Cell Phone Booster

zippyt • Feb 16, 2008 8:31 pm
Since we got a metal roof our already weak cell phone reception has gone Virtually away . NO BARS inside the house .
I saw this at Tiger direct , http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1829799
external antenna , 57db of gain
In searching about I found this ,
http://wilsonelectronics.com/ListProducts.php?Type=7
external antenna , 50db of gain

Has Any body had ANY experience with any thing like this ??,


No Flint I am NOT going to wrap tin foil on our cell phone antennas ;)
classicman • Feb 16, 2008 10:39 pm
nope sorry.
binky • Feb 17, 2008 12:31 pm
Guess I'm cheap, but for $239 I'd walk outside :rolleyes:
xoxoxoBruce • Feb 17, 2008 12:37 pm
How do you know when to walk outside?
binky • Feb 17, 2008 3:07 pm
I suppose whenever I needed to use the phone, although I despise cell phones
Clodfobble • Feb 17, 2008 3:41 pm
Bruce's point is, how do you know if someone's trying to call you?

And if you consider that most people's cellphone plans are a good $60 a month, $239 is only 4 months' worth. Zip, since you use your cellphone for work, would your employer maybe reimburse you for the booster?
zippyt • Feb 17, 2008 6:22 pm
Zip, since you use your cellphone for work, would your employer maybe reimburse you for the booster?

That is a discussion I am about to have with my boss .
Seeing as I am on the ON CALL list( the ONLY resident tech we have that IS ) ,
and I take care of 2 of the biggest customers the Corp has ( well our shop at least )
them paying for the booster seems reasonable
Half at least , as Carol has the same cell phone service as me .
xoxoxoBruce • Feb 17, 2008 9:36 pm
Cheaper than building a greenhouse to keep your cellphone in.... unless of course your boss would go for that.
zippyt • Feb 18, 2008 10:38 am
I called my boss on sunday , got NO responce .
This morning he said he tryed 3-4 times to get thru ,

He is splitting the cost of the booster/repeater ,
I'll let you'll know how it works .
BrianR • Feb 18, 2008 4:25 pm
please do, I'm thinking of getting one for my truck.
Radar • Feb 18, 2008 9:19 pm
I'd like to know how well it works too. I'm living in an older house with cement in the walls. I can't get a signal for shit in the house regardless of which provider I use.
zippyt • Feb 18, 2008 9:53 pm
it should be here twards the end of the week , I'll get it put up and let ya'll know ,

Brian , they have a mobile booster as well ,
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2184560&CatId=1739

From what I have seen it depends what cell provider you use , Nextel seems to be the weird one when finding a booster
monster • Feb 18, 2008 10:31 pm
you guys all have no landlines now?
zippyt • Feb 18, 2008 10:42 pm
and indoor plumbing ,
boss wont call my land line unless it is a OH SHIT the Train derailed on the scale Emergency and he can't get me on my cell
Flint • Feb 18, 2008 11:48 pm
zippyt;432727 wrote:

No Flint I am NOT going to wrap tin foil on our cell phone antennas ;)
Leave me out of this, man. You're the one who covered your whole roof in tinfoil so you wouldn't have to take any more calls from people who can't log in because their caps-lock key is on, or the people who think the power button to the computer is on the monitor.
zippyt • Feb 19, 2008 12:31 am
the people who think the power button to the computer is on the monitor.

Thats GOOD !! never had that ,,,,, Yet !!
Flint • Feb 19, 2008 12:35 am
me: so you've rebooted the computer, and when it boots back up, it displays the same error message?

co-worker: yes, when it comes back on it's already on that screen

me: after...you log in...right?

co-worker: uh...

me: what account are you logging in with?

co-worker: well...it's not asking me to log in...

me: ...

(they were "re-booting" the computer by turning the monitor off, and then back on again)
classicman • Feb 19, 2008 8:30 am
Flint, I'm pretty computer illiterate, but that is too friggin funny!
Flint • Feb 19, 2008 2:57 pm
It really happens. The other day, the power had gone out for a second, and one of the computers was turned off. They called me because it was "down" and "showing an error message" ...which was what the monitor displays when it isn't getting any input. Like, if the computer wasn't turned on.

