Results 1 to 14 of 14
  1. #1
    Kenster
    Guest
    I bought a new Sierra wireless laptop Air card/modem a few days ago.
    So far, I'm not too impressed. It doesn't seem to want to hold a
    signal. At our place out in the country the Communications Manager
    software indicates three bars, with signal strength usually right at
    -80 to -84. If I go outside the house it goes up to four bars with a
    signal of around -74. The problem is that I can sit there and not move
    the laptop or the antenna and the signal will still disappear.
    Sometimes it takes ten to 15 minutes to reconnect. Sometimes it seems
    to do okay only after I reboot. The salesman told me that anywhere I
    had a good cell phone reception this aircard would work. My cell phone
    nearly always shows 3 to 4 bars but the aircard gets a poor, unstable
    signal. Even back in Houston it shows a weak signal, even weaker than
    in the country. I really had great hopes for this thing as I can't get
    anything but very slow dial up at our country place, plus I travel for
    a living and many hotels don't have internet access. I don't know if I
    have a bad card or exactly what the problem is. Any suggestions.
    Thanks.




    See More: Cingular Lap top Air Card




  2. #2

    Re: Cingular Lap top Air Card

    I just got the Sierra AC860 and do find it takes a while to get up tp
    speed. I've actually found better response using non-accelerated
    connection versus accelerated. It is relatively stable but do see some
    drops on occassion which I attribute to network issues. I'd think I'd
    get them to monitor what tower you're hitting (if it's primary use is
    at house ) to see what may be happening with data traffic through that
    tower. It sounds more like a network issue. If they won't help with
    that I'd swap out card before 30 days are up to make sure.

    I'm assuming it's not an AC860 as you are in country but if it is there
    is a widely reported issue going from Broadband (3g) to EDGE where it
    won't transition smoothly. I'm trying to figure out what network
    settings I need to flush to get it to work. Sometimes I just have to
    reboot.




  3. #3
    Kenster
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Lap top Air Card

    Bob, is the aircard reception affected by weather like satellite TV is?
    Yesterday, when I was really having problems maintaining a connection,
    or even acquring one, we had a heavy overcast. The day before was
    clear and sunny and I had a pretty stable connection, with only a few
    drops. I'm considering an external antenna and have been doing some
    research on that today. The house in the country has a metal roof,
    which has always affected cell phone service but I still get two or
    three bars most of the time, depending on where I am in the house. I
    was getting at least three bars on the phone and the aircard at the
    same location, but the aircard kept losing signal. I had also
    considered network problems but I don't know too much about that sort
    of thing. What is your opinion of an external antenna?




  4. #4
    Mij Adyaw
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Lap top Air Card

    The best solution is to try and aircard from another cell provider. Find the
    one that works the best at your home. Verizon and Sprint also offer Aircards
    with the added benefit of higher data speed than the Cingular
    implementation.


    "Kenster" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    > Bob, is the aircard reception affected by weather like satellite TV is?
    > Yesterday, when I was really having problems maintaining a connection,
    > or even acquring one, we had a heavy overcast. The day before was
    > clear and sunny and I had a pretty stable connection, with only a few
    > drops. I'm considering an external antenna and have been doing some
    > research on that today. The house in the country has a metal roof,
    > which has always affected cell phone service but I still get two or
    > three bars most of the time, depending on where I am in the house. I
    > was getting at least three bars on the phone and the aircard at the
    > same location, but the aircard kept losing signal. I had also
    > considered network problems but I don't know too much about that sort
    > of thing. What is your opinion of an external antenna?
    >






  5. #5
    jlp
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Lap top Air Card

    I tested the Air Card for about 3 days. Worked very well at all
    locations
    I tried except the one place I needed (home).
    Cell reception here has always been on the edge. Move 50 yards up
    the street and Aircard worked well.

    Signal strength was NOT a good indicator of success. There were
    places with much worse signal strength that performed well.

    Have returned to GPRS/EDGE on my Nokia 6230 which while
    not blazing fast is serviceable.

    jeff




  6. #6
    RobR
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Lap top Air Card


    "Mij Adyaw" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:VFUAf.15287$V.11545@fed1read04...
    > The best solution is to try and aircard from another cell provider. Find
    > the one that works the best at your home. Verizon and Sprint also offer
    > Aircards with the added benefit of higher data speed than the Cingular
    > implementation.
    >
    >


    I was going to say while I'm a Cingular phone customer, I had pretty good
    experiences
    with the Verizon EVDO card. I opened a small software development office
    recently
    and Verizon told me it would take them 2 months to install my DSL line, so I
    went out
    and opened an account with VZW, purchased the EVDO card ($199 plus $500
    deposit),
    and then shared out the connection from my laptop so everyone in the office
    could use
    it for internet access. I had 3-4 bars showing most of the time. I did
    experience
    occasional drops but the thruput was excellent and it was very usable.

