4G routers

[Benjahmin]

OK, I've ordered the tp link MR600 from Cex. When it comes I'll get a Giffgaff card. Existing contract with +net runs out on 5th september, so hopefully I can get this up and running before then. Then I'll be able to tell them where to stuff their overpriced 'service'.

 

[guerney]

Smarty's unlimited data only PAYG offering for £20 a month isn't bad. Their minimum plan costs £5, worth a go if O2 is pants. Temporary buy-in is cheap enough to try a bunch of other PAYG broadband providers.

All plans

All plans

smarty.co.uk

 

[Benjahmin]

Router turned up yesterday. It was packed well ehough but was quiye badly scuffed and scarred. There were no indicator leds on it, which didn't seem right. When plugged in my laptop did detect it but, with no leds, how can I tell what's what? So it's gone back.
Frustrating 'cos the contract end of current service is looming.

 

[guerney]

Unlucky. Nearly everything I've bought from Cex over many years has been ok, apart from one 10" Android tablet sold as "B" grade, but arrived heavily scratched on the back. Looked like it had deflected a knife stabbing attempt. Swiftly returned to a shop and refunded.

Old routers are good for trying out, but new/current routers can have firmware updated; made more secure.

This might arrive next week, when I'm out.

 

[Benjahmin]

The odd thing about this is that I can't suss which version it was. V1,2 and 3 all show obvious leds on the top (in adverts), this one was just an unadorned case with no indication of power, wifi, etnernet etc.
I was also not thrilled that it was sold as 'good' condition but was highly scuffed and labels on the rear were worn enough to make them hard to read including the pin number.

 

[guerney]

Reminds me of a "New" Asus motherboard which arrived from Amazon looking like it had been stood on and skated across a concrete floor. As well as deep scratches across the underside of the board making the thing inoperable, fine CPU pins were also bent. I emailed jeff@amazon.com photos, and received a £20 voucher with the refund.

Cex sent me a free Pentax lens hood once (worth £39), when I threatened to put up a bunch of search engine optimised websites all about how they'd left it out of my order. The Cex founder dude who sent me that lens hood died shortly afterwards, but I didn't do it.

 

[guerney]

@Benjahmin

The exterior 4G antenna arrived, and there's good and bad news. Both antennae tested indoors.

BAD NEWS: It was a bit faster before!

Before:


After:



GOOD NEWS: If I did have 3ft thick Welsh walls, I could situate this outside. I may try this in the loft...

 

[guerney]

Tested indoors, temporarily sellotaped to a metal frame.

 

[Benjahmin]

Haven't heard back from Cex yet and end of deal 5th September is approaching fast. Thinking I may bite the bullet and go to curries and buy a new one - at least it should work.
Is mounting an ariel on a metal post a good idea? Is it earthed - will that interfere with reception strength?

 

[Benjahmin]

OK, Cex have just mailed giving a full refund on my card. So 30 mile round drive to curries it is - at least I can get to Lidls while I'm there.

 

[guerney]

Is mounting an ariel on a metal post a good idea? Is it earthed - will that interfere with reception strength?

Thought I'd give it a challenge. The connector turned out to be exactly the right SMA type ie top left:

 

[guerney]

The day Virginmedia was exorcised from my home, was a happy one. Should've done it a least a decade ago and saved £lots.

After a fair bit of testing, I'm pleased video streaming is more stable with this cheapo new antenna. Now 3M stickied to an internal wall, it will be moved aloft to the loft at some point.

 

[Benjahmin]

Good show.
I'm close, I have the router which works as far as the lap top picking up the wifi. Waiting for the sim now - keep hesitating. Think it's going to be giffgaff 'cos the only other non contract sim, that offers a data only sim, seems to be Smarty and that's on 3 which is not so good round here.
Giffgaff don't seem to offer data only sims, so I'm really not sure how me putting it in a router is going to work out.
If I can end up with download speeds anything like you quote, I'll be well chuffed. The best Plusnet manage is 2.3.

