Cell Signal Boosters

[N80]

In my opinion if you have a choice, I would minimize the yagi to amp length. Once signal is lost in coax it is lost. The signal from the tower to the yagi is the weakest. This is why in amateur radio practice you will often see mast mounted pre-amps and even power amps put near the antennas up on the tower to minimize the losses. Once you hit the amp, you can make power (both TX and RX) to send down a longer length of coax. But if the signal is lost getting to the amp it is gone forever.

Excellent point.

 

[N80]

I've been researching all this while reading threads like this, looking for the right solution for me too.

My advice is to measure your signal strength with your cell phone field test. If you can get -100 to -96 dB outside then I would go for it. You can get lower prices buying from someone other than Wilson, but it looks like Wilson has the easiest return policy if it does not work out. I am extremely happy with my results and did not expect it to work as well as it does. Getting the final install done is a bit fiddly but no big deal. I'm just thrilled to have cell service again.

I think it would be worth it to try since you've come this far.

Agreed.

 

[N80]

Okay, I lied. Not my final question above. Next question: grounding. If I leave the yagi on the front porch post, under the eave, I'm not going to worry about grounding it. The amp will be unplugged while we're away anyhow.

If I mount it higher it will be on a plastic conduit pole (the kind of plastic electric lines are run through, it is grey, not sure if it is PVC or not) and will stick up a few feet above the roof line but not above the actual peak of the roof. I don't think the conduit needs to be grounded but the coax does. They make in-line lightning surge protectors. Wilson sells them but they are quite pricey and you also need copper ground to run into the earth too. That could all add up. You can get these connectors online for less than what Wilson charged but I have no idea what specs I need/require. You can also buy typical indoor surge protectors that have coax connectors. Not sure if they are really up to the job.

James, any thoughts on this?

 

[k0ua]

Okay, I lied. Not my final question above. Next question: grounding. If I leave the yagi on the front porch post, under the eave, I'm not going to worry about grounding it. The amp will be unplugged while we're away anyhow.

If I mount it higher it will be on a plastic conduit pole (the kind of plastic electric lines are run through, it is grey, not sure if it is PVC or not) and will stick up a few feet above the roof line but not above the actual peak of the roof. I don't think the conduit needs to be grounded but the coax does. They make in-line lightning surge protectors. Wilson sells them but they are quite pricey and you also need copper ground to run into the earth too. That could all add up. You can get these connectors online for less than what Wilson charged but I have no idea what specs I need/require. You can also buy typical indoor surge protectors that have coax connectors. Not sure if they are really up to the job.

James, any thoughts on this?

Given your circumstances and the low heights, I would not worry too much about the grounding. I will probably get flamed for this, but that is my thoughts. Now a tower installation would be a different matter entirely.

 

[N80]

I'm inclined to agree. Looking online there are very cheap inline surge protectors that you do not ground. I may do this no matter what. For about $16 I can get this if I feel like I need to ground it:

Amazon.com: TII 212 Broadband Cable TV Lightning Surge Protector: Electronics

The one they sell at Wilson is "75 ohm", which is what the system I have is rated at. Not sure if the one referenced above meets that spec but probably does.

Never mind, when I zoomed in on it you can see it is 75 ohm so it seems just right.

 

[k0ua]

I'm inclined to agree. Looking online there are very cheap inline surge protectors that you do not ground. I may do this no matter what. For about $16 I can get this if I feel like I need to ground it:

Amazon.com: TII 212 Broadband Cable TV Lightning Surge Protector: Electronics

The one they sell at Wilson is "75 ohm", which is what the system I have is rated at. Not sure if the one referenced above meets that spec but probably does.

Never mind, when I zoomed in on it you can see it is 75 ohm so it seems just right.

I am not sure how that protector will operate at 1.9 Ghz though. It is rated up to 1 Ghz. But could be very lossy at 1.9ghz.

 

[N80]

Rats. Will keep looking. However, seriously considering just leaving it on the porch post. Its a pretty ugly addition to a rustic looking log cabin.............but I can live with that.

 

[RedNeckGeek]

I think I saw where you were using a 3G LTE cell signal, same as my iPhone 4s uses. I've been using the Wilson antenna (see my previous post for details) and am also having problems with overloading the amp, even with 50' of antenna separation. Replacing the Wilson cables with bulk RG11U and box store screw on connectors didn't noticeably improve signal strength, and did nothing to improve the overload problem.

Verizon Wireless advertises much better coverage for their 4G LTE network these days, and I hope to find out tomorrow when a new iPhone SE arrives that uses the new radios. It may well solve the problem, but if not, I'll be looking to upgrade the Wilson system because I don't think it works with the new 4G LTE setup (please correct me if I'm wrong).

 

[N80]

I got an iPhone 6s before I bought the amplifier. Verizon. No improvement at all over my previous 4s. That's why we broke down and bought the signal booster. I do get LTE inside the cabin now with the signal booster but not all the time.

When we first got cell phones, 10 years ago, Verizon was the only provider that got any coverage there. With our old flip phones we had voice and text with no issues at all. When I got my iPhone 4s I noticed some occasional dropped calls and slow texts. It continued to get worse and prior to getting the booster we could not make a voice call from inside at all. The Verizon coverage map shows coverage there, even when zoomed all the way in. We complained multiple times and they were polite about it but did nothing and offered no explanation why we steadily lost coverage or why we did not have service in areas they claimed had service. Many times the phone would actually say "No Service".

I'd dump Verizon in a heartbeat but none of the other carriers even claims to provide service there and friends with other carriers get little or no service when there.

 

[Redneck in training]

I got an iPhone 6s before I bought the amplifier. Verizon. No improvement at all over my previous 4s. That's why we broke down and bought the signal booster. I do get LTE inside the cabin now with the signal booster but not all the time.

When we first got cell phones, 10 years ago, Verizon was the only provider that got any coverage there. With our old flip phones we had voice and text with no issues at all. When I got my iPhone 4s I noticed some occasional dropped calls and slow texts. It continued to get worse and prior to getting the booster we could not make a voice call from inside at all. The Verizon coverage map shows coverage there, even when zoomed all the way in. We complained multiple times and they were polite about it but did nothing and offered no explanation why we steadily lost coverage or why we did not have service in areas they claimed had service. Many times the phone would actually say "No Service".

I'd dump Verizon in a heartbeat but none of the other carriers even claims to provide service there and friends with other carriers get little or no service when there.

You are right. Not all phones are created equal. Traveling across Kansas my wife's Moto worked most of the time and my Blackberry very seldom.