Using multiple M2M boosters on external Yagis

[Mtr87]

I came across someone that mentioned they are using two boosters attached to their external antennas and in the other side they have their MOFI 4500 modem connected to them. Has anyone tried this and does it actually improve data speeds to have a booster amping your signal before it goes through the MOFI?

Thanks!

[BillA]

Here's all you need to know about signal boosters...

As far as signal boosters go, they are not as effective as some sellers lead you to believe, in most cases a booster will only boost a bunch of useless noise. You're better off picking up a high quality/gain Yagi or flat directional antenna from the thewirelesshaven.com store which comes with full support by the owner JimHelms.

You might get a good signal strength with a booster, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you're amplifying the mobile signal. In case of really weak incoming signals, a booster will just amplify the noise. So while your dbm levels look good, the actual signal "quality" may not be. In my experience, raising the antenna as high as possible (without actually becoming a lightning rod;), is one of the best ways to boost your signal. Another option you may want to look into, is switching to another carrier in your area with a somewhat better signal.

Keep in mind, that a booster will usually boost your signal by about 10db, whether you have a good incoming signal or just noise. So its effectiveness depends largely on the the received signal to noise ratio. In other words if your received signal is above -120db, then your -110db boosted signal may not be high enough quality, thus your data speed would still be low. On the other hand if your received signal is between -100db and -120, then your booster will likely help to a degree. As a general rule, you're better off with an unboosted signal as long as you use a good sensitive antenna to receive a raw signal below -120db. Course you mileage may vary from other factors too, such as sensitivity of the radio, atmospheric conditions, obstructions, etc.

Here's what another user wrote:
By A.Bursell » Tue Jan 14, 2020 9:28 pm
I tried it just sitting on my desk with the antenna over next to the window. I checked the numbers and the signal did get better, but other numbers got worse - and I saw no speed improvement. In fact, I'm pretty sure it got worse. So I returned the setup.

So, the bottom line is that signal boosters are a hit and miss, depending on the signal received.
The best thing is to try it out, and see if it helps.

[steveg]

And don't forget to factor in cable loss. Long runs with cheap cable can negate antenna gain.

[ironman_gq]

I'm using them, inline M2M amplifiers. In my opinion they work great in my application, I needed a boost of some type to get a reliable band 4 connection given the terrain around me and going higher with the antennas was not an option(in a flyway near an airport). Without the boosters I get a good band 12 connection with occasional band 4 aggregation, with the boosters I have solid band 4 connection and reliable band 12 aggregation. Average speeds are 30-40mbps with peaks between 60-80mbps.

I'd prefer to not use boosters if possible, with a better signal I could 3CA bands 4,12,30 and my speeds would be 40-60 average but without boosters it's not reliable. The tower I'm using is roughly 8 miles away and close to line of sight if you take trees out of the equation, there's a hill at the midpoint that may or may not be blocking LOS depending on how I measure the tower height.