Huawei B628

[GUMPY]

Anyone using a Huawei B628 for interweb access, if so what's it like? I'm thinking of changing from my B535 but can't afford the B818 😟

[RollingFoggy]

Hi Loddon, whats your reason for change ?

I changed mine for ZTE5001 just for the hell of it, also because i wanted the battery portability and i like the natty little LCD usage screen.

Mostly for the battery though.

[GUMPY]

couple of reasons

1, the 628 is 4x4mimo thus potentially doubling the speed if conditions allow.

2, the latest firmware update on the 535 has stopped Huactrl app from working and I find it useful to be able to lock the 4g signal to a particular band as sometimes the band that it locks on to automatically  is not the best one.

I could reflash the 535 with earlier firmware but this is an excuse to upgrade;)

The 818 which I use at home is 4x4mimo but is also £250 and I cant justify another one for use on the boat and in the van.

[RollingFoggy]

All good solid reasons, and you know the 818 would be the best.

Personally i'd just make up some half aresed reasoning in my head and just buy one.

Job done !

 

Right who's next for my sage like advice ?

 

😉

[rusty69]

On 29/05/2022 at 09:57, Loddon said:

Anyone using a Huawei B628 for interweb access, if so what's it like? I'm thinking of changing from my B535 but can't afford the B818 😟

 

 

Did you get the 628 in the end? Do you know if you can connect a telephone handset to either of these routers to use the included sim card minutes? I am thinking of upgrading my B525, and find this a very useful feature, but would also like a router with 4x4 mimo technology.

 

NB. The Huactrl app now seems to only offer the band selection feature in the pro, paid for version.

[GUMPY]

Huawei have changed the interface so even the pro Huactrl doesn't work with many routers once the routers load the latest software 🥱

As for the 628 I can't remember about the rj11 but it doesn't do ch20 so I moved it on.

I would stick with the 525 as it does what you need as even with my 818 on the boat I haven't noticed any improvement.

[GUMPY]

The 818 on the boat the one from home, it's been replaced with a 5g CPE pro rather than getting FTTP as it's cheaper 🤔

 

[rusty69]

7 minutes ago, Loddon said:

The 818 on the boat the one from home, it's been replaced with a 5g CPE pro rather than getting FTTP as it's cheaper 🤔

 

Ok, thanks. I just thought a router and aerial upgrade may get me a better download speed. The SNR is pretty bad on my setup, and whilst usable most of the time is far from ideal.

[IanD]

30 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Ok, thanks. I just thought a router and aerial upgrade may get me a better download speed. The SNR is pretty bad on my setup, and whilst usable most of the time is far from ideal.

 

It might well do -- see comments I posted here...

 

 

[GUMPY]

Huawei B535-235 might be a better bet. Some of them have rj11 on the back and they are faster than the 525. The B535-232 does not have the rj11 just so you are forewarned.

[rusty69]

13 minutes ago, Loddon said:

Huawei B535-235 might be a better bet. Some of them have rj11 on the back and they are faster than the 525. The B535-232 does not have the rj11 just so you are forewarned.

I'm not sure its a speed issue associated with the router, but the poor signal.

Edited December 2, 2022 by rusty69

[IanD]

1 minute ago, rusty69 said:

I'm not sure its a speed issue associated with the router, but the poor signal.

What antenna are you using?

[rusty69]

2 minutes ago, IanD said:

What antenna are you using?

Poynting 4G-XPOL-A0001 Cross Polarised 4G Omni LTE Antenna.I suspect a fair chunk of the gain is negated by the rather long cables.

Edited December 2, 2022 by rusty69

[GUMPY]

Unless you have extended them it should work well, mine does even in the black hole of the Marina in Ringstead.

The 525 is a cat 6 router the 535 is cat 7 there was a noticeable difference when I changed mine over.

 

[rusty69]

4 minutes ago, Loddon said:

Unless you have extended them it should work well, mine does even in the black hole of the Marina in Ringstead.

The 525 is a cat 6 router the 535 is cat 7 there was a noticeable difference when I changed mine over.

 

Shirley there is some loss associated with the cable length. So a poor signal coupled with a lossy cable will give a poor SNR and hence reduced speeds. Or am I missing summit?

[GUMPY]

10 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Shirley there is some loss associated with the cable length. So a poor signal coupled with a lossy cable will give a poor SNR and hence reduced speeds. Or am I missing summit?

The antenna gain should be more than the loss in the cable so it should be a net gain and  improve the signal.

[rusty69]

13 minutes ago, Loddon said:

The antenna gain should be more than the loss in the cable so it should be a net gain and  improve the signal.

