its the same one.

You can do that with the PCI ID (which you can see in the at!lteinfo command) and the cell ID info in the 'at!gstatus?" command.

That is what I did, to confirm it was the same tower. Also, keep in mind, that different "cells" you see in the at!lteinfo command, can be on the same physical tower, as a cell in LTE is actually one sector antenna/radio on the tower.

Thanks for the great advice, do you think it's safe to run the router off a square wave inverter for this test? I don't have a 12V DC adapter for the router currently.

[swwifty]

Thanks for the great advice, do you think it's safe to run the router off a square wave inverter for this test? I don't have a 12V DC adapter for the router currently.

I'm not sure what a square wave inverter is?

Do you not have a 12V DC to AC converter for your car?

[tonydobbs]

I'm not sure what a square wave inverter is?

Do you not have a 12V DC to AC converter for your car?

A square wave (or modified sine wave) inverter is the type of inverter used in most 12V car to AC inverters. I have heard that they're not the best for sensitive electronics. It's probably fine for this, I'm just cautious.

[swwifty]

A square wave (or modified sine wave) inverter is the type of inverter used in most 12V car to AC inverters. I have heard that they're not the best for sensitive electronics. It's probably fine for this, I'm just cautious.

oh, right.

yeah probably fine for just a short period of time.

[swwifty]

Thought I'd post with some interesting updates.

It dawned on me the other day, that I could probably come up with a test, so to speak for my multipath issues I've been having. My theory was to unlock my modem from band 2 (let it connect to any band), and see if the other bands (I knew this would be band 12) see a similar difference in signal strength. I previously had tested these yagis, unlocked and they connected to band 12, but obviously the signal is much weaker than an antenna that is actually designed for band 12 (the yagis are band 2 specific). I suspected that, band 12, would not see as much of a difference, cause it just wouldn't be experiencing much multipath, or because the wavelength was much longer (coherence distance in multipathing is further with lower frequencies) Anyways, onto a screenshot:

Screen Shot 2019-02-08 at 9.05.22 AM.png

As you can see, band 2 was selected as primary (not surprising given these antennas are tuned for band 2) and band 12 as secondary. If you look at the at the RSRP values, you'll see that band 12 values are much closer to each other between the two antennas, while band 2 (the PCC values) are still off by a large value.

Interestingly, this seems to be a really good combination, because I'm getting a little bit faster peak downloads while doing speed tests, and I still get really good uploads. Good uploads happen because the primary antenna and primary band is used for upload (no MIMO happens on upload) and because these antennas are such high gain, it means the cell tower gets a stronger signal from my modem, and subsequently higher modulation, and faster upload speeds (which is really what I want most, because my DSL upload speed is 1.25mbps!)

Screen Shot 2019-02-08 at 9.08.44 AM.png

Lastly, the other morning I happened to notice that my modem had been kicked down to WCDMA (I think it could have been due to the poor weather, cause we had some heavy fog and rain that night). I was worried for a second, that the party was up, but I reset the modem and it immediately reconnected to LTE (band 2 & 12 again). I recalled that 'at!selrat' can be used to force LTE only, but in my experience this wasn't the case. Then I recalled that the 'at!band' command has a WCDMA+LTE band limit, or a LTE band limit only. I set it to LTE only in hopes that it won't randomly go back to WCDMA.

[tonydobbs]

Interesting results, this is still using the yagis? I'm surprised that they can perform so well on channel 12. So regarding the multipath issue, are you just going to leave it unlocked or are you going to try to continue experimenting with other solutions?

[swwifty]

Interesting results, this is still using the yagis? I'm surprised that they can perform so well on channel 12. So regarding the multipath issue, are you just going to leave it unlocked or are you going to try to continue experimenting with other solutions?

This was using the yagis. I was surprised as well, but when i compare them to some wider band antennas (designed for 700mhz-2700mhz) they look pretty bad in terms of performance.

I've found that some dual band antennas can give me close to 100mbps down, so I'm tempted to switch to them. That being said, for now, I'm going to stick to the yagis, cause they still beat everything on upload due to their high gain.

Once the leaves come back out, I might swap them out, but for now I'm going to leave it as is. I also might have figured out one of the factors that is causing my insane multipath. I'll post an update with pics about that soon.

[swwifty]

I posted over on the Ubiquiti forums a summary of this problem, because, honestly, theres quite a few guys over there and know their RF stuff. Hopefully someone will have an idea.

https://community.ubnt.com/t5/The-Loung ... 417#M49707

Also, it recently dawned on me that about 200-300 away almost directly in line with where the signal would be coming from, is a giant structure with a metal roof on my neighbors property. I'm wondering if this is causing the issues?