 

[guerney]

Which one did you get? Did you buy a TP-Link? They all auto configure when you throw in a SIM, as far as I know - APNs for various networks are all programmed in.

 

[guerney]

Think it's going to be giffgaff 'cos the only other non contract sim, that offers a data only sim, seems to be Smarty and that's on 3 which is not so good round here.

You can usually use any SIM which provides internet connection, from any network - you'd just not use the call and text allowances. If you haven't bought an auto-configuring TP-Link, APN info is available from networks upon request, often posted online. For example, I've used the data allowance part of a Giffgaff data and call text package, utilising the SIM slot of my laptop.

It's cheap enough to try a bunch of PAYG SIMs, to find which network works best. Signal will improve of course with an external antenna, even that cheapo I bought improved matters.

Some network packages don't allow internet connection sharing.

 

[Benjahmin]

Yes I bought the TP-Link MR600 dual band.
Laptops have sim slots?
When did that happen? You see, in my world, you still have to plug one black box into another with a physical lead. Technology has moved beyond my need of usage.
At the moment I'm trying to find a home for an analogue SpiritM8 audio mixing desk. Lovely little thing, works well. No-one wants it 'cos it's old tech, not even a school I offered it to. So, another peice of perfectly working tech goes to landfill I guess. Criminal!

 

[guerney]

Laptops have sim slots?
When did that happen? You see, in my world, you still have to plug one black box into another with a physical lead. Technology has moved beyond my need of usage.

It's a small and old laptop:

Sony VAIO P: SlashGear Review

One of the major announcements for CES 2009, the Sony VAIO P has been hailed by some as the ultimate netbook, and by others as…

www.slashgear.com

I still use my Sony VAIO P when out and about because it fits into jacket pockets (when it doesn't, I have pockets altered a couple of inches), unlike newer more powerful small laptops. I upgraded it last year with an SSD, runs much faster but still limited by it's puny Atom CPU. Does everythng I need on the road though, when tablets are too awkward. Hi-res IPS screen helps photography and videography.

Soundcraft is in demand I'm sure, put it on ebay, or watch it snapped up in no time on Freecycle if you're in a populated area, populated with wannabe popstars on a budget.

https://www.freecycle.org/

Sell on Facebook?

Some charity shops accept electricals: Bernados, British Heart Foundation.

No need for landfill.

 

[Benjahmin]

Very unsatisfactory chat with Plusnet rep yesterday.
He tried to tell me that, with the 2 year deal I was being offered, I would end up paying less than I was now. He got very defensive when I said I'd heard it all before and that that was never what ended up happening. He told me voip wouldn't work and that I would not be able to keep my number. He got even more defensive when I told him that BT had said I would lose my BT e-mail address after 30 days when I left them. It's still active around 7 years later.
I'm doing all this because I'm fed up with the obfuscation of all the isp's such that it's impossible to compare like for like. There are always hidden extras that you only find after you've signed up. You also sign up for an annual price increase plus any others they can foist on us.
Anyway, current deal ends on the 5th, I need to give them 14days notice of cessation of service, during which time they will roger me royaly for the last bit of money.

 

[guerney]

Quite the reverse with mobile internet deals, where data keeps becoming cheaper, PAYG possible, therefore easy to leave. Cheaper again for folks on certain benefits:

Social tariffs: Cheaper broadband and phone packages

Social tariffs can provide a safety net for customers who might be struggling to afford their broadband or phone services.

www.ofcom.org.uk

Coverage is patchy in rural areas of course, despite the lies they tell. Best check if internet sharing is allowed, some of these offerings may only work to provide data to one phone, laptop, or tablet.

 

[Benjahmin]

some of these offerings may only work to provide data to one phone, laptop, or tablet.

That's what I haven't yet been able to ascertain. This sim will be used in a 4g router feeding a laptop and a pc. Not generally both in use at the same time.