ok...found this antenna for significantly cheaper than the one in quebec. however, cables and such are the same price in quebec (or cheaper i would imagine by the time customs and shipping gets involved).

here is the link:

http://www.radiolabs.com/products/antennas/2.4gig/2.4-aluminum-parabolic.php

will this work? i would think so, dont you?! the price, although out of stock, is only 70 bucks vs $154.

the dude

OK, found the Pics.

My unit has the 5 lights on the bottom.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb213/Nimiq_1/Modem006.jpg

Here is the sticker from the rear of the Unit, I was wrong about it being DB it is 24 Watts.....lol

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb213/Nimiq_1/Modem002.jpg

After removing the Plastic Cover, which was very easy, this is what we see. The antenna. Remove the 10 screws surrounding the Antenna and the plate pops off, some silicone sealant but nothing too drastic.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb213/Nimiq_1/Modem004.jpg

Inside the Unit.

The silver at the top is the underside of the Antenna.

Only the small coax appears to connect the Antenna with the board.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb213/Nimiq_1/Modem003.jpg

Somewhat clearer image.




Hope this helps a little.

ok...so i must be the only one with a modem that doesnt have lights on it?! oh well....!

the dude

ps. awaiting your input on the link i provided. major savings, but it says 2.4ghz grid. rogers uses 2.5:

"Wi-Fi operates on unlicensed 2.4GHz frequencies, making it vulnerable to scanning and packet interception. Rogers operates at licensed 2.5GHz frequencies. Licensed frequencies and OFDM make for a very secure connection" (excerpt from the rogers.com website)

so, will a 2.4 ghz antenna work?! (the radiolabs antenna is 2.4, the cellextreme one doesnt specify...)

to my knowledge an antenna that operates between 2400-2500mHz will be fine. now, i could be wrong... i'd like to know before i source anything, that's for sure.

i am going to try it...will order my stuff soon..

still looking for the stuff at a closer location if possible (to toronto)

Does anyone know what kind of expansion plans Rogers has for this service? I am moving out of Edmonton to New Sarepta and based on the coverage map I am about 25kms out of the service area. I'm hoping they will be expanding rapidly as our new house won't be ready until the late spring and I'd rally like to get this service. I did e-mail Rogers but they haven't responded yet.

OR, does anyone think the external antenna mod would get me into service range?

Thanks for the insight.

Shaun

Not to hijack your thread, but you guys seem to know a lot about this Bell/Rogers service.

A relative is a salesman who wants internet access in his car (while it is parked) in the Etobicoke (Toronto) area. Could he buy an inverter to power the antenna module and use it in his car?

And is this service an 802.16e service, or is it 802.11d (or neither)? I can't get a clear answer from the Bell/Rogers websites.

afiak it is proprietary NextNet/Expedience on 2.5 ghz and there have been reports of it working from cars. He should be fine, worst case fiddle with the modem to get it pointed right. Hell, the chick on the rogers commercial uses it on her car with an inverter.

to my knowledge an antenna that operates between 2400-2500mHz will be fine. now, i could be wrong... i'd like to know before i source anything, that's for sure.
The grid I pointed out from the guy in Quebec should work fine... if you use any other antenna just make sure it's not got any band pass filters built in. An antenna designed for 2400 to 2500 MHz will have a center frequency around 2450 MHz where it's most sensitive and will produce the full 24 dBi gain... however using it at say 2550 MHz will work fine but at a slightly lower gain... maybe 21 dBi and that’s still a huge gain.
That internal panel antenna looks like something that would produce a gain of no more then 9 dBi. I would estimate using the grid antenna will give you 4 times the gain of the internal panel antenna.

Here is the terrible response I got from Rogers:

Dear Shaun,

Thank you for taking the time to write to us, we appreciate your use of online customer service.

