Lady A Posted August 16, 2010 Report Share Posted August 16, 2010 Have an Orange 3g dongle but found it very unreliable on trip down Kennet to Bath. In Bath it is fine but just about everywhere else it just kept dropping out even when showing 3g and 5 bars. Dongle is on a 5 meter lead which i place on pole in the hope of improved reception. On side of dongle is an external antenna socket, does anyone have any experience in improved reception using a booster antenna? Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
routrax Posted August 16, 2010 Report Share Posted August 16, 2010 Dongle is on a 5 meter lead Is it an 'active' lead? If not there will be too much of a voltage drop across it's length to power the dongle. Active leads are usually more expensive (mine was £20 from Maplins) and the USB socket on them is usually larger than than the non-active leads Here the one I have and it works fine. http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=97272 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie Posted August 16, 2010 Report Share Posted August 16, 2010 I have been using my t-mobile and Vodafone dongles on a 5 meter 'standard' USB extension lead for some time with no problems. I do often find however that even with the dongle receiving good 3G or HSDPA signal, it drops out and behaves erratically. As an example, here in Gloucester docks, the dongle is showing 4 bars of HSDPA but it keeps dropping the link and download speeds are pathetic. Yesterday, moored just over a mile away, the dongle still showed 4 bars of HSDPA but there were no dropouts and download speeds were very good. I found exactly the same conditions when moored in the same locations a week ago so it is repeatable. I have come to the conclusion that it’s all down to network loading and all of the smart phones around built up areas as I usually find that things are better outside of city centres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottle Posted August 16, 2010 Report Share Posted August 16, 2010 (edited) Being half a mile from Ernie, Hi Ernie, outside Sainsburys, I have HSPDA 'excellent, max bars', last week in the same location but one boat length south it was not very good. Have 'booster' aerial the only difference I have found is that the dongle can stay inside and not get wet, otherwise the reception is just the same, moving the aerial a few inches, as I did with the dongle, can make a lot of difference. Yesterday in Saul could only get 2G, moved aerial six inches and got HSPDA (only two bars) but better. Wish I had saved myself the money. ps. As Ernie said it can be influenced by the number of users at anyone time. Edit: I am with Orange Edited August 16, 2010 by bottle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
romarni123 Posted August 16, 2010 Report Share Posted August 16, 2010 I got a 3mtr usb extention cable from wh smiths for £9.99 it works good on t.mobile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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