Some time ago I wrote a comparative . The topic turned out to be in demand, and a Russian manufacturer of devices for working in 2G/3G/4G networks approached me. It was all the more interesting to test the Russian router and compare it with the winner of the last test - Zyxel 3316. I must say right away that I do my best to support the domestic manufacturer, especially if it is not inferior in quality and functionality to foreign competitors. But I won't gloss over the shortcomings either. In addition, I will share my own experience of turning an ordinary car into a mobile Internet access point for an entire camp or cottage.
The issue of remote work or just life outside the city is somehow connected with technical issues: emergency or autonomous power supply, normal connection to the Internet. The latter is especially important, due to the fact that many of my friends and acquaintances choose to work in summer cottages for the summer, and many have moved to live in private homes. At the same time, only those houses that are located in the city limits are equipped with normal Internet. But they are often connected only via optical fiber for 15-40 thousand rubles. So it remains to sit on the mobile Internet, looking for the fastest and cheapest provider from those on the market. But it's not about choosing a provider, but about choosing a router. In the last test, the router honestly won , demonstrating the maximum speed ceteris paribus: time, provider, external antenna.
This time I will compare the router with the last winner and modem manufactured by Microdrive. There was an idea to simply supplement the previous material, but the addition turned out to be massive, so I decided to post a separate article.
So, Tandem routers are Russian-made boards, but with a foreign element base. And what else to expect with the destroyed own production of radio elements? But a really serious approach was used. Just look at the harsh and strong metal case - this is more of an industrial solution than a plastic soap dish-router, which many people have in the hallway. The more interesting, because the operating conditions will be tough: I decided not only to test it as a home router in the attic, next to the antenna, where it can be up to -35 in winter, and all 50 degrees in summer, but also in the car, as a mobile access point. The fact is that for the last 10 years a laptop has been traveling with me and it is impossible to predict where the work will take me.
The circuitry is simple and reliable. The manufacturer claims that the devices were tested in a thermal chamber at temperatures from -40 to +60. For a winter cold start, there are a couple of thermocouples that heat up the board before starting - a good application for work in harsh conditions. The router and modem look like this.
What is the difference? The TANDEM-4G+ modem works via USB and is designed to replace obsolete USB "whistles" that work in ready-made systems. Its advantage is that it provides a secure fastening of cable assemblies, unlike pigtails, which are extremely weakly attached to modems. In addition, it does not overheat under heavy load, as it happens with conventional modems. Well, MIMO receiver diversity technology is supported, which should add speed.
The Tandem-4GR router is a separate device with an Ethernet port and a Wi-Fi module, into which you just need to insert a SIM card to start working. A machine with a Linux modification is spinning on it, that is, those who wish can twist the parameters and configure all the chips inherent in this * nix system. In addition, the router supports power supply in a wide voltage range: from 9 to 36V. You can provide this very power via PoE by connecting an external power adapter for 12 or 24V, as well as by hooking up the router to the car's on-board network. That is why such a wide voltage range is supported: during engine start, the voltage drops to 9-10V, and while the generator is running, the voltage in the on-board network rises to 14-15V. This is not to mention trucks whose on-board network is designed for 24V. That is, it is a fairly strong industrial router that can operate from almost any type of power supply in a given range.
I am interested in a router, since the local information system at home is already well established and only Internet access is needed. The whole connection comes down to installing a SIM card and connecting a cable: all the settings of Russian providers have already been entered into the database, and if necessary, you can adjust the connection configuration yourself. You can also select or hard-fix the type of network you are going to work with. I did this taking into account the fact that for me work is a priority in LTE networks. And then the fun begins - we test!
Benchmarks Zyxel LTE3316 vs Tandem-4GR
The testing methodology has not changed since the large comparative test of routers: all measurements are carried out with one SIM card, during the daytime of a weekday, in order to minimize the impact of the load on the BS. The antenna is used for the test. of , which is mounted and oriented directly to the operator's BS. Each test was run three times, and the final value was obtained by averaging the results. But the test didn't end there. I decided to compare how much the MIMO technology and the use of such antennas affect the speed characteristics, so I disconnected one of the cables from the router and repeated the tests.
The test results were a pleasant surprise. The Russian router turned out to be no worse than its foreign counterpart and showed similar results, lagging behind by 2% in reception speed when using MIMO and by 8% when working with a single antenna. But when sending data, the Tandem-4GR router was ahead of the Zyxel LTE3316 by 6%, and when working without MIMO support, it lagged behind by 4%. Taking into account the measurement errors, the system data can be leveled. But I promised to talk about the shortcomings, so let's move on to them.
