I'm new, looking for help in choosing antenna and 4G modem/router

[guillefix]

Hi,

I'm new to this whole topic, so sorry I have a lot of questions.. I'm in a rural area in Spain, and have good signal from a single tower from Movistar, and want to buy a modem/router/antenna set up that will give me the most reliability and speed.

From reading wikipedia (https://wirelessjoint.com/posting.php?mode=post&f=24), I figured that Movistar has b3, b7, b20. From field test in an iPhone 11 and 8, it seems it's using b20 as primary carrier with 5Mhz (I think) bw, and doing CA with b3 (20Mhz). iPhone 11 has 4x4 MIMO. This all seems consistent with max speed I observe and what https://www.cellmapper.net/4G-speed predicts.

That wiki page says that 20Mhz CA corresponds to Cat 4, and 40Mhz CA corresponds to Cat 6.. So I suppose the tower has only support for Cat6. I'm not sure if that makes sense. Apparently 4x4 MIMO is only compatible with Cat 6 and above? And 4x4 of iphone 11 defo has a noticable difference. One question I have is would 8x8 MIMO result in higher speeds in my situation?

I think an antenna may help me, but I want advice there too. There are two reasons it could help I think: one the higher SNIR could allow the device to use 256QAM (33% speed boost), the other is that it could maybe use the B7 band and do 3-carrier CA, if the B7 band is actually there, but getting attenuated because of its high frequency..

The other thing is that the internet speed seems to fluctuate a lot. Sometimes, it seems to go down (completely or to very slow speed) for a few seconds or minutes. I have no idea why. Maybe an antenna and/or better general setup would make it more stable/reliable? Atm I'm using the iPhone 8 as hotspot.

Am I right in thee abov two points, and would an antenna be therefore worth it?

Given the above, I think I definitely want at least a 4x4 MIMO modem/router (e.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073VBYFL5), but maybe 8x8. However, all 4x4 MIMO modem I find only two SAM/TS-9 connections. Does this mean that if using the external antenas, the modem could only operate in 2x2 MIMO? I have seen some 4x4 MIMO antennas, but they have 4 SMA connectors, so I assumed I needed a modem with 4 connections, but I can't find any!
Am I correct in my thinking? In anyway, what modem/router/antennas would you guys recommend given all the above that could give the highest speed and reliability? Also taking into account I don't have infinite budget. I'm thinking of <= 300 dollars/euros; would only go above if really worth it.

I am also thinking maybe getting two routers and antenna systems, each with a different SIM card. I think if I separate them enough, it could give approximately twice the effective speed (if I combined the connections somehow) ?

Many thanks for any help ^^

[Didneywhorl]

First, welcome! Spain? Cool!

OK, sorry it took so long for response from anyone. I stumbled on your post, lets see......

Hi,

I'm new to this whole topic, so sorry I have a lot of questions...
.....
That wiki page says that 20Mhz CA corresponds to Cat 4, and 40Mhz CA corresponds to Cat 6.. So I suppose the tower has only support for Cat6. I'm not sure if that makes sense. Apparently 4x4 MIMO is only compatible with Cat 6 and above? And 4x4 of iphone 11 defo has a noticable difference. One question I have is would 8x8 MIMO result in higher speeds in my situation?

8x8 mimo doesnt exist in modern cellular modules that we deal with in LTE routers; at least that I know of. 4x4 MIMO is your highest option for now. The category of the modem does matter, but I think your getting a little deep into the standards.

Carrier aggregation is established in different category releases according to standards set forth... yaddd yadda ... really just know that one particular modem make and model does or does not support carrier aggregation and the max number of aggregations it supports. Knowing which category is supposed to support what is too much info.

If you want to ensure you can use 4x4 mimo, make sure the modem module has 4 antenna ports for LTE data. IF you want Carrier aggregation, make sure you get at least a cat12 modem, they can do 3xCA and possibly above. If you get a higher category modem, so much the better, but check with the manufacturers data sheets to see what it supports. All the data sheets are available to public, just search for it by model and make and manufacturer name. You'll find it.

I think an antenna may help me, but I want advice there too. There are two reasons it could help I think: one the higher SNIR could allow the device to use 256QAM (33% speed boost), the other is that it could maybe use the B7 band and do 3-carrier CA, if the B7 band is actually there, but getting attenuated because of its high frequency..

The modem specs are what your looking for. The more powerful the antenna, the more of the modems capabilities you can use; as long as the cellular radio you are connected to also has the features to be used. Not all cell towers are setup the same, regardless of band used.

The other thing is that the internet speed seems to fluctuate a lot. Sometimes, it seems to go down (completely or to very slow speed) for a few seconds or minutes. I have no idea why. Maybe an antenna and/or better general setup would make it more stable/reliable? Atm I'm using the iPhone 8 as hotspot.

