MDMA - a Mobile Data Monitoring Application

===========================================
Before running MDMA make sure you have no other applications or dashboards open
that might be using your data device's communications port.
Many dashboard applications drop the connection when you close them; you can use
Ctrl-Alt-Del to pop up the Windows Task Manager, select the dashboard applicati
on and click on the End Task button, and your internet connection will remain op
en. When you are finished with MDMA you can close it without dropping your conn
ection and open your dashboard again. Doing this will keep your data counters r
unning. You can use your dashboard application or MDMA to keep track of your us
age, but not both. Be sure to disconnect your internet connection from the prog
ram in which you wish to track your usage.
Signal group
============
On the left is the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) in dBm, measured be
tween -113dBm and -51dBm.
Next is your operator's Mobile Country Code (MCC) and Mobile Network Code (MNC).
Next is your operator's long alphanumeric name. Depending on device and SIM card
, this information might not be available.
On the right is the Radio Access Technology; GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA, HSUPA or HSD
+UPA (High Speed Downlink and Uplink).
It is normal for the HSxPA indicators to only appear while data is being transmi
tted, while the connection is idle, 3G is displayed.
Below this is a bar graph indicating the signal strength.
The next line of information is information from the current cellular tower; the
Location Area Code, the Radio Network Controller Identifier (RNC ID), the Cell
Identifier and the description.
Data Counters group
===================
The data transmitted and received in the current and last session is shown here.
You can track your total usage here as well. The totals are stored in a file ca
lled 'usage.bin' located in the 'Common AppData' folder on your computer (normal
ly C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\MDMA in Win2K/XP, or C:\
AppData\MDMA in Vista/Win7).
The 'Reset Session' button zeroes the current session data counters and adds to
the totals, useful if you want to see exactly how much bandwidth a particular op
eration uses. The 'Reset Total' button zeroes the totals, you can use this when
you top-up or get a new data bundle or on your contract billing day.
Data Transfer Speed group
=========================
Here you can see your current upload and download speeds as well as the highest
peak recorded. There is also a 10 second moving average which shows the average
upload and download speed over the last 10 seconds. There are reset buttons fo
r the peaks and the averages, these do not affect the data counters. The profil
e assigned to you by your operator is also indicated here; this can vary accordi
ng to your data plan or even according to the tower you are connected to.
Connection Type group
=====================
Here you can switch your connection type between GPRS/EDGE Only, GPRS/EDGE Prefe
rred, 3G Only, or 3G Preferred. This does not reset the card and you can do thi
s and stay online, provided you have coverage of the signal type you requested.
For example you could switch from 3G to GPRS/EDGE to capture cellular broadcast
s and then switch back to 3G. This function works much better on Huawei cards;
some older Option and Novatel cards or drivers sometimes require the card and/or
your computer to be restarted before you can use them again.
APN group
=========
You can view and set your default APN here, much easier than using a modem initi
alization string.
USSD Commands group
===================
You can enter USSD commands here, these are commands in the form *123# that are
normally entered on your mobile phones's keypad.
Clicking on 'USSD Help' will display a brief listing of some USSD commands offer
ed by South African operators.
Sending a USSD command creates a session, some USSD services are billable, when
you are finished, click the End Session button.
USSD commands that don't require any further input automatically end the session
, in which case the End Session remains greyed out.
You can send multiple USSD commands sepeated by commas, for example: *111#,1,6 f
or Vodacom pre-paid data bundle balance.
MDMA will wait for a response before sending the next command.
Cellular Broadcast Messages group
=================================
Received cellular broadcast messages such as cell info, weather reports and towe
r info are shown here.
Not all operators provide 3G cell broadcasts, you might need to switch your devi
ce in GPRS/EDGE Only mode to receive them.
Start/Stop Logging
==================
This function logs signal strength, connection type, LAC, Cell ID and cellular b
roadcast messages to a comma-seperated-values (CSV) file. The signal strength i
s recorded in its raw format, as a number from 0 to 31 or 99 for no signal. To
convert this number to dBm, multiply it by 2 and subract -113. To convert it to
a percentage, multiply it by 100 and divide the result by 31. LAC and Cell IDs
are recorded in hexadecimal.
Device Info
===========
This interrogates your data device and SIM card, not all devices and SIM cards p
rovide all the information.
