DIY 4g usb modem repair

In detail: do-it-yourself 4g usb modem repair from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

For a person who does not sit still and cannot do without the Internet on his laptop, a CDMA modem is a necessary device in the user's arsenal. Usually, such modems have a USB interface, which is very convenient for use, but during operation, due to negligence, it is usually the USB plug that breaks down and it becomes necessary to repair the modem.

Repairing such a malfunction requires some "creative" approach to insert the plug back into the modem, see an example of such a repair in the pictures below. If the damage is not severe, then you can align and leave the original plug, but it is better to put a new one, which is certainly more reliable.

The article is out of date. We no longer repair 3G USB modems.

The second common problem is wear and tear on the moving parts of USB modems. Usually, the wires or ribbon that connects the plug to the device board are frayed. An example of such a malfunction and how to fix it can be seen in the pictures below.

Another type of malfunction is damage to the SIM card receiver when contacts or the entire SIM slot are broken. In this case, it is necessary to replace the sim-receiver, choosing the appropriate size and contact group.

The modem loses connection or gives out a weak network signal if the input circuits and the modem antenna are faulty, in which case it may be necessary to replace the signal amplification chip or repair the device antenna.

Unlocking the modem from the operator is necessary if you want to use the purchased modem with a sim-card of another telecom operator, which for one reason or another is more convenient for you.

Video (click to play).

Never a Russian person, given the opportunity to save money, will not refuse this. If the Internet speed is low in the country or outside the city, in an apartment or a cottage, why buy additional devices? We will tell you how to make the simplest and cheapest external antenna for a 4g lte modem with your own hands.

Antennas are devices for signal amplification. They are of different types:

  • narrowly focused;
  • sector;
  • omnidirectional.

The simplest are omnidirectional. They can receive and transmit a signal in all directions with the same intensity. An example is a conventional quarter-wave vibrator. To put it simply, this is an ordinary piece of wire that has a quarter-wavelength of the received signal.

Sector is capable of limiting radiation in a specific sector. For example, if you put a sheet of iron behind the omnidirectional antenna, you get a sector antenna with a sector of 180 *. Such a sheet of iron is called a screen.

The most effective is a directional antenna, which is a special case of a sector antenna. Due to the selection (of course, an accurate calculation in fact) of the curvature of the screen, you can get a narrowly directed beam of radio wave radiation.

The two main characteristics of any transceiver are sensitivity and gain. The sensitivity affects the quality of the received signal, the gain factor - the transmitted one. These parameters are measured in dBi. Sensitivity is measured in negative numbers, gain is positive. The more modules of these numbers - the better, the better your device is. For example, sensitivity at -75dBi is worse than -83dBi. 11dBi gain is better than 6dBi. The higher these parameters, the greater the range of the established communication.

A typical collecting focusing external amplifier for a modem is sold in the store and costs money.

If you have a case from an old PC (and they are usually spared to be thrown away and taken to the dacha - suddenly come in handy), then you can make an external directional 4g antenna with your own hands.You will need the whole body, the scissors for the hardware, and you will have to buy a USB cable for your external amplifier.

We will not describe the steps, they can be seen from the drawing.

Image - DIY 4g usb modem repair

Image - DIY 4g usb modem repair

You can simplify the design.

If there is no piece of metal, take thick cardboard and cover it with foil.

If you are too lazy to paste over, look in the kitchen among the dishes. You can make just such an antenna for a 4g modem with your own hands.

Thanks to user Ukshuinik, who was not too lazy to upload all the drawings.

To make an external homemade antenna for a 4g lte modem with your own hands, you will need:

  • Galvanized iron sheet for 334mm * 290mm panel and for four patches, each of which is 118mm * 70.5mm.
  • A coil of copper wire with a diameter of 2 mm.
  • A piece of copper foil for cutting a nickle 4a with a diameter of 21 mm.
  • Styrofoam under patches.
  • Adhesive for gluing patches to foam.