You can see it circled in red here, with my house at the top, where my antennas are mounted. The green line is a direct line to the cell tower.

multipath sat view.png

[swwifty]

Found a really good short read on LOS, that answered some of my questions in this, but still doesn't explain it all:

https://s.campbellsci.com/documents/au/ ... uction.pdf

[farmall240]

swwifty - i'm not sure if this thread is still active/monitored but i've sure learned a heap about cellular data configurations, which is a problem i'm plagued with. A question i keep having come up in my mind when i read through this forum and many others, is that i always see antennas oriented at both level and plumb. I understand why the two orientations are necessary, however i'm curious why they're not oriented at 45 degrees and 135 degrees. I find references in many places that 4G signals are slant polarized. Thought i'd try and learn why my thinking is incorrect.

[swwifty]

swwifty - i'm not sure if this thread is still active/monitored but i've sure learned a heap about cellular data configurations, which is a problem i'm plagued with. A question i keep having come up in my mind when i read through this forum and many others, is that i always see antennas oriented at both level and plumb. I understand why the two orientations are necessary, however i'm curious why they're not oriented at 45 degrees and 135 degrees. I find references in many places that 4G signals are slant polarized. Thought i'd try and learn why my thinking is incorrect.

This thread is still very much active if you have questions

I'm assuming by your meaning of antennas that are level and plumb, is antennas that are vertical and horizontal. I can't speak without specific examples, but some 4G antennas are only capable of being mounted in vertical or horizontal positions. Even if the cell tower antennas are mounted +/- 45 degrees this will still work with only a loss of 3db per polarization. The reason you want to match polarization of the cell tower is so you don't lose this 3db, as well as antennas that are mounted +/- 45 degrees are better at penetrating obstructions like trees, etc. This is because most obstacles in the world are either vertical or horizontal. Most are not +/- 45 degrees, so the electromagnetic waves can more easily pass through these obstructions. I did some tests in the past, and the differences are quite noticeable between slant polarization mounted antennas, and vertical/horizontally mounted antennas. And yes, pretty much all LTE tower side antennas are +/-45 degrees polarization it is the industry standard. Hopefully that answers your questions.

[kckrawford]

@Swwifty

Just recently ordered a setup to match what you have here, except i ordered the panel antennas instead of the yagi's. I currently have a Mofi4500 w/ AT&T sim, and while speeds are decent, after seeing your setup, i realized that there was much more to be had. I also ordered the EM7511 as it has any possible band that I could connect to on the tower that's the closest to me (1.7 miles)

Now that i've got everything on order, there are a few questions I have that i'm hoping you can help me with. I've done some research, but can't seem to find a guide on how you actually install Goldenoord onto the rasberry pi. Any insight you can give me on that?

Next, with this setup, are you able to just use a standard wireless router as the access point inside the house for TV's, AppleTv, Phones, tablets, etc...?

Look forward to getting all of this setup, and would appreciate any help you can deliver along the way. Thanks

[swwifty]

@Swwifty

Just recently ordered a setup to match what you have here, except i ordered the panel antennas instead of the yagi's. I currently have a Mofi4500 w/ AT&T sim, and while speeds are decent, after seeing your setup, i realized that there was much more to be had. I also ordered the EM7511 as it has any possible band that I could connect to on the tower that's the closest to me (1.7 miles)

Now that i've got everything on order, there are a few questions I have that i'm hoping you can help me with. I've done some research, but can't seem to find a guide on how you actually install Goldenoord onto the rasberry pi. Any insight you can give me on that?

Next, with this setup, are you able to just use a standard wireless router as the access point inside the house for TV's, AppleTv, Phones, tablets, etc...?

Look forward to getting all of this setup, and would appreciate any help you can deliver along the way. Thanks

Congrats and I wish you good luck on your adventure!

As far as installing GoldenOrb on the Raspberry PI, it's fairly straight forward. You'll need a microsd card for the raspberry pi (16gb or less is plenty). Visit the GoldenOrb download page, and download the image for the correct raspberry pi you have. At that point, you'll need to flash it to your microsd card. You can follow the instructions here to do that:

https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentati ... /README.md

Simply scroll to the bottom, and select the appropriate instructions for the OS you are running. Once you've burned the image into the SD card, simply pop it into the Raspberry PI and turn it on. At that point, you can plug in a computer directly with ethernet to the PI and connect to the web interface to configure GoldenOrb.

