Back2PA
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2015
- Posts
- 5,766
After a winter of poor cellular service in rural northern FL followed by even worse coverage here in rural PA (calls dropped about every other call, sometimes several times in a row), I decided enough was enough and purchased a Uniden U70, their top of the line cell booster. I'd tried a booster a couple years ago, a used Weboost I purchased from a fellow forum staffer, and was not happy with it (price was reasonable and nothing 'wrong' with the unit, just not happy with its capabilities) - while I did get very modest signal improvement, I had to be within 12" of the indoor antenna to achieve those results. Since that experience I'd been very hesitant to get another, and have followed reviews, both good and bad, on a variety of boosters. I finally chose Uniden based on reviews, and also largely on their 60 day money back (including shipping) guarantee.
I went with the U70 because (as mentioned above) it's their most powerful booster. I figured if I'm going to go to the time and expense of installing one, I didn't want buyer's remorse down the road when a less than best didn't perform adequately.
With the U70 I also optioned the ultra low-loss outside cable, the highest DB directional yagi outdoor antenna, the low loss inside cable, and the higher DB directional flat plate inside antenna. I purchased a 20' telescoping flagpole (Harbor Freight) which I mounted to the ladder (after painting to match said ladder). I couldn't find antenna standoffs that would fit a 2.5" mast mounted to a 1" existing tube (the ladder) so I built them out of electrical conduit straps bolted to each other - worked perfectly and cost about $5 for 3 sets including bolts. As far as I can tell, there is nothing I could do to make the system any more robust (unless I can find a higher DB yagi and I am looking to see if anything's available).
I spoke with Verizon tech support, and while the exact location of their cell towers is now "top secret" I was able to coax some crossroads out of them, narrowing the location to within 1/2 mile or so, well within the yagi's main lobe if I pointed it "about that way". Tower direction was confirmed using the Open Signal pointer arrow.
Performance without the booster: I typically had 1, and occasionally 2 bars (iPhones no longer allow Field Test mode giving signal DB, so bars is all I can report), and also occasionally no service. Data was 1x (also known as "2.5G" by Open Signal, which is what it reported during direction finding). So calls would routinely drop, and no data on the phone.
Performance with the booster: I have 2 bars of LTE, resulting in clear 4G calls with no dropouts, and roughly 1.5-2MB data. Obviously these numbers are well below max 4G speeds, but considering that without the booster I have no data whatsoever, and often no service period, I consider this a huge improvement. And I have that performance from one end of my fifth wheel to the other. (When it stops raining I'll check performance outside the camper.)
Full disclosure - initially I was very disappointed. This was an expensive system, and since I did have some signal, I thought I'd be looking at 5 bars and smoking data. I now believe this was an unrealistic expectation, and after some research I don't think it's "all about bars". Before I had anywhere from no service to 2 bars of 1x service with no data; now I have a solid, usable 4G LTE signal, a significant improvement.
One thing, a directional outdoor antenna can only look in one direction, so if you try to use two different carriers (like my Verizon phone and AT&T Mobley data device), and the carriers aren't sharing a tower, that's a problem since you obviously can't point a directional antenna two places at once. (The system is capable of boosting all available signals simultaneously, the trick is receiving those signals to begin with.). I was using the Mobley before the booster, and at this moment it seems wonky, but I've had that happen occasionally and we do have rainstorms in the area, so more on that later. For now, I have the Mobley in the 'dark area' 5 feet directly below the inside flat plate, and we'll see if I get that sorted out.
Here is a link to the U70. They always knock $200 off the price as a "special". (I have no affiliation whatsoever with Uniden.)
I think that covers it
I went with the U70 because (as mentioned above) it's their most powerful booster. I figured if I'm going to go to the time and expense of installing one, I didn't want buyer's remorse down the road when a less than best didn't perform adequately.
With the U70 I also optioned the ultra low-loss outside cable, the highest DB directional yagi outdoor antenna, the low loss inside cable, and the higher DB directional flat plate inside antenna. I purchased a 20' telescoping flagpole (Harbor Freight) which I mounted to the ladder (after painting to match said ladder). I couldn't find antenna standoffs that would fit a 2.5" mast mounted to a 1" existing tube (the ladder) so I built them out of electrical conduit straps bolted to each other - worked perfectly and cost about $5 for 3 sets including bolts. As far as I can tell, there is nothing I could do to make the system any more robust (unless I can find a higher DB yagi and I am looking to see if anything's available).
I spoke with Verizon tech support, and while the exact location of their cell towers is now "top secret" I was able to coax some crossroads out of them, narrowing the location to within 1/2 mile or so, well within the yagi's main lobe if I pointed it "about that way". Tower direction was confirmed using the Open Signal pointer arrow.
Performance without the booster: I typically had 1, and occasionally 2 bars (iPhones no longer allow Field Test mode giving signal DB, so bars is all I can report), and also occasionally no service. Data was 1x (also known as "2.5G" by Open Signal, which is what it reported during direction finding). So calls would routinely drop, and no data on the phone.
Performance with the booster: I have 2 bars of LTE, resulting in clear 4G calls with no dropouts, and roughly 1.5-2MB data. Obviously these numbers are well below max 4G speeds, but considering that without the booster I have no data whatsoever, and often no service period, I consider this a huge improvement. And I have that performance from one end of my fifth wheel to the other. (When it stops raining I'll check performance outside the camper.)
Full disclosure - initially I was very disappointed. This was an expensive system, and since I did have some signal, I thought I'd be looking at 5 bars and smoking data. I now believe this was an unrealistic expectation, and after some research I don't think it's "all about bars". Before I had anywhere from no service to 2 bars of 1x service with no data; now I have a solid, usable 4G LTE signal, a significant improvement.
One thing, a directional outdoor antenna can only look in one direction, so if you try to use two different carriers (like my Verizon phone and AT&T Mobley data device), and the carriers aren't sharing a tower, that's a problem since you obviously can't point a directional antenna two places at once. (The system is capable of boosting all available signals simultaneously, the trick is receiving those signals to begin with.). I was using the Mobley before the booster, and at this moment it seems wonky, but I've had that happen occasionally and we do have rainstorms in the area, so more on that later. For now, I have the Mobley in the 'dark area' 5 feet directly below the inside flat plate, and we'll see if I get that sorted out.
Here is a link to the U70. They always knock $200 off the price as a "special". (I have no affiliation whatsoever with Uniden.)
I think that covers it
