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Good 5G router with external antenna ports working?

Balb0wa

Pro Member
Currently have a ZTE MC801A and i can get 5G with it from the internal antenna, reading various posts and trying my external antenna on it, makes no difference with the latest firmware.

What can i get from CEX that has working antenna ports , Huawei CPE ?? lots of different versions, dont want to pay over £200.

I have a poyinting XPOL-2-5G V3 mounted on the side of the house, but thats pointing at a 3 mast,5G is on an EE mast, willing to buy another just to see what i can get with one in the loft.

I just want to see what improvement i can get using external.

Thanks
 
Some of the ZTE MC801A seem to External Antenna Port Issues (Configuration) so it can be a bit of an Hit or Miss.

If your looking at Huawei 5G CPE's, your choice is a bit limited with External Antenna Ports, either the 112-370 or 112-372, there basically the same Units but with some 5G Band variations, the 370 does have WiFi6 so that would be my choice.

Worth noting that these 2 Huawei Models will only support UK 5G Band n78 and like a lot of 5G Routers the External Antenna Ports will only support 5G Bands in the 3.5Ghz Bands (This includes n78)

If you are going down the Huawei route my other advice would be to make sure these are original Network Free Units with Huawei's own Firmware and not a Network Re Branded or Ex Network variants.
 
Some of the ZTE MC801A seem to External Antenna Port Issues (Configuration) so it can be a bit of an Hit or Miss.

If your looking at Huawei 5G CPE's, your choice is a bit limited with External Antenna Ports, either the 112-370 or 112-372, there basically the same Units but with some 5G Band variations, the 370 does have WiFi6 so that would be my choice.

Worth noting that these 2 Huawei Models will only support UK 5G Band n78 and like a lot of 5G Routers the External Antenna Ports will only support 5G Bands in the 3.5Ghz Bands (This includes n78)

Thanks, yes N78 is what EE are using on the mast near me, looking at cex , seems a lot have bought unlocked but are locked.

I think ive had a 112.370 a few years ago from router switch , when they were pretty cheap before they went to silly prices , wish id kept it!
 
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Thier pretty much robust Routers in my opinion and despite lack of other 5G Bands, ie n28, the n78 Band is currently the best Band for 5G Speeds in the UK at the moment (Best Bandwidth).
 
Surely given that in the UK a 5G link needs 4G reception as well as 5G, a router with only 5G external antenna connections is not very useful?
 
Surely given that in the UK a 5G link needs 4G reception as well as 5G, a router with only 5G external antenna connections is not very useful?
Yea, you are 100% correct, any 5G NSA Network needs a 4G Anchor, and it's Strange that the Huawei Ports on there 5G CPEs are only 3.5Ghz, ZTE and Zyxel do the same by the way on their 2 x External Ports, it's purely down to design and being Ready for SA Mode.
 
Yea, you are 100% correct, any 5G NSA Network needs a 4G Anchor, and it's Strange that the Huawei Ports on there 5G CPEs are only 3.5Ghz, ZTE and Zyxel do the same by the way on their 2 x External Ports, it's purely down to design and being Ready for SA Mode.
Which is great for countries like South Korea and Jaoan and China which are rapidly rolling out "real" (SA) 5G, and presumably where these routers were really designed for.

Not so great in the UK where penny-pinching means we only have 5G NSA, at least for the foreseeable future... :-(
 
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I asked Patrick (director) if their bluespot mini will be better than Xpol-1 v2. Got detailed reply!

Short answer - our antenna is slightly better, but there may be other factors influencing things!

The XPOL-1 isn't so great on the higher 5G frequency band - it really only goes to about 3500MHz, looking at their datasheet (https://poynting.tech/wp-content/up...es/Technical-Specification-A-XPOL-0001-V2.pdf) . Typically a VSWR of <1.5 is the cutoff.
image.webp


Because the Bluespot MIni is 5G-only, it performs much better across the n78 band (see attached) -


A VSWR of 1.22 (the Bluespot 5G Mini) means approx. 96% efficiency at turning electrical signals into radio waves @ 3600MHz. A VSWR of 1.75 (the Poynting XPOL-1 @ 3600MHz) equates to 66% efficiency (speaking very loosely; other factors matter too). See https://www.everythingrf.com/rf-calculators/vswr-calculator.

