Field Testing a WeBoost

[bobblefrog]

Hi all - 

I feel like I'm running rings around myself figuring out my internet connectivity solutions before I get on the road, and I'm wondering if some of the issue has to be my location versus my intended location (doing my fieldwork in Quartzsite and surrounding areas).  Everyone gives glowing reviews of the Wilson/now WeBoost products so I ordered a refurbished WeBoost 4G-M a few months back from an Amazon seller.

I have an older (probably 2nd generation) Moto cell from from Republic that is getting slow and long in the tooth that I used to test when I got it. Put on an app to watch the little lines go up (or not) and plonked it on the Prius outside in the driveway.  Nothing obvious.  Signal fluctuates anyway, but no obvious gain.  So I troubleshot with support and eventually they sent me to WeBoost directly who sent me out another unit.  I tested it, and while no great improvement, this time I could see a difference between being plugged in and not. Can't remember - went from 8.5-8.9 to 9.1-9.3 consistently enough going back and forth that I could see it was working.

Fast forward to this weekend when I finally got it installed in the RV and did a little camping trip about five miles from the city in a wooded area (it's wooded everywhere here).  

As far as I could tell it didn't work for either the Moto or my Verizon tablet.  I had gotten rid of the app, and it looked like it gained bars from 1 and 1/2 to 2 to 2 1/2 to 3 - but sites wouldn't load etc.  Just kind of dead in the water.  

I'm not quite sure how I should be field testing it and what I should be expecting.  The instructions say the device has to be in this "donut" ring of reception that is 18 in from the internal antenna but no more than 36 in. But in forums I've read people put the device right on top of the antenna.

Also, only had me send back the unit, not the antennas, and admittedly I've gotten those mixed up.  For all I know I installed the original antennas and those could also be where the issue originally was.  All four lights are on steady on the unit and the external is mounted on the aluminum roof about 8-12 in from ac shroud/ladder/plumbing vents/windows.  I just have it mounted on a metal washer that gave me a magnetic connection that I epoxied to the roof.

It's the stubby antenna that it comes packaged with.

Could it just be these things work better out west and I'm just not going to have any luck when in a wooded campground back east here or should I be clambering back up and field testing with the other stubby, the other internal or should I be trying to find another antenna and which one exactly? A little confused on connections and what will work with the WeBoost.  I've had support people tell me just the stubby is what is meant to work with it and they don't make anything else?

And I haven't even started to figure out yet what cellular data plan I'll be getting - I don't need super fast so was thinking I'd go with a flashed verizon 3g, but then reading that those will be obsolete?  It almost seems like you need 3g and 4g and several carriers...

My head hurts!  LOL - but if anyone has any thoughts about what I should be expecting, and testing for, I'd appreciate it.

 

[tx2sturgis]

All four lights are on steady on the unit and the external is mounted on the aluminum roof about 8-12 in from ac shroud/ladder/plumbing vents/windows.  I just have it mounted on a metal washer that gave me a magnetic connection that I epoxied to the roof.

It's the stubby antenna that it comes packaged with.

Green lights or red ones?

Try putting the hotspot or device right on or next to the internal 'patch' antenna.
Make sure the internal antenna is not on a metal surface.

And the magnetic antenna might not work very well stuck to a washer that is not actually the metallic roof. The epoxy is probably insulating the antenna from the 'ground plane' it is designed to work with.

The cellular wavelengths are very short, so the ground plane doesnt have to be very big...a metallic plate about the size of a diner plate should work ok.

For testing, take a steel/ferrous/metallic baking sheet or pizza pan, (not aluminum) and place it upside down on the roof, and stick the magnetic antenna to it...let us know if it made any improvement.

If not, its possible that you have a faulty unit or a bad antenna.

 

[bobblefrog]

Green lights.

Hmmm...so it sounds like I need to do some more testing. Internal antenna I tried several places, but no, nothing metal. Variables then include my ground plane (thanks for that suggestion to just use with a baking sheet - seems obvious, but one I had overlooked), and both the internal and external antennas. Easy enough to work through, replacing one by one and testing. Just need some patience and work through it logically. Importantly, your reply makes me think I should see a definitive difference in performance - not the "well maybe scratching my head holding my mouth right" I've been seeing.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Of course the band your device is using needs to match up with the weboost, I assume it does...

