I'm getting EDGE to use at home...

[Joelacrane]

My parents finally gave up on waiting for cable or DSL availability. Satellite is just stupid, and the wireless internet from town is blocked by a hill.

The only two options left are EDGE from Edge Wireless/AT&T, and dialup, which usually connects about 24kbps. We are paying for NetZero + a second phone line. I leave it connected all of the time, and that computer shares the connection across my home network. It's a desktop running XP Pro.

I called Edge Wireless and they are going to get back to me about borrowing an Aircard to make sure it works. The aircard is a Sony Erricson GC-89 PC Card. The literature says that it can download at up to about 120kbps, which seems kinda low for EDGE.

How fast is EDGE, really?

Also, should I just get a PCI to PCMCIA adapter so I can continue to use my little server?

And are there better USB or PCMCIA (People cant remember computer industry acronyms!) cards out there?

Last question: I only get 2 bars on my Nokia 6300, and my dad and sister both usually get 3 on their Razrs. Is this going to be a problem?

Thanks!

[Cybrid]

The literature says that it can download at up to about 120kbps, which seems kinda low for EDGE.

How fast is EDGE, really?

Also, should I just get a PCI to PCMCIA adapter so I can continue to use my little server?

And are there better USB or PCMCIA (People cant remember computer industry acronyms!) cards out there?

Last question: I only get 2 bars on my Nokia 6300, and my dad and sister both usually get 3 on their Razrs. Is this going to be a problem?

Thanks!From what little I've read. Yes. 120Kbps is about right. Will increase to 1Mbps'ish (2009?).
In radio communications, signal quality is always a factor. In WiFi you get a practical 28Mbps sitting next to your router and due to lousy signal it drops to 2Mbps about 100 metres.
Example; not of anything other than effect of distance on radio (http://www.jiwire.com/apple-airport-express-performance-lab-tests.htm)

[Joelacrane]

Well, $250 for a Merlin HSDPA Expresscard, and $40 for a CardBus adapter, and we are up and running. I ordered a PCI to CardBus adapter for like $15 on ebay so that I can stick it in my lil' server. My laptop is filling in as the gateway until it arrives. I couldn't find a PCI to ExpressCard adapter, everything is PCI-e now, and I don't own a single mobo that has a PCI-e slot!

I'm a little worried about stacking up 2 adapters. I don't know why it wouldn't work, but it still worries me...

Its much faster. Instead of 2.5kb/s, I'm getting 10-15kb/s, that translates to about 120kbps. It certainly isn't highspeed, but 3 people can work at the same time now without having to hit refresh to get the pages to load. Tabbed browsing it finally useful.

I was able to log onto Xbox Live, download an update (10 minutes), and play a game of Halo 3, complete with a bunch of kids my age screaming f-words at each other. The f-words and other assorted insults were crystal clear, but the players did jump around a bit on the maps. When I tested Xbox Live it reported that my NAT was Moderate, but matchmaking didn't really take that much longer than it does on DSL.

I have not tried a Skype call yet, but Skype call testing service sounded ok, but not perfect. It's usable.

Trillian Astra successfully downloads updates without giving up. Astra and my other chat clients connect successfully.

Windows Update now works. On dial-up it would just give up, never could get it to work at home.

As far as setup goes, things were pretty straightforward. I installed the Merlin XU870 disc, plugged the ExpressCard into the CardBus adapter, and plugged the whole thing into my laptop. Windows found drivers, and I launched the little app and hit "Connect". It created a new network connection called "HSDPA Connection" which reported 270kbps.

The connection works whether you have the application running or now, but its nice to see how much signal you are getting, so i leave it open. I was able to manipulate the network connection just like any other, it is now shared with my Ethernet connection, which is plugged into the WAN port on my router.

I'm thinking that maybe HSDPA is only available in certain areas? We are in a very rural area.

Cybrid, I'm beginning to think that you are the only other person on the boards!

[Cybrid]

Naw, You'll find posters fall into categories.
Askers & Helpers. Those who don't know ask & those who know help.

