Any way to get better speeds with my set up?

[luke37]

Hi all. New user here; hope I can get some help. I was recently deactivated from the AT&T unlimited tablet plan for putting my SIM card in a router, so I have had to switch to the T-Mobile magenta plan. The problem is where I live T-Mobile's service is spotty at best, so I went out and bought a grid parabolic antenna with hopes of getting the best signal and speed possible. Here's what I bought - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NJNC3MV/re ... 5EbZHRMWYX

The nearest towers are 3.5, 3.7, and 4 miles away. I pointed the antenna at each and am getting the strongest signal from the tower that is 4 miles away (it uses bands 12 and 66). I have turned the antenna inch by inch and the best signal I can get is -100 dBm RSRP and-16 dBm RSRQ, resulting in download speeds of about 5Mbps. This is connecting on band 12, as I couldn't get a signal on band 66. I have put my antenna on a 20 ft mast and am using LMR400 cable. I am hooking directly into a Netgear nighthawk MR1100 router.

I was hoping to get at least 10 Mbps after spending $250 on an antenna and having a tower 4 miles away. Is there anything that I am missing, or something that I can tweak for an improvement?

Thanks for the help!

[gscheb]

What router set up are you using?

[luke37]

What router set up are you using?

I am using a Netgear nighthawk MR1100. TTL is set to 65

[gscheb]

Do you have one of these antennas or two of them?

[luke37]

Do you have one of these antennas or two of them?

Just one of them

[gscheb]

Definitely not getting Mimo like that. Did you try different antenna port?

[luke37]

Definitely not getting Mimo like that. Did you try different antenna port?

I tried switching to the second antenna port on my nighthawk router and it was much worse. The signal was bouncing all over the place and dropping, and download fell to below 1 Mbps

[gscheb]

I use TMobile with a Quectel EP06 and flat antennas Mimo. Use TTL of 64. Band 2 primary CA with 12. Signal like -105. Get 25 to 65 down.. About 4.6 miles from the tower.
On that feed horn on that antenna do you need to adjust it to get different bands?
Band 12 is a slow band
Low frequency and over consumed by cell phones.

[luke37]

I use TMobile with a Quectel EP06 and flat antennas Mimo. Use TTL of 64. Band 2 primary CA with 12. Signal like -105. Get 25 to 65 down.. About 4.6 miles from the tower.
On that feed horn on that antenna do you need to adjust it to get different bands?
Band 12 is a slow band
Low frequency and over consumed by cell phones.

Thanks for the details gscheb. I'll try switching to channel 2 and see if that helps. Are you locked into channel 2, or do you ever switch to 12? Also what APN are you using for T-Mobile?

I am wondering if I should switch antennas as well. Did you have better luck with 2 flat antennas over something like 2 Yagi antennas? Also, do you use 2 antenna inputs on the modem or are they connected to a splitter and only one line going into the modem?

[gscheb]

I not locked to band 2 it just automatically goes to it. Took allot of effort to find that spot for it to do that.
Only have and 2 & 12 can connect too with this modem.
Don't want to do a splitter. Best to have two wires ran separate. That is what Mimo is.

I have used proxicast Mimo then Log periodic (call them yagi here) and also flat 15 dbi ones.
The order I listed is least power to most.

The antenna you have I have never used it. But it supposed to be a power house. Thought I read some where that you adjust the horn to get stronger signal on certain.bamds.

[luke37]

I not locked to band 2 it just automatically goes to it. Took allot of effort to find that spot for it to do that.
Only have and 2 & 12 can connect too with this modem.
Don't want to do a splitter. Best to have two wires ran separate. That is what Mimo is.

I have used proxicast Mimo then Log periodic (call them yagi here) and also flat 15 dbi ones.
The order I listed is least power to most.

The antenna you have I have never used it. But it supposed to be a power house. Thought I read some where that you adjust the horn to get stronger signal on certain.bamds.

So how are you hooking your flat antennas into the Quectel EP06 modem? Are you using some kind of enclosure for this PCI modem, or is it in a router?

I am thinking I may get away from the nighthawk. It got me worried when I switched antenna ports and it started flaking out, and also since it does not seem to support CA for bands 12/66. It is locked into band 12 and won't move.

[gscheb]

The EP06 is in a WE826 router. Got 15 feet of lmr400 cables going to it. The router is mounted in the attic of the house.

How is the lmr hooked to the nighthawk?

[luke37]

The EP06 is on a WE826 router. Got 15 feet of lmr400 cables going to it. The router is mounted in the attic of the house.

How is the lmr hooked to the nighthawk?

I was looking at that router and it appears to be pretty hard to come by at the moment. Dang it; guess I'll just have to wait, but that's definitely the direction I'm going in.

I am hooking the lmr400 into the back of the nighthawk with a TS-9 pigtail adapter.

If I can get my hands on that router and modem or something similar I will follow up here with the results.

Thanks again for all of the help!!

[gscheb]

Now I am not saying the set up I have is best. Because it isn't. It is a lower end modem and router. But it works pretty good for me right now.
This is a very similar router will do the same thing as the one I have. At the The Wireless Haven site.

Screenshot_20200613-234605.png

[gscheb]

Using one of those nighthawk m1 at parents house. Thing I noticed about it there is no in between. Either not getting good signal and it is terrible. It getting good signal and it's great.
Recently had to update then to log periodic antennas and go 5 feet higher in the air. Now the night hawk works great.