    In the end, DSL was installed within the return period, I returned the card
    back in late
    November and I'm still waiting for my deposit to be returned. Of course the
    people
    I handed the deposit to can't refund it, it has to be processed somewhere
    else so
    VZW can subtract your prorated monthly bill and cut you a check.

    As a side note, DSL wasn't particularly reliable, so I also had Comcast data
    installed and
    now run both. I've had Verizon out at least 4 times for phone/DSL related
    issues and it
    looks like they may finally have sorted things out.





  7. #7
    Kenster
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Lap top Air Card

    I ended up returning the Sierra card to Cingular and ordering a Kyocera
    KPC650 with Verizon service. Blows the doors off the Cingular/Sierra
    card. The service is so good at our home in Houston that I am going to
    cancel our DSL. Service at our home in the country, with metal roof,
    is about 4x dial up, so acceptable. I had planned on being able to use
    the EVDO in my business travels to Europe, mostly ITaly with some UK.
    I am now finding out that EVDO won't work in Europe. Is that true? I
    guess I can still do wifi over there in most places, but I hate to pay
    for it. That was the point of getting an aircard. Maybe I should just
    give up on this and get a Treo 700.




  8. #8
    RobR
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Lap top Air Card


    "Kenster" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    >I ended up returning the Sierra card to Cingular and ordering a Kyocera
    > KPC650 with Verizon service. Blows the doors off the Cingular/Sierra
    > card. The service is so good at our home in Houston that I am going to
    > cancel our DSL. Service at our home in the country, with metal roof,
    > is about 4x dial up, so acceptable. I had planned on being able to use
    > the EVDO in my business travels to Europe, mostly ITaly with some UK.
    > I am now finding out that EVDO won't work in Europe. Is that true? I
    > guess I can still do wifi over there in most places, but I hate to pay
    > for it. That was the point of getting an aircard. Maybe I should just
    > give up on this and get a Treo 700.
    >


    I too considered going this route and cancelling DSL, but my wife would
    kill me if I took my laptop from the house and left her with no internet .





  9. #9
    David W Studeman
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Lap top Air Card

    On Sun, 19 Feb 2006 11:02:17 -0800, Kenster wrote:

    > I ended up returning the Sierra card to Cingular and ordering a Kyocera
    > KPC650 with Verizon service. Blows the doors off the Cingular/Sierra
    > card. The service is so good at our home in Houston that I am going to
    > cancel our DSL. Service at our home in the country, with metal roof,
    > is about 4x dial up, so acceptable. I had planned on being able to use
    > the EVDO in my business travels to Europe, mostly ITaly with some UK.
    > I am now finding out that EVDO won't work in Europe. Is that true? I
    > guess I can still do wifi over there in most places, but I hate to pay
    > for it. That was the point of getting an aircard. Maybe I should just
    > give up on this and get a Treo 700.


    Which Sierra Card? You aren't telling us much except you are in an EV-DO
    covered area. I wouldn't cancel the dsl just yet. The only certainty there
    is with cellular data is constant change and service outtages during month
    long upgrades. Cingular is the ONLY carrier that paid my unlimited data
    bill for me while they upgraded the UMTS network in Seattle to the HSDPA
    enhancement last fall. Even my plain old 384kbs UMTS had steady throughput
    at 360kbs for hours on end with no peaks and dives and the latency was
    pretty low. I had been a CDMA guy for a while but the UMTS was underhyped
    and overdelivered in my case. During the upgrade, I simply pulled out my
    UMTS card, slapped the sim into an EDGE card and kept on rolling. If
    you're going to travel abroad, CDMA-EVDO and devices without a sim are not
    very promising. 4X dialup? You may have an EV-DO card but those are CDMA
    2000 speeds. I'm getting 4 to 5X dialup with my other plan, T-Mobile Edge
    for 30 dollars a month all you can eat and this is with the not so good
    S/E GC82I picked up for cheap on a Comp Usa closeout table! It was branded
    AT&T but I quickly remedied that! If I get a Falcom Samba 75, my limit
    will be 384kbs rather than 212 with the current EDGE devices since EDGE
    has always had a 384kbs upper ceiling. T-Mobile will jump into UMTS-HSDPA
    here in the US but they are already offering it in other countries. The
    UMTS-HSDPA has so much lower latency than the other offerings. When I get
    back to the Seattle Area, I'll get to use my hsdpa again. Nice thing about
    having a sim card is that you don't have to buy hardware from the service
    provider and only the sim card is activated.


