Cellular Booster amp installation to improve cell and data?

[jimgerken]

Has anyone done this? Your experience would be invaluable to hear about it. I am looking at a Wilson product, and I really could choose to use it with either AT&T or Verizon, as each has good coverage once I climb the 40 foot antenna tower. Here is the product I am considering...460103 - Wilson DB Pro
This would be a do-it-myself installation. In my home now I get 1 bar, too low for good cell voice use. If I climb the 40 foot tower it goes up to 4 bars by the time I am 3/4 of the way up, so I assume that at the top the signal strength is outstanding. I assume if I get the receiving antenna up there near the top and properly aimed, I will get plenty of signal strength to actually use a data plan and get the freakin internet in my home. Sure glad Obama got this all figured out for me (my favorite broken promise of all of them!).
For lack of a fiber line available, cell based data is about my best choice. The neighbor has tried two different satelite systems and never been satisfied. I understand the Dish plan is one-way, download only, using the phoneline for upload (is this true?). To help pay for some of this new technology, I will probably pull my landline.
Thanks for anything you guys can add, I dont know crap about most of this.

 

[YardBikeBob]

My input is they work pretty good. I use a Wilson product from SolidSignal.com and has been running for 4 years.

Here are my tips:

• I went with an omni-directional outside antenna. Hope springs eternal; maybe a closer tower will one day appear.
• The inside pizza box antenna is polarized. Make sure you mount right side up.
• I only get good reception in room with pizza box. There are options for multiple interior antennas.
• Make very sure you get the right amp for your provider. I'm with Verizon. AT&T visitors get nothing. (But maybe they changed that?)
• In the boonies, 3G/4G can still suck as the tower must have equipment. But phone rings!
• Don't be afraid to call vendor with questions. Confirm your provider & 4G capability.
• If you're experienced with running antennas that actually transmit, installation is straightforward. When in doubt, use their terminated cables; avoid making your own.

I get my Broadband from HughesNet satellite and even upgraded to their 4G product. I loathe them. They know they only have to be better than dial up. Rarely fast enough to stream video. They force a 2-year contract to condition your expectations.

Bob

 

[Soundguy]

not an apples to apples deal here.. but our office is inthe boonies with no fiber or dsl. we hae an old POTS for voice.. but it is not data capable in our area. not even 750

our sprint broadband cards used to give us decent data.. but 2 weeks ago thos pooped out to 1x service after a tower ?upgrade?. no joy calling tech supt for a week. on top of that. sprint data was going sky high$$

For a few days i limped, using my att phone for a hotspot at the office spongeing off my data plan.. but I only got 1-2 bars.. .. worked.. but not ideal.

another person has verizon phone inthe office and got great signal.. so i got a verizon hotspot using the straighttalk plan at walmart.. it works great hung in a window. been using it a week now.

called sprint and ditched them.. now saving about 75% over sprint on data cost.

my poit is.. maybee your plan can do double duty.

get a good data package ont he phone.. then the booster.. use the phone as a wifi hotspot when at home for data using the booster for the pumped up service.

 

[roadhunter]

I have a similar problem. Only get 1 bar in the house. Bought some sort of booster antenna that I put in my attic and it fixed the problem. Get 3 bars in the house now.

 

[IslandTractor]

I tried a Wilson DB pro but had no joy. I got virtually no boost over the one to two bars I got with the cell phone. Sent it back.

 

[thorholt]

I tried a Wilson DB pro but had no joy. I got virtually no boost over the one to two bars I got with the cell phone. Sent it back.

Ditto for me, It did nothing, Fortunately we have fiber to our place with internet and I was able to install a Verizon booster that uses your internet to send your cell phone signal down the internet, It is only good for voice of course, I simply wanted to get cell phone service so I could drop my landline phone.

 

[mikim]

I've had wilson for about 4 years now - that I got at Best Buy. It was $300. It's only good for AT&T but it works. I have a metal roof and got 0 - 1 bar inside. Now I get 3 - 4. The outside antenna is up a pole at about 40'.

 

[breadtrk]

I have an Ebay 750 Mhz 9db yagi pointed at the antenna some android app said was in that direction with the Wilson Verizon booster connected to a home brew 5db omni mounted on the pole next to the house. It gives me and 4 neighbors 3 bars or better all the time.

 

[XxLT250RxX]

I bought a zBoost ZB545 plus a Yagi directional antenna and used a cellphone app to point it at the tower. I had one bar in the house before and maybe two bars afterwords. Some days I still only had one bar. I took it out and moved it to my shop which has metal on the sides and roof. I have always had no service in the building but outside I had two and sometimes three bars. After installing the zBoost I have better service in the building than outside. I then installed an AT&T 3G Microcell in the house and now have full service. It is basically a mini cell phone tower that used my DSL connection.

 

[8N Ren]

They work ok, best plan is to install everything on the temp so you can play around with it to grab better signals.