Cell phone booster systems

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MikeFromMesa

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I have been trying to find some way to boost the cell data signal I get when camping. My first attempt was to just use an outside antenna with a grounding plane and this gave me about 3 dB of gain. Since I wanted more I next got one of the cradle systems to boost the signal to my Verizon myfi, assuming that I would just use the myfi signal instead of the base cell signal. That also worked, but only gave me about 6 dB and that did not seem like a good buy for the money so I am now looking at full amplifier - rebroadcast systems but I realized that I did not know some basic information about cell signals. Perhaps someone here can help.

I have looked at 3 systems, one from WeBoost, one from SureCall and one from SmoothTalker. Since I know very little about these systems I chose these 3 because they are available through reputable resellers like Amazon and CampingWorld. The basic difference between the 3 systems, from the specs, seems to be that WeBoost handles 5 bands, SureCall 3 bands and SmoothTalker 2 bands. I have talked to the sales/tech people at all of these places and, as you would expect, their suggestions differ so I was hoping that someone here could answer some basic questions.

First, do cell towers broadcast on all bands at the same time? Or do the bands used differ from one cell tower to another and from one part of the country to another? If it is the first, then I would think that it does not matter how many bands your system picks up, but if the second I think it matters very much. If they broadcast all signals do they do so with the same strength?

Second, is it true that 4G signals are no faster than 3G signals once you are more than a mile or so from a cell tower? One of the techs told me that but I have no idea if it is true or if it is "market speak".

I have placed my cell phone in test mode so I can see the strength of the incoming cell signal and it appears that I generally get about -90 dB where I live. That generally seems just fine for voice and data usage since I don't to anything like streaming on my phone. I want to have a signal strong enough to use basic data apps like Skype (with no video), WhatsApp and Viber so my wife can make calls to her family, some of which are in Europe. Is a 3G booster good enough for that? Or should I get a 4G booster (which has been my choice so far).

I plan to use this in our RV, but it is only a small class B so the inside is only about 15 feet from front to back. How far from one of these booster system inside antennas could I expect a good signal?

Lastly, one of these techs suggested that I mount a non-magnetic antenna on the air conditioning case because it is generally the highest part of the RV and because the roof is fiberglass. That seemed like a really good idea but I don't know if running the AC will generate interference with the cell signal picked up by the antenna. Does anyone know?

I know these are a lot of questions but I have gotten so many different answers from the sales and tech people at the different places that I have called that I don't know what is and what is not true and thus I really don't know what the best system for our needs would be. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.
 
I'm not sure I can address any of your more technical questions.  I can tell you that I boondock in some fairly remote places and have found my Wilson Sleek amplifier to make a HUGE difference.  Wilson is now weBoost and they have a new product line. If I were buying again, I would certainly buy one of their current products.

I have always found 3G to be slower than 4G (observed, not measured) and, with amplifier and external antenna (sometimes elevated), I can get 4G a good ways from a tower (never measured it).

All that said, if you are in a place with no cellular signal, an amplifier/antenna will not help - they are not magic.
 
JFNM said:
I'm not sure I can address any of your more technical questions.  I can tell you that I boondock in some fairly remote places and have found my Wilson Sleek amplifier to make a HUGE difference. 
I think the Wilson Sleek is the predecessor to the WeBoost 4G-S that I bought and found to only give me a 6 dB boost. When I spoke with one of the Wilson techs he told me that the 4G-S was intended to be used only in cities where the signal is already strong and that it would do me no good in the boondocks. Of course another Wilson tech told me it should give me a minimum of a 10 dB boost regardless, but it did not. That has been one of the problems - I do not get the same information when I talk to 2 different techs, even from the same company.

Of course I was using it with my Verizon hotspot and not my phone, so perhaps that is one of the causes of the much lower increase.
 
I had a WeBoost 4G-M that did an adequate job most of the time. Now I have the new MaxAmp RV Mobile amplifier/repeater from Maximum Signal, and it really outshines the WeBoost. Pretty much as long as it gets at least a sniff of a signal, we get good data speeds. The MaxAmp also gives us good signals the entire length of our 34' coach, instead of just within the 3'-4' range of the WeBoost inside "Hershey Bar" antenna.
 
rockman said:
At $651, it better work! ;)
Yes. I am glad to hear that it works so well, but of all the systems I have looked at this one is the most expensive.

I would like a good cell booster system but we are not full timers and usually we are only out for a couple of days. We do camp in some places that are in the middle of nowhere but we are both retired and the world will probably stay on its course if we are out of contact for a bit. I am trying to get a good system at a decent price but am trying to stay on a reasonable budget.
 
