Cell Phone Booster

[Johnv]

I say retire and turn off the cell phone.


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[Spikedog]

Originally Posted by codytaylor1624

I have never dealt withUniden before but their packages seem to be a direct competitor to Wilson. I can say for Wilson that their customer service is second to none. My first one was damaged on arrival and called them and they sent me the next level up booster for free just for the hassle.. I will be a Wilson fan for life if for nothing more than their customer service..

And yes I purchased my outside antenna separately. If you have done any research at all you know that there is 2 basic types of outdoor antenna. Yagi and Omnidirectional. I went with the omni directional to sacrifice just a little performance to gain some asthetics as well as simplicity. I did not want to have to adjust the antenna every time I moved. The Yagi does work better but it requires adjustment every time you move the trailer if you want the best perf. I mounted my outdoor antenna to the old air cable antenna so that I can crank it up if needed to gain some extra distance between antennas.. That also has the added benefit of already having coax ran along the inside of the roof and coming out in the very back by the TV.

Again let me know if you have any questions and I can show you my setup! Its pretty clean!

I just bought a Uniden UM-50 kit, and was planning on using the existing crank-up TV antenna as the outside antenna. I bought an adapter so I can hook up the SMA to F connector (coax cable) so the connections will match up.

However, talking to the Wilson company, they said the frequency of the cell phone signal doesn't match the old TV broadcast signal, so I'd be better off with the tiny antenna provided in the kit. Talking with a ham radio expert at work, he mentioned it's more of a problem with the antenna transmitting than receiving. I thought it was a win-win with the antenna and cable already run and a hole punched in the RV roof; plus, the antenna has a power switch so it should get an additional boost.

I don't know which antenna will work better until I get out in the boonies, but I thought it was food for thought.

[Kaadk]

Originally Posted by Spikedog

I just bought a Uniden UM-50 kit, and was planning on using the existing crank-up TV antenna as the outside antenna. I bought an adapter so I can hook up the SMA to F connector (coax cable) so the connections will match up.

However, talking to the Wilson company, they said the frequency of the cell phone signal doesn't match the old TV broadcast signal, so I'd be better off with the tiny antenna provided in the kit. Talking with a ham radio expert at work, he mentioned it's more of a problem with the antenna transmitting than receiving. I thought it was a win-win with the antenna and cable already run and a hole punched in the RV roof; plus, the antenna has a power switch so it should get an additional boost.

I don't know which antenna will work better until I get out in the boonies, but I thought it was food for thought.

Your Ham Radio friend was right, the issue is with transmitting. Specifically, using an antenna that's not designed for it won't transmit all the power going to it. That unused power returns back into the transmitter, and potentially damages the equipment. I wouldn't recommend trying it.




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[extremebike]

[Spikedog]

Originally Posted by Kaadk

Your Ham Radio friend was right, the issue is with transmitting. Specifically, using an antenna that's not designed for it won't transmit all the power going to it. That unused power returns back into the transmitter, and potentially damages the equipment. I wouldn't recommend trying it.

Thanks for the logical reply. So maybe what the other guy (codytaylor1624) was doing was using only the original antenna's coax cable while using the provided antenna. My new antenna has a magnetic base that won't stick anywhere on my RV, but I suppose I could get it to stay put on the roof somehow.

[B and B]

Spike, i stuck my Sirius antenna on with a dollop of RV roof sealant. Works well, it is on my entertainment slide and lives inside when the slide is retracted.

[BamaBob]

The WeBoost drive 4G Cell Phone booster simply *works* However, it works at a cost - literally! Cheapest I have seen on is on Amazon for $379

But if work depends on cell connection it may be worth it to you.

[Kaadk]

Originally Posted by HSVBamaBob

The WeBoost drive 4G Cell Phone booster simply *works* However, it works at a cost - literally! Cheapest I have seen on is on Amazon for $379

But if work depends on cell connection it may be worth it to you.

At that price that better be a cell-to-sat phone converter.




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[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by Kaadk

At that price that better be a cell-to-sat phone converter.

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X2

Sorta like the WiFiRanger WIFI Booster ($600 for the setup )

Definitely Cadillac products!

[Spikedog]

Oh, none of these cell phone boosters are cheap. I got the Uniden 4G setup for $425. The 3G kits are maybe $100 cheaper. At least I can use this thing in my car too; powered off the cigarette lighter.

[Spikedog]

I tested the Uniden UM50 on my car, and it seems to work pretty good.

Question I have for your RV'ers is whether you leave it on all the time when you're in the boondocks. The power use is listed at 12 volts, 3 amps. A 3 amp draw would suck down the batteries pretty fast. I've got a clamp on DC amp-meter I could use to see if the amp draw is actually that high. The unit has automatic variable gain control, so I'd have to be out in the sticks to really see what the power use is (that's a couple of months away when the snow melt is done).

If the draw is really 3 amps, I'd have to crank up the generator every time I wanted to make a call. It wouldn't work at all on incoming calls since I wouldn't leave it on.

[Spikedog]

Followup - the Uniden UM50 draws about 0.5 amps, so it's not something to leave on all day. As far as performance, I can't say the booster does anything for my signal strength at all. I'm on Verizon, and the CDMA band indicator is always blinking (feedback) even if the antennas are as far apart as possible. I'm very unimpressed.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by Spikedog

Followup - the Uniden UM50 draws about 0.5 amps, so it's not something to leave on all day. As far as performance, I can't say the booster does anything for my signal strength at all. I'm on Verizon, and the CDMA band indicator is always blinking (feedback) even if the antennas are as far apart as possible. I'm very unimpressed.

This was my experience as well; even though I put my outside antenna on an 8 foot wooden pole atop my camper.

[abjb]

ouch on the UM50.
Do you have any signal before you turn it on?

We spend the summer close to Westcliffe CO. 2 to 3 bars in town, ZERO at the MH.
When I turn the Wilson on we go from 0
to 2 - 4 + 4G couldn't be happier .

We leave it on 24/7, maybe we shouldn't the 12v power supply melted (after 3 yrs) which put 110v on the Wilson POOF.

New and improved Wilson Electronics - 460101 gets here next week .

[Spikedog]

I start out with zero signal (10 miles south of Manila, UT) at our camping spot, so I suppose I could give the Uniden a pass there. Last weekend I was at Grand Targhee resort by the Grand Teton, WY and had 1 bar before and after plugging in the UM50.

What drives me mad is the GSM phones are working all around me in both places. I'd switch to Union but I have a company phone, and can't beat the monthly price.

[Spikedog]

Some more experimenting with the Uniden gave better results. If I turn on my Iphone AFTER energizing the uniden, it works much better. I actually made some calls last week from the boonies, plus a few messages got in. No data or emails, but I wasn't expecting that. I'd get up to 3 bars if I laid the phone over the inside antenna.

[Super Thirty]

I have found with ours that where there is a weak signal like one bar on the phone the booster will increase it to 3+. Where there is no signal I have been able to get two bars in some instances. In weak signal areas we have to keep the phone close to the inside antenna as well. Our unit is a zboost.