Helpers also come in sub-categories:
Pros; who in their fields are unmatched but short on time. Janak, Darius, Menneisyys, AdamaDBrown, Sven, Nurhisham to name just a few. There are many more. They post replies sporadically as time permits.

Older amateurs; Flexible on time but not always right ;)
The "been there, done that...selling the memoirs..."

It just happens to be that I've experimented in the same lines that you are currently experimenting in.
I've made do with older hardware when most simply upgrade. I've fiddled with cellular internet for my PPC'S since about 2001.
My first cell modem. Novatel Sage wireless. Think size of the Dell. Powered by 4-AA's. Connecting by serial cable. Unlimited internet for $50. Seriously, you could download whatever..... :) at a top speed of 9.6Kbps. :(

[Joelacrane]

I love playing with old hardware. Most people would call a Celeron 600mhz something-or-other useless and outdated, but little PC's like that work great for streaming media to Xbox 360's or hosting files and printers. The fastest computer I own is a 1.5ghz Athlon, and I'm perfectly happy. I use my home network for FAR more than the average home does, and I've spent 1/4 the money that they have. My X51v and my Xbox 360 are the two most expensive devices I own.

I guess it seems empty here to me because I only ask the PC and networking related questions now. Don't worry, I still use my Pocket PC CONSTANTLY, but thanks to all of you here I've learned enough to be happy for the moment.

I wonder If i could pop that SIM card out of my modem, slap it into my phone, and use the internet over Bluetooth with my PPC? I'm a little afraid to try, because it is on my parents account and I really don't want to stack up a bunch of charges for them to deal with.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

WIt created a new network connection called "HSDPA Connection" which reported 270kbps.

That sounds like EDGE - I think the current max is around 384kbps, but 80kbps to 120kbps is what you'd usually get in real life situations.

I'm thinking that maybe HSDPA is only available in certain areas? We are in a very rural area.

Definitely - believe me, if you were on HSDPA, you will notice the difference. On a good day I've gotten upwards of 1.4Mbps, and 200kbps-300kbps even with a lousy signal and congested networks.


Cybrid, I'm beginning to think that you are the only other person on the boards!

I think everyone's concentrating on family these last few days - Merry Christmas! :D

I wonder If i could pop that SIM card out of my modem, slap it into my phone, and use the internet over Bluetooth with my PPC? I'm a little afraid to try, because it is on my parents account and I really don't want to stack up a bunch of charges for them to deal with.

I do this all the time, though usually the other way around - the service is tied to the SIM card not the device you use it with, or at least it does in my neck of the woods. I'd check the small print first though. Why do I switch SIMs? I get HSDPA with one SIM at work, UMTS with the other - and the other way around at home! Be careful though, because you can wear down the contact points on SIMs if you change too often.

Pros; who in their fields are unmatched but short on time. Janak, Darius, Menneisyys, AdamaDBrown, Sven, Nurhisham to name just a few.

Since I've yet to upgrade to anything beyond WM2003SE, I think I'm rapidly falling into that second category of yours, Cybrid, especially since I'll soon be on the wrong side of 40 :lol: Thanks for the pick-me-up anyway!

[Joelacrane]

I decided to bring my laptop with me into the nearest "big town", Coos Bay, Oregon. There are about 20,000 people here. About 5 miles out of town the card switched over to HSDPA, and cnet's speedtest is reporting 600kbps.

Sigh.

[Joelacrane]

More developments.

I received my PCI to PCMCIA/CardBus adapter. I went ahead and installed Mobilink on the gateway. Now whenever I start up mobilink, the computer becomes extremely unstable. It wont shut down after mobilink has been run. After a lot of fidgeting i was able to get the modem to dial in, but it won't stay connected for more than a moment or two. After a couple of disconnects and reconnects, the computer locks up. Everything is fine unless Mobilink is running.

Novatel Wireless' website is down, so I can't check for a new version of Mobilink. I wonder if there is a way to just configure Windows to dial in on it's own.

The other night in town on my laptop I was downloading at 250kb/sec, with a reported connection speed of 3.5mbps. I was impressed.

I just wonder why Mobilink is so awful on my littler server. Its just a bare bones little rig with nothing but Firefox and Ad-aware installed on it.