If you have a smartphone on a compatible band, you can use that as your test unit. It will have a dbm readout accessible thru the settings probably under 'about phone', SIM status.

On a dbm meter, the lower numbers are better, 115-120 db is weak, under 100 is a decent signal. 80 to 90 is a strong signal.

When testing, let the unit 'settle' for several seconds after each change that you do.

BTW the little stubby antenna is not for long distance use, but it should work within maybe 5-10 miles of a good cellular tower in open areas. You CAN buy a better antenna but we need to verify the unit is actually working before you order anything else.

 

[bobblefrog]

Republic is an Sprint carrier, and reportedly also T-Mobile or AT&T, but that happened after I bought my phone. So my understanding based on that was that the WeBoost would cover those bands?

Sounds like I had my weak/higher numbers backwards - but I think I just reported them wrong, would have flipped them in my memory. The app showed in yellow/red bands.

I'll report back after I do some testing next week...thanks for the assist!

 

[bobblefrog]

Just fyi - going to be more than a week as Juno is getting a bit of a facelift at the RV fixit shop. Decided while I have stuff out we're going to open up the loft and deal with anything we find from the old leaks and make sure the front trim and those running down between the camper and cab are properly sealed. Puts me off my schedule (and an ouch on the budget) but I decided I'd rather deal with it now than next season when I had it scheduled.

I also am picking up my tech bits so I'll have more to test with - a flashed 3g hotspot (thanks jimindenver) and a new 4g phone (my old original moto is just troublesome these days) from Total Wireless.

 

[bobblefrog]

Of course the band your device is using needs to match up with the weboost, I assume it does...

If you have a smartphone on a compatible band, you can use that as your test unit. It will have a dbm readout accessible thru the settings probably under 'about phone', SIM status.

On a dbm meter, the lower numbers are better, 115-120 db is weak, under 100 is a decent signal. 80 to 90 is a strong signal.

When testing, let the unit 'settle' for several seconds after each change that you do.

BTW the little stubby antenna is not for long distance use, but it should work within maybe 5-10 miles of a good cellular tower in open areas. You CAN buy a better antenna but we need to verify the unit is actually working before you order anything else.

Been awhile - I got caught up with fix after fix and trying to get on the road.  A month late on my intended plans, but I'm now a week into being on the road and I'm pretty sure the WeBoost is working - I haven't tested it with an app yet, but there is a discernible difference between it being on and off if I'm skyping for example (the 3g flashed has been great).  

I don't want to waste anyone's time yet about a better antenna until I do a practical test.  Right now I have been overwhelmed with other issues (including an intermittent mechanical issue - carburetor - causes lots of head scratching with all the mechanics so far).  Going to try again with a new mechanic at the town I'm in this morning (used them on the way out from Denver after buying her and they seem honest enough and know more about carbs than most mechanics).  

I did want to follow up though!!  Currently have been in well populated areas.  Heading down south in a few weeks to Texas and then on to Quartzsite.  So at some point I need to address it and will come back here and pick up the threads

 

[blmkid]

Great field test reporting. Keep posting.

Great advice there, Tex. You da man. Good job. HAM radio guys. They know there chit.

My FIL passed away back in 1995. Cancer took him. He loved his radio. Had bought land on top of a mountain (big hill?) just outside of Burlington, NC. Had a super nice tower. Here's his auto tag I've kept.

 

[jimindenver]

So you have the candy bar interior antenna. From what I gather that antenna is suppose to be between the seats of a car so you'd never be very far from it. I wouldn't mind checking it out as I have only worked with the refurbished cradle units. I sold my friend Dave my back up unit, it wasn't impressive with the stubby antenna until I put a cookie sheet under it and then we saw a real difference. He now has the antenna on top of the metal fridge vent cover. He also has seen the benefit of having the directional antenna first hand and has ordered one for himself.

