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tinsltootsie · 07-27-2007, 08:13 AM

The cell phone reception in our trailer has never been great, and i just figured it was the location, and not the structure I was in. Does the metal exterior of the airstream interfere with reception more than other trailer exteriors?? Just wondered. In the meantime, I will just use my phone near windows or outside.

SilverRanger · 07-27-2007, 08:32 AM

If your cell phone has a connector for an external antenna, you may want to consider getting an antenna and the appropriate adapter cable so you can get outside the two layers of aluminum. It has made a significant improvement in my signal strength. If I can be of any assistance, or if you want more details, just let me know.

rickandsandi · 07-27-2007, 09:25 AM

We have traveled about this wonderful country of ours and we are always getting and making call from our Airstream. For regular calls we really haven't had any problems except in the remotest of areas which is to be expected. When using our cell for Data-links where you need the best signal I just place my Blackberry by the window on the dinette and have always secured a strong link. I think the only place we were ever skunked was in Yellowstone, but so was everyone else, no service towers except one in the whole park. It was actually very nice with no one being able to track us down for a week! Just this past weekend we were at a Boluegrass Festival in the New York Hills in the middle of a cow field and had great service.

Ganglin · 07-27-2007, 09:28 AM

Here's the odd thing about our service. I can't pick up a normal radio signal in the trailer but, the cell phone reception is actually better in the trailer than when I step outside...

**jcanavera** · 07-27-2007, 09:33 AM

Well all that metal does have an effect on reception. In most cases it's not an enhancement. You will find that the closer you are to a window or open door, the better the signal will be. I've toyed around with considering some type of external antenna but just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Now with having a laptop and purchasing a slingbox, I'm thinking about what I can do to enhance signal strength at local campgrounds who offer Wifi.

Jack

vswingfield · 07-27-2007, 09:44 AM

Also, some carriers have better coverage than others. I have a Sprint phone, and the coverage is pretty poor once you get off the Interstates. If I am lucky, I can get a signal in my yard, but never in my AS. All that grounded aluminum makes a pretty good Faraday cage.

Vaughan

lewster · 07-27-2007, 09:50 AM

You may need one of these neat little gizmos. I recently put a unit into my van from Digital Antenna - Marine & Land Antennas, Cell Boosters Cellular Amplifiers Wireless Repeaters Increase Cell Phone Signal Strength and found that I only lost cell service once on my trip from FL to OR last month......and that was in a very remote part of Wyoming.

No wires connect to the phine or computer, as it is done with an internal antenna, an amplifier and an external antenna.

The only difference between a repeater (wireless) and an amplifier (hard wired) is that an amplifier requires you to hard wire your device to it, where a repeater takes your existing wireless signal and routes in to the amplifier thru the internal antenna and then to the amplifier. Other than that difference, they are very similer.

rickandsandi · 07-27-2007, 10:22 AM

If you are looking to increase your reception for WiFi at camp grounds and other places this is awsome!

Buffalo Electronics USB WiFi Booster.

Ganglin · 07-27-2007, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Buffalo Electronics USB WiFi Booster.

Now there's a handy little item. Did you order or find it in a store somewhere.

Minnie's Mate · 07-27-2007, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lewster

You may need one of these neat little gizmos. I recently put a unit into my van from Digital Antenna - Marine & Land Antennas, Cell Boosters Cellular Amplifiers Wireless Repeaters Increase Cell Phone Signal Strength and found that I only lost cell service once on my trip from FL to OR last month......and that was in a very remote part of Wyoming.

OK, I give up. I couldn't find any pricing info on the web site. So, what do they cost?

**jcanavera** · 07-27-2007, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickandsandi

If you are looking to increase your reception for WiFi at camp grounds and other places this is awsome!

Buffalo Electronics USB WiFi Booster.

Looks like this was developed in Japan. The only technical info I can find out is a translated page which for all intents is poorly translated but doesn't give you much info. Obviously a larger antenna will always help with the signal, but what I'm not clear about is whether the improvement is due to the proximity of the antenna on the back of the case or the aspect of the antenna being plugged into the USB port.

There are about a dozen press releases with everyone including MacWorld releasing something on this antenna. The problem is the antenna was released in January with a future US release coming. Price was going to be $31 dollars. Supposedly signal improvement was quoted to be from 170 to 211 meters. A typical 802.11 b/g access point range is around 100 meters, with speed falling off as you get further away from the access point. I can't find any review where someone other than the manufacturer supports the claims. This would be neat if you could suction cup this to the window of your trailer and then plug it into the laptop.

Jack

AirConditioner · 07-27-2007, 01:17 PM

We've been using products from this vendor for a number of years and are very satisfied. Cell Phone Antennas and Cell Phone Boosters at Wilson Electronics

We also use the Kyocera wifi hub that accepts a broadband data card. This permits multiple users on wifi to access web services thru one broadband card. With the appropriate antennas and amplifiers, we have never been out of a service area - sometimes the signal (and therefore the connection speed) has been poor, but we always had some signal.

rickandsandi · 07-27-2007, 01:17 PM

Here you go-

WiFi World @ Amazon.com:

Tarheel · 07-27-2007, 01:22 PM

It affects your signal on your phone dramatically depending on where you are located. Many times we have to hook up the external antena or go outside to make or recieve a call. The same is true of WIFI.

**jcanavera** · 07-27-2007, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickandsandi

Here you go-

WiFi World @ Amazon.com:

Any one of these in particular? The blade one they show isn't like the suction cup one above. Note that this one at amazon plugs into an external Wifi adapter card.

Jack

SilverRanger · 07-27-2007, 03:04 PM

If you're looking for something very directional, check these out. You will need a Wi-Fi card with an external antenna connection.

WiFi Antennas-Super Cantenna Wireless Booster Antenna

Tim A. · 07-27-2007, 03:07 PM

I just posted on another thread the story of our passive external cell-phone antenna

For improved WiFi reception, we just installed Radiolabs WaveRV external antenna by mounting it on the support for the batwing TV antenna. Put up the TV antenna and the WiFi antenna is also well elevated. The present model is 802.11 b/g and works for the Mac OS as well as Windows. Software installation on our Mac was a little clunky, but worked well. We have not yet tested it on the road, but it picks up our home network perfectly as well as some of the neighbors' networks. The built-in antennas in our laptop and our desktop computers do not see the neighbors' systems. We will be testing the Radiolabs antenna thoroughly on a trip in September and I will post results when we are back home.

SilverRanger · 07-27-2007, 03:11 PM

Great idea to mount it on the batwing. How did you route the wire? Got pictures?

Tim A. · 07-27-2007, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverRanger

Great idea to mount it on the batwing. How did you route the wire? Got pictures?

Here they are. The USB cable from the antenna I took through the side of the skylight/vent. This is a nice way because you do not need to put any holes in the roof. Inside, I ran the wire down under the plastic strip covering the edges of the fuzzy wallcovering which our Bambi has. The hole in the vent is grommeted and sealed with 3M marine sealant (urethane) and another blob of the same stuff holds the cable to the roof. These antennas previously came with a USB socket at their base, but the one I bought just has the cable coming out.

When I report after September, I will also let people know if my mounting brackets and method worked. I hope so!

SilverRanger · 07-28-2007, 05:11 PM

Tim,
That appears to be an excellent solution, and I really appreciate the pictures. They definitely changed my approach, which had something to do with actually drilling a hole in the trailer. I may even consider attempting to mount a Cantenna on the mast because , if it works out, I would be able to point it. If not, a good omni-directional antenna should be fine. Can't wait for your results.