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Cell Phone Boosting - a Yagi antenna?

GeekDrew

GeekDrew

Diamond Member
I live in a rural area, in southeastern Ohio. I have a cell phone, through Nextel, and I'm not willing to part with it... it's too useful everywhere else. The problem: it doesn't work at my house. I can occasionally get a signal... but I lose it seconds after getting it. It works perfectly on one of our farms, 2 miles north of this house, and works well at another of our farms, 2 miles southwest of this house. It's just in between that it doesn't like to work.

I'm on a team of people that has people located all over the nation, and I have to be in contact with some of them frequently..... in the last two weeks, I've called people in Illinois, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia, and Texas.... and I'm sure I've forgotten some. Thankfully, I was able to make most of those calls from my cell phone, as I didn't have to be at home... of the few calls I've made from home, Verizon billed me $50 in long distance charges. That kinda gets on my nerves, because my cell phone is right beside me, and has thousands of free minutes on it, but won't work here. Verizon also made a billing error (surprise!), and I'm still disputing that with their billing department. But anyway... back on topic.

Has anyone used a Yagi antenna attached to a cell phone? I searched for "Yagi" here in ATOT, and returned this, but nothing really came of it, that I know of. I've read up on them some, and there are testimonials that say they really work well.... but has anyone (here) actually used them, to know if they help at all? I'm thinking that if I get one, and point it in the direction of the cell tower that I have the best chance of connecting to, it should at least help me some...

Also, has anyone ever dealt with this place or this place?

Thanks...
 
interesting. i also get very, very poor reception at home. it's not just my carrier, either (AT&T). everyone who comes over gets poor reception.
 
I've got a repeater amplifier from wilson electronics. I have a yagi antenna for the outside antenna. Though I still haven't hooked it up, too lazy to go outside and climb on the roof to mount. I have tested the repeater with just the mini magnet antenna and it seems to work pretty well.
 
hmm...never seen these things before. when i came in this thread i thought you meant those "boosters" you see on TV as part of your free gift or something.

Anyways, this seems like a cool solution, let me know how it works or if anyone has any exp. with it. I have the same problem (no reception at home, but i get free long distance..) but I live in a huge multi-level apartment building. NOBODY gets reception here, god forbid it should be a cloudy/rainy day. I wonder how much lead/asbestos i have to thank for 1 bar on my phone?

My street also seems to be kind of a "dead zone", despite the fact that we are in the middle of hollywood? 🙁

is there anything i can do?
 
If it's an option...you could get an old-style bag cell phone..it's what my dad uses, because regular little cell phones don't get signal in the mountains due to the limited power output.

..The chicks just won't think you're cool, because you're lugging around an ancient phone 😉
 
Originally posted by: Kalvin00
If it's an option...you could get an old-style bag cell phone..it's what my dad uses, because regular little cell phones don't get signal in the mountains due to the limited power output.

..The chicks just won't think you're cool, because you're lugging around an ancient phone 😉
Click to expand...

hahahaha I'm not too worried about the chicks thinking I'm cool 😛

gUEv - not sure about what to do in your situation... I'll see what I can find out tho 🙂
 
Originally posted by: GeekDrew
Originally posted by: Kalvin00
If it's an option...you could get an old-style bag cell phone..it's what my dad uses, because regular little cell phones don't get signal in the mountains due to the limited power output.

..The chicks just won't think you're cool, because you're lugging around an ancient phone 😉
Click to expand...

hahahaha I'm not too worried about the chicks thinking I'm cool 😛
Click to expand...

The guys won't think you're cool either. Can you still get one of thsoe old-style phones? I haven't seen one of those in like 15 years.
 
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: GeekDrew
Originally posted by: Kalvin00
If it's an option...you could get an old-style bag cell phone..it's what my dad uses, because regular little cell phones don't get signal in the mountains due to the limited power output.

..The chicks just won't think you're cool, because you're lugging around an ancient phone 😉
Click to expand...

hahahaha I'm not too worried about the chicks thinking I'm cool 😛
Click to expand...

The guys won't think you're cool either. Can you still get one of thsoe old-style phones? I haven't seen one of those in like 15 years.
Click to expand...

Yep, you might have to have them order one, but they can still be bought.
 
Originally posted by: gUEv
hmm...never seen these things before. when i came in this thread i thought you meant those "boosters" you see on TV as part of your free gift or something.

Anyways, this seems like a cool solution, let me know how it works or if anyone has any exp. with it. I have the same problem (no reception at home, but i get free long distance..) but I live in a huge multi-level apartment building. NOBODY gets reception here, god forbid it should be a cloudy/rainy day. I wonder how much lead/asbestos i have to thank for 1 bar on my phone?

My street also seems to be kind of a "dead zone", despite the fact that we are in the middle of hollywood? 🙁

is there anything i can do?
Click to expand...

kinda OT: anyone ever use one of those stick on boosters? i would imagine theyre junk...but i still see them around...is that just due to the fact that people will buy any damn thing...or do they actually do something?
 
I haVE a copper thing on my phone that is supposed to reflect my signal away from the battery side of my antenna... not sure if it works.
 
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: GeekDrew
Originally posted by: Kalvin00
If it's an option...you could get an old-style bag cell phone..it's what my dad uses, because regular little cell phones don't get signal in the mountains due to the limited power output.

..The chicks just won't think you're cool, because you're lugging around an ancient phone 😉
Click to expand...

hahahaha I'm not too worried about the chicks thinking I'm cool 😛
Click to expand...

The guys won't think you're cool either. Can you still get one of thsoe old-style phones? I haven't seen one of those in like 15 years.
Click to expand...

I'm not worried about the guys either 😉 If they're judging me based on what kind of cell phone I'm using, and especially if they know the reason why, they aren't worth keeping around.

I don't believe that you can get one of the old style phones for the Nextel network...

kinda OT: anyone ever use one of those stick on boosters? i would imagine theyre junk...but i still see them around...is that just due to the fact that people will buy any damn thing...or do they actually do something?
Click to expand...

I see all kinds of overnight-wonder-shops selling those things... they make a killing on them, I'm sure, but I sincerely doubt that they do any good. I asked.... someone.... about them (can't remember who), and was advised not to even try to use them... not that I would have anyway... if it costs $0.25, why wouldn't the manufacturer just include it in the phone???
 
A Yagi is a good antenna, but DO NOT GET THE CHEAPEST CABLE. You can lose more signal than you gain. You don't need the LMR400 for a short run, but get the "X" cable. Far better than standard.
 
Originally posted by: WinstonSmith
A Yagi is a good antenna, but DO NOT GET THE CHEAPEST CABLE. You can lose more signal than you gain. You don't need the LMR400 for a short run, but get the "X" cable. Far better than standard.
Click to expand...

I'm sure!

On a spin-off of what we've already talked about, does anyone use Wilson's amplifier setup (in/on a house), that has an external antenna (usually a Yagi), and an internal antenna, with an amplifier in the middle?
 
Originally posted by: spidey07
I've had good luk with cell phone amplifiers.

But they are pricey - 500+
Click to expand...

Yeah.... 🙁 It would pay off in the long run, for that much... but not immediately. I'm going to have to wait a little while if I go for an amplifier... (that, or move to a house on one of our other farms... lol).

An antenna, though, doesn't cost that much.
 
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