Cell Signal Boosters

[Ford850]

One other thing, I noticed there are more choices on that site, if you get into the area that you can select one room, home, large home, etc. On that page there were more choices, some with stronger signal boosts but for 3G instead of 4G. Those provided the same level of coverage for $399, as the $459 one did (except 3G instead of 4G). If you don't need 4G, it might be worth it. Or worth it to ask them some questions about that.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Very timely thread. I'm currently traveling and at my current location have no Internet other than what I can get with an iPhone. I didn't know that my prepay cell phone provider didn't allow tethering the cell phone to give Internet access to the laptop, so for the last week I've been trying to find a provider that would. Ended up with a Verizon prepay plan at about the same cost as the satellite Internet system I use at home, and now I'm thinking about going full time to the cell solution. Only problem is at home, I have very poor cell reception.

In 2010 I installed the following components from Wilson Electronics:

Inside Antenna - Dual-Band Panel Antenna Model No. 301155, uses N-Female connector

Outside Antenna - 700 MHz - 2500 MHz Wide Band Directional Antenna Part # 304411, uses F-Female connectors

Amplifier - DB Pro In-Building Wireless Cellular Smart Technology Amplifier Model # 271247-75, uses F-Female connectors

It helps, but in the two antenna configurations I've tried so far, it is very easy to overload the amplifier with feedback between the two antennas. I'm also using RG-11 cable, which I was told by the Wilson folks would reduce losses, but am stuck with the cheap screw on connectors because I haven't been able to find weather proof N connectors that are RG-11 compatible.

So any pointers on where to find the appropriate connectors or how to properly orient my antennas would be a big help. As things are, I'd be hesitant to rely only on a cell based Internet connection at my home.

 

[kco]

Your situation sounds similar to mine, RedNeckGeek.

Perhaps you should consider a separate service using a router rather than a cell phone plan. It looks like Verizon has them:

Verizon 4G LTE Broadband Router with Voice | Verizon Wireless


I use a Rogers ZTE MF275R for my internet service (in BC, Canada). I am 30 km from the cell tower. The terrain
is good but trees close to my location have some effect. I changed from a different supplier last summer, mainly because of a much better data plan, but also to upgrade to 4G LTE technology that became available since the first installation a few years ago. I continued to use the Wilson 304411 antenna for a while and it gave reliable service with LTE download speeds of about 10 Mbps.

Service degraded in December. We eventually determined it was a Rogers problem. But in discussing it with the 2nd level support person I decided to upgrade my antenna to ensure reliable service and to take full advantage of LTE. I went with a YagiRef2-QLP antenna from WirEng.

To take full advantage of LTE you need two antennas installed at +45 degrees and -45 degrees. Here is a YouTube link to show why:

LTE 4G Part 2 - Why you must have 2 antennas for LTE speed - YouTube

There are other videos in the same series that give more information.

I bought the YagiRef2-QLP from BestCellDist.com. I believe they are based in San Diego but the antennas are shipped directly from WirEng in Texas. They were very helpful. I got them to send me an antenna user manual before I bought the antenna.

Take a look at the BestCellDist.com site and the WirEng.com site for good information on antennas.

The antennas significantly improved my signal. With just my ZTE MF275R's standard antenna the signal showed as -106 dBm which is marginal but gave a download speed of 10 Mbps. With the old single Wilson 304411 the signal was -100 dBm. Much better but the download speed was still 10 Mbps. With the WirEng YagiRef2-QLP it went to -92 dBm (which is 5 out of 5 bars) and the download speed doubled to 20 Mbps.

My installation required dual 50 foot cables. It is best to use ultra low loss cable for long runs. I used LMR400. The antenna has FME connectors and BestCellDist's YagiRef2-QLP includes pigtails to connect FME to F. My LMR400 have the small SMA cables on the other end so I could drill a smaller hole through the house wall. I used a short SMA female to SMA male pigtail cable to make it easer to connect to the router's SMA connector. I got my cable from InfiniteCables.com:

Antenna Cables & Accessories - Infinite Cables

You can get them at about 1/5 the price on EBay if you don't mind waiting 6 weeks.

I like the antenna and router for my service because it is less complicated that a booster. The downside is it only helps the router and does nothing for normal cell service (which I don't need).

Regarding the weatherproof connection from RG11 to F-Female: could you not just tape the connections and use a sealant? I did that with all my outside connectors.

Here are a couple of photos of my installation:

 

[newbury]

The answer is.........6.

I got 42.

 

[tommu56]

Finally someone got my Green Acres reference.

View attachment 461163

My wife wants me to build a gazebo out in the yard so we can use the phone. She wants to call it the Verizon Pavilion.

WE have an internet stump at my cabin it is were you get the best cell service for some reason, go 6 feet away and you loose it.

tom

 

[ultrarunner]

The stump is marks the center of the vortex..

 

[RedNeckGeek]

Your situation sounds similar to mine, RedNeckGeek.

Wow! I went fishing for a few hints and landed a real whopper! Lots of help here, and I really appreciate your thoughts! Thanks!:dance1:

 

[Redneck in training]

I didn't read all the post so my info might be repeat. Our mobile would ring but we had run out of house to talk. We waited for 4G model of Wilson repeater. Our has outside Yagi antenna pointed in direction of strongest signal and omnidirectional antenna in the attic. About $500. Problem solved.

 

[dmccarty]

Finally someone got my Green Acres reference.

View attachment 461163

I think many people got the reference but did not say anything since that would be an age indicator. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

For myself, I got the reference but only from my History Of Television class in school.

My wife wants me to build a gazebo out in the yard so we can use the phone. She wants to call it the Verizon Pavilion.

That right there is funny! :thumbsup::laughing::laughing::laughing:

Will she charge outrageous amounts of money to get a seat in the N80 Verizon Pavilion? Will you have to build a new parking area to charge even more money for people to park their cars so they can get to their high dollar seat? :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

 

[SPYDERLK]

Another one on the inside of the house attached to the coax. Of course there would be loss in the coax and the connectors. as well as the path loss's both inside and out. This approach may or may not solve the OP's problem, but the upside is that the cost is low as well as the complexity. The active system of the Wilson booster repeater is practically guaranteed to work, but the cost is much higher.

Passive repeater - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tunnel transmitter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As for how high to mount the outside antenna, the higher and cleaner line of sight to the nearest cell tower the better, but on the flip side the more coax in use connecting the two antenna's the worse the performance will be due to losses in the coax cable. So a happy medium must be reached. I surmise that the building and especially its metal roof are seriously degrading the signal, so a 12 db gain yagi with perhaps 6 db of loss in coax and N connectors with 12 db gain of the radiating antenna inside minus the path losses in the air on the inside might possibly be enough to get a usable signal on the inside of the house.. It is a risk, it might not be enough. But it could be.

Isnt it true that you can get very low loss with the semi rigid "copper tube" coax because the coaxialness is maintained much better -- near perfect?