    Dave








  10. #10
    John Navas
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Lap top Air Card

    [POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

    In <[email protected]> on Wed, 01 Mar 2006 23:56:56
    -0800, David W Studeman <[email protected]> wrote:

    >... I'm getting 4 to 5X dialup with my other plan, T-Mobile Edge
    >for 30 dollars a month all you can eat and this is with the not so good
    >S/E GC82I picked up for cheap on a Comp Usa closeout table! ...


    In my experience, the SE GC82 actually a very good card, capable of
    EGPRS(EDGE) speeds equal to or better than other EGPRS devices I've tested.

    >It was branded
    >AT&T but I quickly remedied that! If I get a Falcom Samba 75, my limit
    >will be 384kbs rather than 212 with the current EDGE devices since EDGE
    >has always had a 384kbs upper ceiling.


    Current EGPRS implementations are time slot limited to 192 Kbps; i.e., they
    won't go anywhere near that maximum theoretical speed.

    >T-Mobile will jump into UMTS-HSDPA
    >here in the US but they are already offering it in other countries. The
    >UMTS-HSDPA has so much lower latency than the other offerings.


    It is indeed nice.

    >When I get
    >back to the Seattle Area, I'll get to use my hsdpa again. Nice thing about
    >having a sim card is that you don't have to buy hardware from the service
    >provider and only the sim card is activated.


    Yep.

    --
    Best regards, SEE THE FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS AT
    John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>



  11. #11
    GomJabbar
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Lap top Air Card

    John Navas wrote:
    > Current EGPRS implementations are time slot limited to 192 Kbps; i.e., they
    > won't go anywhere near that maximum theoretical speed.


    More JN misinformation. Personal experience and published reports show
    the speed is often up to 200+ Kbps in a good uncrowded signal area.

    "And though Class 10's theoretical maximum speed is 236 Kbps, we maxed
    out at 220 Kbps during testing." From a PC Magazine review.

    http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1770749,00.asp

    "With EDGE I have been seeing speeds between 150-210kb/s."

    http://www.mobilegadgetnews.com/inde...howtopic=10388

    I am not saying that 200+ Kbps is typical, just that it is achievable
    under ideal conditions.




  12. #12
    John Navas
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Lap top Air Card

    [POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

    In <[email protected]> on 2 Mar 2006
    10:28:52 -0800, "GomJabbar" <[email protected]> wrote:

    >John Navas wrote:
    >> Current EGPRS implementations are time slot limited to 192 Kbps; i.e., they
    >> won't go anywhere near that maximum theoretical speed.

    >
    >More JN misinformation. Personal experience and published reports show
    >the speed is often up to 200+ Kbps in a good uncrowded signal area.
    >
    >"And though Class 10's theoretical maximum speed is 236 Kbps, we maxed
    >out at 220 Kbps during testing." From a PC Magazine review.
    >
    >http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1770749,00.asp
    >
    >"With EDGE I have been seeing speeds between 150-210kb/s."
    >
    >http://www.mobilegadgetnews.com/inde...howtopic=10388
    >
    >I am not saying that 200+ Kbps is typical, just that it is achievable
    >under ideal conditions.


    All depends on where and how speed is measured. Different speeds are often
    the result of different methodology. My post was based on real uncompressed
    throughput in real world implementations, not peak or cached raw or calculated
    speed. Many people reporting higher speeds are looking at the results of Data
    Connect "acceleration" (compression) and/or caching, or are using flawed
    methodology to calculate raw speed (e.g., multiplying by 10).

    Maximum theoretical raw speed of EGPRS is 236.8 kbit/s for 4 time slots (the
    maximum number of slots in current implementations), but that's only under
    ideal signal conditions, maximum bit rate modulation (rarely used due to error
    rate issues), and includes overhead. My 192 Kbps is net throughput based on
    careful measurements under typical real world conditions.

