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HSDPA Connection: USB vs. PCMCIA vs. Phone

Discussion in 'GENERAL Wireless Discussion' started by RadioRaiders, Jun 1, 2008.

  1. RadioRaiders

    RadioRaiders RF Black-Belt
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    I'm currently making some HSDPA testing using USB dongles, such as the Novatel MC950D:
    Ovation™ MC950D USB Modem

    In the past I made tests with Sierra Wireless PCMCIA cards and Qualcom phones. All seem to work fine and give good thruput. I was just curious if anyone had and good/bad experiences when connecting a laptop to a USB dongle, PCMCIA card or phone? Did anyone notice better/worse performance with one type of device compare to another? :confused: Theoretically, I think they should all be fine, just wondering if there was anything I was missing.
     
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    #1 RadioRaiders, Jun 1, 2008
  2. Jay2TheRescue

    Jay2TheRescue Resident Spamslayer
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    I don't know if this helps you or not, but I have teathered my Tilt to my laptop in several methods.

    The fastest connection I get is teathering over WiFi. (Fastest achieved 1750 down/300 up)
    USB is a little slower than WiFi. (Fastest achieved 1600 down/300 up)
    Bluetooth is the slowest. (Fastest achieved 1300 down/300 up) (Most often when teathering by BT I only get about 900 down though)

    -Jay
     
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    #2 Jay2TheRescue, Jun 1, 2008
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2008
  3. RJB

    RJB Gold Senior Member
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    Still though those are not bad numbers!
     
    #3 RJB, Jun 1, 2008
  4. Jay2TheRescue

    Jay2TheRescue Resident Spamslayer
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    OOPS! I just realized I got my ups & downs reversed.. the 300k's are up...

    -Jay
     
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    #4 Jay2TheRescue, Jun 1, 2008
  5. RadioRaiders

    RadioRaiders RF Black-Belt
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    Thanks for the feedback Jay (But as I read it you have a faster UL than DL. I'll assume you meant for the up/down reversed?)

    I'm curious why you have a faster connection over WiFi than USB? :confused: How are you measuring it? If it's on the port thruput, then maybe the extra ~150kbps you measure with wifi is actually wifi overhead bits, and your application thruput is still the same?
     
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    #5 RadioRaiders, Jun 1, 2008
  6. walkguru

    walkguru Wireless Guru
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    the bt that i used was not that bad. but the wifi at the library was really fast.
     
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    #6 walkguru, Jun 1, 2008
  7. Jay2TheRescue

    Jay2TheRescue Resident Spamslayer
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    Yes, they were backwards. Look at the post I made right before yours... Anyway I would initiate the connection, and then do a test at speedtest.net. I figure that's an actual measurement of what's going on.

    -Jay
     
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    #7 Jay2TheRescue, Jun 1, 2008
  8. COtech

    COtech Bronze Senior Member
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    One useful option that the USB aircard has versus a PCbus or PCMCIA aircard is that it doesn't have to be plugged in directly--you can add an extension USB cable. You can elevate the USB aircard, or put it on a window sill, or something else.

    COtech
     
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    #8 COtech, Jun 1, 2008
  9. RadioRaiders

    RadioRaiders RF Black-Belt
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    Ok, that should be application level then and shouldn't include any wifi overhead. Strange why wifi gives a little faster than USB tho? Is it always like that? :confused: I don't really know how reliable those speed-test things are tho. I prefer tho download a local FTP file and use a port thruput monitor like NetPerSec;

    www.radioraiders.com/NetPerSec.zip

    Yea, that's a good point. Some phones/PCMCIA cards have connections for external antennas, but not all. With a USB dongle you know for sure you can buy an extension cable and have some flexability with the location
     
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    #9 RadioRaiders, Jun 1, 2008
  10. Jay2TheRescue

    Jay2TheRescue Resident Spamslayer
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    Yeah, WiFi is always about 100-150K faster for some reason.

    -Jay
     
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    #10 Jay2TheRescue, Jun 1, 2008
  11. Ddeere2

    Ddeere2 Senior Member
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    Wow, that's good to know, I'll go with a USB modem when they turn on the 3G here in my town. You would think that over USB it would be the fastest though.
     