In your recent email, you have informed us that you are moving to Sarepta, Alberta from Edmonton and as of right now our Coverage Map indicate that you are about 25 KM (SE) away from the Portable Internet Service. You would like to know what kind of expansion plans are in place for this service and if you should be checking the Coverage Maps in the coming months to see if we have expanded or is this going to be as far as the service goes.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

At this point in time we have no plans or information about if we will be expanding the Coverage Areas for Portable Internet. We would suggest checking the Coverage Maps and Rogers.com for updates in the coming months.

We are glad we were able to assist you. If you have any further questions, please feel free to email us again.



HDTV: Would you care to hazard a guess at if the external antenna at 4 times the gain would get me in the service area?

Not to hijack your thread, but you guys seem to know a lot about this Bell/Rogers service.

A relative is a salesman who wants internet access in his car (while it is parked) in the Etobicoke (Toronto) area. Could he buy an inverter to power the antenna module and use it in his car?

And is this service an 802.16e service, or is it 802.11d (or neither)? I can't get a clear answer from the Bell/Rogers websites.
it is 802.16e service.

as far as hooking it up in a car, that could conceivably work if you were driving through a flat field littered with towers.

as much as they say that the technology is non line of sight or NLOS, it is, and requires a steady look at the tower at all times. the latency times you would receive while driving around would render anything cool about having a connection in your car pretty much useless. unless like you mention, setting up shop in a parking lot with a view at the tower is all you want it for. so yes, it'd work... sometimes. if you have a view of the tower. i think.

[rant]

personally, i find my subscriber box to take a long time when re-establishing a connection to the tower... after a gentle wind blows the tip of a branch into it's non line of sight veiw of the tower, 1km from my house.

[/minirant]

my service has been noticeably better over the past week.5 though.

and i'm still in the position of not knowing what kind of connector i'm dealing with since i keep chickening out on breaking open my modem heh heh.

I remember reading somewhere that the outdoor modem increases your range up to 32 km.
If I find where I read it, I'll post the link.

HDTV: Would you care to hazard a guess at if the external antenna at 4 times the gain would get me in the service area?

If you have a clear line of sight that antenna will do the extra 25 km.

Thanks for the advice! Hopefully I'll convince them to sell it to me with the explanation that I'll be taking it apart and hooking it up to an antenna they didn't intend it to be used with. ;)

I just wish Rogers would introduce at least their more basic package outside St. John's and in my area which lacks any type of cable connectivity whatsoever. :(

In my opinion, Rogers and Bell is doing a pretty piss poor job of rolling this new system out. Smart move adding another broadband option to the highly populated areas, for more money and less speed then the land-lines and forgetting about the people in the rural areas who want and need something. The 1st company to be available to me at a reasonable cost, gets my money and I know alot of other people who echoe that same sentiment.

In my opinion, Rogers and Bell is doing a pretty piss poor job of rolling this new system out. Smart move adding another broadband option to the highly populated areas, for more money and less speed then the land-lines and forgetting about the people in the rural areas who want and need something. The 1st company to be available to me at a reasonable cost, gets my money and I know alot of other people who echoe that same sentiment.
I agree. If you live in a urban area, why would you pay more for less speed?

I agree 100%. This service makes no sense at all in urban areas. I have the same speeds they are quoting for $50/month but I am paying $30/month and didn't spend ANY money upfront on equipment, let alone $250 for a modem. The only reason I'm considering it is I don't really have many good alternatives for my new house.

They would have done well to not offer this at all in the cities and focus strictly on covering as much rural area as possible.

re: prioritization of coverage areas. I don't have the link or hard info but I've heard that when the crtc gave inukshuk (rogers/bell) the 2.5ghz frequency license, there was a stipulation that the service be available to a certain percentage (70%?) of households within a certain timeframe. So the easiest (only?) way to do this would be to get the big cities first. I feel lucky to have this service available to me in the second wave of coverage (about 6months now in my area). Surely for those in fairly densely populated areas without cable/dsl, you will be getting the service soon.