The raspberry PI 3 has a built in wireless card that, if I recall correctly is supported by GoldenOrb. With this you can do a 5ghz wireless SSID if you want. I normally recommend buying a separate access point, and mounting it in a central location to your home for best coverage. The Ubiquiti AC Lite is a solid choice that doesn't break the bank.

[kckrawford]

Appreciate the info! I'll do some more reading on all of it tonight.

I believe i have everything ordered that i'll need, and your are right, i think i will do a quality router for inside the house for all the other accessories to connect to.

I plan on doing an outside mount as you did with the Pi so i don't think the wireless signal would be too good inside the house at that point.

Configuring the GoldenOrb is what i'm most worried about. Will definitely have to get with you on the configuration.

[swwifty]

Appreciate the info! I'll do some more reading on all of it tonight.

I believe i have everything ordered that i'll need, and your are right, i think i will do a quality router for inside the house for all the other accessories to connect to.

I plan on doing an outside mount as you did with the Pi so i don't think the wireless signal would be too good inside the house at that point.

Configuring the GoldenOrb is what i'm most worried about. Will definitely have to get with you on the configuration.

I think you mean an access point, not a router. Those are two different things

Yeah for sure, let me know if I can help in any way.

[kckrawford]

Apparently i've got some more research to do. So here is what i'm trying to accomplish so maybe you can point me in the right direction.

I want to be able to hard wire a few items in (couple of playstations and a PC), but also be able to have wireless access for phones, ipads, apple tv, etc. Judging by the setup, the cat5 cable run from the POE splitter inside the box outside, and connects to a POE desktop adapter inside which would connect to the router/access point correct? I guess this is the part of the setup that i'm not 100% on. I'd like to have one central point that I can access by hard wiring and also by wireless.

For example, the current setup is that i have the Mofi4500 mounted inside the house, and then have a few lan cables run into for the playstations, but can also access it wirelessly if need be. This is what i'm trying to accomplish but doing it with the raspberry pi setup and a better setup outside to gain better signal/speeds.

[swwifty]

Apparently i've got some more research to do. So here is what i'm trying to accomplish so maybe you can point me in the right direction.

I want to be able to hard wire a few items in (couple of playstations and a PC), but also be able to have wireless access for phones, ipads, apple tv, etc. Judging by the setup, the cat5 cable run from the POE splitter inside the box outside, and connects to a POE desktop adapter inside which would connect to the router/access point correct? I guess this is the part of the setup that i'm not 100% on. I'd like to have one central point that I can access by hard wiring and also by wireless.

For example, the current setup is that i have the Mofi4500 mounted inside the house, and then have a few lan cables run into for the playstations, but can also access it wirelessly if need be. This is what i'm trying to accomplish but doing it with the raspberry pi setup and a better setup outside to gain better signal/speeds.

What you need is a switch and an access point.

The ethernet cable from outside that runs in, will connect to the injector, then the switch. From there you can plug in the hard wired devices and the access point into the switch.

You don't need a router per say, cause GoldenOrb running on your PI is your router aka. default gateway for your network.

Hope that helps.

[kckrawford]

Any recommendations on a switch?

[swwifty]

Any recommendations on a switch?

Depends on how many ports you need but this is a good place to start: https://www.ui.com/unifi-switching/unifi-switch-8/

Also has PoE, but you'll need an adapter for 24v PoE.

Or you could just go with this switch which does all PoE modes: https://www.ui.com/unifi-switching/unifi-switch-8-150w/

Then you won't need a PoE injector for your access point, or your Raspberry PI. Helps with cleaner installs (not creating a rat's nest, etc.)

[kckrawford]

Replied to your PM,

and will definitely look into the switch for the cleaner install.

[SliverGT]

I got my EM7565 and RPi3+ up and running and noticed the system log on the Pi is filled with change cpu frequency errors. Is there a fix for this?

