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  1. 25th August 2012, 01:47 AM #1
    techsmart
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    Default Use of antenna for better signal whilst travelling

    I am going to a rural area in Europe with notoriously poor signal and no fixed line broadband :-( I was thinking of getting a local SIM to keep costs down.

    Would it be worth using an external antenna with my E585 and if so what do I need and how do I do it? UK sources would be really helpful.
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  2. 25th August 2012, 11:42 AM #2
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    Hi techsmart, welcome to Talk3G!

    My impression of these devices is that they cannot easily or effectively have an external antenna attached. Best bet is in your placement of the device, IMHO.
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  3. 29th August 2012, 08:42 PM #3
    SSThing
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    I have just bought a patch lead to attach to the external antenna port on my S2 so I can utilise my Yagi , I will let you know how it goes.
    Atb
    Chris
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  4. 11th September 2012, 01:16 PM #4
    SSThing
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    The patch lead I bought was this:-
    http://telcoantennas.com.au/site/pat...ng-galaxy-s-ii
    I also purchased an adapter to go from the patch lead to the `N` type connector on my Yagi. They arrived from Australia within a week but I have only just got around to setting things up. First tests were done using my omni-directional antenna, not very good but that is I think because I am picking up again from the mast that used to be Orange and has poor bandwidth. Set up my Yagi and whooooosh (after tweaking the direction for about 20 mins) 65ms ping, 5.73mb dl and 1.52mb ul, back to where I used to be before Three started messing around.
    Hope it lasts.

    Chris
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  5. 11th September 2012, 03:09 PM #5
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    Aha, very cool! Congrats
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  6. 11th September 2012, 08:18 PM #6
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    Hey Chris, if you're ever wondering where the damn transmitter is I can suggest using the OFCOM Sitefinder service. Most of the operators supply the detail, and presented on a Google map it is easy to find out which direction to point your Yagi at.

    Do you know what the gain is on the Yagi? Those things can be very good at pulling in signal from specific direction, as you've found out
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  7. 11th September 2012, 08:39 PM #7
    SSThing
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    Its one of these :-
    http://www.solwise.co.uk/3g-antenna-lpda-0044.htm
    Got it for £20 of the `bay. I used SiteFinder to locate the mast, despite Three insisting for months that it wasnt one of theirs. Problem with SF is that most of the data is at least three years old. Read up about various patch leads and the problems they can cause if one gets a cheapo knockoff but the Telco one looked ok and they were helpful with their communication so I thought I may aswell give it a go, glad I did. Still waiting for Three to get their act together though on the mast nearest to me.

    Cheers
    Chris
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  8. 11th September 2012, 08:50 PM #8
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    Sitefinder does vary - but I find that generally the likes of Three and O2 are very current. At least where I have checked in the south east. But you're right, it isn't an infallible source of such information, just the most available I would say.

    That Yagi is a 12dBi gain - which if my radio theory holds up is a 4 x gain on prevailing signal. Not shabby at all
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