Do any of you guys use 4G as your primary internet source and is it suitable for gaming because satellite is shite. If so, what antennas would you recommend for the modem? I'm asking this because I'm thinking about getting internet at my cottage and it's either I get satellite or 4G.
Satellite internet has the issue with crappy upload speeds and super high latency. If your just checking the web, your fine, but if you want to game or host a server, its going to suck. Also there is about a second delay from where you click on something and it loads. 4g is usually spotty connection at best, but most likely is connected to a ground based source; if you are lucky have good connection I say go for it. Additionally if you have a tier 3 service such as a 3rd party wireless company(and some pay as you go plans excluding t-mobiles), chances are you are the last on the list for bandwidth, and if there is enough tower saturation, you may temporarily be kicked off altogether. Depending on your 4g source(if thats the route you choose), it may have it's internet provided by satalite anyways(they won't divulge that info, but you can find out through a iptrace). So its probably not the info you were going for, but at least it's info.
There's a cell tower really close by because I get 4G on my phone. Also I'll be going through verizon.
Being an ex-technician for Samsung I've learnt a few small things about antenna's... I suggest using an external antenna to get a good solid connection (I was using 3g for a few years because I could only get dial-up). What is the area around you like? Hilly or not so hilly?? Also if you will be mounting the antenna inside the type of roof you have will also impact on speeds. Stay away from ebay as most no name antenna's are really bad and the patch connectors are non-interchangeable. A good brand is RFI i don't know if you can get them where you are but they start at about $40 (AUD) for a 5DBi antenna (Good all-rounder with just enough throw and pitch to cover most areas). Lower DBi = Higher sight (Good for hills) lower throw (Cant see as far), Higher DBi is the opposite, does not do well around hills but has a huge throw (great for marine or Western Australia lol ) If you use a galaxy S2 DO NOT USE a cheap patch cable as the test port on the phone is very weak and will break super easy rendering the phone signal-less .. thats just my two bob anyway....
The area is around a lake so there's a lot of hills and I'll be probably be mounting the antenna on the roof.
OK people, you know what you have to do.... UNPLUG YOUR INTERWEBS!!! Then it's probably a good idea to destroy your mobile phone. Find a nice, remote field. Build an underground bunker. Be sure to build a Faraday cage into it. Stay away from technology in general. And yes, foil hats wouldn't go amiss. Oh, that.... or you could just use Skype to communicate with friends and family about subjects that aren't important enough for you to care if the US Government overheard!
Yeah I'd go with a 5DB or a little higher.. What is the roof made out of? Tin?.. Best way to mount it is to use the same method people use for tv antenna's, get it as high as you can for best coverage using an omnidirectional antenna. OR you can go crazy and use a mc-massive Yagi antenna and maybe connect a 4G repeater to it so you can move the modem around. (Too bad the repeaters are illegal in Australia... :C ).. On a side note try to get a fixed (Non usb) modem wifi unit (where you just pop the sim into), it's a lot less hassle and most don't require a patch lead (a straight BNC connection IIRC).. Also the shorter the coax between the antenna and the modem the better... hope this helps
