Germany: Aldi offer SIM-unlocked 3G USB stick €59

[snn47]

Inquisitor so far I could not find anywhere what type of Huawei E160 is offered by Aldi.

Do you happen to know the version?
Are there major differences between the different letters versions?

Did you ever try if an external antenna e.g. 10 dBi improves the reception, of if the transmission line loss in the cheap thin cable compensate the antenna gain to 0

I agree that a E160 can be obtained cheaper then 59€, however Aldi is much more willing to take it back then others, if you have checked with the local manager before you buy it. So it comes down to the money for the starter package if it doesn't work rather then the additional cost for the stick,

[inquisitor]

Originally Posted by snn47

Inquisitor so far I could not find anywhere what type of Huawei E160 is offered by Aldi.

Do you happen to know the version?

I believe it's a E160, but no one confirmed that so far. You could revive the following thread, which I had opened for that purpose Bitte an Besitzer folgender Sticks: O2, Fonic, Vodafone K3565, MedionMobile S4011 - Telefon-Treff, maybe some owner of the Aldi stick will reply.

Are there major differences between the different letters versions?

The differences are the supported 3G frequency bands, as you can see at Huawei E160 (E160G, E160E, E160X, K3565) - 3G modem wiki

Did you ever try if an external antenna e.g. 10 dBi improves the reception, of if the transmission line loss in the cheap thin cable compensate the antenna gain to 0

No, I have no experience with antennas on 3G devices, but a good source for cheap antennas of high quality is UMTS-, WLAN- und DECT-Informationen, Tipps und Tricks sowie Web-Shop. They use high quality cable and when ordering you can chose the connector type and cable length of your antenna so you can reduce signal attenuation by a short one. I've bought WiFi antennas from them before.

[snn47]

GM tnx 4 fast reply,

quality does mean imho not low loss ( e.g. if they would use RG-174) just that the manufactering process is of good quality.

I've searching a bit and found a Huawei the Q&A Huawei Technical Forum: Which is my HSDPA stick E160 or E169 or ... that

Q.: Which is my HSDPA stick E160 or E169 or E180 ?
A.: K3715 is not E160 ,E169 or E180.

which contradicts some listings made on in the web.

PS.:
While it's good to have an antenna connector inside, I wonder if any of the matching female connector have been designed, similar to that used in Notebooks for WLAN, for more then just a a few disconnects. If I made up my mind and found a Stick I will have to buy/built an adapter-cable (e.g. SMA on the other side) and fix it permanently to the stick.

At a question for external use I found this info

Specific Huawei aerial means a specific Huawei aerial only.
The connector is CRC9001-2401（SMK-3A）.

Huawei Technical Forum: E160X (model K3565) usb stick- aerial ...

[inquisitor]

Originally Posted by snn47

GM tnx 4 fast reply,
I've searching a bit and found a Huawei the Q&A Huawei Technical Forum: Which is my HSDPA stick E160 or E169 or ... that
which contradicts some listings made on in the web.

After I dismantled my K3715 (see Huawei K3715 - 3G modem wiki) I clarified several times on telefon-treff.de, that the K3715 has no equivalent in Huawei's existing product range. The K3715 shares it's chipset with the E230, so there might be some similarities.

PS.:
While it's good to have an antenna connector inside, I wonder if any of the matching female connector have been designed, similar to that used in Notebooks for WLAN, for more then just a a few disconnects. If I made up my mind and found a Stick I will have to buy/built an adapter-cable (e.g. SMA on the other side) and fix it permanently to the stick.

At a question for external use I found this info Huawei Technical Forum: E160X (model K3565) usb stick- aerial ...

Maybe we should move with this very hardware-specific discussion to an appropriate place. You could go to Huawei USB modems in general - 3G modem wiki and start a discussion (see bottom of page). You don't even need to register in order to post there!

[snn47]

Done, Information/question moved toMore details Huawei sticks and details on use of external antennas
More details Huawei sticks and details on use of external antennas 1 - 3G modem wiki

Bought a Tschibo since at my location I can only hope to get Edge coverage with an external antenna. However it may also prove usefull in the evening if the hotels charges >10 €/day This is the reason why I am trying to get the information to built if necessary external antennas.

PS.: Tschibo offers with the stick I bought today for 49.95 @ now only 3 free days flatrate.