General Boards > Off Topic
how to improve mobile phone signal strength
jack-fc:
We often camp far from mobile reception and happily accept this. Often we deliberately camp in such areas to be blissfully incommunicado! However, our 'eco-warrior' son recently convinced us to (very reluctantly) cease buying newspapers and get them on computer/phone. This will apparently prevent the oceans from rising, slow down global warming and save the planet in general... (We live in western coastal Lockdanistan and enjoy going north for more warmth; if global warming happens, we mightn't have to burn so much fuel seeking warmth!)
Two issues have arisen since we went techo papers - one; we no longer have paper to light campfires and I'm not good at rubbing sticks together, and two - too often the phone reception is not good enough for the LotO to read the papers in bed while I light the campfire, make her a cuppa and toast the savoury damper for her brekky in bed. Consequently, the LotO reckons I should 'do something' to improve the phone reception. My suggestion that she should get her arse out of bed and take her 'devices' to the top of the nearest mountain, or climb a big tree was somewhat less than warmly received...
So the old fart techtard (me) went searching on the interweb thingy when we got home, and after many hours I have achieved a state of confusion marginally higher than when I started... Some gizmos promise the world but cost more than a sat phone. As much as I hate antennas, I would tolerate one on the bullbar in the interests of marital harmony. For $130 or so, seems do-able, but do these antennas plug directly into the 'device'? Do they need a 'cradle' etc?? What about those wire external antennas? Or there seems to be thin wire thingies that can be stuck on the inside of the windscreen....
I only need a minor boost, say from 1-2 bars to 2-3 bars, and want to keep it as simple (and cheap!) as possible. I was hoping for an antenna with a lead that could plug straight into an android phone that is loose in the ute. Am I dreaming?
Can anyone on this wonderful forum shed some light on this murky subject?
Cheers, Jack
KD02:
I've been using ZCG mobile phone aerials mounted to a bonnet mount or bullbar bracket for last 6 years, 3 of those in the Goldfields of WA and Pilbara. Aust made and only a little dearer than the other options.
I use a patch lead to connect directly to either the modem or
the mobile phone that has an aerial connector on the back ( telstra T 85)
Or to a Strike cradle that i use when using an iPhone.
Patch leads are btw $12-20. Connect to the aerial FME male coax connector, but sometimes SMA male.
Strike cradles are about $90.
Been getting aerials and patch leads from, https://www.telcoantennas.com.au/antennas/mobile-marine-antennas/vehicle-antennas/ great service online.
I was using my phone out on fires at Cocklebiddy about 15-20 ks from highway, where everyone else had to use sat phones. But there needs to be a little bit of signal for the external aerial to work.
Had a Cel fi Go booster/ repeater in the work ute in Pilbara, but was turned off most of time as my set up worked better and in more places. But I suspect that was due to the aerial setup on that unit. For a lot less $ also.
Bullbar mounting is pretty rough on aerials thru vibration on dirt roads, and is also not the best choice for signal strength.
I snapped 3 uhf short stainless cable GME aerials in 600 ks of dirt road one afternoon on a bullbar mounted uhf elevated feed ZCG that was sitting next to one of there mobile phone aerials on my ute. Bonnet mounting is better, but roof or tray headboard is best. But really need aerial tilting bracket if using tray headboard. Which increases cost of setup by $200.
Only use fibreglass aerials on bullbar uhf aerials as wire tuned length will snap off much sooner.
Hope this is some useful info. Its what has and is working for me in marginal reception areas.
yvesjv:
--- Quote from: jack-fc on Sep 05, 2021, 11:31:39 AM ---We often camp far from mobile reception and happily accept this. Often we deliberately camp in such areas to be blissfully incommunicado! However, our 'eco-warrior' son recently convinced us to (very reluctantly) cease buying newspapers and get them on computer/phone
I only need a minor boost, say from 1-2 bars to 2-3 bars, and want to keep it as simple (and cheap!) as possible. I was hoping for an antenna with a lead that could plug straight into an android phone that is loose in the ute. Am I dreaming?
Can anyone on this wonderful forum shed some light on this murky subject?
--- End quote ---
Hi Jack,
Looking at the Telstra coverage map, the areas you mentioned have some coverage and then there are black spots.
What would be of interest is the location of the towers to generally direct the antenna to. With the link below, zoom out to see the global map and then zoom into Aus and the area of interest. On the left under "Select Provider" , pick Telstra or Optus. Then 3G or 4G.
https://www.cellmapper.net/
The Telstra/Optus/etc towers are powerful but just as your mobile phone inbuilt antenna, it can only reach so far due to signal loss and attenuation.
When just in range to boost your send/receive from the car or caravan, solutions exist and some are $$$,
For example: https://totalantenna.com.au/shop/cel-fi-signal-boosters/cel-fi-go-mobile/telstra-cel-fi-go-4wd-extreme-kit/
And then there is ebay: https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313&_nkw=Mobile+Phone+Signal+Repeater+Booster&_sacat=0
Luckily the grey nomads asks the question every so often:
https://thegreynomads.activeboard.com/t66835368/telstra-phone-coverage-booster/
https://thegreynomads.activeboard.com/t67045410/has-anybody-personally-installed-cel-fi-go-in-their-caravan/
I'd ask the "eco-warrior" son to help with the cost of a legit cel-fi ;)
yvesjv:
--- Quote from: KD02 on Sep 05, 2021, 12:46:10 PM ---I've been using ZCG mobile phone aerials mounted to a bonnet mount or bullbar bracket for last 6 years, 3 of those in the Goldfields of WA and Pilbara. Aust made and only a little dearer than the other options.
Hope this is some useful info. Its what has and is working for me in marginal reception areas.
--- End quote ---
Awesome :cup:
They have a reseller I've always wanted to visit in Darwin, that's now an excuse to visit the shop.
tom60:
I mounted a ZCG aerial on the roof of our canalboat when we were living on it in England (yes England has blackspots). The aerial was connected to a short patch lead the other end of which plugged into an external antenna socket on the back of our Samsung phone (the socket was under the back cover.
I believe most of the recent modern mobile phones don't have an external aerial socket which means it would require a cradle for the phone with a wireless connection. Telco-antennas would probably be able to give advice on that.
An important point is the bullbar is not the best location for an antenna. Yes they look nice there but it's the wrong location for a good signal. If you look at a Foxtel dish or a satellite tracking dish the dish collects the inwards coming signals and bounces them to the receiver in the middle. Your vehicle roof is probably the best equivalent of a dish and a small aerial either on the roof or in the top middle of the windscreen pointing backwards at 45deg over the roof is a good location. This is where I have my CB aerial and I get just as good a reception as those with a much larger antenna on their bullbar.
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