About
=====
Some information about the program and an SMS form. Sending from the form will
send a standard SMS to my data device on the Vodacom network in South Africa, yo
u usual local/international SMS rate will apply.
Reset Device
============
This instructs your device to do a full reset, you should notice that the device
disappears from your operating system and gets detected again. Some older card
s or drivers do not recover from a full reset gracefully and require you to rest
art your computer before they become operational again.
Connect / Disconnect
====================
This allows you to connect and disconnect from the internet, MDMA executes 'rasp
hone.exe' which is part of your Windows installation, here you should select the
dial-up connection created by your dashboard software, or by yourself. When yo
u are online the button changes to Disconnect which disconnects the card in the
proper manner and reset the data counters for the current session and adds to th
e totals.
Command line options
====================
/? - Displays command line help
/port:COM<x> - Bypass the automatic detection of the data device and use the spe
cified port
/commandset:<command set> - You can specify whether to use the Huawei, Option or
Novatel set of commands. You can only use this option if the port has already
been specified. If /commandset is not specified, only standard commands are use
d.
/hexprofiles - Displays assigned profile uplink and downlink values in raw hexad
ecimal format (for debugging).
/sessionlog - Keeps a log of data used per session in "\Documents and Settings\A
ll Users\Application Data\MDMA" (Win2K/XP) or "\AppData\MDMA" (Vista).
/nopollcid - Disable Cell ID polling.
/u2diag:<x> - Send ^U2DIAG command to control device's emulated CD-ROM and Micro
-SD card (Huawei only).
values of <x> for most devices:
0: disable CD-ROM and Micro-SD
1: enable CD-ROM only
255: enable CD-ROM and Micro-SD
256: enable Micro-SD only
/ussdcode:<dcs> - Set the USSD data coding scheme: Auto (default), ASCII or PDU.
The Huawei E160 is the only device known to require PDU mode so far.
In Auto mode, MDMA will first try sending in ASCII mode and then switch
to PDU mode.
/unlock:<code> - Send 6 or 8-digit network operator unlock code (Huawei only).
/opselauto - Enable automatic network operator selection and registration.
Useful if device was set to manual operator selection by another dashboa
rd.

(A converged post for the FAQ from everyones contributions. Feel free to submit
corrections.)
You can get a signal strength reading by issuing an AT+CSQ to the modem. You wil
l get a number on a scale of 0 to 31 with 0 being worst (< -113db) and 31 (> -51
db) being best.
To calculate the actual receive level, issue the AT+CSQ command to the card. Tak
e the number before the ,99 and multiply it by 2. Subtract that figure from -113
dBm and that will give you your signal reading in dBm.
For example, a value of 13 results in -113dBm - (13x2) = -87dBm
and 17 in -113dBm - (17x2) = -79dBm.
For those who need to START -> RUN -> CALC to figure this out, here's the easy w
ay...
0 < -113 dBm
1 -111 dBm
2 -109 dBm
3 -107 dBm
4 -105 dBm
5 -103 dBm
6 -101 dBm
7 -99 dBm
8 -97 dBm
9 -95 dBm
10 -93 dBm
11 -91 dBm
12 -89 dBm
13 -87 dBm
14 -85 dBm
15 -83 dBm
16 -81 dBm
17 -79 dBm
18 -77 dBm
19 -75 dBm
20 -73 dBm
21 -71 dBm
22 -69 dBm
23 -67 dBm
24 -65 dBm
25 -63 dBm
26 -61 dBm
27 -59 dBm
28 -57 dBm
29 -55 dBm
30 -53 dBm
31 > -51 dBm
Marginal - Levels of -95dBm or lower. At these sort of levels, it is very likely
that you may suffer low throughput and disconnects due to cell loading/breathin
g even with an outdoor antenna.
Workable under most conditions - Levels of -85dBm to -95dBm. Probably worth cons
idering an outdoor gain type antenna. Could suffer poor throughput and disconnec
ts due to cell loading/breathing.
Good - Levels between -75dBm and -85dBm - normally no problem holding a connecti
on with this sort of level (even with cell breathing) without the use of an exte
rnal antenna.
Excellent - levels above -75dBm. Should not be affected by cell breathing/loadin
g and should not require an external antenna.