Of course, that is how I am able to get on the Internet at all. What I am after is a better experience. I can't change the signal strength from the transmitter, so all I can hope to achieve is a better way of dealing with what little signal I have. That's either a better antenna or a better router or perhaps both. 

Edited December 2, 2022 by rusty69

[IanD]

1 hour ago, rusty69 said:

Poynting 4G-XPOL-A0001 Cross Polarised 4G Omni LTE Antenna.I suspect a fair chunk of the gain is negated by the rather long cables.

 

 

There are antennas with more gain than that, especially if mounted close to a metal boat roof. Here are the published gain curves for the Poynting and the Panorama, the Panorama has about 4dB more gain (or even more at some frequencies). Long cables certainly won't help... 😞

 

(what type of cable are you using? you can get extra-low-loss ones too...)

 

Edited December 2, 2022 by IanD

[rusty69]

34 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

There are antennas with more gain than that, especially if mounted close to a metal boat roof. Here are the published gain curves for the Poynting and the Panorama, the Panorama has about 4dB more gain (or even more at some frequencies). Long cables certainly won't help... 😞

 

(what type of cable are you using? you can get extra-low-loss ones too...)

 

 

 

Maybe the panorama is the way to go. I'm certainly not going to spend 300 quid on an aerial. 

 

I don't know the spec of the cable, but its thin and about 5m long. I have tried  placing the antenna at the range of the cable length, but the best signal strength (as you implied) is close to the steel roof.

 

I thought about changing the cable, but it means opening up the aerial, and possibly putting new connectors on to fit the router.

Actually the poynting xpol 2 looks pretty good too.

[GUMPY]

its not just signal strength that makes a difference, its the number of users on the cell.

At the marina we get a maximum of 6mbs and the signal can drop out  with 2 bars on the 3 bar display, elsewhere I have seen 30mbs+ with the same signal strength.

Doesn't help that there are a hundred users all trying using the same mast.

If you are in a marina and can find where the mast is a high gain directional aerial will be about the best you can do.

They are mostly Log periodic Yagi antennas, some enclosed some not, a cheap one below

https://cpc.farnell.com/blake-uk/lte-800-2200-yagi/mimo-cross-polarised-yagi-aerial/dp/AP03568

2918792.pdf

[rusty69]

I've been down the directional antenna route before, many years ago. It was actually worse than what I have now but perhaps things have improved. 

 

Things have certainly come a long way from sticking a Nokia 6310 in a mushroom vent and tethering via Bluetooth like I used to 20 years ago, so perhaps I shouldn't complain. 

[IanD]

9 minutes ago, Loddon said:

its not just signal strength that makes a difference, its the number of users on the cell.

At the marina we get a maximum of 6mbs and the signal can drop out  with 2 bars on the 3 bar display, elsewhere I have seen 30mbs+ with the same signal strength.

Doesn't help that there are a hundred users all trying using the same mast.

If you are in a marina and can find where the mast is a high gain directional aerial will be about the best you can do.

They are mostly Log periodic Yagi antennas, some enclosed some not, a cheap one below

https://cpc.farnell.com/blake-uk/lte-800-2200-yagi/mimo-cross-polarised-yagi-aerial/dp/AP03568

2918792.pdf 1006.71 kB · 0 downloads

 

Absolutely, a high-gain directional antenna (and a tall mast!) will give much bigger signal than an omni, with the obvious provisos that you can't use it while moving, you have to raise and align it every time you stop, and it will only pick up signals from one mast (which you have to find and choose).

 

Better signal than an omni, but considerably more hassle especially if you move around a lot.

 

The cables don't sound like low-loss ones, using shorter low-loss ones would probably give at least another couple of dB signal, maybe more. The Panorama antenna comes fitted with short (30cm) cables with SMA connectors, you can add on any length of extension lead you want, including just the right length and ultra-low-loss.

 

My guess is that by improving the antenna (but still omni) and cables the signal strength might improve by about 6dB, which is a lot. A directional antenna would give you at least another 6dB depending on gain, but beware that some suppliers (especially on eBay) wildly overstate the gain. Using a tall mast might get you another 6dB if you can find a way of mounting it (and taking it down when travelling).

Edited December 2, 2022 by IanD

[TheBiscuits]

1 hour ago, IanD said:

(and taking it down when travelling).

 

The next bridge will take it down easily enough.  Putting it back up afterwards could be a challenge though!

 

[rusty69]

22 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

The next bridge will take it down easily enough.  Putting it back up afterwards could be a challenge though!

 

Most routers can be set to 'Bridge mode', so not a problem. 

Edited December 2, 2022 by rusty69

[rusty69]

1 hour ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

The next bridge will take it down easily enough.  Putting it back up afterwards could be a challenge though!

 

It won't be a problem. They are not called aerial for nothing. Clues in the name.