Verizon USB727 wireless modem

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Kickin' a.s and Takin' Names - 22 Nov 2007 22:27 GMT

I'm looking for comments from anyone who is using the Verizon USB727
wireless Internet modem.

I recently moved to a rural area where I am renting a house while
building my own place. The rental house is in a wooded area. The
neighbors have a variety of wireless Internet services -- some use
HughesNet satellite Internet service, a couple use a local ISP who has
a tower about 15 miles away -- all of them say that access varies from
house to house in the neighborhood depending on location and size of
trees at each house.

I have one of the Verizon wireless cards plugged into my laptop that
accesses the Verizon National Broadband Access. I assume it runs off
the local Verizon cell tower. My Verizon cell service is okay --
drops out sometimes and I rarely have more than two bars of signal
strength. The laptop will connect to the Internet using the VA
National Broadband service about 60 percent of the time -- about 40
percent of the time I can't connect. Sometimes the connection is
solid and lasts for hours, sometimes it drops out in a few minutes.

I see the USB727 wireless modem on the Verizon website and I have read
a bit about it with Google searches. The device has the capability to
attach an external antenna and I have seen a small desktop external
antenna for sale at various places.

I'm wondering if this might be what I need for access -- the USB727
modem with its external antenna.

Has anyone used the USB727?? Please tell me your experience with it.

Is there only one type of external antenna available, or, is there
perhaps a high-gain antenna I could mount outside a window? Is it
possible to plug the USB727 directly into a router or a wireless
access point so I can set up my home wireless network?

Thanks.

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Paul - 23 Nov 2007 20:46 GMT

> I'm looking for comments from anyone who is using the Verizon USB727
> wireless Internet modem.
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
>
> Thanks.

Have a look at:
http://3gstore.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=101

This is where I've bought my Verizon wireless broadband gear for the past
couple of years. I use the USB720 and it's great. Yes, you can get
external antennas, in your situation you probably do want an external yagi
antenna aimed at the cell tower. They also sell amplifiers as well. The
USB720 will plug into the Kyocera KR-1 router and share the verizon
connection to multiple computers in the house via Cat5 or WiFi. I don't
know if the USB727 is compatible with the KR-1 yet.

Last summer I was at a cottage up in Michigan roaming on a non-Verizon
system with the USB720, and the little desktop booster antenna attached, and
although the connection was the slower non-EVDO 144Kbps, it stayed nailed up
for two days without disconnecting. I was very impressed with that since
previous summers we had trouble keeping the Sierra card and Kyocera KPC650
PC card connected and locked into signal.

-- Paul

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Kickin' a.s and Takin' Names - 23 Nov 2007 22:31 GMT

> > I'm looking for comments from anyone who is using the Verizon USB727
> > wireless Internet modem.
[quoted text clipped - 53 lines]
>
> - Show quoted text -

Thanks -- I'll look into it -- sent an email to this company asking
them about compatibility of the USB727 and the KR-1 -- I suspect they
are compatible and this may be my answer. I note that Verizon has a
30-day trial period so it looks like there's nothing to lose.

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Kickin' a.s and Takin' Names - 26 Nov 2007 12:11 GMT

> > I'm looking for comments from anyone who is using the Verizon USB727
> > wireless Internet modem.
[quoted text clipped - 53 lines]
>
> - Show quoted text -

I just received a reply from the 3Gstore folks:
1. The USB727 does not work with the KR-1 but the USB720 works fine.
They recommend the USB720 with its omnidirectional external antenna.
2. I cannot use the new EVDO device to replace my current VZ wireless
card -- I'll have to cancel my current National Broadband access plan
and start a new EVDO plan.

Verizon offers a 30-day trial period during which I can cancel and
return equipment, only penalty is cost to ship equipment back and the
activation fee. Think I'll try it.

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Superunknown - 26 Nov 2007 19:53 GMT

Just a little FYI that worked great for me, perhaps it`s something you
might want to consider. I am not employed by any companies related to
this post and offer this only as a satisfied consumer.

I too live in a deeply wooded, mountainous area just outside of the
Smoky Mnt. Natl. Prk. boundaries. When I moved here I had barely one
bar on my phone and lived with the "hit or miss in/out calling" that
came with the area along with gawd-awful dial-up internet.
A few months ago I was steered to a cell phone booster called a ZBoost
WI-EX. They make one for Verizon`s 800-900mhz range and after a short
Yahoo search I found one for $199. WHAT A DEAL!! I zip-tied the
antenna to a 10 ft. long length of pvc and mounted it in a 4x4 on my
back deck so it cleared my roof line.
Works great. I not only have a constant 3-4 bars but also 3-4 EVDO
bars to boot.
I bought the 595U air card with the battery booster and use it in both
my desk-top and my laptop when on the road. My DL speed averages about
.5 MB/S at home and between 1.5 and 2 MB/S in the city. Not bad
considering the totally unreasonable cost of that satellite internet
system that will always depend on the weather.
I also had my land-line ported to a cell phone and bid farewell to
AT$T forever.
Just my 2 cents. Happy Holidays and good luck.

SU

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Kickin' a.s and Takin' Names - 27 Nov 2007 11:08 GMT

> Just a little FYI that worked great for me, perhaps it`s something you
> might want to consider. I am not employed by any companies related to
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
>
> SU

Thanks for the info.

First, I envy you living in the shadows of the Smokies. I grew up in
Knoxville and was fortunate to start running the ridges of the Smokies
as a young Boy Scout and continued as I got older. However,
circumstances over the past several years have taken me away from the
Smokies and not a day goes by that I don't wish I were back there.

Now -- I have ordered the USB720 with the Kyocera KR-1 router from 3G
Stores. They include a desktop external antenna with the USB720 and
they have a yagi antenna that can be mounted inside or outside.

For the past few days, using only my PC5740 card in my laptop I have
been able to maintain solid connectivity -- only once in past five
days have I lost connection or not been able to connect.

I'm planning to set up the USB720 and KR-1 in an room upstairs, next
to a window that faces the nearest cell tower (which, I assume, is
where my signal comes from), where I always have 3-4 bars on my cell
phone. I'll connect an old laptop to the KR-1 so I'll have someway to
configure the router as necessary but I'll use the router's built-in
WiFi to operate a wireless net in the house, connecting to my desktop
wirelessly. My daughter is moving in with me in a couple of weeks so
she can study for the VA bar exam without interruption. Her bar prep
course is online so she'll use the wireless for her laptop.

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