Woosh Download and Upload Speeds

Forums › New Zealand Broadband › Woosh Download and Upload Speeds

Sinn

103 posts

Master Geek

Topic # 12773 4-Apr-2007 17:47

Hi Guys,

I've just gotten woosh here and playing around with before I set it up for my relatives. It sure does take ages for this router to set up and connect properly. Does anyone else have this problem? Anyway I digress....

So I did a quick speed test at nzdsl and I got 280K download and 20 upload. Just wondering if this is what's normal. I'm in Auckland CBD but will be moving the modem out to ellerslie.

So can anyone tell me if these kinds of speeds are normal? I'm on the Wireless Broadband and not the DSL plans they have.

Cheers,

Cmos

1 post

Wannabe Geek

Reply # 66349 4-Apr-2007 21:19

Hi Sinn

How long is a piece of string?

I just did a Speed Test (have phone and broad band) and got Download Speed: 869 kbps Upload Speed: 54 kbps.

To get good speeds you need to have a good signal. To get a good signal you need a delta of 5 or higher (signal quality).

Delta is the Deference between the RSCP (signal your getting) and the ISCP (the interference which degrades your signal)

To improve your signal it is helpful to now were your local “base stations” are so you can point you booster (aerial) in that direction. Also you need a way of measuring it which can be done using woosh software that you load onto pre Vista operating systems or pre installed onto some Woosh devices such as the Netgare Router (log onto router web interface/select "router status"/"port status)

When I first got woosh it was a real pain, I couldn’t get connected and when I finally did it was slow and disconnected often. I have now found that elusive spot were my boost aerial gets a good signal (last time I looked was Delta 10).

Batman

Mad Scientist
18695 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2379

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

Reply # 66524 7-Apr-2007 10:15

are you sure you got the setup correct? no it's not normal. find out where your wireless signal is coming from and aim your thing at it, and make sure you dont have any trees or buildings in the way. some people get it professionally installed onto their tv aerial. i used to try the 30day money back guarantee and returned it due to slow speeds. there is a way to find out your max signal, go into a "site" and it shows you a graph and i cant remember but if you get below a certain number thats your max signal and if you're still not happy ... then ... oh well.

edit: oops the signal thing already explained. yeah i forgot how you get to see it, i dont use woosh. also you get 4000kbps w orcon. serious.

aw

273 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 7

Subscriber

Reply # 67067 13-Apr-2007 22:03

Positioning the modem / booster carefully can make a world of difference.

I'm on the northern edge of Albany and after reading about someting similar in the Herald, to get a strong signal I went to the Warehouse and bought ... wait for it ... a wok. A cooking wok. (And quite a bit of duct tape.)

After some very careful positioning, getting the wok vertical to create a sort-of dish I was able to change a 1Mbit down/64k up signal into one with a delta of 12 or 13, managing 1.7MBit down and sometimes 135k up (according to nzdsl.co.nz/meter).

With the wok in place it doesn't seem to matter whether I'm bouncing the signal onto the booster antenna or the modem itself.

A

Rickles

1790 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 126

Reply # 67101 14-Apr-2007 15:22

Aw,

Nice one ... I'd love to see some pictures of your woktenna.

R.

aw

273 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 7

Subscriber

Reply # 67106 14-Apr-2007 17:48

Well, it's terribly jerry-rigged, held together with duct tape and I have to make sure the tape isn't peeling every week or so but it hasn't fell down once in the month or so it's been like that ...

It took some fiddling to get the position of the modem right (was originally the booster aerial but it makes no difference really).
Because the wok is not quite parabolic the signal is better with the modem at its normal height than raised to align with the centre of the wok.

The reason the thing is facing the wall is that there's a verandah outside and the tin roof actually makes the signal worse if it's pointing out the window.
Because I've been messy, you can see the booster antenna on the shelves in the distance on its side and coiled up.
(The device in front is unrelated; it's a wireless AV sender but I use it just to send IR signals back to the home server/mythTV)

I originally tried it with the idea that I'd find a more solid way to mount it if it worked out. Haven't got around to that yet, however I've now outgrown the available upload rate that Woosh provide, and remote access is terribly slow, this hasn't improved the latency much, so I'm looking at alternatives.

By the way the idea is definitely not mine, see here

Jerry-rigged wok antenna 1

Rickles

1790 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 126

Reply # 67132 15-Apr-2007 08:33

Thanks for the pics ... what a hoot!

I do recall seeing the Herald article, and Google brings up many such solutions using key words "woktenna" and "cantenna". I've heard that a cantenna (baked bean tin) achieved something like a 5km straight-line gain <BG>.

R.