Tue Dec 31 14:29:05 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2655.501272] cpufreq: __target_index: Failed to change cpu frequency: -22
Tue Dec 31 14:29:13 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2663.555870] bcm2835-cpufreq:bcm2835_cpufreq_set_clock:84: Failed to set clock: 1400000 (-12)
Tue Dec 31 14:29:13 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2663.579202] bcm2835-cpufreq:bcm2835_cpufreq_driver_target_index:183: Error occurred setting a new frequency (1400000)
Tue Dec 31 14:29:13 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2663.604592] cpufreq: __target_index: Failed to change cpu frequency: -22
Tue Dec 31 14:29:19 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2669.405981] bcm2835-cpufreq:bcm2835_cpufreq_set_clock:84: Failed to set clock: 1400000 (-12)
Tue Dec 31 14:29:19 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2669.429455] bcm2835-cpufreq:bcm2835_cpufreq_driver_target_index:183: Error occurred setting a new frequency (1400000)
Tue Dec 31 14:29:19 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2669.455557] cpufreq: __target_index: Failed to change cpu frequency: -22
Tue Dec 31 14:29:31 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2681.628986] bcm2835-cpufreq:bcm2835_cpufreq_set_clock:84: Failed to set clock: 1400000 (-12)

[swwifty]

I got my EM7565 and RPi3+ up and running and noticed the system log on the Pi is filled with change cpu frequency errors. Is there a fix for this?

Tue Dec 31 14:29:05 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2655.501272] cpufreq: __target_index: Failed to change cpu frequency: -22
Tue Dec 31 14:29:13 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2663.555870] bcm2835-cpufreq:bcm2835_cpufreq_set_clock:84: Failed to set clock: 1400000 (-12)
Tue Dec 31 14:29:13 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2663.579202] bcm2835-cpufreq:bcm2835_cpufreq_driver_target_index:183: Error occurred setting a new frequency (1400000)
Tue Dec 31 14:29:13 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2663.604592] cpufreq: __target_index: Failed to change cpu frequency: -22
Tue Dec 31 14:29:19 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2669.405981] bcm2835-cpufreq:bcm2835_cpufreq_set_clock:84: Failed to set clock: 1400000 (-12)
Tue Dec 31 14:29:19 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2669.429455] bcm2835-cpufreq:bcm2835_cpufreq_driver_target_index:183: Error occurred setting a new frequency (1400000)
Tue Dec 31 14:29:19 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2669.455557] cpufreq: __target_index: Failed to change cpu frequency: -22
Tue Dec 31 14:29:31 2019 kern.err kernel: [ 2681.628986] bcm2835-cpufreq:bcm2835_cpufreq_set_clock:84: Failed to set clock: 1400000 (-12)

Not that I'm aware of. I've seen it too, but haven't noticed any harm from it.

[SliverGT]

Those errors seemed to be adding ~10ms of latency for me. I eliminated them by adding the following commands to the Local Startup. It sets the min/max scaling frequency to the maximum so the processor always runs at full speed. Note that I'm using an Rpi3B+ which runs at a max of 1.4GHz, yours may be different.

# Put your custom commands here that should be executed once
# the system init finished. By default this file does nothing.
echo -n 1400000 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policy0/scaling_min_freq
echo -n performance > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policy0/scaling_governor
exit 0

[swwifty]

Those errors seemed to be adding ~10ms of latency for me. I eliminated them by adding the following commands to the Local Startup. It sets the min/max scaling frequency to the maximum so the processor always runs at full speed. Note that I'm using an Rpi3B+ which runs at a max of 1.4GHz, yours may be different.

# Put your custom commands here that should be executed once
# the system init finished. By default this file does nothing.
echo -n 1400000 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policy0/scaling_min_freq
echo -n performance > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpufreq/policy0/scaling_governor
exit 0

how'd you figure out it was causing a latency issue?

[SliverGT]

I just noticed the latency in general was higher with the Rpi vs my Mofi4500. It could be something else though, time will tell...

[swwifty]

I just noticed the latency in general was higher with the Rpi vs my Mofi4500. It could be something else though, time will tell...

I can't imagine you could notice a 10ms latency. I'd suspect something else was going on.

I think a human can only notice a latency as low as about 250ms or above? I've seen it somewhere posted.

[SliverGT]

My build is fully operational and ready to mount outside close to the antennas. Just wanted to say thanks for your contribution here, not sure I would have attempted this without seeing someone else be successful with it.

IMG_4888.JPG

[swwifty]

My build is fully operational and ready to mount outside close to the antennas. Just wanted to say thanks for your contribution here, not sure I would have attempted this without seeing someone else be successful with it.

IMG_4888.JPG

awesome! thanks for sharing! that looks like a nicer setup than mine!

[Didneywhorl]

Have you seen the LTE modem Hat for the Rpi? I'm wondering how well it works

[swwifty]

Have you seen the LTE modem Hat for the Rpi? I'm wondering how well it works

I looked at them a while back, and they were all low level CAT rated, verses buying the newer Sierra MC series modems which supported the latest LTE releases.

