Here at the Secret Lair we’re trying out a new piece of gear. It’s a UMX hotspot, sent for evaluation by a generous reader – I’ll be taking over and paying for the account. And just at the point where I was mostly sold, it went and decided “No Web for You.”
Cell coverage out here in the boonies is not all that great at the best of times. I tried another hotspot more than a year ago and found there was no service at all. This one works: I’ve been using it since Saturday with mixed results. Sometimes it’s faster than the satellite dish – not usually too hard to do – and sometimes it drops right out. This morning it did that last thing even though the icon on the ‘pooter’s toolbar said I had the best connection I’d ever seen with it.
I plugged my satellite modem back in, just to eliminate the computer as the cause of the problem. It worked just fine.
Regular readers know I’m not too fond of Wildblue, my provider of several years’ tenure. I’d love to dump it, but would prefer that it be for something better. The hotspot has several advantages, including a superior download limit and lower operating cost. Also, recent experimentation told me – belatedly, I confess – that most of the power draw I’ve been blaming on my ‘pooter is actually going to run the modem. So yeah, I’d love to go to a hotspot. But…
Ian had a similar problem only much worse when he bought a hotspot for his Cave. It’s a concrete-and-steel structure that’s pretty much impervious to radio waves. If the Norks start popping off EMP bombs in the atmo, that’s where I want to hustle my electronics because the Cave is apparently a pretty darned good Faraday cage. He solved the problem by installing a booster antenna on a mast and now has the best reception in the Gulch. Maybe I could do the same? I don’t even see a way to hook this hotspot to such a thing: The only connection is for the charger.
Advice? Please? I’m on a time crunch here – Like I must make a decision before November.
ETA: Okay, this must be an account problem. The computer sees the hotspot just fine but doesn’t connect to the net at all. I’m back on the satellite modem for now.
The best deal would be a hotspot with an antenna jack that allows you to directly connect it to an external antenna. But some “booster” gadgets use an outside antenna and then then radiate the (hopefully increased) signal inside your house/vehicle so you don’t need that direct antenna connection. I did a search when you discussed hotspots earlier and discovered that antenna jacks on hotspots are rarer than hen’s teeth.
Two tests: 1) Does your recalcitrant hotspot work better at Ian’s, especially up on the mast? 2) If “yes” what would it take to put a mast at your place?
Putting it on a mast (or rooftop) at the Gulch means either piping low votage from the charger to the device, or waterproofing the charger adjacent to the device (maybe even waterproofing the device, I dunno).
I have no idea, of course… but this reminded me of when I was a kid and all we had was an old radio. The only way to tune or listen to it was to have someone actually touching it. Didn’t have an antenna, internal or external… my sister and I wound up alternately BEING the antenna. LOL Right after we argued over who’s turn it was to wash the dishes. 🙂
Joel, I’ve got a few suggestions about that hotspot (which, from the name, I assume connects wirelessly to your computer).
First, test it outdoors over at Ian’s place, just to be sure you can get halfway decent coverage at all in your area. If that’s good…
1. Mount your hotspot as high as possible inside your cabin, using an extension cord if necessary. That might be good enough.
2. Temporarily mount the hot as high as possible on the roof on the outside of the cabin. You might not need an antenna. But for permanent installation (if this works), you’ll need to seal the hotpot in a plastic weatherproof container. Use silicone RTV to seal the hole where the power cord comes in. This should really be a last resort.
3. Another option is to add an antenna to the hotspot. The commercial units that work with gadgets like yours with no jack are inductive pickups. Get some wire, wrap it once or twice around the hotspot, and run the rest up a wall without metal in it., or on an outside wall.
4. A more expensive version of that antenna uses coax TV-type cable. Strip enough outer sheathing, inside shielding, and plastic core from the center wire that you can wrap that wire around the hotspot as above. Run the cable outside, then strip the other end. But on this end, don’t cut off the shielding (probably braided). Twist that shielding into a single piece and tape it back against the cable. Extend the exposed wire. That’s your antenna. If you can tell me your brand of hotspot, I should be able to verify frequencies and give you exact measurements from the best reception; but even without that, this should be an improvement.
Image of what I’m talking about HERE.
“Okay, this must be an account problem. The computer sees the hotspot just fine but doesn’t connect to the net at all.”
Not necessarily. That hotspot is a router. If the router isn’t getting a good signal from the base (which brings us back to the antenna solution), your computer can connect to it but won’t see the Internet. Just like making a cable connection to a regular router, but unplugging the DSL modem from the wall while the router is still plugged into the modem; you’d see the router and local network, but not the Internet.
And with all this gizmo stuff and signals and electrons whizzing around, remember that you also need the world’s best grounding system and a surge protector or two or three. Lots of good grounding advice on the Internet. How is your solar power system grounded?
With big grounding spikes.
My mifi hotspot refuses to connect to 3g when I’m approaching the monthly data cap. It has a display that indicates it is trying-failing, trying-failing, trying-failing, so at least I know where the problems is.
I researched 3g signal boosters a few years ago and ended up with one from z-boost. The folks at the following link seem to have all the options, at good prices, and they are quite good at telephone or email communication about what would be the best product for your situation:
http://www.solidsignal.com/search.asp?q=3g%20booster
You’re probably not interested but I have some relevant hardware you can have. I have an old two way dish from Directway (Hughes) and the associated modem. You’re welcome to it. Give the word and I’ll have it in a box and in the mail asap.
It’s sitting in the barn. Still in fine shape. I spent so much on all the hardware I couldn’t bring myself to throw it out.
I used it for a few years and you’re right… satellite internet blows compared to regular “citified” broadband. However it was tolerable and did the job reasonably well. I quit using it when I gained superior options (for the sake of discussion just imagine I have flying monkeys with typewriters and a HAM radio).
Generous as that offer is, Mudge, I’m gonna have to pass. Surplus dishes and such are not hard to find around here as it is.
Makes sense to me. I’m not loaning out any of my flying monkeys though.