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skyjayhawk · 03-01-2019, 10:49 PM

Does anyone have recommendation on a cell phone booster?

We have a 2018 Basecamp and spend most of our time in remote locations but still require cell access. We have solar power but don't want to install an inverter merely to power a cell booster; booster must run off 9v DC supply.

We've been looking at the weBoost Drive 4G-X RV.... anyone tried it?

Thanks in advance!

Lily&Me · 03-02-2019, 04:48 AM

I have a WeBoost Drive 4G-S, just for my IPhone, and find it works just as advertised...boosts existing signal.

Maggie

centennialman · 03-02-2019, 07:27 AM

I like my WeBoost unit. I was able to find a tower 27 miles away and boost the signal from it when I was way up in the mountains last summer. Had internet and phone service the entire time.

mayco · 03-02-2019, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by centennialman

I like my WeBoost unit. I was able to find a tower 27 miles away and boost the signal from it when I was way up in the mountains last summer. Had internet and phone service the entire time.

Steve, have you by chance used the booster when trying to stream movies using cell data? I'm in the market for one IF I can find one that improves cell for data streaming. Thanks for any input...."way up in the mountains", State Forrest State Park?

Mike

turk123 · 03-02-2019, 12:02 PM

Hi Skyjayhawk

If your carrier is Sprint, it uses band 41. No booster handles band 41. Sprint also uses band 26 and I believe 25 and both are not supported.

That said if you have the other big three you will get improvement on fringe signals. That works well. I have a WeBoost and it performs well on those.

If you have moderate signal, the WeBoost will not perform as well as a mimo antenna (two leads) to a hotspot. I have an ATT hotspot with a $30 antenna that sticks to the window and it will run rings around the weBoost is moderate signal areas. Having two devices near the internal antenna of the WeBoost also will reduce the amount of amplification each gets and slow the thruput.

I would look for a good plan on a hotspot and add one of these to the hotspot. It will probably outperform the WeBoost. And with that said if you still want to go WeBoost, I will sell you mine at a discount! I no longer need it ; )

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

skyjayhawk · 03-03-2019, 11:28 AM

Thanks, Centenialman,
What model WeBoost are you using? We spend a lot of time in remote locations and it sounds like you have found a good solution.

skyjayhawk · 03-03-2019, 11:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by turk123

Hi Skyjayhawk

If your carrier is Sprint, it uses band 41. No booster handles band 41. Sprint also uses band 26 and I believe 25 and both are not supported.

That said if you have the other big three you will get improvement on fringe signals. That works well. I have a WeBoost and it performs well on those.

If you have moderate signal, the WeBoost will not perform as well as a mimo antenna (two leads) to a hotspot. I have an ATT hotspot with a $30 antenna that sticks to the window and it will run rings around the weBoost is moderate signal areas. Having two devices near the internal antenna of the WeBoost also will reduce the amount of amplification each gets and slow the thruput.

I would look for a good plan on a hotspot and add one of these to the hotspot. It will probably outperform the WeBoost. And with that said if you still want to go WeBoost, I will sell you mine at a discount! I no longer need it ; )

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thank you Turk, I'll check into the hotspot and antenna solution. Since we spend most of our time in very remote locations, is WeBoost better when very weak signal? What model do you have?

Ron1934 · 03-03-2019, 11:57 AM

Air Stream and AT&T just partnered for hot spot upgrade.It does cost a few pennies.
Airstream dealers install and wire connect a rooftop booster AT&T antenna designed/engineered for all Airstreams $945, and then for $360 per yr AT&T will service unlimited data.

Silver Goose · 03-03-2019, 11:59 AM

When shopping for a cell booster, I would look for one that is LTE capable. Canada ditched GSM & CDMA entirely 2 years ago. It is possible that US telcos may begin to phase those technologies out here well as they begin to roll out 5G. Presumably LTE will remain viable for the foreseeable future.

turk123 · 03-03-2019, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skyjayhawk

Thank you Turk, I'll check into the hotspot and antenna solution. Since we spend most of our time in very remote locations, is WeBoost better when very weak signal? What model do you have?

I believe it is the RV 4g.

centennialman · 03-04-2019, 06:28 AM

Hey Mike....it was actually up at State Forest. I haven't streamed movies with it but have uploaded them and then played them.

centennialman · 03-04-2019, 06:30 AM

It's the WeBoost Drive 4G-X RV. I purchased it from the great folks at Techno Rv www.technorv.com

DaveP · 03-04-2019, 10:13 AM

Mike,

I have the 4G Home version in my trailer. We streamed video from Netflix when we were at Reinecker Ridge in central Colorado (in the middle of nowhere). I boosted 2 bars of x to 3 bars of 3G (which was enough). The Ridge was between us and Fairplay so we had to point the antenna east to some towers further away. Good product!

napabill · 03-13-2019, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silver Goose

When shopping for a cell booster, I would look for one that is LTE capable. Canada ditched GSM & CDMA entirely 2 years ago. It is possible that US telcos may begin to phase those technologies out here well as they begin to roll out 5G. Presumably LTE will remain viable for the foreseeable future.

LTE has nothing to do with GSM/CDMA. 4G LTE is the cell signal, GSM/CDMA are the technologies in your phone/device.

Per PC Mag: "In the US, Sprint, Verizon, and US Cellular use CDMA. AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM. Most of the rest of the world uses GSM. The global spread of GSM came about because in 1987, Europe mandated the technology by law, and because GSM comes from an industry consortium."

