Wireless Joint

srunyon1 wrote: ↑Fri Apr 03, 2020 10:57 pm when it switches again I'll post those results
fyi i also have tried another sim card and get the same issue.

swoop wrote: ↑Wed Apr 22, 2020 1:50 pm BillA, would you be able to point me towards a modem capable of locking out a cell ID #? Anything that can give me (some) control over which cell IDs are used, doesn't matter if it's an industrial/carrier-grade router, bare module modem, etc.

(My first post here, just landed on the forum from google because of this thread!)

Thanks! -Dan

BillA wrote: ↑Fri Apr 24, 2020 3:34 am As Didneywhorl has mentioned the Quectel EM20 can (though I haven't tried it) and some other high end models by SIMCOM. Keep in mind these are pretty expensive (in the $200-300 range). What's likely happening, is that you are between two towers with both broadcasting on band #2, and your modem is picking up whichever has slightly better signal (however that doesn't always translate to better speeds). So you're right that picking up a specific cell-ID would help, problem is that most modems are unable to be set to a specific cell-ID. A workaround would be to use directional antennas (you can find flat panels at thewirelesshaven.com) and simply point it toward the tower which gives a better speeds. It will take a bit of trial and error but should work.

srunyon1 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2020 2:33 pm I have directional Antennas, Dual Yagi's at 45 degrees , and the slow Cell is sometimes a weaker signal. $200- 300 is worth it if it fixes the problem. I think i Paid $150 for the Sierra I have to keep it on one band. with the antennas, i can find a sweet spot but still bounces off sometimes. I have a very limited view towards the tower. I have been testing this for years and on my entire acer of land I have one spot, out one window that work. Too high no good too low no good, all over my property.
In this area I would have to pay 150 a month for Crapy 700k ATT Uverse connection. I fought to keep my 6 meg DSL so long, they finally got me when I asked them if I could drop my Land line and keep my dsl , they said it was fine. Long story short then turned off everything and after months of fighting with them they said they would turn back on my DSL but only to 3 meg. I said good bye, Found this solution for $50 a month, get about 20 meg downloads up to 70 on a good day. except when this Cell switch happens. then i'm back at about 1.2 meg to as low as 500k. Thanks for all your help, not a newb but need some help once in a while.. thanks

BillA wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2020 4:25 am Your least expensive modem option with specific cell-ID/channel locking capability would be a Quectel EP/EM06-A (CAT-6), followed by the EM12 (CAT-12), EM20 (CAT-20), via the AT+QNWINFO and AT+QENG commands.
Also a highly directional Yagi antenna should prevent the modem to lock onto the slower channel, since it wouldn't be able pick up enough signal on the wrong channel if positional properly. Pick your poison.

srunyon1 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2020 10:05 pm Can these also be set to a specific band? I switched from a Quectel EC25A becuase it couldn't hold the band.

i'll do some research,, thanks for the help!!

pahiker wrote: ↑Wed May 27, 2020 5:04 am Here goes too-long post #2:

Thanks for the input, I'm definitely going to test Yagis first. The issue is gonna be getting signal over the hill. Though I haven't tested yet, I'm pretty sure no Yagi, even if I could lock the tower I want, is going to pick up a signal directly from my home in the valley.

That said, if I do get signal on the desired tower from the hilltop (definitely direct LOS) I still need to rebroadcast it down the other side to the house, also then LOS, which is roughly 2000 feet from that point. Thus the need for some sort of amplifier for rebroadcast?

Ideally I'd be able to rebroadcast with a 30-60 degree high-gain sector/panel type antenna so I have rather large LTE coverage at the house and surrounding area, just not sure if that's feasible.

Plan b, if needed, would be to use a jetpack-like setup at the hilltop, connected to desired tower, where instead of rebroadcasting LTE at 700mhz I could use wifi 2.4/5ghz to send signal to the house. Not sure but maybe that has some advantages, mainly in that hardware like antennas/routers, etc are cheaper and easier to find, especially the sector antennas for wifi.

Only downside of plan b would be no LTE, and thus only useable for phones with wifi calling enabled. And even then only if users have the wifi password, which could be a challenge for my agriculturally minded local pals who know less about this stuff than even I do!

pahiker wrote: ↑Sat May 30, 2020 7:23 pm Update, a bit frustrating. Finally got the Quectel EM12-G working with Visible after changing to "4G only." Problem I'm having is slow connection, if at all, with frequent disconnects (1-2 mbits down). Same SIM in my phone, same location is 20mbits+. Initially thought I had something mis-configured until on a whim I removed the cover of the router and saw clear improvement to 3-4mbits and far fewer "no internet" dropouts, suggesting there's an issue with my modem/antenna wiring. I tested this at least five times (opened/closed) to be sure this was truly the case.

Pigtails seem to be attached correctly, but I'm not 100% certain of that. I have one on the M (presume "main") and one on D (presume diversity), nothing on the G.

I'm unsure how to measure signal strength, which would help, though that certainly seems to be the problem! Any input would be welcomed. Thanks.

AT!GSTATUS?

BillA wrote: ↑Sun May 31, 2020 3:20 am When you remove the case, you're simply letting more signal penetrate the modem/cables, thus the slightly better speeds. I would place the router with the case closed in a windows sill, and see if you're getting better signal.
It's hard to tell exactly what's causing your signal issue, but Visible is known to throttle their speeds at around 10Mbps, and while they have lifted the restriction during the pandemic, they may have reinstated it. Maybe another Visible user can chime in on this.
To view your signal stats, send this AT command:

Code: Select all

AT!GSTATUS?

BillA wrote: ↑Sun May 31, 2020 3:20 am When you remove the case, you're simply letting more signal penetrate the modem/cables, thus the slightly better speeds. I would place the router with the case closed in a windows sill, and see if you're getting better signal.
It's hard to tell exactly what's causing your signal issue, but Visible is known to throttle their speeds at around 10Mbps, and while they have lifted the restriction during the pandemic, they may have reinstated it. Maybe another Visible user can chime in on this.
To view your signal stats, send this AT command:

Code: Select all

AT!GSTATUS?

pahiker wrote: ↑Sun May 31, 2020 8:25 pm Geez, appears the AT+QNWLOCK command is an unpublished one? Not listed in the 200+ page manual....

pahiker wrote: ↑Sun May 31, 2020 8:25 pm Geez, appears the AT+QNWLOCK command is an unpublished one? Not listed in the 200+ page manual....

AT+QENG=?
AT+QENG="servingcell"
AT+QENG=?
AT+QENG="neighborcell"

AT+QNWLOCK
AT+QNWLOCK?
AT+QNWLOCK=?

srunyon1 wrote: ↑Sun Mar 14, 2021 11:40 am So I think i got it,
I ran

AT+QNWLOCK: "common/4g",1,800,412

AT+QNWLOCK="common/4g",1,800,412

Then if you run you see its locked

AT+QNWLOCK="common/4g"

+QNWLOCK: "common/4g",1, **800,412**

BillA wrote: ↑Mon Mar 15, 2021 9:13 am


After you restart the modem, does it stick to the specified cellID order when you send a "neighbourcell"?
The reason I'm asking, is because towers can actually override it to ensure network integrity.