In areas that the signal should already be good the booster will seem like it doesn't function. You may see a boost in bars or db but usually it is congestion that kills you. Having a better connection to a congested tower is still a congested tower. Also there is a band on Sprint that is not boosted with out the wide band directional antenna, it is band 25 which is their fastest band.

You should not need a app to see if there has been a improvement. With the Verizon 3G you should be able to connect to it via a computer and type in 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 and bring up the hotspots manager. There will be a status page that shows the db, what band you are on, etc. A phone should have the same info in the settings. Network cell info lite is a wonderful free app for a phone because it not only shows you that info but also just which tower you are connected too.

I am glad you got the 3G hotspot, they are wonderful.

I am still in Denver for two weeks to a month trying to get as much done as possible. Luckily it has only gotten really cold once so far and will a few days this week too. At least I won't feel rushed this time.

 

[bobblefrog]

So you have the candy bar interior antenna. From what I gather that antenna is suppose to be between the seats of a car so you'd never be very far from it. I wouldn't mind checking it out as I have only worked with the refurbished cradle units. I sold my friend Dave my back up unit, it wasn't impressive with the stubby antenna until I put a cookie sheet under it and then we saw a real difference. He now has the antenna on top of the metal fridge vent cover. He also has seen the benefit of having the directional antenna first hand and has ordered one for himself.

In areas that the signal should already be good the booster will seem like it doesn't function. You may see a boost in bars or db but usually it is congestion that kills you. Having a better connection to a congested tower is still a congested tower. Also there is a band on Sprint that is not boosted with out the wide band directional antenna, it is band 25 which is their fastest band.

You should not need a app to see if there has been a improvement. With the Verizon 3G you should be able to connect to it via a computer and type in 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 and bring up the hotspots manager. There will be a status page that shows the db, what band you are on, etc. A phone should have the same info in the settings. Network cell info lite is a wonderful free app for a phone because it not only shows you that info but also just which tower you are connected too.

I am glad you got the 3G hotspot, they are wonderful.

I am still in Denver for two weeks to a month trying to get as much done as possible. Luckily it has only gotten really cold once so far and will a few days this week too. At least I won't feel rushed this time.

Hey Jim - never saw this post, but after the campfire the other night, realized I needed to make sure all my threads were finalized and had "answers".  

For others that might read this - first THANK YOU for the app you recommended to install on my phone "Network Cell Info Lite".  Much better than the one I was using.  

It showed definitively that the booster was working, but ONLY when the phone (or hotspot) was sitting on the interior candybar antenna.  Testing showed that the minute the device is moved away, even an inch, there is significant loss.  I also tested outside of the 12 inch zone recommended by the manufacturer but there is no "ring" of best usage from 12 - 36 inches as claimed.  So imho it was a waste of money not to have just gotten the cradle.  Word to the wise

Also, I had mounted the stubby antenna on a washer to my roof, assuming the aluminum roof would create an acceptable ground plane - again, per your assistance tested with and without a metal 'cookie sheet' (in this case your stove wind shield) and discovered there was a minor difference.  Probably enough to help boost (if I recall 89->88) in a situation where I was really stretching, but so far, I've had no issues streaming anywhere I've been with the exception of when the towers are actually congested (as you pointed out, completely unrelated to signal strength).  But will be adding that plane in the future and look forward to adding the directional.

THANK YOU AGAIN!  Been such a pleasure meeting you and Max the Wonder Puppy.

 

[galladanb]

A little off topic, but that app network cell info lite must be an android one.
Does not come up in the apple app store.

Several come up, but if I could ask you to say who the creator is, they may list an iOS version?

I downloaded the one called Cell Towes US, but it is not up to date, can't find the tower that I can see from our back porch, and the data presented is of no use. Give a licsence number, but not bands, vendor, or nothing useful....

 

[John61CT]

Ya there aren't as many decent apps for apple in that category, I believe they don't allow access to the network hardware at a low enough level for "security" reasons.

Old Androids can be picked up for under $20, just get one with the bands your iPhone uses, and ideally one easy to root.