GeeSag · 03-14-2019, 05:46 AM

OP - Origianl Post - SkyJayHawk:
I would strongly encourage you to consider going to
www.rvmobileinternet.com
and subscribe to become a MIA - Mobile Internet Aficionado
Either one year or automatic annual. Sinking the $75 annual or the one time $89 will probably be well worth it.
For your case of (1) Distant, (2) Fringe, and (3) Moderate coverage, they will spell out the benfits of MIMO external antennae as compared to the limited benefits of a Amplifier in moderate to fringe areas.
There is a place for both MIMO external antennae and for amplifiers.
By paying for the membership you will get way more details than the general public intoformation available.

perryg114 · 03-14-2019, 06:41 AM

We just bought a 44 acre farm and got one of these. https://www.amazon.com/Novatel-Veriz...gateway&sr=8-5

$25 a month. This thing pulls in weak signals pretty well. We use one at our 44 farm for phone only.

As much as those boosters cost they should work.

Perry

scott.semone · 03-16-2019, 07:36 AM

I see lots of people looking for a solution in terms of a cellular signal booster or repeater in order to get service while out camping in some remote parts of the United States. I would highly discourage everyone from purchasing a cell booster; and perhaps consider a 4G LTE Vehicle Router. Cell Signal Boosters have lots of issues if the proper isolation from donor antenna (outside antenna), and the serving antenna (inside antenna) aren't met. Ever been to a wedding or conference, where the guest speaker creates feedback when speaking into the microphone and you hear that loud squealling sound..??? That's feedback, and the same thing happen on the RF link if the antennas don't have enough isolation between the donor and serving antennas; this historically caused interference within the cellular networks. Today's boosters are to be smarter and essentially shut down the gain, which basically doesn't provide any benefit to you... We have a 2017 AIRSTREAM Interstate Grand Tour, and I noticed that the equipped DVD player had a similar smart menu as our smart TV that we use in our home, which had icons to connect and stream NetFlix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, etc... However it needed to be connected into a physical network adapter and couldn't be connected via Wi-Fi. I installed a Sierra Wireless MP70 which solved a whole bunch of problems that we experienced when we are traveling out on the road.

The MP70 Vehicle Router has discrete antenna connections for cellular, GPS and Wi-Fi; any time that you can install an antenna on the roof of your vehicle or RV, you are highly improving the performance of receiving a cellular signal from any of the multiple bands used by the US wireless carriers, as well as even different wireless carriers (I'm a VzW preferred, with AT&T as my back-up SIM). The metal roof acts as a ground plane to the antenna, which provides overall antenna efficiencies which amounts to better signal quality to both the receiver and transmitter, in this case - the Sierra Wireless MP70 which has an overall positive throughput experience. The MP70 offeres two physical cellular antennas for Receive Diversity or even perhaps 2x2 MIMO for 4G LTE performance.

The MP70 uses the 4G LTE cellular networks as the backhaul network connection; it can be loaded with two SIM cards, I use VzW and AT&T and since my antennas are drilled into my roof using a small multi-band antenna (PCTel) which covers the 700MHz LTE bands, 850MHz Cellular spectrum, the PCS 1.9GHz and 2.2GHz AWS bands which Verizon Wireless has been building out their 4G LTE service on. Inside our AIRSTREAM, I have a physical network cable between the MP70 and the Smart Samsung DVD player which allows us to stream Hulu, Netflix and or Prime movies and TV programs; in addition, the MP70 has three Wi-Fi antenna connectors which offer 3x3 MIMO Wi-Fi. You can setup your own SSD and network security psswd and such in order to use Wi-Fi and prevent users from connecting and using your data plan and or lowering your throughput experience.

The GPS antenna can also be used to provide vehicle location if you rent out your vehicle on OUTDOORSY.

I know a wrote a lot, but wanted to offer up my own experience and solution that we have used very successfully all over the country. VzW has the same 700MHz Band-13 LTE channel throughout the entire United States, including AK; you could even install two high gain antennas specifically tuned for the 700MHz band and always have a high probability of getting service. I don't see throughput congestion as a problem while out at your favorite National Park. I attached a specification sheet for the MP70; however there are lots of similar in vehicle routers out there which would all out perform a cellular signal booster any day of the week, and twice on Sunday...

perryg114 · 03-21-2019, 09:18 AM

So would these SIM cards be registered as another cell line or your existing cell account or does it require a special account?

Perry

napabill · 03-22-2019, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perryg114

So would these SIM cards be registered as another cell line or your existing cell account or does it require a special account?

Perry

All the ones I have seen require a separate account not linked to you existing cell account.

CaddyGrn · 04-22-2019, 10:43 AM

Hello everyone,

I have read through this thread and lots of information... some a bit over my head. So maybe someone can simplify things for me if possible. We are in California and generally travel in the west. Lots of mountains and such, and many times there isn't any cell service, so I realize that a booster can't help in that situation.

We have ATT and iPhones. We can use our iPhones as a hot spot and connect our laptops to the internet when we have decent cell service. We have an older cell phone booster in our truck and would like to replace it with something more robust. Whether we put the booster in our truck or in the Airstream doesn't matter to us very much... just whatever might work best. We have thought about getting a WeBoost as there has been so much information "out there" about them. So am I correct in we need a cell phone booster and not a wifi system? Specific suggestions are more than welcomed!

Thanks for "listening"!