Cellular phone amplifiers
Hi All, We are interested in improving our cell phone signals. I have
forgotten any past discussions on the site, and was wondering what the best
way to go about this might be. I have a dealer friend (?) that is pushing
M-Tech amplifiers, but can find little info except for Wilson. I read where a
wireless set-up reduces the range a considerable amount, so maybe a connected
unit might be better for our needs.
Any thoughts on the subject would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Jack Silcox
Krogen 39 M&M
Hobe Sound FL
I can recommend the Wilson equipment also. I am on the very edge of
service for both Sprint and Verison.
I have a Wilson yagi antennae and I do use the wireless (Wilson also)
type amp/repeater, I do not know how much better the a tethered type
would be, but for my use the wireless is good enough.
I use Sprint EVDO for my internet and without the amp I cannot connect,
with it I have a good stable connection, voice calls on my Sprint phone
and my buddy's Verizon phone are iffy without the amp on.
The folks at wpsantennas.com
http://www.wpsantennas.com/?gclid=CNbxkafpzZACFRGCGgodqzetXw are very
helpful in suggestion a good setup for your needs.
Cole
Jack and Carol wrote:
Hi All, We are interested in improving our cell phone signals. I have
forgotten any past discussions on the site, and was wondering what the best
way to go about this might be. I have a dealer friend (?) that is pushing
M-Tech amplifiers, but can find little info except for Wilson. I read where a
wireless set-up reduces the range a considerable amount, so maybe a connected
unit might be better for our needs.
Any thoughts on the subject would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Jack Silcox
Krogen 39 M&M
Hobe Sound FL
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The Wilson equipment is good but if you are looking for a set up for your boat
you should also look at a company called Digital Antenna. Similar amplifiers
to Wilson but they also have Marine antennas matched to their amplifiers. If
you decide to go with Wilson, Shakespear also makes cellular antennas that
will work ok with the Wilson amplifiers, just be sure to check for the correct
connectors.
Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 10:58:26 -0500> From: voyageryacht@aol.com> To:
kk38@bellsouth.net> CC: trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com> Subject:
Re: T&T: Cellular phone amplifiers> > I can recommend the Wilson equipment
also. I am on the very edge of > service for both Sprint and Verison.> I have
a Wilson yagi antennae and I do use the wireless (Wilson also) > type
amp/repeater, I do not know how much better the a tethered type > would be,
but for my use the wireless is good enough.> I use Sprint EVDO for my internet
and without the amp I cannot connect, > with it I have a good stable
connection, voice calls on my Sprint phone > and my buddy's Verizon phone are
iffy without the amp on.> The folks at wpsantennas.com >
http://www.wpsantennas.com/?gclid=CNbxkafpzZACFRGCGgodqzetXw are very >
helpful in suggestion a good setup for your needs.> Cole> >
im is proud to present Cause Effect, a series about real people making a
difference.
http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/MTV/?source=text_Cause_Effect
The Wilson equipment is good but if you are looking for a
set up for your boat you should also look at a company
called Digital Antenna. Similar amplifiers to Wilson but
they also have Marine antennas matched to their amplifiers.
I tested the DA4000 alongside the Wilson amp on my trawler. The only two
differences that I found were that the Digital Antenna device didn't provide
as much amplification and was more expensive. I considered those to be
significantly problematic differences. I also tried the DA wireless version
and found it totally unacceptable for use on my boat (no significant
amplification).
Wilson developed a marine antenna matched to their amplifier about a year
ago. Their marketing department contacted me when they were in the design
stage and I gave them some feedback. I plan on testing it when my boat is
back in the water. I like the extra ground plane additions that they made -
I believe it will add even more amplification when compared against other
cellular antennas although it is smaller. It is certainly unique and worthy
of a test. It is also the least expensive cellular marine antenna.
Here is a picture and specs for the Wilson antenna:
http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/ViewProductB.php?ID=30
This is a pretty small 5.12 dBi antenna. You can't really compare the specs
of it against Digital Antenna's 8 dB antenna (that little "i" has meaning).
I've found that the specs are often overstated or incorrect with antennas.
The only thing that matters is real side-by-side testing. I've also found
that if an amplifier is being used, the antenna has less importance. My
original tests with a $10 car-mount-squiggly antenna clipped to an iron
skillet (honest, that was how I tested it) provided results as good as the
DA and Shakespeare antennas I tested as long as the amp was on. Although
the skillet gave a good Maine salty look, my wife suggested that we put a
real mount on the arch. I've used the DA and Shakespeare antennas on the
mount with equal results. The DA antenna feels like it is made better.
Finally, Wilson has a comparison of amps provided by an "independent
tester." I've been warned about the independence of the test that was done
but I've found it to be true in my own testing:
http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/Files/Competition/CyfreAd.pdf
The "Going Mobile" section of ActiveCaptain is being worked on right now and
will be coming out in the next couple of months. It contains a set of
"books" including "Mobile Phones on Your Boat" and "WiFi on Your Boat". The
purpose of it is to provide a single reference that explains all of these
types of issues with amps, WiFi antennas, mobile phone capabilities and
comparisons, cellular provider differences and issues, etc. The industry
has done an exceptional job of making all of this very confusing at every
turn. It's even worse for boats because there are some special issues that
aren't usually addressed.
---=
Jeffrey Siegel
M/V aCappella
DeFever 53PH
W1ACA/WDB4350
Castine, Maine
www.activecaptain.com
Content, Communications, Community
Hi Jeff. Your experience is similar to mine. I also found the Wilson to
perform better than the DA (emperically - I have no test data) but have used
DA on my boats due to their antennas - I did not know Wilson made the marine
version. It looks like a marinized version of their very popular truckers
antenna which I have used and get good results with. The DA antennas do seem
to be well built and I have used mine for over 3 years with no apparent
problems.
I also tried the wireless version of the DA (in a remote house, not a boat)
and could not get it to work well due to interference between the phone and
the outside antenna - those systems have to be carefully configured and I
would not even try one on a trawler!
Looking forward to your going mobile update. Should be interesting.
From: jeff@activecaptain.com> To: mikejsharp@hotmail.com;
voyageryacht@aol.com; kk38@bellsouth.net> CC:
trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com> Subject: RE: T&T: Cellular phone
amplifiers> Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2008 08:51:24 -0500> > > The Wilson equipment is
good but if you are looking for a> > set up for your boat you should also look
at a company > > called Digital Antenna. Similar amplifiers to Wilson but> >
they also have Marine antennas matched to their amplifiers.> > I tested the
DA4000 alongside the Wilson amp on my trawler. The only two> differences that
I found were that the Digital Antenna device didn't provide> as much
amplification and was more expensive. I considered those to be> significantly
problematic differences. I also tried the DA wireless version> and found it
totally unacceptable for use on my boat (no significant> amplification).> >
Don't get caught with egg on your face. Play Chicktionary!
http://club.live.com/chicktionary.aspx?icid=chick_wlhmtextlink1_dec