Huawei E220 3g Modem


gruso

gruso

thunderbox
Joined
Feb 28, 2008
Messages
7,461
Age
47
Location
Sydney, Australia
Website
pandorapress.net
[updated]

Just a community service announcement, lap it up before the thread gets booted to Off Topic. :p

There [was] a batch of E220's on ebay right now for $80AUD. (That's about 52USD, 36GBP, 40EUR). I don't know what prices are like elsewhere, but that's pretty damn cheap in these parts. The seller says they are Vodafone branded, but fully unlocked. He seems like a reputable seller so I'm taking the plunge.

Item number: 230327697686

That is all.
 
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Hello Gruso. I have a question. Maybe you have an answer :huh: I am in the US and currently own a PCMCIA version air card for the Verizon network. Is it possible to use this usb stick with my all my Verizon details to get it to work? You did mention that these are unlocked.
 
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Does your PCMCIA card use a SIM slot? The Huawei requires a SIM card to operate, so if you're using a SIM card already, it's possible. That's about all I can tell you though.

If you don't use a SIM, there are adapters that allow PCMCIA cards to plug into a USB port. www.elandigitalsystems.com/usb/u111530.php ...but there are a lot of unknowns attached to this. They only suit certain cards, we've got no way of knowing if it will ever work with Pandora, and I don't know how much they are. Also, the adapter alone looks nearly as big as Pandora!
 
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Righteo. Got my E220 up and running today, with a $10 starter SIM from Three. The speed is great in my area, something we can't take for granted in this backwater.

The only downside is that the E220 will need to go through a hub for use with Pandora. So I've been looking for "inline" style hubs, and found these:

480Mbps_High_Speed_Cable_Hub_A146.jpg

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http://shop.ebay.com.au/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38&_nkw=4+Port+HUB+High-Speed+USB+2.0+Cable+&_sacat=See-All-Categories


I'll be removing all but one of the female plugs, and perhaps mounting the last one back into the case. It still means there'll be a mini chain of devices to use the internet, but at least they'll be in a straight line, not jutting out at right angles like most hubs.

Just thought I'd share. It's a very cheap and easy solution.
 
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That looks like a really good find, but I'd be wary. I don't see any power source, so how does it supply the full 500ma to each port?
And from the description, I'm not sure, but it looks like it's just a hub: high speed in, high speed out; low speed in, low speed out. I'm probably wrong, but just in case, you may want to do some extra research before accidentally wasting your money. And then report your findings back to us so we don't have to.
 
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...

A USB Hub allways communicates with the Highes possible Speed, thats the whole point in talking about adding a usb hub

Pandora <-high speed USB Link-> USB 2.0 Hub <-low speed USB Link-> Lowspeed Device
 
What Kimundi said. I'm cutting three of the females off, so it acts as nothing more than a highspeed link between Pandora and the modem.

I've got a regular powered hub too, for connecting multiple devices.
 
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'Gruso' said:
What Kimundi said. I'm cutting three of the females off, so it acts as nothing more than a highspeed link between Pandora and the modem.
Click to expand...
If you only want one port unless you need more than 100mA wouldn't it be easier (and cheaper) to use the OTG port with a mini USB male -> USB female cable?

These days if something needs the 500mA (and it's not a USB coffee warmer etc) isn't it likely to be USB 2.0 specced?
 
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Unfortunately there are numerous USB 1.1 devices that draw >100mA. This is one of them. According to DJWillis, the E220 draws about 250mA.

Most USB GPS units fall into this category too. I went with the Bluetooth option there.
 
'Gruso' said:
Unfortunately there are numerous USB 1.1 devices that draw >100mA. This is one of them. According to DJWillis, the E220 draws about 250mA.