That said, it's hard to know why your router might want to switch to n1 with an external antenna attached. That depends heavily on the router firmware and your local tower - is there a closer tower broadcasting n1? Could wet vegetation be attenuating the higher frequencies? A clear line of sight to the tower is essential at 3600MHz.

I've attached some general information below that might be helpful to consider.

I hope this helps!

--

There are a few considerations with the external Bluespot antennas -
  • The antenna is directional, and you will need to aim the antenna towards your nearest mobile tower. There should be a good, clear line of sight for the best results. You can take a look at the tower locations on cellmapper.net - we also provide a site survey service to help you set up and aim the antenna after purchase.
  • You will need to mount the antenna on an outside wall (I suggest the pole mount model + a satellite TV mounting pole from Screwfix, to make aiming easier) or on your roof with your TV antenna.
  • The antenna should be clear of all vegetation, and other buildings for the best results. It may worth through trees but you might see some performance degradation during changes in weather.
  • If you have a 5G router, like the 5GEE or a ZTE MC801A, then the external antenna ports only support 5G connections (the 4G antennas are located inside the case, and are not accessible). For any external antenna to work, you'll need to have some 5G coverage in your area today. Take a look at your carrier's coverage map to confirm this (and potentially consider our "Bluespot Mini" antenna, which has slightly higher gain but is 5G only). If you have a 4G router with external antenna ports, you should be fine either way.
  • All that said - if you have a weak mobile signal today, the antenna should help improve it!

I also recommend you look at your router's status page. Look for the "RSSI" or "RSRP" number - you can interpret them here using the table here https://wiki.teltonika-networks.com/view/RSRP_and_RSRQ. These numbers measure the actual radio signal strength received.

If they are already strong today (-85 or better), then an external antenna may not make any difference as the problem is likely to be congestion on your carrier's network; consider testing with an pre-paid SIM from a different carrier to see if the speed improves. You can pick up a SIM from a supermarket for a small fee, and a pre-paid data pack with Vodafone or EE usually costs less than £8 to test with. This may be an easy way to improve the speed without an external antenna.

If the RSSI is -90, or lower, today - an outdoor antenna should produce good results, providing it is installed outside with a clear view to the mast.

You may also like to consider a higher-spec router, that allows you to use multiple antennas in parallel for better results (ie. additional MIMO streams). We sell the Huawei B628 pre-modified for use with two of our Bluespot antennas. You can find a review of a similar configuration here https://www.ispreview.co.uk/talk/threads/success-on-three-with-modded-router.37652/.

I hope this helps - let me know if you have any other questions I can help with.
 
I asked Patrick (director) if their bluespot mini will be better than Xpol-1 v2. Got detailed reply!

Short answer - our antenna is slightly better, but there may be other factors influencing things!

The XPOL-1 isn't so great on the higher 5G frequency band - it really only goes to about 3500MHz, looking at their datasheet (https://poynting.tech/wp-content/up...es/Technical-Specification-A-XPOL-0001-V2.pdf) . Typically a VSWR of <1.5 is the cutoff.
View attachment 4703

Because the Bluespot MIni is 5G-only, it performs much better across the n78 band (see attached) -


A VSWR of 1.22 (the Bluespot 5G Mini) means approx. 96% efficiency at turning electrical signals into radio waves @ 3600MHz. A VSWR of 1.75 (the Poynting XPOL-1 @ 3600MHz) equates to 66% efficiency (speaking very loosely; other factors matter too). See https://www.everythingrf.com/rf-calculators/vswr-calculator.

That said, it's hard to know why your router might want to switch to n1 with an external antenna attached. That depends heavily on the router firmware and your local tower - is there a closer tower broadcasting n1? Could wet vegetation be attenuating the higher frequencies? A clear line of sight to the tower is essential at 3600MHz.

I've attached some general information below that might be helpful to consider.

