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!
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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.