4G with Millenicom March 16, 2014, 08:26:52 pm Yahoo Message Number: 145362In anticipation of a real live trip around Arizona and New Mexico, we are wondering if there is a good reason to upgrade our Millenicom plan to 4G - from 3G. Also, what about a Wilson Sleek Antenna? Enough of a difference in these two items to warrant an upgrading of these two things? We've gotten along fine with the 3G, but haven't been on a trip in a year and a half, and that is a long time in internet years.Virtual hugs,Judie http://dorrieanne.wordpress.com
Re: 4G with Millenicom Reply #1 – March 16, 2014, 09:01:10 pm Yahoo Message Number: 145366Hi, Judie, Great to hear you guys will be able to get back on the road! As for 3G vs 4G, we've been on the road for the past 7 months out through NM and TX and have had no problems with our VZW 3G data plan or our 3G phone. We do have a Wilson Truckers Cell Antenna mounted atop our TV antenna and an inside amplifier, and there have been only one or two places where we had no signal at all . I'm not sure that 4G would even have been available in many places we've been, so it would have reverted to 3G anyway .Happy Trails! WxToad @ Rocky Creek COE, Lake Somerville , TXPosted by: "Judie Ashford" judieashford@earthlink . net judilyn Date: Sun Mar 16, 2014 5:26 pm ((PDT))In anticipation of a real live trip around Arizona and New Mexico , we are wondering if there is a good reason to upgrade our Millenicom plan to 4G - from 3G . Also, what about a Wilson Sleek Antenna? Enough of a difference in these two items to warrant an upgrading of these two things? We've gotten along fine with the 3G, but haven't been on a trip in a year and a half, and that is a long time in internet years .
Re: 4G with Millenicom Reply #2 – March 16, 2014, 09:43:59 pm Yahoo Message Number: 145369Judie, this winter I went from a millenicom USB modem to a Millenicom WiFi Jetpack. I have seen a dramatic increase in speed since the change. Now, the caveats - first, I do not know that the USB modem was 3G, and I suspect that it was not. The Jetpack is 3G-4G. Second, remember that 4G provides no improvement over 3G unless you are in an area served by 4G. I am in a 3G area here, and the speed increase I saw is the basis for my opinion that I did NOT have 3G before, but do now. As to Wilson stuff, I have a Wilson booster with an indoor and an outdoor antenna. The indoor antenna acts as a relay between the Millenicom device and the booster, which in turn relays to/from the external antenna. My external antenna is the Wilson omni-directional magnetic mount. I glued a galvanized steel electrical box cover plate to my roof just in front of the AC unit, on which I placed the magnetic mount antenna. I have yet to use that setup with the new Jetpack. My service here has been good enough that there has been no need. With the old USB modem, it worked well, though data transmission slowed to a crawl in poor areas. Two years ago I was at Lower Bridge campground on the Metolius River near Camp Sherman in Oregon. My connection allowed me to send and receive text email messages but was not fast enough for graphics. The area caretaker was astonished that I had a signal - any signal. He told me that he had never heard of anyone else ever having a cell phone or internet connection there. Comments on your route - I see that you plan to cross the Gila Mountains from Silver City to Caballo. Bear in mind, if you didn't know, that it is a steep, long, winding downhill grade on the eastern part of that route. When I come down it, I drop into the lowest possible gear at the crest and use the brakes as needed to keep the speed down. I use a pulloff about half way down to let the brakes and transmission cool. It is a scenic ride, but you might prefer to take the route from Deming to Caballo via Hatch rather than going through Silver City. It is a muchshorter and easier, though not as scenic, route. Once you reach I-25, you are near two of my favorite areas - Caballo Lake State Park and Elephant Butte Lake State Park. If you are considering a stop at either location and want more information, email or call me. Are either Bandelier or Santa Fe desired stops? If not, you might want to consider taking 550 from Bernalillo northwest rather than going through Los Alamos. You would miss Valles Calderas if you do, and that is nice to see. Just so you know, there is a decent campground in Bernalillo, the Coronado Campground. I believe it is either a city or county facility. I stayed there for a week 4 years ago. My only concern was that some of the sites were rather unlevel, but the views of Sandia Peak were good. From Chaco to Meteor Crater will be a long pull. Just east of Gallup is Red Rock Park, a campground that might let you break that into two days.Ken F in NM, pulling for you and Gary
