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Thread: Anybody use a cell signal booster

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    Anybody use a cell signal booster

    I get weak signal, one to two bars, sometimes zero with verizon at my home. Thinking about buying a cell phone booster, you know the outdoor antenna, signal booster and indoor antenna. Anybody have one?

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    Administrator Krupski's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by 1 Patriot-of-many View Post
    I get weak signal, one to two bars, sometimes zero with verizon at my home. Thinking about buying a cell phone booster, you know the outdoor antenna, signal booster and indoor antenna. Anybody have one?
    Try this: Get two cell phone external antennas like this:


    (click pic for link)



    Put one outside and one inside, couple the cables together with an SMA to SMA adapter and there you go.

    No need for an amplifier.

    You can use your phone itself outdoors to see where you get the best signal (most bars) and mount the outside antenna there.

    Try to keep both the indoor and outdoor antennas at least "antenna height" away from any structure. Note that you can mount the indoor antenna upside down from the ceiling and maybe even paint it the same color so you barely see it.

    Take heed of the note that you need a ground plane (a flat metal surface at least 4 inches in diameter under each antenna).

    If for some reason it doesn't perform as well as you need, you can then always buy an amplifier and simply connect it to each antenna in place of the SMA coupler.
    Gentlemen may prefer Blondes, but Real Men prefer Redheads!

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    Its a bit expense but the weBoost system works very well.
    A buddy has one in his cabin in the middle of nowhere with no signal and the weBoost brings in 4G speeds and good cell service. His antenna is mounted on a TV type antenna tower.
    Power spikes can ruin them, so I would invest in some surge protection devices.
    Last edited by rktman; 07-24-2017 at 07:24 PM.

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    Administrator Krupski's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by rktman View Post
    Its a bit expense but the weBoost system works very well.
    A buddy has one is his cabin in the middle of nowhere with no signal and the weBoost brings in 4G speeds and good cell service. His antenna is mounted on a TV type antenna tower.
    Power spikes can ruin them, so I would invest in some surge protection devices.
    I suggested that he first try a passive antenna to antenna link because it costs less, uses no power and in most cases works great.

    All it does is electrically "move" his cell phone antenna outside (albeit with a tiny bit of loss).

    The outside antenna receives the signal and "transmits" it on the indoor one, and vice-versa.

    And, if that should prove to be not good enough, then it's a simple matter to just remove the coupler between the two and stick an amplifier in it's place (the existing antennas stay as they are).

    No need to spend money on an amplifier and on the power it uses (as well as the risk of power spike damage) if he doesn't need to.
    Gentlemen may prefer Blondes, but Real Men prefer Redheads!

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    Well that's certainly cheap enough to try Krupski! Thanks, I'm going to try that. Just need to make a bracket/ground plane. I still have a mount on the side/top of my house for an old TV antenna that should do as a mounting spot for the outside antenna.That side of the house faces the cell tower too. Thanks guys for the replies.
    Last edited by 1 Patriot-of-many; 07-26-2017 at 02:29 PM.

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    Administrator Krupski's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by 1 Patriot-of-many View Post
    Well that's certainly cheap enough to try Krupski! Thanks, I'm going to try that. Just need to make a bracket/ground plane. I still have a mount on the side/top of my house for an old TV antenna that should do as a mounting spot for the outside antenna. Thanks guys for the replies.
    Great! Mounting the outside antenna as high as possible is good. The most important thing with an antenna is height. A cheap antenna mounted high will outperform an expensive one mounted low.
    Gentlemen may prefer Blondes, but Real Men prefer Redheads!

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    One last question Roger, Since I already have a rf coax(previous tv antenna) running from the roof down to about where I want to put the antenna, I just ordered two sma female to rf coax female adaptors. My question though is the antennas came with about 20 ft of cable(soldered in to the antenna of course at the antenna end), will that be an issue in reducing the gains? Should I cut the sma cable short and use a crimp on connector or is this extra cable no big deal in your opinion? Thanks! Robert EDIT: I can't find any crimp on male connector for the sma cable so i guess that point is moot?
    Last edited by 1 Patriot-of-many; 07-28-2017 at 05:26 PM.

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    Administrator Krupski's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by 1 Patriot-of-many View Post
    One last question Roger, Since I already have a rf coax(previous tv antenna) running from the roof down to about where I want to put the antenna, I just ordered two sma female to rf coax female adaptors. My question though is the antennas came with about 20 ft of cable(soldered in to the antenna of course at the antenna end), will that be an issue in reducing the gains? Should I cut the sma cable short and use a crimp on connector or is this extra cable no big deal in your opinion? Thanks! Robert EDIT: I can't find any crimp on male connector for the sma cable so i guess that point is moot?
    Cell signals are in the GHz. range (that is, 1000 to 3000 megahertz). At those frequencies, TV cable such as RG-59 or RG-6 will work as well as a wet noodle to carry the signal.

    Good quality microwave coax cable uses silver plated wire and Teflon insulation (and costs a LOT more than ordinary copper/vinyl coax) and as you will notice is a lot smaller in diameter... around 1/8 inch.

    Summary: Don't bother trying to use TV cable for your cell antenna project - it won't work.

    It would be better for you (performance wise) to utilize the cable length that the cell antennas come with and locate the antennas to accommodate that length, even if it means not being able to put the outdoor antenna on the roof.
    Gentlemen may prefer Blondes, but Real Men prefer Redheads!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Krupski View Post
    Cell signals are in the GHz. range (that is, 1000 to 3000 megahertz). At those frequencies, TV cable such as RG-59 or RG-6 will work as well as a wet noodle to carry the signal.

    Good quality microwave coax cable uses silver plated wire and Teflon insulation (and costs a LOT more than ordinary copper/vinyl coax) and as you will notice is a lot smaller in diameter... around 1/8 inch.

    Summary: Don't bother trying to use TV cable for your cell antenna project - it won't work.

    It would be better for you (performance wise) to utilize the cable length that the cell antennas come with and locate the antennas to accommodate that length, even if it means not being able to put the outdoor antenna on the roof.
    Okay That's a bummer. Why the hell do they make connectors that integrate both cables together? Different application than cell use that cable? I'll have to do some measuring see if I can still get it up there, might have to make another hole than the existing Appreciate the help! Ahhh... Some amateur radios right? Just had a brain storm, My gazebo on the deck on that side of the house would make a great ground plane. I can run th cable down the leg, under the deck and into the current hole where my tv cable run already is into the lower room where I was intending to put the second antenna. Won't be as high as the roof of the house of course but I'll give it a shot.
    Last edited by 1 Patriot-of-many; 07-29-2017 at 04:52 PM.

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    Can't find an amplifier by itself anywhere, any ideas Roger? I'm about ready to buy one of those whole packages at $300

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