[Shop-talk] Cell phone boosters

[Ronnie Day]

We have similar issues at our new place, but we only have to worry about
Verizon. I did some research and ended up getting a Wilson DB Pro through
Amazon. It was around $340. Not cheap, but it works. It consists of a 13 db
gain very directional antenna that I mounted on top of 25 feet of mast.
That attaches to an amp where drives a hemispherical flat panel indoor
antenna.

The first thing I did was call Verizon tech support and find out the
closest Verizon towers to our place. and figured out the relative compass
headings. Once we get settled I plan to put the outside antenna up at
around 50 feet. That should improve things quite a bit.

In your situation, you may get lucky and either be able to use an
omnidirectional outside antenna, if both AT&T and Verizon have towers close
enough to you. More likely they won't be so close and they'll be in
different directions (Murphy rears his ugly head) and you'll need separate
setups with directional antennas for each provider.

We're dealing with small, relatively cheap radios here with non-optimal
antennas and the frequencies they operate at aren't good for going through
hills and around buildings. That's just the nature of the beast.

FWIW,
Ron


On Fri, Jan 10, 2014 at 7:00 PM, James Stone <jandkstone99 at msn.com> wrote:

> I need a cell phone booster for my vacation home and figured this was the
> best
> place to turn for guidance.  Here s the background:
>
> I have AT&T and my wife has Verizon; iPhone 5s for me and iPhone 4 for
> her.  I
> am the one who primarily needs the boost, but it would be nice to get
> something that would enhance my wife s signal, too.  (And, please don t
> take
> that sentence out of context!)  The AT&T signal here is ok in most of the
> house ( ok  defined as 2 bars - I can send and receive calls), except for
> the
> area I am trying to use as my home office.  There I only get one bar and
> can
> send and receive text messages, but most calls do not get through.  My wife
> has two bars throughout the house, so her signal is adequate everywhere.
> (BTW: the house is less than 800 sq ft, so the distance from the adequate
> to
> the inadequate rooms is only a couple of steps.)  We have cable wifi and
> that
> signal is excellent throughout.
>
> I have to do something to improve the AT&T signal, but it would be nice to
> get
> something that would work for both our phones.  And, as always, it would be
> nice not to spend too much money.  The easy solution for me looks to be an
> AT&T Microcell, but it would be nice to get something that worked for
> Verizon,
> too.  Something like this sounds perfect
> (
> http://www.amazon.com/zBoost-YX545-Dual-Band-Booster-Coverage/dp/B003VOW5WI/
> ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top) and it is less expensive then the Microcell when
> bought from AT&T, but I d like to hear from someone I trust before
> investing
> $200.  And, given that I only need the boost in one room, whatever
> solution I
> go with wouldn t necessarily have to be wireless.  I d be ok with
> something a
> lot less expensive that only worked when the phone was connected to it or
> right next to it.
>
> As always, thanks!   Any advice will be appreciated.
>
> Jim
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