After having tried (and returned) the WeBoost 4G-S I bought (and just received) the WeBoost 4G-M. While I have not yet installed this in our RV I have checked it out in our car and was pleasantly surprised to find that I am getting about a 25-30 dB boost in the signal strength here where I live. My cell hot spot signal went from about -102 dB (we live in a fringe area) to about -72 dB right on our front street and diving around in the car showed that that boost is good around our neighborhood.

I have yet to try this in the desert but have been pleasantly surprised by the results so far. Just wanted to mention it so if anyone else is interested they might have one more data point.
 
Toying with ideas for cell and wifi boost. Initially was thinking directional antennas for both the idea being to get the greatest return for money. I'm now thinking:

1) telescoping mast mounted on ladder
2) Directional wifi antenna
3) highest DB non-directional cellular antenna I can get

I'm thinking if I mount the mast low enough I can extend it by standing on a ladder (which I carry anyway) so I don't have to hang from the coach ladder and/or climb on the roof to play with it. I've found several telescoping masts which seem to offer some promise.

I figure it's probably easier to aim the directional wifi antenna as you usually know where the signal's coming from, whereas with cellular there's a certain amount of guesswork as to where the nearest tower is (I realize there are aiming apps, not sure of how effective or current).

Also, with both antennas on the same mast in the event we were using both antennas could point the wifi without affecting non-directional cellular.

The early plan for mast mount would have stowed position protruding no more than 12" above roofline so as to not increase current height.

Can't think of a clean way to deal with antenna leads yet, along with cleanly getting leads inside coach

Input on this hypothetical setup is appreciated
 
We use a now discontinued Wilson Sleek 4G/LTE cell booster. It is a cradle model and does pretty good so far. I would suggest get a model that supports as many bands as possible. The phone companies use different bands in different areas and are adding new ones too. At least make sure it supports the bands you currently use.

The same is true for antennas. One that boost 100 db is useless if it doesn't pick up your band. Wilson/WeBoost has a wide band directional antenna that I would choose because I use all four networks and never know what provider will be where we are in the mountains.

Last, because we use a booster that doesn't support Sprints band 41, I found it interesting that I was getting a improvement in the signal. Come to find out the improvement came with the booster on or off and was a result of the passive connection to the boosters antenna. I don't think that something that rebroadcast the boosted signals would have given that improvement.
 
i looked at these wilson devices.  I'm interested but just can't justify spending that kind of money for a once in a while need for us.  We use our phones as hotspot mostly, while RVing....
I sure do wish these phones had an external antenna jack, just to plug into a remote elevated antenna.... I figure that would be just about good enough for my purposes.
Oh well.  Just a sidetrack thought

Sorry for the hijack....
 
NY_Dutch said:
I had a WeBoost 4G-M that did an adequate job most of the time. Now I have the new MaxAmp RV Mobile amplifier/repeater from Maximum Signal, and it really outshines the WeBoost. Pretty much as long as it gets at least a sniff of a signal, we get good data speeds. The MaxAmp also gives us good signals the entire length of our 34' coach, instead of just within the 3'-4' range of the WeBoost inside "Hershey Bar" antenna.

Dutch, did I see elsewhere that you're using a non-directional magnet mount with this booster?
 
Sun2Retire said:
Dutch, did I see elsewhere that you're using a non-directional magnet mount with this booster?

Yes, that's correct. There are two external antennas offered with the MaxAmp kit, a 13" mag mount and a rigid "trucker" style. The mag mount has comparable performance to the "trucker", and has the advantage of just falling over if it's hit by a tree limb, etc. You do need to add a small ground plane metal plate to a non-metallic RV roof though. I used a painted 12"x18" 14 gauge steel plate secured with double sided 3M trim tape and edge sealed with Dicor. Only antennas that have been independently tested with a given amplifier can be sold for use with that amplifier per FCC rules.
 
You can buy a passive antenna connection that will do the same as my cradle does when powered off. Also the Wilson Sleek 4G/LTE can be had discontinued and refurbished for $109 on ebay with a years warranty. Having devices on all four networks I can tell you that it boost every band except 41 and even that it helps passively.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wilson-Sleek-4G-23dB-Cell-Phone-Signal-Booster-Amplifier-Kit-460107-/201461036783?hash=item2ee80376ef

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-passive-external-antenna-adapter-cable-pigtail-FME-Male-connector-/261008815039?hash=item3cc55673bf:m:mi23v2VSUJutAnfV4zZSy6g
 
NY_Dutch said:
Only antennas that have been independently tested with a given amplifier can be sold for use with that amplifier per FCC rules.
That is interesting in that no one at any of the cell phone booster places ever told me that when I was talking about alternate antennas to use with the new booster I got. I wonder how you can find out if any particular antenna has been tested with any particular booster.

