I'm frustrated by my patchy AT&T 3G reception in my home office /house and have been looking into Repeaters / Amps / Antennas.
Anybody have any recommendations?
Anybody have any recommendations?
Boost Cell Phone Signal
- Thread starter Go2Guy
- Start date
Cell Phone Antennas and Cell Phone Boosters at Wilson Electronics
I bought a cell phone amp from them many years ago when I traveled in rural areas. It helped significantly.
Thats alot of effort for a service not to suck. Its too bad AT&T just wont spend the cash and expand. Wonder how much longer they can hold out next to Verizon.
I too wish AT&T would improve service. 95% of the time, we are fine. Some days it's just not a great signal in our basement or if we're out in the middle of nowhere, the service is lacking.
Having something in the home would be nice, but not worth the expense/work those systems entail.
I just don't want to switch to Verizon only to find I have the same problem.
I have also considered Skype, but wasn't too impressed with their video conference quality when my GF & I did long distance for a few months.
I have also considered Skype, but wasn't too impressed with their video conference quality when my GF & I did long distance for a few months.
AT&T has a pretty decent voice network, but their 3G data is very much lacking. I would say if that is something you really need, you may want to look at Verizon or Sprint. Can't say much for an amp or anything, I've never used one.
Good idea; I'll check into it.
Also, do you think if I switch from my 3-year old Palm Treo to an Apple iPhone would help boost the AT& T signal, or am I pretty much screwed no matter what the hardware ??
If you want to try something cheap, you can try a simple passive repeater setup. Get two antennas and some interconnecting cable. Put one antenna inside the house, preferably where you most use the phone, and mount one outside the house on the side that has the best line-of-sight with the cell tower. I've done it before and it does help (particulalry in basements). Many industrial sites do something similar to improve two-way radio communication between buildings.
You need to keep the interconnecting cable as short as possible to prevent signal loss, and you should use a good quality low loss cable. Also, you should minimize the number of connectors in the circuit, as there are always losses through connectors. Finally, make sure the antennas you get are appropriate for the frequency of your cell phone carrier.
You need to keep the interconnecting cable as short as possible to prevent signal loss, and you should use a good quality low loss cable. Also, you should minimize the number of connectors in the circuit, as there are always losses through connectors. Finally, make sure the antennas you get are appropriate for the frequency of your cell phone carrier.
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