ACE - Expert
•
24.2K Messages
New MicroCell DPH-154
AT&T has released an updated version of the MicroCell, the DPH-154. It is still basically the same as the 130 series with mostly cosmetic changes. The unit is smaller and black in color.
As far as I can tell, it still uses the same (or updated) SOC's like the Ralink and picoChip, a Xilinx FPGA, and radio/GPS modules with probably an updated linux kernel.
What Cisco decided to do, not AT&T, is remove the Computer port because they felt that most people didn't use it and that would avoid confusion when plugging in the ethernet cable. The other change, which I'm not to keen on, is that they removed the external antenna port. I'm still working on a reason why.
The name has also been changed by dropping the "3G" part. It's now officially called the "AT&T MicroCell". They also dropped the "3G" part from the url as well even though the old url will still work by redirection.
The MicroCell is still 3G only but by dropping the 3G from the name......... (i'm working on it folks ).
Setup, router/ISP requirements, etc are exactly the same. I'll post more if I find out anything else and I'm allowed to do so.
___________________________________________________________
Award for Community Excellence Achiever*
*I am not an AT&T employee, and the views and opinions expressed on this forum are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote, or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider, or party.
*I am not an AT&T employee, and the views and opinions expressed on this forum are purely my own. Any product claim, statistic, quote, or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider, or party.
GrumpyOldGuy
Contributor
•
1 Message
8 years ago
0
0
OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
•
24.2K Messages
8 years ago
That is partially true. Definitely for initial activation. You can move it away from a window after you're up and running but if that requires you to turn it off (disconnect the power), once power is restored it will look to re-establish GPS and other related factors and that's where you may run into trouble. AT&T also does periodic maintenance at night and sometimes that maintenance requires a re-boot.
The other alternative would be to find a used DPH-153 online so you could attach an external antenna to its external antenna port. Why Cisco/AT&T did away with the external antenna port on the new DPH-154 is unknown. If you do decide to go the eBay rourte, I'd suggest reading the section in my Tech Guide before purchasing a used MicroCell.
0
0
damlam
Contributor
•
1 Message
8 years ago
Well I am having one delivered today. We will see how it works. It can't be worse than what I have going now. I have had service in my 64730 zip code since 1998 and it was great for a time. That was before smart phones. Regordless, this is ATT's last chance to have my service back to what it once was. I have heard from large corporation, that they started noticing a large decrease in the banwidth that ATT had to what it has had the last fe years. my place of employment had to make several changes to support their phones in our facility. I Had also heaard from Tower Techs, that if there was a small amount of users in a certain area, they would just shut down tower or discontinue use of that particular one
I don't care what the excuses, I demanded satisfaction or I was going to drop ATT like a bad habit. They offered this Microcell to me free and I jumped on it. Let's hope it works for their sake. Any feed back would be appreciated.
0
0
OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
•
24.2K Messages
8 years ago
Complaining here about what AT&T is doing, or has supposedly done, serves no purpose because nothing can be done. That's how all major carriers operate.
The MicroCell is intended to fill in holes in coverage areas, much the same way that WiFi Calling does now, but is not meant to be total replacement for a macrocell (tower) connection. How well the MicroCell works is dependent upon a lot of factors that are outside of AT&T's control. Chief among those is your ISP. There are specific router requirements that must be met, and they are given in the instructions and in the Tech Guide (see link in my sig). Configuring your hardware is between you and your ISP for obvious reasons. Another factor that is often overlooked is how you connect to the interent. The MicroCell is designed for land-based connections only (DSL or cable) and is not designed, nor supported, for satellite or wireless internet. It may work, but it is not reliable.
As far as cancelling your service altogether with AT&T, that's entirely up to you. They don't care and quite frankly neither do we because we are all volunteers.
0
0
annie155
Contributor
•
1 Message
8 years ago
Am waiting for my new unit to arrive. Had service for months in rural area. It was weak, but then it just disappeared last week. Been fighting with ATT ever since for resolution. First it was a new sim card; then a new phone, for which they deleted all of my pics and apps which they promised wouldn't happen; and now trying tower. ALTHOUGH, I was NOT informed this unit needs internet access. We only have service hooked up for 3 months. Are you telling me there is no other way to boost signal without internet service? I can drive 1 mile down the road and my phone comes alive. I don't get it. HELP
0
0
OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
•
24.2K Messages
8 years ago
Don't mean to sound rude but the requirements for the MicroCell are easily available and are included in the documentation, on the box, and in my Tech Guide (see link in my sig).
Rural locations will even be difficult with the MicroCell because of the FCC E911 requirements because locatoin verification based on received GPS coordinates may not match the actual physical address of where the MicroCell is located.
The internet connection is critical to the MicroCell and lots of problems are encountered depending on how you connect to the interent. The MicroCell is designed for a land-based internet service (DSL or cable) and while it will work, not reliably in most case, with satellite or wireless broadband, it is not supported by AT&T or us.
The MicroCell is not a signal booster. It is an actual mini-cell tower that projects a 3G cellular signal that you phone can lock onto, and once locked, the MicroCell uses your internet connection to reach the AT&T Mobility Servers.
There are signal booster available, and I have examples of a couple in my Tech Guide. They work very well but can be expensive.
0
0
mitzjr
Contributor
•
1 Message
8 years ago
0
0
OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
•
24.2K Messages
8 years ago
@mitzjr - if you have an older, white MicroCell and it just went "dead", then I'd check out the ac adapter with a voltmeter. It should read 16VDC +/-0.5 with no load. If it doesn't, then replace the adapter with one of the same rating. It could be as simple as that. The MicroCell's will eventually fail considering that they are on 24x7 but most of the time it's the adapter.
iPhone's 5 SE and above are WiFi-C (WiFi calling) capable so you wouldn't need a MicroCell at all unless you have older phones that are not WiFi-C capable.
It is not AT&T's corporate policy to give out MicroCell's for free but quite often that seems to be Support's answer to a problem that they can't seem to resolve. I'm glad that you are getting a replacement but do check out the ac adapter in case AT&T doesn't send a new adapter as well. Quite often they don't, and if the original problem was the adapter, and you use the same one with the replacement MicroCell, your problem will come back.
0
0
RadioRalph
Contributor
•
1 Message
7 years ago
I am using the cisco DPH-154...and it works very well except it causes interference (very loud static) on the A.M. radio band...which immediately stops when I unplug the ethernet cable from ths DPH-154. I repair antique tube radios and I really need a solution to eliminate the static...any suggestions ??
0
0
OttoPylot
ACE - Expert
•
24.2K Messages
7 years ago
@RadioRalph - Wow. That's a new one. I have an AM radio about 15' away that we listen to the baseball games during season and we've never had bad static, other than what you normally get with AM radio reception and one of those cheapie antennas. It is an open space between the two as well so there's no walls to block the 3G signal. I would be more suspicious of the ethernet cable and it's proximity to your radio equipment than the actual MicroCell.
Try this. With your MicroCell working as usual, create a Faraday cage around it with aluminum foil and see if the problem goes away. If not, create a Faraday cage around the etherent cable and see if corrects the interference. Other than that, there's not much you can do as the MicroCell only transmits a cellular 3G signal continously and the GPS Mhz band for location checks.
0
0