MIFI

[randye-MOC]

HI we are struggling to find a way to get better signal for our MIFI hot spot from Verizon. We have had a hot spot for around five years and for the most part we have had great use. Here at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, the tower is 24 miles away and its a 1000 ft lower than we are and the Trees( very forested) seems to make the signal very slow. In the a.m. around 5 and until 6 it's fair and sometimes late evening. We sent for a new Jet Pack and tried it for a few days and it was slower. I now have a Wilson Booster Sleek craddle with outside ante. My question is has anyone tried this booster and how much better was the signal? Thanks

 

[DQDick]

We use the Wilson Sleek with a Jet Pack and at present just have the antenna mounted inside on a window facing toward the nearest tower. It boosts the signal about a bar to a bar and 1/2 over what our phones get on their own. The only problem using the Wilson with a Jet Pack is that the Jet Pack is too big and so we hold it to the Wilson with Velcro. I think your MIFI, however, is the right size.

 

[gkerlin]

I think that I would first make sure that your setup is truly boosting your performance. In fringe or marginal situations using the signal bars is not really an accurate way to test signal strength. The bars can be misleading.

You should connect to your MiFI and in the software - probably under diagnostics - there will be a field called RSSI (received signal strength indicator)

If your MiFi is a 4g unit you will possibly have 2 or 3 RSSI Values displayed. One each for 4g (or LTE) one for 3g and perhaps one for 1x or CDMA - they all call it something different.



I would look at those values both in your cradle and out of it. And moving your antenna around. Each time you will need to refresh the numbers. Its done a bit differently on each MiFi. If you said which model you had I might be able to help you a bit better.

Anyway - with RSSI a smaller number is better. For 3g -80 or lower is good. For 4g -70 or lower is a good signal.

Why I mention this is if you move your mifi in and out of your cradle and you don't see a change in RSSI then your setup or function of the cradle is not proper. But if you do it and RSSI does drop (lets say from -98 to -88 for example - then I would start moving my antenna around to see if I can get the RSSI lower.

If you are really looking to boost your signals and spend a lot of time in fringe areas like we do - then you might want to consider a direct connect amplifier. It sits inline between the antenna and where I plug into my MiFi and requires power but they make 12v adapters if you don't have an inverter.

I have a wilson Trucker antenna (omni-directional) and a wilson 3g booster and Cellphone Mate 4gLTE booster for use depending on what type of service I can receive. I work full time from my camper so having internet is critical. We were at the North Rim the year after last and using that setup I was still able to conference with the office and connect to our servers. It was slower there then normal but doable.

On Edit: Here is a link to info that will help you determine your specific modem signal strength.

When you get to the page click on the finding RSSI Tab at the top.

 

[randye-MOC]

Gkerlin Thanks for the ifo. the Model of MIFI hot spot is 2200 SF2E. The wilson is suppose to be here one Friday and we have 30 days to try it out, if it doesn't help we just send it back.

 

[Rainer-MOC]

I just downloaded this eBook:

http://www.technomadia.com/2013/06/announcing-the-mobile-internet-handbook-now-available/

It's written by fulltime RVer's who really know their stuff.

 

[randye-MOC]

Thanks Rainer If the Wilson booster antennae doesn't work. I will be looking for the next possible way to get better signal. So this book may be my answer.

 

[gkerlin]

Randye,

Sorry - I thought that you already had the Wilson Sleek and it wasn't performing up to par.

The Sleek is a relatively simple and inexpensive way to boost your performance but with that simplicity and price point come some trade offs.

When it arrives, try the tests that I suggested and see just what sort of signal you are pulling in. If you still are not happy with the results you might need to up your game a bit and go for a better external antenna and an inline signal booster.

Remember though - if you have a poor signal (worse than say -105db) a booster will probably not help. You need to first get that signal with a good antenna - then the amplifier has something it can boost.

If you know where the tower is that you are trying to boost a directional high gain antenna would help as well. It just needs to be pointed in the correct direction. That could give you a better signal that you could then boost with an amp if needed.

If you have good results with the sleek then great. If not you might want to contact the 3g store. They are pretty helpful and knowledgeable about this stuff and have good customer service.

Feel free to send me an email when you get your sleek and I can help you with running the tests or with interpreting the results you get. Good luck!

 

[randye-MOC]

Thanks again We are suppose to get it sometime tomarrow. Last tracking said it was in Phoenix,AZ. So I'll let you know if I need more help.

 

[Bigmurf-JAY]

Wilson also makes a nice yagi antenna that works good for us, along with the booster.

 

[randye-MOC]

Thanks bigmurf for the info. Does the yagi work with the sleek booster, or do you buy the yagi with it's own booster?

 

[gkerlin]

You just need the correct adapter that will screw onto the end of the cable so that you can plug it into the Sleek.

The Yagi is a directional antenna so it will be important to aim it correctly at the cell tower you are using.

If pointed correctly (that includes horizontally and vertically) it should give a bit better results than a wilson trucker antenna but the wilson TA doesn't require aiming The Yagi is also line of sight and more prone to interference from trees, buildings, hills etc than the TA.

If not aimed correctly however the wilson TA would give better results. I actually have both and use the Yagi only rarely but it has come thru when needed. Both antennas will most likely work better than the one that comes in the wilson sleek combo package.

Here is a link to the triband wilson yagi that will work on 2g, 3g, and 4g Verizon.

Scroll down the page and you will see the dropdown box where you would select the correct adapter for your Sleek.

While you were at it you might want to consider getting the adapter to plug the antenna cable directly into the mifi as well. they're cheap and you are already paying for the shipping.