CradlepointTravel Router CTR-500

I ordered the Cradlepoint Travel Router CTR-500 mainly to use for demonstrations of some equipment that my company sells. So, you need to have a way to communicate with the CTR-500, either a USB or PCMCIA Modem. I actually had a 4G USB Modem, UL290. I had some problems at the beginning to get the CTR-500 Firmware updated. The Firmware loaded is not the latest Firmware and won't recognize the latest 4G Modems that is coming out now. After several attempts, I was able to get the Firmware updated and once that was done, it was a breeze. Inserted the 4G USB Modem into the USB Port on the CTR-500 and after maybe 30 seconds at most, I was able to see the Wireless Network,called CTR-500 as one of the Wireless networks I could log into. As part of the setup and I will say there is some good instructions inside the box, you will make your Wireless Network secure by adding WPA-2 security and assign a password to it. So now, I have a very portable Router using my 4G USB Modem to use when other folks are with me that only has WIFI and can not use the CTR-500 as their HOT SPOT. The one drawback to the portability, is that you have to have Power for the CTR-500, it comes with a AC Adapter and I also ordered a Car charger as well, and haven't received it yet, but with the Car Charger, I will be able to travel in the car and have a couple of people in the car able to login into the CTR-500 and get some work done. If the CTR-500 is able to hold up to my numerous travel trips that I take, then it's well worth the money.

Like some others, I'm on the road a lot and find that I cannot always rely on hotel or office internet connectivity, and since I frequently travel with a team of 3 to 4 others, we've needed the flexibility of setting up an "office" in all types of environments.I shopped around, read a bunch of reviews, and kept coming back to the Cradlepoint Travel Router CTR-500 - it didn't hurt that I also got a great deal (under $100) on it via Amazon.com as well.Straight out of the box, I had the router running and my laptop connected to the internet in less than 15 minutes (it took my laptop longer to boot-up than for me to setup the router); while the range of CTR-500 isn't great (I figured we lost 1-bar for every 4-5 feet of distance), using it outdoors, powered from my truck - we setup 4 laptops in less than 30 minutes and all of us connected via separate VPNs with decent access speeds. Beyond 4 laptops and the speeds were noticeably slower - much beyond 15 feet and it was difficult to sync with the router. All told, a solid and positive "field" test of the router.As a second test, I set the CTR-500 up in my home, and allowed my family to ping away at it - figuring it would be a viable backup in case my cable went out. Again, setup in 15 minutes and had four different laptops setup and running in under 30 minutes. Was able to get decent reception (2-bars) in a 1-story home as far away as 30 feet... not a replacement for DLS or Cable...but a solid backup in case we lose out normal internet.I tested using two different aircards: Pantech (Verizon) UMW-190 and an older Sierra Wireless Aircard (AT&T) U881. Both worked - though we did get better throughput via Verizon, probably for a variety of reasons.Easy to use, quick to setup and very portable...and I didn't seem to have the issues other reviewers had with security setup or passwords - probably because I read their reviews/recommendations.I also didn't try connecting my wireless printer to the router, will try that on a future date.

Most importantly, the CTR-500 works. But the documentation is veryminimal. The device control is via multi-page menues, with featurespoorly described with lots of ambiguous wording. When its used with aWiMax device, such as Sprint's U600, there is no transparancy to theU600. The user has no direct control of the device, such as whetherits using 3G or 4G; this choice is up to CTR-500 and how it happens tointerpret its setup.For a travel modem, this thing draws lots of power from its host, and itruns very hot.Except for the very high power consumption, the CTR500's hardware worksvery well; the data thruput is only slightly degraded, compared to directconnection to the WiMax device. But the user interface is weak.

Writing through my android tablet which I would not have been able to do without the cradlepoint but now I'm able to use with my USB wireless internet thing I have. I read the basic instructions on how to get on my internet, locked it with a new password than I plugged it in and am now browsing the net. Amazing distance I can get with this connection, I'm on the third level of my house but I can go down to the kitchen on the first level and still be able to connect. Only suck thing about this is it needs to be always connected to an outlet. Another good thing is that everyone in the house can use my internet too whereas before we were all fighting for to use the one USB on our laptops. Love wifi, love cradlepoint!!! I definitely reccomend this to everyone with a tablet especially I so far only use the USB section but there are many different ways with this handy little box lol

pairs up easy but when i unplugged to take upstairs it went dark' unfortunately i got it delivered while i was on the road for a month so i lost out on any returns.....i still use it around the house but TRAVEL in the title kinda is why i wanted a rechargeable device...so i bought a zyxel that works as good but that battery has since stopped recharging' so the search continues