[BillA]

My build is fully operational and ready to mount outside close to the antennas. Just wanted to say thanks for your contribution here, not sure I would have attempted this without seeing someone else be successful with it.

IMG_4888.JPG

I was wondering what's the function of the RPi box connected to the router right next to it?
Oh never mind, I thought that the black box is a WE826, but just realized it's a modem enclosure, since it wasn't labeled. lol

[SliverGT]

Yep, it's the The Wireless Haven USB 3.0 to M.2 enclosure.

https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/pcie-m-2/m-2-ng ... card-slot/

[SliverGT]

I got my box mounted up high close to the antennas and it's working great. My speeds are usually 50-70mbps down and 15-20 up. No disconnects like I was getting with my Mofi4500.

It seems like I must be close to the limit on power using one POE for both the Rpi and M.2 7565. What are the symptoms of inadequate power? Is there any benefit to having a 2nd POE splitter dedicated to the M.2 7565? According to the specs the RPi3b+ can supply a max of 1.2 amps to its USB 2.0 port.

Here's what I'm using for POE.
48v 1.5amp 72w POE injector from The Wireless Haven.
https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/power-adapter/p ... -1-5a-72w/

5v 2.4 amps POE splitter from Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CN ... UTF8&psc=1

[BillA]

I got my box mounted up high close to the antennas and it's working great. My speeds are usually 50-70mbps down and 15-20 up. No disconnects like I was getting with my Mofi4500.

It seems like I must be close to the limit on power using one POE for both the Rpi and M.2 7565. What are the symptoms of inadequate power? Is there any benefit to having a 2nd POE splitter dedicated to the M.2 7565? According to the specs the RPi3b+ can supply a max of 1.2 amps to its USB 2.0 port.

Here's what I'm using for POE.
48v 1.5amp 72w POE injector from The Wireless Haven.
https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/power-adapter/p ... -1-5a-72w/

5v 2.4 amps POE splitter from Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CN ... UTF8&psc=1

The symptoms of an under powered router/modem are usually random disconnects from the network and/or reboots of the device. 5V/1.2Amp is borderline adequate, modems work better with over 5V/2Amps.
A note on the POE adapters, while the specs look good, its actual Amp output drops linearly with the length of the cable run and thickness/quality of the CAT cable, the longer the run, the less power at the end. I've seen setups where instead of POE, a long 110V extension cable was run to the remote box, needing relatively low power for a couple of power bricks, one can use a cheap long 110V extension cable.

[SliverGT]

I haven't experienced any reboots or disconnects.

I'm using 35ft of cat6 23awg solid copper outdoor cable.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JA ... UTF8&psc=1

I don't have a 110v outlet anywhere close. It sounds like it would be a good idea to add a 2nd POE injector/splitter for the modem. Does the injector need to be connected to a switch if it's for power only?

[BillA]

I haven't experienced any reboots or disconnects.

I'm using 35ft of cat6 23awg solid copper outdoor cable.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JA ... UTF8&psc=1

I don't have a 110v outlet anywhere close. It sounds like it would be a good idea to add a 2nd POE injector/splitter for the modem. Does the injector need to be connected to a switch if it's for power only?

Yes, a second POE for just the modem should deliver enough power, again taking into consideration the length of the cable run. As an alternative, you could use a common 10AmpHour battery/power pack mounted into the remote box, with the POE splitter's output plugged into the power pack's input, and the modem into the power pack's output, which would give you enough Amps buffer during usage spikes that you wouldn't need to run a second POE cable.

A 110V extension cord doesn't have to be any longer than the ethernet cable, assuming you have an outlet near your router. Its advantage is that you could power a lot more devices using a single cable without having to worry about the Amps.

Also, they make solar powered/rechargeable LiPo power packs commonly used as an emergency phone charger, a 20 to 50AmpHour pack should be able to power the remote gear all night long and charge up during day time even if it's not sunny (just a thought). A 20AmpHour pack at 5V should be good for up to 20 hours without recharging, and if "Green" is your "thing", this could be a viable solution. Heck, you could even use a wind turbine, a steam engine, or hamsters running in generator wheel... lol just kidding!

[SliverGT]

In order to use a 110v extension cord from my router it would need to go through an outside wall. through the crawlspace and through an inside wall. That would be an electrical code violation and not something I want to risk doing. It's possible to find an electrical circuit in the the crawlspace to tap into, install a junction box and install an outdoor rated outlet on the outside wall below the modem. That's a lot more work than just running another low voltage cable.