Re: 4G with Millenicom Reply #3 – March 17, 2014, 01:51:22 am Yahoo Message Number: 145371First, there's a huge difference in data rates between Verizon's 3G and LTE (4G). Verizon LTE is about ten times faster than Verizon 3G, on average. To be specific, with 3G you're lucky to get 1.5 to 2.0 megabits per second (mbps), whereas with LTE, I typically see anywhere from 8 to 20 mbps. So there is a major benefit in switching: web pages load ten times as fast, it's practical to watch feature films on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video in HD resolution... LTE is a real pleasure to use.And LTE is very nearly ubiquitous now. Verizon has upgraded its entire network, and in the past year I've had LTE connectivity almost everywhere I've gone in New Mexico, Arizona and California, including some fairly remote areas such as Joshua Tree. It's no longer a case of "LTE in big cities, 3G everywhere else."Millenicom is currently selling the Pantech MSH-291L wireless router (labeled "Jetpack" by Verizon). If you've used the older Novatel Mifi 4620L (confusingly also labeled "Jetpack," even though it's a completely different unit from a different manufacturer), you may be familiar with its flaky behavior, especially when multiple devices are connecting to it wirelessly. Mine had gotten to the point where I was resetting it (usually by removing the battery) several times a day. Well, the new Pantech router is much, much more reliable. Make sure you get that model when you sign up for Millenicom service. If you are already a Millenicom customer, you can upgrade to the new Pantech router for about $120.In summary: Verizon LTE service is now widely available, unlike just a year or two back. It's easily ten times faster than the old 3G service. (But all 4G devices will fall back to 3G, if that's all that's available.) Your whole online experience will be much more enjoyable. And Millenicom's cost for LTE internet service, after you buy the new router, is only ten bucks a month more than their 3G service. Trust me, it's worth it!Finally, if you're out in the boonies, you need a cell amplifier and roof antenna to pull in signals when they are weak. And you want one that is compatible with all the frequencies in use; 1xRTT, 3G, and 4G/LTE. At present the only affordable tri-band amplifier I know of is Wilson's Sleek 4G-V. For a little over a hundred bucks you get a magnet-mount antenna that you can put on the roof, an amplifier that boosts both incoming and outgoing signals, and a 12V adapter plug. There's a cradle built into the amp that can hold your cell phone or a Millenicom/"Jetpack" device. There's no need to connect to the device's antenna jack (assuming it even has one). This is a big advantage: no adapters or special cables are needed, and there's no chance of damaging your phone with a signal overload.That's it in a (large) nutshell. For more information, see my Eureka articles on cell phones and connecting to the internet.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: 4G with Millenicom Reply #4 – March 17, 2014, 10:57:39 am Yahoo Message Number: 145373"At present the only affordable tri-band amplifier I know of is Wilson's Sleek 4G-V. For a little over a hundred bucks you get a magnet-mount antenna that you can put on the roof, an amplifier that boosts both incoming and outgoing signals, and a 12V adapter plug. There's a cradle built into the amp that can hold your cell phone or a Millenicom/"Jetpack" device."Andy Having built several of the directional antenna/amplfier systems, like the one you have, has shown the value of using a better antenna and low-loss cabling. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwade/sets/72157629379463822/ Having tried it both way, using the small coax cabling results in a much weaker signal. So. it possible, use the thick LMR100 cable and a better antenna. The Wilson Trucker is OK but cannot touch the performance of Wilson's directional antenna out in the boonies. http://www.amazon.com/Wilson-Electronics-Ohm-Wide-Band/dp/B003HFQ0VS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1395067987&sr=8-2&keywords=wilson+directional+antenna Once you have a good system and access to 4G, you will never want to go back to 3G, the speed difference is amazing.A need for speed.Larry As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Re: 4G with Millenicom Reply #5 – March 22, 2014, 03:50:27 pm Yahoo Message Number: 145435Larry,What cable can connect the Wilson directional antenna to a Sleek 4G-V?I just need a short cable.best, paulcentercentercentercentercenter
Re: 4G with Millenicom Reply #6 – March 23, 2014, 03:12:24 am Yahoo Message Number: 145444What cable can connect the Wilson directional antenna to a Sleek 4G-V?PaulLMR400 low loss cable for maximized signal strength. http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/store/display/55/0/10-feet-wilson400-ultra-low-loss-coaxial-cable-lmLarry
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