Hey guys, I know they make little antennas and boosters for cars, but does anybody have one to use with a house? I'm tired of paying SBC's rates for a buzzing line that goes out a couple times a month. I'm in a little valley though and the cell goes dead when I get off the main road, into the trees. I do have a high roof if they make something for this.
Thanks

 

Check out http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/

 

Good lead, thanks. The Yagi is what I had in mind.

 

You're speaking of something for your house, yes? The Yagi design is extremely directional and can't be used in your truck. You'll also need feedline (coax) and some way of interfacing the connector on the feedline with your cell phone. It can be done, it's just not easy.

 

Yup for the house. It looks like wilson there makes the components specifically for cell use. I'll do some more looking before I buy to cover all the bases, but I'd also like to hear from some guys that have used this stuff. Don't need to invest a couple hundred into a bird roost. Any idea how long the coax can be before you start to lose any of the benefit gained?

 

www.smoothtalker.com is another company. The booster will get you out of the house nicely.

 

If you're thinking of hooking it up to one of the typical modern cells, they start out with 300 mWatts (which isn't much) - to minimize cooking the gray matter. But any cable loss should be overcome by the yagi's antenna gain. Mount the antenna as high as you can.

Too bad you can't find one of the old analog transportables (even if some exist it might be hard to find a provider that will permit you to connect with it), they're a full 5W, and with a decent antenna and antenna height, they can reach out and touch. Years ago, it used to come in handy on the Cruiser while offshore.

If you go with a rooftop antenna, let us know how it goes.

 

Today I just read of a unit that is advertised for big trucks. It is an antenna and amp that does not hook to the phone but acts as a repeater. It would be 12 volt but a small units to produce 12 v are cheap. I do not have the magazine handy right now but will get the info and post it.

 

Check this place out

https://www.primecellular.com

I have been considering one for my nextel

 

I've got one. Motorola bag phone. And you're right, those babies would do some talkin'. Just for kicks I should call a few cell service providers and see what they say.

Don, if you want it you can have it in trade for a 12 pack of Vernor's or something.

 

OK, a Yagi pointed at a cell tower would do the trick. That model from Wilson has a short section of coax with an "N" connector on it. You'll need a run of coax from the antenna to the location of the cell phone. You'll need to keep it as short as possible. 75 feet will attenuate your signal by 50%. Then you'll need a short pigtail of small diameter coax so you can hold the phone and talk. The RF Connection online can provide you with all of the parts and coax, minus the antenna. Pasternack Enterprises can even sell you the jumper already made up with the proper connectors on it.

Estimated cost:
$60 for the antenna
$68 for 100 feet of Belden 9913F coax
$40 for N connectors and coax jumper

If you want to really go low-loss, replace that 9913F coax I mentioned above with some 7/8" Andrew Heliax. That would be the way to go, but it's a few hundred dollars more unless you can find some at a ham radio flea market. The price of the connectors on with ends will knock your socks off too, but they almost look like plumbing connections and will last forever.

 

For a unit that does not even connect to the phone but has an amp and antenna check:

wilsoncellular.com

This is not the same as the above link.

 

All good info guys, thanks. Chaikwa even hooked me up with some old antenna pole this weekend. Don't have a wilson dealer right next door, but should be able to get the ball rolling soon. Gotta stop by radio shack too I guess.

 

You could try Tessco.com, or the company I work for, Andrew.com. It may not be as cheap as a simple antenna, but you could look into RF repeaters...