Mobile Internet

[Steven Howell]

Well I learned one thing from the chase yesterday in North Texas....T-Mobile's mobile internet service is anything but mobile. It SUCKS!!!


Next time, aircard it is....no more of this tethering the cell phone to the computer, the service was slow and the damn USB cable broke and would not connect to the phone after a couple of hours...what crap!

Anyway, all in all it was a successful chase and realized future needs for the next time.

 

[Gordon Spencer]

Problem with T mobile is , once you are outside metro area they have no rural coverage

 

[Steven Howell]

Problem with T mobile is , once you are outside metro area they have no rural coverage

haha, learned that the HARD way....we overshot one cell and had to punch back through the core to get south of it....

 

[Jim Parsons]

Sprint or Verizon seems to be the way to go and then grab an amp from Gordon and you should be good to go

 

[Jason Boggs]

Get a Verizon card and order an amplifier from Gordon Spencer. When I chased Saturday, I never once lost a connection in western Oklahoma. The amplifier makes a significant difference!

EDIT: I just looked at Jim's post above mine, and we pretty much agree! You can't go wrong with this setup.

 

[James Langford]

I'm too cheap for an aircard, but I do use my Sprint Touch Pro 2 as a wifi hotspot. Usually works pretty good, at least until I get a call. ;-) It would be great to have an aircard for a consistant connection, but for as much as I am able to chase, it just wouldn't be practical.

 

[Bryan Stokes]

Totally agree with Jason and Jim. Go with Verizon or Sprint and absolutely get an amp from Gordon at www.maximumsignal.net

You'll be so glad you did!

Bryan

 

[Sean Ramsey]

I have a Verizon USB760 card but I also found out quickly I'm going to have to find a way to boost my signal, especially since there is none in NW OK. Is an amplifier a necessity or are there any antennas (read: less costly methods) that would do the trick?

 

[Bryan_Knitter]

How did you break the USB cable??

I tether to my phone (EVO 4G) via wifi with no problems; connectivity (phone-computer) or signal/speed. But then again, I'm in WI, we really don't have expansive dead-zones like areas of the plains.

 

[Jason Boggs]

I have a Verizon USB760 card but I also found out quickly I'm going to have to find a way to boost my signal, especially since there is none in NW OK. Is an amplifier a necessity or are there any antennas (read: less costly methods) that would do the trick?

I have the Verizon fivespot datacard. An antenna will help, but an amplifier is definitely a necessity if you want the most reliable signal possible. I procrastinated on getting an amp for a year or two, but now I regret it. If you depend/want the best signal possible with a data card, get an amplifier!

 

[Steven Howell]

How did you break the USB cable??

I tether to my phone (EVO 4G) via wifi with no problems; connectivity (phone-computer) or signal/speed. But then again, I'm in WI, we really don't have expansive dead-zones like areas of the plains.

I think it might have been an older cable that he just grabbed, and with moving it around and stuff in the cab, it was intermittent, then finally gave up the ghost...

 

[Steven Howell]

thanks for all the feedback on air card and amp, thinking that will be the ticket. how much is the amp?

 

[Gordon Spencer]

Depends on which amplifier , Direct connect or wireless. Cheapest route is a direct connect which work great with air cards . If you are looking to amplify multiple devices and or a mifi type device you need to go with a more expensive wireless amplifier system.

thanks for all the feedback on air card and amp, thinking that will be the ticket. how much is the amp?

 

[Jim Parsons]

I have a Verizon USB760 card but I also found out quickly I'm going to have to find a way to boost my signal, especially since there is none in NW OK. Is an amplifier a necessity or are there any antennas (read: less costly methods) that would do the trick?

I have a Sprint Sierra Wireless 598u card and last year I ran it with just and extermal antenna and the results were OK, better than just having the card sticking out of the laptop. This year I added a Peak Reception "Rockies" Extreme Dual Band Amplifier from Gordon and a 9db mag mount antenna and my signal goes through the roof as soon as the power is switched on!!!!

 

[Sean Ramsey]

I have a Sprint Sierra Wireless 598u card and last year I ran it with just and extermal antenna and the results were OK, better than just having the card sticking out of the laptop. This year I added a Peak Reception "Rockies" Extreme Dual Band Amplifier from Gordon and a 9db mag mount antenna and my signal goes through the roof as soon as the power is switched on!!!!

Thanks for the replies guys I know which way I need to go now. Thanks also to Steven for the timely thread, I spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon researching and was worried that I might spend a decent amount of money on something that wouldn't help.