Your speeds likely fluctuate from available bandwidth being shared across the connections to the radio you are on. Tower congestion is a constant issue in many peoples cases. This is where the term "de-prioritization" comes into play. Different types of accounts are de-prioritized at different points of overall bandwidth use. For example: If two users are using data but ther isnt enough bandwidth for both to have equal shares of the bandwidth, and one is a pre-paid customer and one is a post-paid customer, the post-paid customer will still get full bandwidth, as long as they haven't gone over any data limits, and the pre-paid customer will be de-prioritized over the other.

Signal could also play in this. Physics is a weird mistress.

Am I right in thee abov two points, and would an antenna be therefore worth it?

My opinion, a better higher gain antenna is always worth it, unless of course you have perfect signal.

Given the above, I think I definitely want at least a 4x4 MIMO modem/router (e.g. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073VBYFL5),

I'm not familiar with the Huawei products, maybe someone else can chime in. They arent very popular in the US.

... but maybe 8x8.

Never seen them.

... However, all 4x4 MIMO modem I find only two SAM/TS-9 connections. Does this mean that if using the external antenas, the modem could only operate in 2x2 MIMO?

This is common for all in one units. Usuallty, but I'm guessing not always, when attaching external antennas the internal antennas will disable, thereby disabling the 4x4 capabilities. Sometimes this is worth it to get a usable signal.

... I have seen some 4x4 MIMO antennas, but they have 4 SMA connectors, so I assumed I needed a modem with 4 connections, but I can't find any!

That's because you are looking for an all in one solution that doesn't really exist, that I know of. You may have to buy a custom setup or build one yourself.

...
Am I correct in my thinking? In anyway, what modem/router/antennas would you guys recommend given all the above that could give the highest speed and reliability? Also taking into account I don't have infinite budget. I'm thinking of <= 300 dollars/euros; would only go above if really worth it.

I'm in the USA, so my opinion may be only relatable.
The router I like is the ZBT WG3526, with Goldenorb firmware installed. Then buy a modem of choice, I like Quectel modems like the EM12 for 2x mimo or the EM20 for 4x mimo. Purchase a usb3 to m.2 modem enclosure to put the modem into and add a second pair of antenna connections to it. Then plug the modem adapter enclosure into the wg3526 router. Last wire up your antennas to the enclosures antenna connectors.

Honestly your budget is small, but not impossible if you can source the products inexpensively from the manufacturers on your side of the planet.

I am also thinking maybe getting two routers and antenna systems, each with a different SIM card. I think if I separate them enough, it could give approximately twice the effective speed (if I combined the connections somehow) ?

Many thanks for any help ^^

Start with one There's always possibilities!

[guillefix]

Thank you for your answer!

By the way the 8x8 MIMO router/modem I was refering to is this new one https://www.huawei.com/en/news/2019/10/ ... -cpe-b3368 , but that's over my duget

So the setup you mention would be $400 (router + modem + enclosure) + $100+ from antenna = $500
https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/modems/quectel- ... 2-modem-2/
https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/routers/wg3526/ ... 7-3aEaYcLk
For nclosure, something like this? https://www.aliexpress.com/i/4000348561533.html (btw isn't going from m.2 to usb3.0 a bit of a bandwidth bottleneck, or am I mistaken?

For an antenna that supports 4x4 mimo I found this one https://www.amazon.es/Wireless-Instrume ... B07BYW4CWD which is apparently 125 euro.
Or I could get 4 Yogi antennas (not sure if i should get directional or omni), https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=DCh ... 0wc&adurl= which would add up to 100 euro, so slightly cheaper (not counting mount).
Is there any advantage between these two antenna systems?

The alternative i was considering was https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B073VBYFL5 (277 euro) + a 2x2 mimo antenna (e.g. https://www.amazon.es/Antena-Direcciona ... 01E7CWNSI/ or https://www.4gltemall.com/4g-lte-outdoo ... ctors.html) (125 euro). Or I could use 2 yogi for 50 euro? (not sure why those built in antennas are so expensive hmm).. So 325-400 euro depending on antenna hmm.

The estimate above from The Wireless Haven may increase a bit I guess if we count shipping costs. So given the prices, it seems worth it to look for local sourcing here if possible..

I do think 4x4 MIMO is worth it, because that's the only difference I think the iPhone 11 has over the other phones I've tried, and the iPhone 11 always works significantly better.

Btw when you say you prefer "EM12 for 2x mimo or the EM20 for 4x mimo.", is that because the EM12 is incompatible with 4x4 mimo? How can you tell? I don't see that being mentioend on the product description page or the manual.

[Didneywhorl]

Yes, the em12 only has 2 antenna ports, the em20 has 4 antenna ports.

M.2 to usb3 isnt a bottle neck. Usb3 is rated for up to over 4Gbps.

Sorry about the late response. Busy busy