    --
    Best regards, SEE THE FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS AT
    John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>



  13. #13
    David W Studeman
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Lap top Air Card

    On Thu, 02 Mar 2006 19:10:29 +0000, John Navas wrote:

    > [POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]
    >
    > In <[email protected]> on 2 Mar 2006
    > 10:28:52 -0800, "GomJabbar" <[email protected]> wrote:
    >
    >>John Navas wrote:
    >>> Current EGPRS implementations are time slot limited to 192 Kbps; i.e., they
    >>> won't go anywhere near that maximum theoretical speed.

    >>
    >>More JN misinformation. Personal experience and published reports show
    >>the speed is often up to 200+ Kbps in a good uncrowded signal area.
    >>
    >>"And though Class 10's theoretical maximum speed is 236 Kbps, we maxed
    >>out at 220 Kbps during testing." From a PC Magazine review.
    >>
    >>http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1770749,00.asp
    >>
    >>"With EDGE I have been seeing speeds between 150-210kb/s."
    >>
    >>http://www.mobilegadgetnews.com/inde...howtopic=10388
    >>
    >>I am not saying that 200+ Kbps is typical, just that it is achievable
    >>under ideal conditions.

    >
    > All depends on where and how speed is measured. Different speeds are often
    > the result of different methodology. My post was based on real uncompressed
    > throughput in real world implementations, not peak or cached raw or calculated
    > speed. Many people reporting higher speeds are looking at the results of Data
    > Connect "acceleration" (compression) and/or caching, or are using flawed
    > methodology to calculate raw speed (e.g., multiplying by 10).
    >
    > Maximum theoretical raw speed of EGPRS is 236.8 kbit/s for 4 time slots (the
    > maximum number of slots in current implementations), but that's only under
    > ideal signal conditions, maximum bit rate modulation (rarely used due to error
    > rate issues), and includes overhead. My 192 Kbps is net throughput based on
    > careful measurements under typical real world conditions.


    The network limit is what I was afraid of. Is the 384kbs limit employed
    anywhere? This would explain why most mfrs don't bother making the cards
    go much over 200k. The 214kbs seen using windows is really just the
    maximum between the card and the os so you aren't really connected at
    that. Of course, any compression turned on would give a higher apparent
    speed if the decompression occurs on the os end. I prefer text
    compression only if at all.


    Dave




  14. #14
    John Navas
    Guest

    Re: Cingular Lap top Air Card

    [POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

    In <[email protected]> on Fri, 10 Mar 2006 13:55:39
    -0800, David W Studeman <[email protected]> wrote:

    >On Thu, 02 Mar 2006 19:10:29 +0000, John Navas wrote:


    >> Maximum theoretical raw speed of EGPRS is 236.8 kbit/s for 4 time slots (the
    >> maximum number of slots in current implementations), but that's only under
    >> ideal signal conditions, maximum bit rate modulation (rarely used due to error
    >> rate issues), and includes overhead. My 192 Kbps is net throughput based on
    >> careful measurements under typical real world conditions.

    >
    > The network limit is what I was afraid of. Is the 384kbs limit employed
    > anywhere?


    That would be the maximum of 8 time slots. I don't know of any real world
    deployments that use more than 4 time slots.

    >This would explain why most mfrs don't bother making the cards
    > go much over 200k.


    I don't know of any real world products that can use more than 4 time slots.

    > The 214kbs seen using windows is really just the
    > maximum between the card and the os so you aren't really connected at
    > that.


    214 Kbps isn't a legal serial port speed. If you're using Windows XP DUN
    (Dial Up Networking) with the generic serial modem interface of a PC card your
    port speed would be set to either 115200, 230400, 460800, or 921600. In order
    to minimize latency, the highest possible port speed should be set that
    doesn't cause overrun.

    For the Sony Ericsson GC82, I personally use the (free) Sony Ericsson Wireless
    Manager, which manages the interface automatically.

    My tests of EGPRS over Bluetooth with a Motorola V551 suggest an optimum port
    speed of 460800.

    > Of course, any compression turned on would give a higher apparent
    > speed if the decompression occurs on the os end.


    Or in the PC card itself. This is why uncompressible data (e.g., compressed
    ZIP archive) should be used when measuring raw speed.

    >I prefer text
    > compression only if at all.


    I generally agree, although there are times when I'm willing to trade image
    compression for greater speed.

    --
    Best regards, SEE THE FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS AT
    John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>



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