The battery is an interesting idea. I'll probably just run another cat6 cable since I already have everything except the POE splitter.

[BillA]

In order to use a 110v extension cord from my router it would need to go through an outside wall. through the crawlspace and through an inside wall. That would be an electrical code violation and not something I want to risk doing. It's possible to find an electrical circuit in the the crawlspace to tap into, install a junction box and install an outdoor rated outlet on the outside wall below the modem. That's a lot more work than just running another low voltage cable.

The battery is an interesting idea. I'll probably just run another cat6 cable since I already have everything except the POE splitter.

Of course you do what's best in your case, those were merely some suggestions.
I might try the battery thingy myself, since it also provides a power failure backup at the same time.

[Didneywhorl]

I looked at them a while back, and they were all low level CAT rated, verses buying the newer Sierra MC series modems which supported the latest LTE releases.

The HAT version doesnt have a modem embedded like the shields previously. Its pretty new-ish.

https://sixfab.com/product/raspberry-pi ... cie-cards/

[swwifty]

The HAT version doesnt have a modem embedded like the shields previously. Its pretty new-ish.

https://sixfab.com/product/raspberry-pi ... cie-cards/

oh that's pretty slick, but a USB enclosure is still cheaper.

Granted if you're tight on space, that's not a bad idea.

[terryjett]

The HAT version doesnt have a modem embedded like the shields previously. Its pretty new-ish.

https://sixfab.com/product/raspberry-pi ... cie-cards/

Wow-we-Wow, I like that! Have some older pies laying around but this renews my interest, thanks for sharing the link!

[dkiaunis]

Hi, I’m looking into doing a similar setup as yours and I’m wondering what the high pass filter does?

[swwifty]

Hi, I’m looking into doing a similar setup as yours and I’m wondering what the high pass filter does?

It filters out any radio frequency below 600mhz so the modem doesn't see it at all. I did this originally to try to help the modem from being overloaded by strong nearby signals below that frequency.

That being said, it's not necessary for the average user, unless you live like within a mile or less of a nearby AM or FM broadcast tower. It turned out being very useful for me because I'm also into ham radio and have very strong nearby antennas that transmit below 600mhz.

[Didneywhorl]

Swwifty,

That's cool! Im curious though, how much loss does each one add to the cable runs, specifically?

Might be worth looking into for many more people if its negligible.

[swwifty]

Swwifty,

That's cool! Im curious though, how much loss does each one add to the cable runs, specifically?

Might be worth looking into for many more people if its negligible.

I can't remember exactly but I'd suspect its .1 - .2 db. not very much. It wasn't a cheap filter.

[pistolaro2]

I'm getting close to replicating your setup - but can't run my Pi over POE - I only get a flashing red light. Can someone provide guidance on where I went wrong?

I've purchased:

https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/power-adapter/p ... -1-5a-72w/

https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/power-adapter/p ... mm-jumper/

and

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019C ... UTF8&psc=1

To power:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BC ... UTF8&psc=1

If I use the power supply that came with the Pi, all good.

Thanks in advance for your help!

EDIT: I believe I found the issue: Need 2.5 Amps. (only getting 1.5) Can anyone verify?

[Didneywhorl]

Your gunna smoke you rpi with that.

The poe injector outputs 48VDC power, there's nothing there to step it down to 5V.

Lemme dig up a link for you.

[Didneywhorl]

Keep the poe injector you listed. Its the best you can get.

Then use this splitter for an rpi3: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07QPRVM ... asin_title

If your going to need to pass the LAN cable through a weatherproof case, use:

https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/power-adapter/p ... nnector-1/

Instead of the jumper deal and that tip adapter. Cancel those.

How are you hooking up a modem to the rpi3?

[pistolaro2]

How about this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LGVPRBM/re ... VEb07QFPHX

[Didneywhorl]

Looks like it could work. Just need to buy a cable for 2.1mm jack to micro usb.

Ive never used it, so... :shrug:

[pstephens]

Your gunna smoke you rpi with that.

I agree with Didneywhorl here.

You need to step down to 5V DC on the PoE splitter end. Try one of these:

• http://amzn.com/B07YB1JF2G
• https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/poe-splitters/4 ... t-splitter

[swwifty]

I'd recommend using the Raspberry PI foundation PoE hat. The latest version, the first versions had some bad bugs.