Cradlepoint PHS300 – First Impression

I’ve been toying with picking up a portable cellular router for quite some time. The idea of a mobile hotspot, on the go, was appealing. Sure, I have the iPhone, the Franklin Wireless CDU-680 CDMA modem from ACS, and can tether my Motorola KRZR in a pinch. Before that, it was the HTC-Touch… which I just really never got used to, or used for anything other than a phone.

The CDU-680 works well, whether plugged in to my 17″ MacBook Pro, or the Dell D420. I’ve been very pleased with the service and coverage from ACS. The throughput is top not around Anchorage in my opinion, and especially at home. The addition of the Cradlepoint to the goodie bag, at first glance seems like the right move.

I searched online and found 3GStore.com the place to purchase. I’m glad I did. I had never purchased from them before, but the wealth of information won me over. The prices were inline, if not better, than a lot of other vendors, even those listed on Amazon. I wasn’t in the mood for eBay at the time, but don’t really think I would have gotten a better deal there. Plus the ability to purchase accessories, and obtain support, a decent return policy, and reasonable shipping were the deciding factors. I ordered on Tuesday, and the package shipped same day. I receive via UPS Red this morning. Shipping appeared “at cost”, so there were no hidden handling charges tacked on. It’s always nice to see that when a vendor doesn’t add exorbitant charges to expedite shipping.  (TigerDirect.com take note!)

Included in the box was the PHS300, an AC / DC 5V adapter, a small manual / quick start quide, and the 1800 mAh lithium battery.  The battery is claimed to supply the device for about 2 hours.  Extra batteries were available but I selected a different option.  (More on that in a future post.)

I inserted the battery and plugged it into the AC power.  It started charging and I prepared to power up and log on for the first time.  3GStore.com included a photocopied “really” quick sheet intended to get you up and running even faster.  I read their instructions, and then looked at the included Cradlepoint startup guide.  3GStore.com did a great job of condensing a six or eight step process into a paragraph, without detriment to the instructions.

I powered up the PHS300, without plugging in the modem.  I searched for networks on my Mac and logged in to the device using the 3GStore instructions.  In essence, you use the model (PHS) and the last three digits of the MAC address as the network.  You then use the last six characters as the password.  That would make each device unique in its default config from the factory.

After logging on and was impressed by the options.  In my opinion, there is far more than what I was looking for in a portable cellular router.  But, I certainly won’t complain.  You can really config with far more options, such as dynamic DNS, than what I need (or think practical) in a mobile router.  But I’m sure some folks will appreciate these features.  I was mainly concerned with security and being able to limit access to my device in a public place.

The device supports 802.11b/g.  I selected “G only”.  I also chose to use WPA2.  The one concession to security was keeping the SSID visible.  I may change that, but was thinking if I want to share with friends, it would be a bit easier if they could search and view the router, rather than having to type in the name of the device, as well as the secure password.

The device from 3GStore arrived with 2.2.1 firmware.  Once I had the device configured and had plugged in my modem, it found a new version of the firmware was available.  I attempted to upgrade right from the device to version 2.4.  However, it failed on repeated attempts. There is an option to download manually, so I snagged the 1.1Mb file.  Once it was downloaded, I did a “manual” upgrade of the router.  That process went smoothly.  The router rebooted in 68 seconds and was up to date.  The 3GStore did include the firmware on CD, but I opted not to use it.

It seemed as though the router would continue to drop the connection.  I searched through the menus to find if I had config’d  setting incorrectly, but found none.  My RSSI is as good as -51dBm, down to -63dBm at this location; excellent signal strength, since I’m less than 1000 feet to the cell.  (Thankfully my GSM carrier is there as well, so enjoy “full strength” on my three GSM and two CDMA devices.)  After the first few minutes, it seems to have settled down.  I have now been connected 2 hours and 53 minutes at this moment.  It’s been rock solid.

I was curious and checked throughput.  Typically, I can get about 2.4/1.2+ at this location.  Through the router, I obtained about 2.7 down / 500k up.  I read some reviews prior to buying, and others noted a marked decrease in upload speeds from using the device plugged directly in the computer.  In my opinion, this is still very acceptable.  I suppose if there were gigs to upload, plugging the device direct into the laptop would not be a hardship.

All in all, first impression, I’m really glad to have finally picked one up.  I’ll cycle the battery a few times and see how that works, and what kind of real world times I can achieve.  I’ll report back in a future post.

First impression, if you need a device such as this, it’s a solid buy.  You won’t be disappointed.

(Of course, it should go without saying…  this blog entry was completed entirely on the MBP, while using the Cradlepoint PHS300, and CDU-680…

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