I bought the WeBoost 4G-M and have tested it in our car to make sure it worked (and it gave me about a 25-30 dB boost) but also bought a trucker antenna to use with it, thinking that it would solve the problem of having to get and attach a ground plane to the top of our RV. I have been reluctant to let anyone start drilling holes into the roof and thought that the trucker antenna, attached to our regular TV antenna (which we never use) might provide a better signal with less trouble (we do not have a roof ladder which seems to be the typical place to attach such an antenna). I guess I need to find out if it has been tested with this booster.
 
I usually go to these folks with my cell/internet issues. They are pretty sharp and have techs that will talk you through your particular problem.  3Gstore.com
 
Related to this subject, while doing research I stumbled across this, shows you how to switch your phone from signal strength in "bars" to much more accurate DB
 
Sun2Retire said:
Related to this subject, while doing research I stumbled across this, shows you how to switch your phone from signal strength in "bars" to much more accurate DB
That is good information. I found the same web site a couple of weeks ago and changed my iPhone to dB display and that is how I knew what the effect of the WeBoost 4G-M was around my house, but it has not changed back to normal bars (or, in the case of the iPhone, dots) as it was supposed to after rebooting. I still have the test display of dBs. It does not matter to me very much as the value readout is probably a better display than the simple bar display but it does puzzle me as to why.

My wife's phone, also an iPhone, is still showing bars and the comparison has been informative. When we were camping in the mountains her display said no service while mine gave a signal strength of -112 dBs so "no service" does not necessarily mean "no service".
 
MikeFromMesa said:
That is good information. I found the same web site a couple of weeks ago and changed my iPhone to dB display and that is how I knew what the effect of the WeBoost 4G-M was around my house, but it has not changed back to normal bars (or, in the case of the iPhone, dots) as it was supposed to after rebooting. I still have the test display of dBs. It does not matter to me very much as the value readout is probably a better display than the simple bar display but it does puzzle me as to why.

My wife's phone, also an iPhone, is still showing bars and the comparison has been informative. When we were camping in the mountains her display said no service while mine gave a signal strength of -112 dBs so "no service" does not necessarily mean "no service".

To change back to "bars" you can touch the DB display, thus toggling back and forth.

I was very glad to have found this info. I figured everyone had some special DB meter they had purchased to get the readings they had reported.

I'd be interested in how those with directional cellular antennas go about aiming their antennas. I presume it takes some sort of "real" DB meter that reacts instantly, combined with some knowledge of where to start (i.e., roughly where the tower is). As the article states, the best signal may not be by pointing directly at the tower due to hills, etc.

MikeFromMesa said:
attached to our regular TV antenna (which we never use) might provide a better signal with less trouble

This is an option I'm going to explore as well. A local RV shop I like seems to think the Winegard could lift another couple of pounds, I have my doubts. Going to test with a lightweight telescoping painter's pole and some simulated weight to see if it works.
 
Sun2Retire said:
To change back to "bars" you can touch the DB display, thus toggling back and forth.
Yes. I know and that is what I have been doing, but I do wonder how to put the phone back to its initial state without completely resetting it. It is not that I care a great deal as the dB rating suits my needs better than the bars, but I am a bit of a curious guy and things like this make me wonder how to do it, even if I don't really want to.

Sun2Retire said:
This is an option I'm going to explore as well. A local RV shop I like seems to think the Winegard could lift another couple of pounds, I have my doubts. Going to test with a lightweight telescoping painter's pole and some simulated weight to see if it works.
My plan is to mount a flat piece of ferrous metal, large enough to serve as a ground plane, and thick enough so that it will not bend from the moving air when the RV is going down the road at 70 mph. I do worry a bit about it acting like a plane wing and trying to raise the antenna so I will have to find some way to latch the antenna down to keep it from being pulled up by the moving air. I have only raised that antenna once, and that was to make sure the crank worked.  :)

We never watch over-the-air TV when we are traveling although we do watch DVDs.

The alternative is to use one of those truck antennas that don't require grounding but that presents two new problems - the antenna is considerably higher and thus subject to wind pressure and bending and there is always the problem of low hanging branches and/or bridges. The RV is only about 9 1/2 feet tall but adding anther 2 feet to that for the antenna seems like asking for trouble. Not on the highways, of course, but on some of the local roads where bridges are really low and, of course, in some of the parks where the trees shade the camping spaces.
 
...mine gave a signal strength of -112 dBs so "no service" does not necessarily mean "no service".

A 3dB change is doubling or halving, so -112 dB is such an extremely low signal that you may have "no service" in spite of there actually being a very weak signal. On the other hand, if yours actually had service, then there was a signal difference between the two units (not unusual).
 

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