Hi all. My fist post here. I have been reading up on the forums lately since I finally got broadband in the country.
My problem is this. Ever since my internet has been installed I get intermittent loss of signal. My ISP has been out numerous times and tried many things. We finally come to the conclusion by using the Frequency analyzer thingy( sorry I dont know the term) that someone is shooting -2db on the 925 frequency and I am on the 924. Any other time I am up strong. Lately its been better with short losses of service.
My question is this. What can my ISP do to remedy this problem? Change frequencys? What can I do to try and locate the problem? We also figure its somewhere to the north of me in the 1/2mile to the next crossroad since he has 3 customers on that road and they have no issues. Guess I should also mention we are on the 900 setup.
If you need more info let me know and I will see what I can come up with.
Thanks in advance.
Yes your isp could change the frequency but he would have to change it for all the rest of his customers on that link.
To start with have you unplugged all stuff in your home like cordless phones?
Also do you have a yagi antenna or a flat panel antenna?
Which ever one that you have can you post all of your signal readings?
how far to your isp’s tower from you?
Are there any obstructions?
And is your antenna using a vertical or horizontal setup?
find this much out and it will help us make a more accurate guestimate.
We have checked everything in the house and went through anything that could possibly cause interference. And even things that could not.
I am using a vertical antanna. We tried a Yagi and it was actually worse than what I am using now. I am 3.9 miles from the AP. I cant get all the signal readings since I can t access the antenna. I remember my jitter being a 4 and the db being it seems like 76 or 77. Not sure on that.
No obstructions in the way. No rhyme or reason for when it goes out. It will happen at anytime of the day or night. Was worse at first being out for hours. Now its out usually for only a couple minutes. There is a gentleman down the road with a Big Ham Radio setup but from my understanding he is not running on the 900 freq. Also seems to happen when he is not home.
Let me know what else for info. If I can I willl get it.
Thanks
well first of all you don’t want to know my feelings on vertical alot of emergency equipment can mess with you there in my experience.
second the yagi being worse does not make any since cause it should narrow the beamwidth to cause less interference. if of course it is interference.
i guess for now find out what firmware version you have and let us know.
have they swapped the module out yet?
Maybe I am mistaken on the vertical. Its a canopy white box all in one unit. It sits on a pole installed in the ground. It approximately 12" wide and 18" long. He installed the latest firmware about3 weeks ago.
He was going to replace the unit but the new one out of the box had a worse signal jitter and db wise than the one I had so we put the original back up. I dont know why the Yagi was worse but he was having trouble getting it tuned in better than the one I had.
That’s an integrated antenna that you’re talking about I believe.
Your best option would be to do something like a 14dBi or 17dBi yagi antenna with a connectorized Subsciber Module. Your ISP should hopefully know what that is.
It’s basically the difference between a lower-gain antenna that is built into the panel antenna vs. a two-piece set with a higher gain antenna and a smaller Canopy radio.
Connectorized for teh win. There’s a -HUGE- difference most of us only use panels like really close, heh.
Edit: How did they set up a yagi for you?
Not sure what you mean on how they set up the Yagi. He come out and tried it on the same pole the integrated antenna is on. He didnt really spend much time with it. Right now the antenna is behind the house where we got the best signal with it originally. The Yagi actually got a better signal out in front of the house near the road. There is a Power line there though and it was close to the road. I do believe the Yagi was a 17 dBi.
Honestly Wyno,
It would be better if your provider would come here, then the correct questions could be asked, and answer’d.
There are several Good people that use this forum that are happy to share their experance
on a pole in the yard ? how tall is the pole?
Yeah, I just caught that one too. I also caught power lines.
SM’s on the ground can work, however generally it’s not the best place. The SM should be at the apex of the roof on the end of the house closest to the AP.
If the power lines are between the SM and the AP you will have problems for sure.
Pole is about 7-8’ tall. We tried on the roof and never got a signal up there. The power lines are more near the road than the house and the pole is in the back yard. Just out of curiousity shoulldnt I be able to pull a signal from either place. The spectrum for signal cant be that small is it. Anyways he is setting up 2 more towers. 1 is 5 miles and the other is 6 miles from my house. The one I am currently on is North andthe 2 new ones will be SE and straight W. I am going on one of those when they go up which will be 1-4 weeks. I just know there is a way to solve this problem and I want to know what is causing the interference. I will talk to my IP and see if he will come on here and take a look.
Thanks for all the help so far
Generally the higher the antenna, the better the signal. This is not always true, however. I have seen times where it won’t work in one spot, but works fine in another.
Do you have access to the SM via the web interface? Or do they keep that hidden from you like we do? =P.
Also check Google earth and then mark your house, and the site location of your ISP’s tower…measure the degree angle the antenna should be pointing and go outside and check that with a compass.
First off what is the SM. How do I access it and once I do what would you like to know from it?
SM (subscriber module) its the unit sitting on top of your roof… you may or may not have a dish/antenna depending on the distance from the tower…
what is you gateway on your machines… trying putting the gateway IP into your web browser… chances are it will ask for a password…
I already know I cant access it. I have watched my isp guy access it and it requires a UN and PW. Is the dish antanna a good antenna? Would that possibly get a stronger signal from the tower?
Reading the Canopy user guide would be a good idea to start with. It will help you understand some of the terminology used by the folks on this forum.
It would be better if your provider would come here, then the correct questions could be asked, and answer’d.
As much as we would all like to help, I agree with this. But…
You don’t have a dish - you have a simple 900 MHz radio with an integrated antenna. As mentioned, a higher gain antenna “should” help, in theory. Unless the assumed interference also benefits from the extra gain. Everyone’s suggestions for things to look at are a good idea to start. The good and bad signal spots in your yard can be quite small or quite large - the RF signal can not penetrate every tree or bush or structure between you and the AP (access point). Even moving an antenna a couple of feet in any direction is enough to improve or destroy your link quality. Just curious, how high is the SM off the ground?
Aaron
It approximately 12" wide and 18" long.
Are these dimensions accurate? If so, thats not an integrated unit.
Since you can get to it, get the model # off the unit - will be 9000SM or 9000SMC. If you can get a digital picture, post it on a blog or hosting site somewhere and give a link to it it would help.
I try and get a few pics later today if I can. I will take some of my surrounding area and the LOS.
Got lucky yesterday and just happened to notice that when my neighbor about 500 ft away left my internet came back on and as soon as they got home I lost it. Went down and talked to them and it was one of 3 phones they use. Uniden 900 MHz phone was the culprit. Looks like they are getting the service this week now. Anyways thanks all for the help. Just got to get the ISP back out here now and tune the SM back in for me.