So, I don't know exactly why it was so hard to convince them to look for the power button and turn the computer back on, but I almost had to go down there and clock in. Abruptly in the middle of the call, someone on-site managed to hit the button, and they exclaimed "it's fixed now!"
zippyt • Feb 22, 2008 12:20 am
The new toy is here ,
Image

I'll put it up this weekend , and let Ya'll know how it works
zippyt • Feb 24, 2008 12:17 am
Well it seems to work GREAT , Full bars All around the house ,

One thing though ,
if you get a metal roof they are SLICK ,
as in I damn neer slid off 2-3 times !!!!!!!
xoxoxoBruce • Feb 24, 2008 12:32 am
It's not the roof, it's you that's slick. :thumb:
Good job.
zippyt • Feb 24, 2008 12:40 am
Thanks bruce ,

The First call was to my boss ,
he said " well I guess I do need to pay for half "
lumberjim • Feb 24, 2008 12:47 am
do they make something like that to boost a WAN?
zippyt • Feb 24, 2008 12:48 am
yes , its called a better antenna


Kidding , i will look
zippyt • Feb 24, 2008 12:59 am
What kind of problem are you haveing Jim ??
Loss of sig In the house ??
Can't surf from the basement bunker ??
lumberjim • Feb 24, 2008 1:13 am
no problem, per se....just a weak signal in the attic.
binky • Feb 24, 2008 8:55 pm
zippyt;434576 wrote:
Well it seems to work GREAT , Full bars All around the house ,

One thing though ,
if you get a metal roof they are SLICK ,
as in I damn neer slid off 2-3 times !!!!!!!


Know what you mean Zippy, we live in the desert, and between the extreme heat and the extreme wind, its hell on shingles, and the utility bill so the person who owned our house before us had a foam layer sprayed on our roof-slippery as hell
Flint • Feb 25, 2008 10:15 am
lumberjim;434585 wrote:
do they make something like that to boost a WAN?


lumberjim;434589 wrote:
no problem, per se....just a weak signal in the attic.
What the fuck are you hiding in the attic to look at?!
SteveDallas • Feb 25, 2008 11:35 am
Flint;434774 wrote:
What the fuck are you hiding in the attic to look at?!

a) Do you really have to ask?

b) Do you really want to know?
lumberjim • Feb 25, 2008 1:06 pm
doesn't everyone know by now that we have a finished attic.....call it the 3rd floor if it makes you feel better......that is our kid free zone?
SteveDallas • Feb 25, 2008 1:10 pm
Sure, but I don't see how that invalidates our questions.
zippyt • Feb 25, 2008 6:19 pm
move your wireless router to the second floor
BrianR • Mar 2, 2008 1:55 am
my question is: will that work in a truck?
zippyt • Mar 2, 2008 6:02 pm
Brian , they have a mobile booster as well ,
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...560&CatId=1739
xoxoxoBruce • Mar 2, 2008 8:57 pm
Bad link, Zip.
zippyt • Mar 2, 2008 9:11 pm
OOps , well they DID have a Mobile version ,
try here ,
http://www.wpsantennas.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=2&gclid=CJeH8LXu75ECFQ8OswodrEYdwQ
Elspode • Mar 6, 2008 3:01 pm
lumberjim;434807 wrote:
doesn't everyone know by now that we have a finished attic.....call it the 3rd floor if it makes you feel better......that is our kid free zone?


There are WiFi repeater devices for around $75-$80, but if your computer picks up the relayed signal instead of the direct signal, your bandwidth between relay and router is half. Not a big problem if your provider bandwidth is high enough to begin with, and you are getting a more solid connection. I'll be picking one up soon to fill out the end of the second floor that is the furthest from the router in the basement. Don't have connect problems anywhere else. Well...outside, I guess.
HungLikeJesus • Jul 7, 2008 3:15 pm
My company had me switch from AT&T to Verizon. Now I get almost no signal in the house. I have tried making a call from the roof and still I get a very weak signal. I wonder if something like this would help.
zippyt • Jul 7, 2008 5:36 pm
It did for me , untill my company switched to Sprint
HungLikeJesus • Jul 7, 2008 6:01 pm
zippyt;467489 wrote:
It did for me , untill my company switched to Sprint


How much do you want for the booster?
zippyt • Jul 7, 2008 6:18 pm
my wife has ATT , they do make a Dual Channel booster , i'll have to check into it and see if the old one is for sale
HungLikeJesus • Jul 8, 2008 3:56 pm
zippyt, let me know if you're interested in selling your zBoost. I think you said it works with Verizon (YX500-CEL).

What work is required to mount this? Do you have to run power or a cable to an antenna on the roof?
zippyt • Jul 9, 2008 4:49 pm
You have to run a Coax for the Out side antenna, (can be inside , but out side worked better for me ) , have a 110vac outlet for the base unit , this Unit works with ATT phones
HungLikeJesus • Jul 9, 2008 5:05 pm
Thanks zippyt, I ordered a [COLOR=black]YX510-PCS/CEL[/COLOR] dual band from Solid Signal.