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Old 09-26-2005, 11:21 AM   #1
Gene Chaltry
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Antenna for Wireless Phones

Does anybody have any solutions for antennas and boosters for a cell phone to boost the signal in off beat places? Any ideas? Thanks in advance for all replys.
 
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Old 09-26-2005, 11:46 AM   #2
richfaa
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If you are in a "Off beat place" then you are probably out of range of a tower that your provider uses.the boosters that you stick inside your phone are worthless.A outside antenna will help extend your range a bit. Remember the phone is a line of sight device You need to be within 8 to 12 miles of a user tower and in line of sight>>>>.
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Old 09-26-2005, 11:59 AM   #3
dsprik
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I also am checking on this (in fact, later tonight). I believe the answer to your question is "yes". There are boosters out there... but they are expensive. Some upwards of $200 to $300 and up, but they will covert your signal from the 0.3 watts that your handheld puts out to the full 3 watts the old bag phones use to have. With the proper antenna, I believe you can boost your range. I also beleive there are legal watt limits also, so you have to be careful. If you do your homework (on the internet on reputable independent consumer sites) you should be able to find a reputable retailer. Maybe someone here already has a signal booster system and they can be more helpful.
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Old 09-26-2005, 12:41 PM   #4
ols1932
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You can purchase a small Wilson Cellular antenna at any truck stop. We have one that I mounted to a quick disconnect mount on my rear ladder. This antenna will increase our signal from one bar to 4-5 bars. We have never been shut out when we have this external antenna. You have to purchase an adapter for your phone (also available at truck stops). As for line-of-site, this is not true. I've been in the woods, down in the valley, behind metal sheds and I still receive the signal.
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Old 09-26-2005, 01:51 PM   #5
Montana_3715
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You have a very high loss in any length of coax from the cell phone to the antenna at the frequency cell phones operate. If it were easy you would see directional antennas. Directional antenna or beam antenna would be the way to go...haven't seen any.
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Old 09-26-2005, 02:47 PM   #6
OntMont
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Just a word of caution regarding amplifiers. I don't think that they work with all of the digital technologies that are in use today. In particular, CDMA as used by Sprint and others does not lend itself to amplification.

I'm no expert on this, but that is what I have been told, so check and double check before you spend the $$. (Analog should be OK with amplifiers).
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Old 09-26-2005, 02:55 PM   #7
Gonfishin
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We purchased a small magnetic automotive antenna and adapter for our Verizon phone (from R. Shack) and it helps some. I cant say that it is the best answer, but it has worked most of the time. We just take it inside the coach with us.
Rick.
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Old 09-26-2005, 04:47 PM   #8
OntMont
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I came across this site on the internet. It seems they have aplifiers that work with CDMA phones. This may be a recent development. They are fairly pricy, but it may be a case of "you get what you pay for". Anyway, "Caveat emptor" (Buyer beware)

http://www.wirelessnetworkproducts.c...n=Custom&ID=34
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Old 09-26-2005, 06:55 PM   #9
jrgwdenner
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I've had good luck using a Wilson antenna with our Verizon phone. We've had a good connection with our Verizon phone almost everywhere on our trip except for remote areas in Canada and Alaska. Within the USA, the antenna gives us those couple of extra bars that enable me to use the phone to get an Internet connection. It was a good investment for us.
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Old 09-27-2005, 06:17 AM   #10
Treecounter
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We highly recommend the Wilson Dual-Band Cellular Antenna. Got caught on The Oregon Coast in Aug. Noticed all these funny looking antennas on rigs. "what izthat?" That is an antenna for cell phones you can get them at the R S in town. We went form no bars to three. We had to laugh at one of the campers because he was so excited he could call to NY. He didn't realize that if he gets a signal he could call anywhere. It looks weird but it dose the job.
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Old 09-27-2005, 07:11 AM   #11
PowellsMonty
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I am happy that those with the Wilsons are satisfied with them and realizing results. I just threw the trucker model and the smaller roof top model away after buying them last month. The lake where we have our camper has a signal so weak nothing helps. Like someone said, buyer beware.
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Old 09-27-2005, 01:26 PM   #12
jrgwdenner
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Maybe they only enhance a signal rather than invent one. It helps a little and sometimes that is all one needs. Surely doesn't work everywhere.
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Old 09-27-2005, 01:43 PM   #13
richfaa
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Log onto www.howstuffworks.com then click on how cell phones work.. might be interesting reading.
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Old 09-28-2005, 06:56 AM   #14
PowellsMonty
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[quote]Originally posted by jrgwdenner

Maybe they only enhance a signal rather than invent one. It helps a little and sometimes that is all one needs. Surely doesn't work everywhere.

I agree.
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Old 09-29-2005, 10:24 AM   #15
RADHAZJOE
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From an Electromagnetic engineer.

