Cellular network

Gordon, May 29

The cradlepoint CBR400 router and the Verizon modems have been working, but have some issues.

On May 27 and 28, the router would go offline periodically, and not be pingable from the local network at address 192.168.0.5 (cbr400). From the web interface (http://cbr400), System Settings -> System Control -> Advanced, I turned off "Enable Watchdog Reboot" to see if that would help. The CBR400 stayed up all night. When we arrived at the trailer (9:20) it was pingable, but the web interface would not respond.

The 3G modem has been working fine. On the web interface for the CBR400, the signal strength is typically -75 dBm, with 4 bars.

The 4G modem does not always connect. The status page shows a signal level of -79 to -84 dBm, which I presume is acceptable.

The CBR400 sends log messages to the syslog on "flux". The 4G modem is known as "WAN:9d7c85c4". The logs show "carrier reject", and that it reverts back to 1XRTT (2G):

fgrep CBR /var/log/messages | fgrep 5c4

May 28 16:45:12 cbr400.isfs.ucar.edu (CBR400-afa) WAN:9d7c85c4: Connection Change : None -> EVDO, %
May 28 16:45:12 cbr400.isfs.ucar.edu (CBR400-afa) WAN:9d7c85c4: Connect Event: carrier reject
May 28 16:45:12 cbr400.isfs.ucar.edu (CBR400-afa) WAN:9d7c85c4.CPPM: state=connecting  result=carrier reject
May 28 16:45:19 cbr400.isfs.ucar.edu (CBR400-afa) WAN:9d7c85c4: Connect Event: carrier reject
May 28 16:45:19 cbr400.isfs.ucar.edu (CBR400-afa) WAN:9d7c85c4.CPPM: state=connecting  result=carrier reject
May 28 16:45:44 cbr400.isfs.ucar.edu (CBR400-afa) WAN:9d7c85c4: Connection Change : EVDO -> 1XRTT, %

I plan to contact Verizon and see if they can help from their end concerning the 4G modem.

Morning of May 29:
Upgraded firmware on CBR400 to version 4.3.0
Speed tests: http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest?flash=1

Until we can get the 4G modem to do better than 1xRTT, we'll use the 3G and disable the 4G.

Here is the display of Status -> Internet Connections -> "Modem: Novatel Wireless CDMA" with an EVDO connection:

Here is the display of Status -> Internet Connections -> "Modem: Novatel Wireless 4G", in the disabled state:

May 30, Gordon
The cellular worked quite well yesterday, but not so hot today, frequent disconnects. I tried enabling the watchdog reset on the CBR but then disabled it again after several hours since it didn't help. The router_check.sh script on the "high" dsm is our own watchdog reset.

While on the tower, I checked the antenna cable connections at the modems, and the usb connections at the hug. All looked good.

TODO: look at the logs. Perhaps the signal levels were lower today? Contact verizon about 4G.