If the Zyxel LTE3316 is a ready-made router that you can connect to and work with, then the Tandem-4GR will require some attention before getting started. Let's start with the fact that Zyxel has 4 Ethernet ports and the ability to talk on an installed SIM card using an analog phone. In addition, Zyxel LTE3316 supports CAT6, which means link aggregation is possible to increase speed, while Tandem-4GR supports CAT4 without aggregation. But this feature only works if the base station itself supports aggregation. In my case, the BS worked in CAT4 mode. The Tandem-4GR also boasts only one Ethernet port. That is, to connect several computers, you need a switch. In addition, Tandem-4GR does not have built-in antennas for communication with cellular operators. But there are also significant advantages: the router can be placed in the attic of a house, in a metal rack box in a shopping center, mounted in a car and powered both by PoE and from the nearest battery. In addition, the router can work with USSD requests, which will allow you to work with a SIM card without taking it out and the router. Thus, a draw is obtained. So the tests continue. Now it's time to install the router in the car and continue the experiment.
Router in car. What could be easier?
So, the idea of ββequipping a vehicle with Internet access has been around for a long time. At first, the Internet was distributed from a smartphone, then I got a mobile router with a battery. But it also requires recharging, and the cigarette lighter can be occupied by a charging smartphone or something else. Well, I wanted to distribute the Internet not only to those who are in the car, but also in the country or in the tent camp. At the same time, I wanted to get rid of the need to carry some kind of βcommunication suitcaseβ with me, that is, where there is a car, there should be communication. This is where the Tandem-4GR router tested above came in handy: compact, with a built-in Wi-Fi adapter, with the ability to power over a wide voltage range. Next, there will be a manual for installing the router in a car, and at the end of the test and comparison with a smartphone.
Instructions for installing the Tandem-4GR router in a Kia Sportage car
I installed it in the tunnel between the front seats and brought all the wires there, including the external 3G / 4G antenna.
Plus took from an unused element in the fuse box. Naturally, I connected everything through a fuse. To connect to the fuse box, I took one chip and broke the circuit, shorting the terminals on the battery. Then I soldered an external fuse block to one of the terminals.
Then I brought a backlit button to the panel so that the router would not drain the battery around the clock, but would turn on by an external button. The button itself is equipped with a light bulb that needs power. Minus threw on the nearest mass.
Then I put a magnetic antenna on the roof . This is a circular antenna with a gain of 3/6 dB and operates in the frequency range of 700-2700 MHz, so that the router can work in all frequencies of cellular networks. What was all this for?
Firstly, the signal level with an external antenna is higher than when receiving on the phone's antenna. Secondly, the metal body of the car strongly shields the signal, and this is the more noticeable the farther you are from the tower of the cellular operator. Thirdly, the capacity of a car battery is many times higher than the capacity of a phone battery. In addition, it recharges while driving.
So, let's move on to testing. I found a place where the signal strength in LTE was at its lowest on the phone. I got out of the car, because the Speedtest service was not loaded into the car at all and took measurements.
Then I launched the router and connected via Wi-Fi from the same phone to it. SIM cards from the same carrier were used. First, I tested with one external antenna. Speedtest showed already acceptable results for surfing the net.
Finally, I connected a second external antenna to the router to see if the signal was really affected by MIMO technology with such a weak signal. Surprisingly, the reception speed increased by more than one and a half times. Although the transmission speed remained the same. This is due to the peculiarities of MIMO technology, which is focused on improving the characteristics of the incoming signal.
Conclusion
It's time to sum it up. The Tandem-4GR router and the TANDEM-4G+ modem have a sensitive radio module that allows you to get good speed with a poor signal level - that's a fact. The Tandem-4GR router can compete in performance with the winner of past tests Zyxel 3316, and the TANDEM-4G + modem is able to replace any USB modem in the existing infrastructure with an antenna and an existing conventional router/computer. The price difference between Tandem-4GR and Zyxel 3316 is about 500 rubles in favor of the first, which is enough to buy a gigabit switch. But the Tandem-4GR device does not have built-in antennas, but the Zyxel 3316 cannot be easily powered from the car network, and it takes up noticeably more space.
As a result, I can recognize the Tandem series as productive and worthy of placement both as an Internet source for a country house, and as a router for specialized points or moving objects.
Source: habr.com