I hope this helps!

--

There are a few considerations with the external Bluespot antennas -
  • The antenna is directional, and you will need to aim the antenna towards your nearest mobile tower. There should be a good, clear line of sight for the best results. You can take a look at the tower locations on cellmapper.net - we also provide a site survey service to help you set up and aim the antenna after purchase.
  • You will need to mount the antenna on an outside wall (I suggest the pole mount model + a satellite TV mounting pole from Screwfix, to make aiming easier) or on your roof with your TV antenna.
  • The antenna should be clear of all vegetation, and other buildings for the best results. It may worth through trees but you might see some performance degradation during changes in weather.
  • If you have a 5G router, like the 5GEE or a ZTE MC801A, then the external antenna ports only support 5G connections (the 4G antennas are located inside the case, and are not accessible). For any external antenna to work, you'll need to have some 5G coverage in your area today. Take a look at your carrier's coverage map to confirm this (and potentially consider our "Bluespot Mini" antenna, which has slightly higher gain but is 5G only). If you have a 4G router with external antenna ports, you should be fine either way.
  • All that said - if you have a weak mobile signal today, the antenna should help improve it!

I also recommend you look at your router's status page. Look for the "RSSI" or "RSRP" number - you can interpret them here using the table here https://wiki.teltonika-networks.com/view/RSRP_and_RSRQ. These numbers measure the actual radio signal strength received.

If they are already strong today (-85 or better), then an external antenna may not make any difference as the problem is likely to be congestion on your carrier's network; consider testing with an pre-paid SIM from a different carrier to see if the speed improves. You can pick up a SIM from a supermarket for a small fee, and a pre-paid data pack with Vodafone or EE usually costs less than £8 to test with. This may be an easy way to improve the speed without an external antenna.

If the RSSI is -90, or lower, today - an outdoor antenna should produce good results, providing it is installed outside with a clear view to the mast.

You may also like to consider a higher-spec router, that allows you to use multiple antennas in parallel for better results (ie. additional MIMO streams). We sell the Huawei B628 pre-modified for use with two of our Bluespot antennas. You can find a review of a similar configuration here https://www.ispreview.co.uk/talk/threads/success-on-three-with-modded-router.37652/.

I hope this helps - let me know if you have any other questions I can help with.
Poor VSWR means some loss of *potential* signal power, but of course this is taken into account in the antenna gain curves, so it's these that really matter -- an antenna with more gain will give a bigger RX signal even if its VSWR is poorer than another one with better VSWR but lower antenna gain.
 
I asked Patrick (director) if their bluespot mini will be better than Xpol-1 v2. Got detailed reply!

Short answer - our antenna is slightly better, but there may be other factors influencing things!
Of course he would say that.

I've got no problem with Patrick, but I'm quite certain all he has done is set up with a Chinese supplier on Alibaba, got a MOQ for antennas with custom labelling etc and using a fulfilment centre to ship.

Having seen, used and stripped apart the 'Bluespot' antenna, It's a sub-par design made to appear functionally appealing with some weird grounding patterns and parasitic elements. Gains are certainly made up, that being said, VSWR is genuinely low-ish so expect good throughput uploading, but with such a low gain antenna, it wouldn't make much difference as you'd have to be sat on top of the antenna anyway at which point a low VSWR wouldn't matter.

I see nothing but propaganda with Bluespot, peddling products with no scientific backing or evidence of design or testing.

Personally, I'd stick with a known good brands of antenna such as Poynting, Iskra, Panorama (They're ok IMHO but gains are a little misleading), QuWireless (Not used them), McGill Microwave.

There are too many antennas out there with fake gain values, fake VSWR, fake smith charts, fake everything and it's so difficult to filter through the crap.

Stay away from Blake UK - they're awful and went to recycling.
 
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e.g.

and

OR
and
 
And then artificially inflate the gain and lower the beam widths to make it sound better and more focused. Even using the same pictures.

Ahem...

Alibaba version
1673032518049.png


Bluespot
1673032540658.png



Apologies - having been through many antennas, I really hate all the lying about specs 🤣
 
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