All dimensions of the external device are shown in the drawing.

Image - DIY 4g usb modem repair

Image - DIY 4g usb modem repair

Make a full-size drawing of the external amplifier on paper, lay out the patches. Then bend the wire and solder it to the patches. Drill a hole for the cable plug in the base and solder the plug. Then cut the circles out of the foam, glue them to the base where the patches are. Glue the structure on top.

To use such an external antenna to amplify a 3g / 4g signal with your own hands, the modem must have a cable connector.

The device is named after the engineer who first came up with it. This powerful external antenna for a 4g usb modem is made by hand, the diagram of the desired option can be found on the Internet. We will present the simplest one.

All parameters are calculated depending on the transmission and reception frequency of the modem. The calculator can be found here.

You will need copper wire, a sheet of aluminum with a thickness of 2 mm. First, you need to bend the wire so that the sides do not touch in the middle. And solder the ends.

A hole for the cable is drilled in the center of the plate.

Then a wire is attached to the platinum. It should not touch the reflector.

Image - DIY 4g usb modem repair

Image - DIY 4g usb modem repair

Further, it is attached to the satellite dish bracket or simply to a stick.

Image - DIY 4g usb modem repair

Image - DIY 4g usb modem repair

If the modem has a connector for an amplifier, then all that remains is to connect. If not, then you also need to prepare it yourself. Need copper foil for PCBs. Wrap the modem 2/3. Solder the cable. Make a second layer. And secure.

Today, many citizens use wireless Internet, but at the same time strive to increase the speed of its work. After all, excellent access is guaranteed when the modem is close to the base station of the mobile operator. In this regard, those who work in the Internet far from the station are content with low speed. Is there a technical way to solve this problem? The best option is a 4G antenna with your own hands.

The so-called Kharchenko antenna, which is designed for a 3G modem, is a homemade model. There is nothing particularly complicated in its arrangement. The zigzag design was proposed by the scientist K. Kharchenko back in the 1960s. Today it is quite popular among radio amateurs not only for its simple design, but also for its excellent repeatability and broadband. The latter advantage applies especially well to the spiral design.

By their own design, the models can be quite different. Based on the size of the plate, the frequency of the structure changes significantly. At the same time, it must be borne in mind that homemade antennas can include objects made of plastic and metal.

There are different types of antenna for the modem. The simplest is omnidirectional. It can receive and transmit a signal in all directions equally intensively. In particular, this can be a simple quarter-wave vibrator. In simple terms, this is a piece of wire that has a quarter-wavelength of the signal that is being received.

A sectoral antenna can limit radiation in a specific sector. In particular, if you put an iron sheet behind the omnidirectional device, you get a sector structure. Its sector will be 180 degrees.Such a sheet of iron is called a screen.

The most effective is the directional design. Thanks to the correct choice of screen curvature, you can make a narrow beam that will emit a radio wave.

The main antenna nodes are:

  • a vibrator, on which the induction occurs, the guidance of a wave of electromagnetic oscillations, which are sent by the transmitter of the cellular operator;
  • a cable with a matching unit that transmits the induced signal directly from the vibrator;
  • signal transmission node from the cable directly to the modem input;
  • reflector that removes interference as well as reflected signals to increase the receive power.

Kharchenko's antenna with his own hands is an excellent device for everyone who wants to have high-quality communication without having to spend large funds. It is very easy to make it even for an ordinary person who does not have the appropriate professional skills. The result is excellent indeed. This design will last for a long time.

As a rule, an external antenna with your own hands for a 4g modem is endowed with two square components. The performed calculation of the Kharchenko antenna for a frequency of 2100 MHz shows that the dimensions of the sides of the component should be 53 millimeters each.

At the same time, to reduce the internal resistance of the antenna, craftsmen advise making not square components, but diamond-shaped ones, in which the angle is 120 degrees.

Detailed instructions are set out in this video: