3G Wireless Boradband signals

[jb2_86_uk]

Howdi folks.

I was wondering if anyone has any "home remedies" for signal boosting, in particular a 3G wireless broadband modem/dongle.

I have just moved into Halls of Residence, and unfortunatley, a broadband connection isnt available!? So my flatmates and I have all signed up to 3's 3G mobile broadband service. We were furnished with the shiny wireless modem/dongle required and all the usual stuff.

I havent had any problems with signal, its pretty steady signal and moderate strength. Literally 6 meters and a thin wall away, my neighbour cant get a signal what-so-ever. He has tried hanging the dongle out of his window, wrapping it around his telephone line (inside!) and all sorts, but to no avail.

I was wondering if anyone has any nifty tricks or ideas for boosting his signal?

Any help is appreciated as always

JB

[Keef]

Have you tried your dongle in his room? Might be as simple as he has a duff dongle.

Otherwise, a long USB extension lead and put his dongle through the window and into your room ;)

[stevef]

My 3G Mobile connection is abysmal; downloads take forever and despite the advertised speed of 2.8 kbps, I rarely get better than 67% efficiency (measured on MySpeed broadband analyzer) and the other day my connection dropped to 2%! I'm allegedly in a *turbo area*. Even my dial-up connection when I lived in Africa was better...
Right now, I'm looking into finding an escape path from my contract.

[jb2_86_uk]

thanks for your replies!

we tried his modem in my room and it received the same signal as mine does, unfortunatley, the out-the-window-idea wont work as our rooms, although next door, are on opposite sides of the building!

steve, sorry to hear about your bad experience! I will be the first to admit it is hardly blisteringly fast, but it is better than nowt! I have just downloaded a ;) 4mb audio file ;) in about 3 mins, so it isnt too shabby.

still, if anyone has any rudimentery signal boosting ideas, let me know! we even tried the wire coat-hanger approach - no success :(

JB

[Keef]

3G is on an extremely high frequency, so the normal antenna tricks won't work.

Moving the antenna around, even just a little bit, can make a world of difference. If it's USB, buy a 5m USB extension lead (a few quid on Ebay) and try moving it around the room till you find a "sweet spot" where you can hang it on the wall or whatever.

If you have a "Three" mobile handset, use that as a "signal tracer" - move around the room with it till you find the most bars of signal. Then put the dongle there.

[Diedtrying]

Check this out.
OPTION 3G data card antenna Globetrotter +3m cable 12db on eBay, also 3G GPRS Data Cards, PCMCIA Cards, Laptop Accessories, Computing (end time 18-Jul-08 23:15:17 BST) (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OPTION-3G-data-card-antenna-Globetrotter-3m-cable-12db_W0QQitemZ290244561526QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item2902445615 26&_trksid=p3286.m14.l1318)

[Chicken Leg]

I have recently moved into an old house with rather thick walls and unfortunately, my BT Homehub is tucked away at the back of the house in the study and I couldn't get any signal in most of the other rooms in the house. I am now using a plug in range expander that I've placed in a 'midway' point in the house and this has helped althought the signal is still weak in most other rooms.

My question: Can I use more than one range expander to increase the range and signal still further ie Homehub - expander - expander - laptop?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Saab Dastard]

If wired networking isn't feasible, I would consider mains networking - ethernet over the electrical supply.

SD

[Chicken Leg]

Mains networking?

Not heard of that before! Can you explain how it works and what I need please.

[Saab Dastard]

Google it!

SD

[airborne_artist]

I have recently moved into an old house with rather thick wallsCan you extend the BT line in, and put the hub on the roof space? Signal will go up/down through wooden floors quite nicely.