Anyone else on a boat in the Braunston area having....

[Bettie Boo]

problems with their T-Mobile / Orange / EE connection today?

 

Can connect with my dongle, but VERY slow and tethering with my IPhone darn near impossible.

 

Weird too is the flashing light on my dongle for some reason has changed from a flashing blue light to a flashing green light??

 

any ideas / suggestions?

[luctor et emergo]

Self destruct mode activated?

 

 

 

(Seriously, I think flashing blue means that a signal is detected, flashing green mean no signal?)

[Keeping Up]

On my dongle, a blue light means a 3G signal while a green light means an (old-style & very slow) GPRS signal

[bizzard]

The green light means its feeling queezy. Does the boat rock much?

[junior]

Doesn't EVERYONE in the Braunston area have a problem with mobile phone reception.

[Guest]

junior, on 24 Mar 2014 - 10:59 AM, said:

Doesn't EVERYONE in the Braunston area have a problem with mobile phone reception.

 

The last couple of times we were there it was indeed dire but that is yonks ago now. We could get a signal on neither Orange nor Three. ISTR somebody had said on here that things had improved due to the installation of a new mast in the vicinity but I'll be damned if I can find the post now.

[Ray T]

Doesn't EVERYONE in the Braunston area have a problem with mobile phone reception.

 

From our experience telecommunication reception in Braunston is very much a "Black Hole of Calcutta."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hole_of_Calcutta

[Nightwatch]

The last couple of times we were there it was indeed dire but that is yonks ago now. We could get a signal on neither Orange nor Three. ISTR somebody had said on here that things had improved due to the installation of a new mast in the vicinity but I'll be damned if I can find the post now.

if it's just a post and not a fully grown Mast, then it's not going to make much of an improvement.

 

 

 

Martyn

[Guest]

Nightwatch, on 24 Mar 2014 - 11:21 AM, said:

if it's just a post and not a fully grown Mast, then it's not going to make much of an improvement.

 

 

 

Martyn

 

[Bettie Boo]

All sorted

 

Called EE customer service and indeed there is/was a mast down in the area which was affecting the signal strength. My dongal is again flashing blue, so have a much better connection now.

 

Thanks for all the replies - learned something new - didn't know about the green flashing light and what it meant

 

As far as "normal" connection, we've been here for 5 weeks now, and have never had a problem using my IPhone for tethering to either the tablet or my lap top - just as good here as it was back in Coventry really.

 

Ta

 

B~

[Nightwatch]

Sorry Martin.

 

Martyn

[David Schweizer]

Doesn't EVERYONE in the Braunston area have a problem with mobile phone reception.

 

I used to be able to get a signal in Braunston on my old Motorola mr30

 

But since my family persuaded me to ditch the brick and get a small slab thing, reception in Braunston is a challenge, if not impossible inside the boat.

[junior]

 

I used to be able to get a signal in Braunston on my old Motorola mr30

 

But since my family persuaded me to ditch the brick and get a small slab thing, reception in Braunston is a challenge, if not impossible inside the boat.

Ok i give up, what is it?

[Guest]

junior, on 24 Mar 2014 - 1:33 PM, said:junior, on 24 Mar 2014 - 1:33 PM, said:junior, on 24 Mar 2014 - 1:33 PM, said:

Ok i give up, what is it?

 

It is a mobile telecommunications device from days of yore. The amazing thing was you could make telephone calls on it AND send txt mssgs like 'C U l8r'. The fact that it works in a poor signal area when more modern phones don't is called 'progress'.....

 

My first mobile was from work and was the snazzy and very trendy (at the time) Motrola Micro TAC (I cant recall being even able to send text messages from it)

 

Edited March 24, 2014 by The Dog House

[Emerald Fox]

"reception in Braunston is a challenge, if not impossible inside the boat."

 

People think I'm weird when I send text messages and hold my phone to a window, they say - they work from inside the house you idiot! Yes, they do, but mobile phones work with radio waves and there's better reception beside a window to the outside world. I drive buses: hold your phone to the bus window and see a full signal - draw the phone into the middle of the bus, which is a metal box, you'll see one or two signal bars drop off.

That's why phone signals are patchy when on fast (electric) trains - they're running through an electric corridor and forming a magnetic field which interferes with the radio waves.

A narrow boat - well, the bottom is steel - can you see through that? No? Well, why expect radio waves to be able to pass through it? Whatever the top is made of, it's made of something to hinder radio waves.

 

And why is it that in Britain that there's such poor mobile phone signals everywhere? Especially outside towns. There is no "leaking cable" in the London Underground - and that's supposed to be the business capital of the world ??!! (neither is there in the Tokyo metro, I can add - but, yes, in Helsinki full signal in the Metro).

 

Having said that, Scientific Studies have found that people in Braunston are less likely to suffer from cancer due to mobile phone waves, whereas people who travel by Metro in Helsinki can lop 5 years off their lives

 

Has anyone tried to cook an egg by placing it between 2 mobile phones which are calling to each other? Takes about 16 minutes with Vodaphone, 18 minutes T-Mobile.

[J R ALSOP]

I think the mast is in the church spire, I think it is only available to good honest christian folk. Only problem before was in the Nelson car park, but ok on the bridge.

[the grinch]

EE/tmobile/orange have had a lot of problems of late including almost total failure at least once last week they've got so bad I moved to Vodafone as couldn't stand their nonsense any more

[Nightwatch]

Always, I mean always had a good service from T. Mobile, Orange and of course EE.

 

Was about to leave them in the next month or so to go to 3 for the tethering thing, knowing full well that the reception is not as great in my opinion.

 

I may stay with Orange, link two phones if I can and get a dongly doofer.

 

Martyn

[The Lockie]

Free WiFi in the narrowboat pub, but I know boaters don't drink much so understand that they might not know this!!!

[ditchcrawler]

Doesn't EVERYONE in the Braunston area have a problem with mobile phone reception.

That's what I thought but understand orange is the best bet for phones. I find 3 OK for data

Free WiFi in the narrowboat pub, but I know boaters don't drink much so understand that they might not know this!!!

Was last time we visited, its not just boaters, you see the locals playing on their smart phones

[Mike J.E.W]

NO O2 but Orange is ok from the basin as the company phone is O2 its a delight !