Tony Laubach
EF5
Seeing as this topic has been scattered in a couple threads, I thought I'd repost my thoughts after a couple months... first, my original post..
...I've been using Sprint's card for the first two months of this season and have been VERY impressed with the service I've had in combination with the amplifier I purchased from maximumsignal. In the last two months, I've had very little issue with connection; there are places where I've lost connection for a short time, but its never been more than 20 minutes. This last chase into Texas, I had nearly non-stop service across all 2,068 miles I drove with the exception of an area in the Caprock Canyon area on Thursday.
I sold Baron earlier in the year and can't say I've missed it... if you have a Sprint card already, invest a few hundred bucks in StormLab and GRLevelX and maybe the amplifier and you'll get much more data access for half the price. Yes, there are holes... no questions... but I've heard many people talk about times when Baron wouldn't update for several scans... line that up with a few holes and you have about the same access. Obviously the Baron will give you more reliable and constant signal, but in two months and over 5000 miles to speak of, I've been VERY impressed.
Just watch out for Sprint's customer service... I've had a few nice reps, but overall, their IQ ranks about as high as my shoe size, so the trade-off is you may get a pain in the butt out of it. On the other side, their mistakes and idiocies have earned me a pair of bills under $80 after credits with my phone and data plans. So if you can tolerate it, you'll do well...
Connection in the slower speed areas is slow... obviously... but does very well. I typically have both GRLevel3 and StormLab 3.2 running and sometimes have an internet browser going. Seeing as I am usually not stalking my computer constantly, any delays go relatively unnoticed by me. Download speeds are about dial-up in those areas, but if you're running a single radar program and perhaps a browser, its nothing that'll overload your connection. I've used a custom made storm chasing HTML page set which is mostly text based and directly links to most images I want/need. That helps, too. The only real time I have a full-on web browser going is for SPC's mesoanalysis...
Every now and then, when you switch towers or go from Sprint to roaming, the connection gets dropped and you're asked whether you want to roam. My plan includes roaming, so obviously I do. You can turn this off and it'll automatically make the change. I do believe it requires a reconnect to do so as it sometimes gets hung up making the switch (the service holes).
The amplifier seems to work very well in most cases. Seeing as I am using the card and amp together and haven't had one over the other before, its hard to say if there is a difference. I've been tempted to do without the amp is some cases, but figure if it works, why screw myself up. Seeing as I have nothing to compare the performance to, its hard to say either way, but being in the places I've been and having some type of data service is probably a vouch for using Sprint and the amp together.
Some areas of note for the Rev-A service other than the major metro areas; I-76 from Denver to Nebraska (I-80) is entirely covered; I-25 from CO/WY border south to Fountain, CO; US Hwy 24 from Colorado Springs to roughly about Simla/Matheson; US Hwy 54/400 from Greensburg, KS to Wichita; most of I-35 from TX/OK border south to San Antonio including a large area surrounding Dallas/Ft. Worth; I-44 from OKC to Tulsa; I-70 from south of Manhattan, KS east to approx. Concordia, MO; I-80 from Lincoln, NE to Williamsburg, IA. Obviously more places outside of the alley, but these are the notable areas in terms of roads. I've had connection speeds that rival my at-home internet service in a few of these areas, so I am certainly thrilled to have that at my finger-tips.
Again, if you can tolerate the idiots behind the scenes at Sprint, I think you'll be happy with the service you'll get on your equipment. At this junction of the season, I've been very pleased with the reliability of the service over the 5000 plus miles I've chased. As I said, there are holes and places where you just don't get on, but the time in those areas has always been less than 20 minutes a pop, so I'm hardly going to complain.
That's my two-cents on the Sprint Data Service... I'll keep posting my reviews as the season moves on...
...I've been using Sprint's card for the first two months of this season and have been VERY impressed with the service I've had in combination with the amplifier I purchased from maximumsignal. In the last two months, I've had very little issue with connection; there are places where I've lost connection for a short time, but its never been more than 20 minutes. This last chase into Texas, I had nearly non-stop service across all 2,068 miles I drove with the exception of an area in the Caprock Canyon area on Thursday.
I sold Baron earlier in the year and can't say I've missed it... if you have a Sprint card already, invest a few hundred bucks in StormLab and GRLevelX and maybe the amplifier and you'll get much more data access for half the price. Yes, there are holes... no questions... but I've heard many people talk about times when Baron wouldn't update for several scans... line that up with a few holes and you have about the same access. Obviously the Baron will give you more reliable and constant signal, but in two months and over 5000 miles to speak of, I've been VERY impressed.
Just watch out for Sprint's customer service... I've had a few nice reps, but overall, their IQ ranks about as high as my shoe size, so the trade-off is you may get a pain in the butt out of it. On the other side, their mistakes and idiocies have earned me a pair of bills under $80 after credits with my phone and data plans. So if you can tolerate it, you'll do well...
Connection in the slower speed areas is slow... obviously... but does very well. I typically have both GRLevel3 and StormLab 3.2 running and sometimes have an internet browser going. Seeing as I am usually not stalking my computer constantly, any delays go relatively unnoticed by me. Download speeds are about dial-up in those areas, but if you're running a single radar program and perhaps a browser, its nothing that'll overload your connection. I've used a custom made storm chasing HTML page set which is mostly text based and directly links to most images I want/need. That helps, too. The only real time I have a full-on web browser going is for SPC's mesoanalysis...
Every now and then, when you switch towers or go from Sprint to roaming, the connection gets dropped and you're asked whether you want to roam. My plan includes roaming, so obviously I do. You can turn this off and it'll automatically make the change. I do believe it requires a reconnect to do so as it sometimes gets hung up making the switch (the service holes).
The amplifier seems to work very well in most cases. Seeing as I am using the card and amp together and haven't had one over the other before, its hard to say if there is a difference. I've been tempted to do without the amp is some cases, but figure if it works, why screw myself up. Seeing as I have nothing to compare the performance to, its hard to say either way, but being in the places I've been and having some type of data service is probably a vouch for using Sprint and the amp together.
Some areas of note for the Rev-A service other than the major metro areas; I-76 from Denver to Nebraska (I-80) is entirely covered; I-25 from CO/WY border south to Fountain, CO; US Hwy 24 from Colorado Springs to roughly about Simla/Matheson; US Hwy 54/400 from Greensburg, KS to Wichita; most of I-35 from TX/OK border south to San Antonio including a large area surrounding Dallas/Ft. Worth; I-44 from OKC to Tulsa; I-70 from south of Manhattan, KS east to approx. Concordia, MO; I-80 from Lincoln, NE to Williamsburg, IA. Obviously more places outside of the alley, but these are the notable areas in terms of roads. I've had connection speeds that rival my at-home internet service in a few of these areas, so I am certainly thrilled to have that at my finger-tips.
Again, if you can tolerate the idiots behind the scenes at Sprint, I think you'll be happy with the service you'll get on your equipment. At this junction of the season, I've been very pleased with the reliability of the service over the 5000 plus miles I've chased. As I said, there are holes and places where you just don't get on, but the time in those areas has always been less than 20 minutes a pop, so I'm hardly going to complain.
That's my two-cents on the Sprint Data Service... I'll keep posting my reviews as the season moves on...