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    #11 Ddeere2, Jun 2, 2008
  12. Jay2TheRescue

    Jay2TheRescue Resident Spamslayer
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    Another nice thing about USB is that it can be easily moved from computer to computer as needed. You can take it off your laptop, and use it on your desktop at home if your DSL goes down.

    -Jay
     
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    #12 Jay2TheRescue, Jun 2, 2008
  13. RadioRaiders

    RadioRaiders RF Black-Belt
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    Yea, I'm also a little baffeled by Jay's results, I also think a USB connection should be faster than WiFi :confused: There must be a reason, but I can't think of any right now :O

    *EDIT* If anyone else has time, it would be great if someone else can make the same test to see if they experience the same results (ie: faster HSDPA speedby by teathering on Wifi than compared to USB). I'm still thinking it's somehow an overhead issue with wifi that makes it appear faster...but not really sure.

    Yea, portability is a very good point. Most operators were first offering Sierra Wireless PCMCIA cards a few years ago, but now all seemed to favor USB, and probably for the issue of portability (as desktops don't have PCMCIA slots).
     
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    #13 RadioRaiders, Jun 2, 2008
  14. bobolito

    bobolito Diamond Senior Member
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    I have tried three methods and all are pretty consistent to technical expectations:

    - RAZR2 V9 to Laptop via USB cable: 1.7mbps/350kbps
    - RAZR2 V9 to Laptop via Bluetooth: 600kbps/300kbps
    - Sierra 875 PCMCIA Aircard: 1.5mbps/380kbps

    I am also surprised Jay went over 720kbps on a Bluetooth connection which is the theoretical maximum for Bluetooth. So in reality, Bluetooth places a bottleneck on your 3G connection.
     
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    #14 bobolito, Jun 3, 2008
  15. Jay2TheRescue

    Jay2TheRescue Resident Spamslayer
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    I guess the network is really busy right now... but here are my results that I have right now... The phone and laptop are in the exact same positions, and I am showing 3 bars of service on the Tilt...

    USB:

    [​IMG]

    Bluetooth:

    [​IMG]

    Sorry, but I'm not currently setup to teather over WiFi... I can't retest that right now.

    -Jay
     
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    #15 Jay2TheRescue, Jun 3, 2008
  16. dmapr

    dmapr Silver Senior Member
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    I haven't tried BT with my K850i, but the USB connection was about the same as Bobolito's:
    [​IMG]
     
    #16 dmapr, Jun 3, 2008
  17. Eric47

    Eric47 Bronze Senior Member
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    yes good point but remember that USB cables will lose effectiveness and possible stop working past a certain length. i believe 5FT is the longest you usually can find though i have seen longer i dont know it they are recommended or custom or what.
     
    #17 Eric47, Jun 3, 2008
  18. wirelessisland

    wirelessisland New Member

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    Transmitting over wifi is definitely the most convenient but I just got the new Sierra Wireless 881U card that seems to be around 30% faster than the 875u or Razr V9 tethered.

    However, should there be a difference between using the 881u card or a mac or a PC? When I boot my mac into windows, Aircard connection is regularly faster than when I boot on Mac side. I'm using Sierra Wireless software on both sides, so not sure why there is a difference.

    To make matters worse, my unlimited data plan allows free wifi connection at AT&T hotspots, but the software only lets you connect if you're a PC. There's no hotspot software to get you on AT&T's wifi if you're on the mac.

    Can someone pls share their experience with these two items?
     
    #18 wirelessisland, Jul 2, 2008
  19. Jay2TheRescue

    Jay2TheRescue Resident Spamslayer
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    I think there is only one conclusion to make here...

    [​IMG]

    PC WINS!!!
     
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    #19 Jay2TheRescue, Jul 2, 2008
  20. hillbilly44

    hillbilly44 Senior Member
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    One thing that effects UL/DL speed is the class of the device. For instance if it's a class 10 device then it has the ability to download at 7.2Mbps and upload at 1.8Mps. Just a little information.:browani:
     
    #20 hillbilly44, Jul 2, 2008
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