Quote:
Originally Posted by jwgreen
It has been my experience that cell phone boosters are a "crap shoot." First, new cell phones operate at 2.4 GHz mostly but it varies by geography and the cell service provider. Older systems in rural areas may still be 900 MHz. So, depending on where you're located and the cellular provider you are using, you might need different antennas. Remember, antenna length is proportional to the radio frequency used by the phone. I tried using a Wilson booster and external antenna while on a caravan in the west and northwest last year with unsatisfactory results. The booster really needs to connect to the cell phone at the antenna jack or port. Most newer phones don't have this as the antenna is built in. The coupling pad that was supposed to work when no direct connection was unreliable at best. If you have a smart phone you may have some options over a dumb phone but still, it's a crap shoot.
|
Cell phones are not on 2.4 GHz Some home wireless phones are. 2.4 is a group of around a dozen channels that were originally allocated for hospital use.
An omni antenna transmits a pattern that looks like similar to the shape of a football in a 360 degree pattern. If you can change antennas you can get a flat plane 180 degree and probably solve the problem. I had a side business as a wireless Internet Service Provider covering over 300 square miles. I could set at the base of a 120' tower and a 150' tower and pick up a signal from a 9 db antenna. It is important to have large coax and then pigtail down to a smaller one close to the equipment. You can't run 2.4 GHz on TV type cables. Here is a sample of an antenna that will transmit a signal over 20 miles line of sight. It will also go through some tree foliage. In reality you can transmit a 2.4 GHz signal line of sight over 40 miles with a yogi type narrow width signal.
Premiertek ANT-OMNI-10DBI Outdoor 2.4GHz 10 dBi Antenna
Here is a sight that deals specifically with a antenna and its actual coverage pattern if you are interested on the antenna pattern.
http://www.allendale-stores.co.uk/wi..._datasheet.pdf
Here are a lot of different types of antenna for those interested in improving their performance.
WiFi Antennas || RadioLabs