Yes external antennas can help. But they work best when mounted on a metal ground plane such as the top of a pickup truck cab. You will still only get 3 to 10 dB of signal improvement but that can increase reception range from 10 to 50%.

Amplifiers also help butmust be matched to the type phoneyou use, CDMA, Analog (not so much in use anymore), etc.
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Old 09-29-2005, 10:55 AM   #16
jrgwdenner
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If we're not using our antenna on the truck with it stuck on the roof, we put it at the end of a long, collapsible metal pole (used for cleaning a swimming pool when a net is on the end) and hoist it above the roof of the trailer. It has worked well in many places but I think you need to get it over the roof of the trailer.
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Old 09-29-2005, 01:37 PM   #17
RADHAZJOE
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to jrqwdenner and all. Those magnetic mount antennas use the metal of the truck for the ground plane. You would get even better use if you added a flat 1 foot diamet metal plae to the pole.
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Old 10-07-2005, 01:53 PM   #18
w4nfr
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I use a Wilson Yagi cell phone antenna mounted on a small mast which is secured to my ladder. When I stay at a campground for long periods of time, it is nice to have a strong cell signal. I climb up the ladder and temporary connect the cell phone directly to the Yagi and slowly swing it around for the best direction, indicated by the signal bars. When I reach maximum, I disconnect and hookup my regular low loss cable which goes inside the RV. Now the antenna is optimized and I connect the Cellphone to the other end of the cable. There is a little loss, but the phone is normally usable.
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Old 10-07-2005, 03:56 PM   #19
H. John Kohl
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All,
A few comments about Cell phone operations. Some of this has already been stated but I want to go back to the basics to try and make a reference for my comments.

Cell phones work on the line of site principal. That means your cell phone antenna needs to see the Cell towers antenna. Distance does play a role in this discussion but site blockers like mountains, hills or being in a valley are more associated to this discussion. Normally trees are not a problem for cell phones but are a problem for satellite service. (They work on a much higher frequency.) Distance is an effect because the earth is round so as you get farther away the tower it disappears behind the curvature of the earth. That is why the 8 to 12 mile rule comes into play.

If your cell antenna cannot see the tower then you need to raise it. If you are using only the cell phone then you have to gain altitude by climbing the hill or going up stairs to a window on the cell tower side of the house or climbing a tree in an emergency.

An external antenna higher in the air will assist you with being able to see the cell tower. With that thought the higher you get it the better within reason. Now I will shift to signal strength.

The signal to and from your cell phone needs to be there. If the Cell tower is to weak on receive signal and you have all the altitude you can get then a gained antenna on the receive side will help. (Antenna theory will be discussed after power.) This is done with a gained antenna or a receiver preamplifier. These items do cost money. The preamplifier receives the weak signal and amplifies it. This is similar to a stereo amplifier it increase the output. This time the output is to the cell phone instead of to your ears. Because of different types of signaling the amplifiers have to be designed to increase that type of signaling. On the transmit side you can also increase the transmit signal by adding a post amplifier. There are regulations tied to this process. Increasing your transmit power can interfere with other cell phones receive capability. This interference concept is a completely different topic.

A comment was made on coax lose. This is an issue and does need to be considered in the concept of getting a stronger signal to and from the cell tower. The proper terminology is decibels when talking about signal gain but for this discussion I will use multiplication reference to try and make it simple.

Statement: the higher the frequency the higher lose in the coax. Since cell phone frequencies are up in the 900 MHZ range the signal lose on coax is much greater than the 27 MHZ range for citizens band radios. If you use an amplifier that send the signal out 5 times stronger than the cell phone and the coax has a 5 times lose then you are at zero gain. However if your antenna is 30 feet higher than you are and your line of site blocking item (hill) is only 20 feet tall you will be able to use your phone with the outside antenna set up. With that though, if your signal loses is 5 times in the coax with no amplifier and it is still strong enough to reach the cell tower then you have success. Therefore, I claim height is the most important concept of getting better coverage.

Antenna designs. Antennas need the transmitting or receiving part of the antenna and a “ground plane” or the other half of the antenna. If you look at your car AM/FM antenna the wire is the receive part and the body of the car is the “ground plan.” Cars with the windshield antenna are two wires one going left and the other going right. With that antenna one side is the same as the wire and the other side is the ground plan. If your car is non-metallic then there is no ground plan and a different antenna that has the ground plan built in is needed. Magnetic antennas use the ground plan concept because they use the car’s mental to act as a ground plan as well as the magnetism is the glue to hold it in place. Fiberglass boat antennas are designed to be self-sufficient or have a built in ground plan. When you buy your external antenna you should state that you need one that does not require a ground plan if you are going to mount it on a pole or hang it from a tree branch with a string. (Sorry, tricks I use for my Ham antennas.)

I know this has not solved the problem, but I hope it may help to answer some of the questions.

Good luck and tow safe.

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Old 10-07-2005, 04:57 PM   #20
dsprik
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Thanks, Harold! Great education!
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