Most USB GPS units fall into this category too. I went with the Bluetooth option there.
Click to expand...
Damn! Ah well cheers for the correction :)
 
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That's cool. :)

I've posted this elsewhere but I'll throw it in here too. Cheap adapters for using the OTG as a host:
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http://shop.ebay.com.au/items/?_nkw=usb+otg+adapter&_sacat=0&_fromfsb=&_trksid=m270.l1313&_odkw=usb+otg&_osacat=0

I'm actually wondering if the modem can be used in the OTG port, using one of those dual USB leads with the power assist side in the main USB port. That would mean two cables coming out of Pandora instead of one, but would remove the need for my hacked up in-line hub. I might ask DJW.


[edit] Just noticed this from DJW in his blog comments:
QUOTE
I have been testing a Huawei E160 I bought over the weekend and I am happy to report that it is all but identical to the E220 with one important difference, it is natively a USB2 high-speed device so no hub is needed, you just plug it into the Pandora and away you go.

So there you go. If you're in the market for a new modem, get the E160. Worth noting though that the E160 is the stick kind, not the soap-on-a-rope kind. I think I prefer the less-likely-to-snap-off form of the E220.
 
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'kerplunk' said:
Hello Gruso. I have a question. Maybe you have an answer :huh: I am in the US and currently own a PCMCIA version air card for the Verizon network. Is it possible to use this usb stick with my all my Verizon details to get it to work? You did mention that these are unlocked.
Click to expand...
I'm a Verizon user also. I don't think this will work on our network because of the SIM issue, however I think it will work with AT&T. I may buy one and I'll let people know if I can get it to work.
 
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'Gruso' said:
I'm actually wondering if the modem can be used in the OTG port, using one of those dual USB leads with the power assist side in the main USB port. That would mean two cables coming out of Pandora instead of one, but would remove the need for my hacked up in-line hub.
Click to expand...
Yes, I'd just make sure the power pin in the OTG plug isn't connected, as linking the power domains of the two USB ports probably isn't a good idea. :eek: And you'd probably have to hack it up yourself, as I've never seen a cable with a mini-A, full-A and mini-B plug on it before...

Beyond that, there's nothing preventing the E220 working. I'll probably end up building a similar setup with mine.
 
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What about these?
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http://www.huawei.com/mobileweb/en/view.do?id=462

The E180 had potential, just lacks one more twist on the head :p My question though is, does "Support SMS and Voice services" mean you can make voice calls with the right software?

I can totally see myself taking one of these apart, hacking it together with some ribbons and USB heads, and taping it to the back of the Pandora :D
 
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Vodafone have the best deal over here. £15 for 1Gb, £40 set up, but you get 1Gb free with setup. (setup being the modem). It's pay as you go too. I think 3 Mobile have 1gb for £10, but it runs out after a month.
 
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'Eight Bit' said:
Can someone explain to me why a USB hub is needed to connect the modem?
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To attach a USB 1.1 device, you need some sort of 1.1 to 2.0 layer, which the Pandora does not have, although most other computers do. USB hubs can convert a 1.1 signal to a 2.0 signal, though.
 
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Eight Bit said:
Can someone explain to me why a USB hub is needed to connect the modem?

USB2.0 is not actually compatible with USB1.1. Almost all USB2.0 ports are made compatible by having an extra chip inside them which is basically a USB1.1 to USB2.0 converter. There was no room on the board for this chip, so it was (sadly) left out. Fortunately, even a cheap $5 USB2.0 hub should do this conversion for you.
The OTG port has this extra chip, but it only puts out 100ma of power, as opposed to the normal 500ma. It shoud work for many things, such as keyboards and gamepads, but any more powerful devices (such as cell modems) will either need to be USB2.0 devices, or run through a hub.
Click to expand...
 
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Happy to hear that the E160 works as well. I got this modell from my provider and wouldn't like buying a new one then :)
 
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nice to know this modem works... my favorite telecom company uses this modem to provide hsdpa 3g internet, so I'm most probably going to use it

anyone know a good hub to use with the pandora? maybe one that isnt very big and doesnt leave stuff hanging?
 
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