Wireless Joint

First time poster, longtime lurker...

I have a home in a mountain area where the best T-Mobile service is 1-2 Mbps on band 71. I've also tried Visible (Verizon), with similar poor bandwidth.

So I'm looking at boosters (generally not available for band 71, though) and cellular modems/routers. I came across what seems like an interesting inexpensive router from a company called Deep Orange.

It appears to be a standard WE826-T router with some variant of the Quectel EC25 modem inside, maybe the EC25-AF. Retail price on Amazon recently dropped to $97, and there are few open-box ones on eBay for less than that.

I asked the company about the supported bands and modem and this is what I got back:

Following bands it will support:

FDD: B2/B4/B5/B12/B13/B14/B66/B71
WCDMA: B2/B4/B5

It uses EC-25 chipset as LTE CAT4

This is my first cellular router, so I want to start with something inexpensive that I can play around with, upgrade antennas, etc. I'm assuming that because it's a WE826, it should be relatively straightforward to change out firmware, send AT commands, etc. And I realize the EC25 is only CAT4, but that may very well be fine for my needs.

Does anyone have any experience with this specific router, or with one of the EC25 modem variants that support band 71?

I'd love to hear any thoughts / advice. Thanks all!

If you want a simpler to use system at a similar price, same modem inside, but also has 5Ghz wifi: https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/route ... 00-bundle/

Also supports this site.

The EC25AF does great for B71, in fact it's the main reason people have been buying it, as it's been generally rare for modems to support B71. All 5G modems support it now, so that will eventually be a rarity only in the past.

You'll want a set of antennas or one 2x2 panel like this: https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/anten ... onnectors/

if you have a clear line of a site from the antenna installation location and your cell tower, a set of LPDA antennas will do well: https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/anten ... l-antenna/

and of course cabling between. If you need over 20 feet, go with LMR400. I prefer LMR400 for all lengths. Limits the gain losses. LMR200 is good enough up to 20 feet though: https://thewirelesshaven.com/product-ca ... ax-cables/

Didneywhorl wrote: Fri Jul 08, 2022 8:44 am If you want a simpler to use system at a similar price, same modem inside, but also has 5Ghz wifi: https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/route ... 00-bundle/

Thank you. This Cudy LT500 has fixed antennas, though, right? So I wouldn't be able to upgrade to external antennas later?

I'm a software developer, so I'm thinking I can probably figure out the WE826, even if the interface is clunky.

Didneywhorl wrote: Fri Jul 08, 2022 8:44 am You'll want a set of antennas or one 2x2 panel like this: https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/anten ... onnectors/

if you have a clear line of a site from the antenna installation location and your cell tower, a set of LPDA antennas will do well: https://thewirelesshaven.com/shop/anten ... l-antenna/

and of course cabling between. If you need over 20 feet, go with LMR400. I prefer LMR400 for all lengths. Limits the gain losses. LMR200 is good enough up to 20 feet though: https://thewirelesshaven.com/product-ca ... ax-cables/

Thanks for all this advice! First timer here, so I really appreciate the tips about antennas and cabling. I don't believe I have a clear line of sight. I'm right near the top of the mountain, but just barely over the other side, away from the tower.

1/4" drill bit and two 8" U.fl to SMA antenna pigtails will solve the fixed antenna issue.

Wanted to follow up on this just in case others are interested in this router. It is indeed a WE826-T2 router with the Quectel EC25-AF modem installed. It came with OpenWRT firmware, but I upgraded to the latest autobuild of GoldenOrb: http://aturnofthenut.com/autobuilds/ZBT-WE826-T-32meg-GO2022-07-14-AB19.zip

It's working great so far with a T-Mobile SIM.

I also ordered a 2x2 MIMO antenna and a couple of U.FL to SMA pigtails, which haven't arrived yet.

For anyone who's looking for a basic router with B71 support, this seems like a good way to get it.

One final post on this...

Pigtails were unnecessary because the router already has SMA female connectors.

This is the 2x2 MIMO panel antenna that I found: https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-Fixed ... 08CCRN6HYY

Router and antenna were both new open box on eBay, so for under $100 total including tax and shipping, I have a setup that's working great.

The antenna comes with 2x 5-meter RG85 cable and SMA male connectors. Looking at the attenuation of RG85 vs LMR-200, particularly at higher frequencies, I may want to upgrade those cables at some point. But for now, it's working quite well.

I have bought that same router (open box like you) for about $60. It seems to have slight issue though with the modem not seating well as I have had the no sim found message. removing the modem and reinserting it solved the issue so far. I had to flash it with goldenorb and follow the directions on this board to make it work even though all sellers on amazon tell you that it does not work with visible or verizon, it does works but not with the stock software.

I also have bought the Cudy LT500 V1. It is a pretty nice router too, very easy to setup but with less rules for TTL (although it ain't bad). I am not sure which one to chose from, but with some mods and two external antenna, this cudy becomes very capable. Very good customer service too. Open box as well for 42 bucks.

The most capable router I got , but returned because I had issues connecting to certain sites like amazon (to realize it was my fault on my end), was the Dionlink Tuoshi router with 4 fixed antennae. The stock firmware had to be switched to another firmware on their website, but the replacement firmare was OK with TTL and much more illegal stuff not encouraged on this board. I picked that one open box for 40 bucks.

Not sure which router to keep. What do you all think?

Thanks.