Monday 1 June 2009

How I improved my mobile broadband signal


Just before embarking on our last cruise I bought a "3" mobile broadband dongle. The USB extension lead supplied was only a couple of feet long, making it difficult to position the dongle in a window. That's all right, I thought, I bought a USB extension lead from Poundland just in case. That'll give me another couple of feet. Well, it gave me the length I needed, but at the expense of all signal! The lead was useless! Then, in Leicester, or possibly Loughborough, I bought a (good quality) 2m extension lead. This made dangling the dongle easy, and gave me enough slack to be able to sit inside with the dongle on a tripod on the roof. If rain looked possible I slipped a plastic bag over it. For extra peace of mind I secured the tripod to the gang plank. And it worked.

Nev of Waterlily has posted about a "3" dongle deal for a fiver. A fiver! And I thought the thirty quid for mine was a good buy! Nev also mentions that he's bought a 5m extension lead. From what I read I think that's the maximum length without a booster of some sort, so I hope it works OK. At 5m he could hoist it to a useful signal-catching height!

Here's my original post about the dongle, with a photo of all the packaging and leaflets.

No comments: