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+--- Thread: Increasing 4G signal? (/thread-282.html)
Increasing 4G signal? - deanfourie - 19/11/2023
Hey guys! Wish I found this forum earlier.
I'm rural and able to get 4G however, its pretty bad and slow. Current SIRN is showing 2db.
What are some good recommendation for increasing the signal quality? Directional antennas? YAGI?
Attached below are my current stats. The router is a Huawei B818-263.
Im considering one of these as it looks to be a good MIMO solution.
https://powertec.co.nz/buy/lpda-mimo-wideband-antenna/
Thank you!
RE: Increasing 4G signal? - Seán - 19/11/2023
Based on the low / negative SINR, you are picking up interference from another mast, so a directional antenna will help improve the SINR and your signal strength (RSRP), which is also fairly weak. In the meantime you can try moving your router between rooms including in front of and away from windows to see if you can improve the SINR reading, there may be spots where your router picks up the local mast better than the unwanted signals (interference) coming from masts in other directions.
The antennas you linked require a long mounting pole, but otherwise have decent gain and appear to include good quality LMR-240 equivalent coaxial cables. Another option worth considering is a panel antenna like the Poynting XPOL-2 or XPOL-2-5G which is also directional and can mount on a standard TV aerial wall mounting bracket. If you don't know which direction your local mast is, I suggest first mounting the antenna on a tripod or clothesline pole to determine which direction it needs to point to decide which side of the house to install the wall bracket.
With either antenna, you will need a pair of SMA to TS9 pigtails to attach the coaxial SMA connectors to your TS9 antenna ports on your router.
RE: Increasing 4G signal? - deanfourie - 19/11/2023
Thanks for the response.
A few more questions.
Is it possible to "Lock" the device to a specific tower?
Also, can I use any antennas for MIMO? Just buy 2? For example can I use any YAGI 4G supported antenna and just use 2 for MIMO support?
And lastly, polarization. I see people are setting these antennas up in a -45 +45 degree polarization. Does this increase the performance?
Thanks again!
RE: Increasing 4G signal? - deanfourie - 20/11/2023
So I moved the router, and much better, however I think I can still benefit from the use of antennas.
Im looking at getting 2 of these and using them in a X config with 45deg polarization.
YAGI ANTENNA FOR 4G & 3G FREQUENCY BAND DIRECTIONAL ANTENNA 700-960MHZ | Trade Me Marketplace
Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.
Thanks again!
RE: Increasing 4G signal? - Seán - 20/11/2023
That Yagi antenna you linked is not suitable as it only covers the sub 1GHz bands, such as the 2G/3G 900MHz band for voice calls or low band 4G signals. Going by your screenshot, you are connected on 1800MHz band 3. The following is an example on that online store that covers the upper frequency bands including band 3. It has a good gain rating and includes TS9 adapters, however, I'm not sure what the quality is like as I am unfamiliar with this brand:
https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace/computers/networking-modems/wireless-networking/antennas/listing/4421794391
You can buy single polarity 4G antennas individually and mount them cross-polarised for MIMO. In fact several years ago I originally started with a vertical panel antenna and a horizontal LPDA antenna and the pair worked well. However, I recommend buying two of the same model to properly match.
4G transmits using colinear polarisation where the pair of signals transmit 90 degrees out of phase, so as one antenna catches one signal, the second antenna picks up second cross-polarised signal. Generally you can mount the two antennas either one vertical and one horizontal or one +45 and one -45 degrees, however the +/-45 degrees is best suited for the plastic enclosed LPDAs as these usually have the drainage hole at the base. If one is mounted horizontally, the drainage hole would be at the left or right, which could lead to condensation build-up not being able to drain out.
Most Huawei routers can be band locked, but not cell locked, at least not without a firmware mod. For band locking, you can use the following utility -> Configuration -> Radio:
https://www.ltehmonitor.com/en/
RE: Increasing 4G signal? - deanfourie - 20/11/2023
Yea thanks I just logged into the router and noticed it was on the higher band, 1770mhz is what its reporting at.
I just decided I am going to make my own YAGI.
As far as the tower is concerned, I can see another cell tower for the same carrier which is right accross the road from me, however the area it services seems to be very specific. I didnt even know this was possible to be honest. So, Im assuming there is no way I can connect to the closer tower?
Attached are two pics, one of the tower im connected to (the far one) and one of the close tower. I assume the black outline is the area serviced.
The red mark shows my approximate location.
Thanks
RE: Increasing 4G signal? - Seán - 21/11/2023
The following is the site you are connected to based on the Cell ID matching your router's signal info (486933):
With the directional antenna, you can try aiming for the closer mast. The nearer mast probably has an obstruction in the line of sight or has sectors facing away from your direction. The beam window up/down of most sites is also narrow, so if you are much higher or lower than the nearby mast, you may not be within its beam.