InterceptRadio.com Forums

Anyone tried one of these?

http://www.getcellranger.com/

I was reading about them in the The Wireless Journal, the TESSCO house organ, and wondered...We have family friends out in Orting where the wife's TMobile signal is non-existent. That, combined with my hunting season activities...Well, you get the point.

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President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

Where's "code 5?"

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Outside your house. Act like you don't know me.

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

I've had similar problems where I work and travel thru with spotty coverage, and also wanting to increase my coverage. I don't have any experience with that product but I do have a bit of experience with cell amplifiers. Here’s some information that I hope will help.

http://www.wilsonelectronics.com
In my own Opinion they have quality products to fit your needs for permanent and on the go applications. I own several of their amplifiers. My first amp was the dual band direct connect (Wilson Cellular Product 801211). It really does work; I held cell service MILES outside the area of an unassisted phone. Frequently traveling over the passes and up in the mountains I maintain signal much further into the hills.

I recently bought the wireless dual band amplifier (Wilson cellular product 801212). Most new phones do not have a direct connect antenna port so you would want something like product number 801212. The range away from the inside antenna is only about 5-8 feet. So if you are looking for an inside application it won’t work as well, but it will work within a small room or office. A phone with Bluetooth can help with to some degree of freedom to walk around, if you can stand one of those things in your ear.

Wilson has some good info on their site to open your phone and see your actual signal reception in db.

One of the side benefits is prolonging the life of your cell battery since it does not have to use max available power to transmit its signal. If you have Broadband Cell modem it really helps the speed of upload and downloading in the fringe areas.

All in all in my own opinion I think this company sells a quality product that works.

http://www.wpsantennas.com
This is a good website that sells Wilson products along with over manufacturers similar products. I have used them in the past for researching on buying the Wilson products. Their prices might be a little high compared to those on Amazon but, doing business with this company in the past has not been a problem.

Hopefully this helps.

I've looked at the Wilson stuff before, and seen it in use back in California, but I was looking for a cheaper/easier solution...A Plug-n-Play, if you will.

I'm going to pick one up in the next few weeks, will report back.

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

The wilson stuff is pretty close to plug and play, just need to route a few wires. But would be interesting to hear your findings on the cell ranger.

Not to drift off topic but, I'm curious to hear from folks in the cell industry what they think of these type of products. I hear that they can cause issues at their cell sites....

I believe that most of my carrier issues are not signal related but routing(re-routing) and capacity issues.

Question on 520 with ATT can you cross the bridge? can you drive past sunset in issaquah? can you drive over I 90/405 with no issues?

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If I had an antenna, I would; but I can only transmit on 160 meters.
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DE K7MHI

T-Mobile at the crest of Kennydale Hill...

Well, I was going to order this Cell Ranger thing today, but ended up buying a bunch of stuff instead. Maybe next month.

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

Some recent events have caused me to return to this subject.

I ordered one of these this morning, with shipping I should have it Monday. Will advise on the quality/usefulness afterwards.

Thoughts already:

- I want to examine the antenna, to see if it could be replaced with a "high gain" model. I have a 9db gain model sitting in my office doing nothing right now. This would prove especially useful on hunting trips to extreme fringe areas.

- Coverage inside the car? I have a 12v power port in the cargo area (wagon) where this may reside...Will coverage be as good as a dash location? Will I need some sort of reflector/hacked external antenna?

I plan to test it for around a month. If it works, it remains. If it doesn't work to my satisfaction, I'm going to hardwire in a Wilson system.

ETA- Jesus, it's already in the mail. I just got an email with a tracking number, and it's been accepted by USPS.

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

I'm still trying to understand how this thing works. It amplifies the Rx frequency but not the Tx. How is that going to help? If you can't Tx due to a bad location, how is the improved Rx going to help?

With my iPhone4, I get into spots where I can hear the other person fine but they can't hear me. Then after a few seconds of playing "can you hear me now" tag, the call drops. This seems to happen in the same bad RF spots. The other issue I have is where I call out and there's a nasty digital noise/hash in the speaker audio -- but it's so loud you have to hang up and re-dial.

I don't see how this gadget will help.

This is a great company to work with. If they have the item(s) in stock (which is live on their web site) then they ship very quick. I usually get orders from them in 2-days via USPS Priority.

Initial impressions:

-Plugged it in in the car, antenna on the roof near the rear, power unit at the dash. Normally get 2-3 bars of signal in the driveway. With the unit in place, after a wait of around 25-30 seconds, coverage indicator went to and stayed at 4 bars of signal. Call sounded normal

-Plugged into a 12v adaptor in the office. Antenna on the water heater, probably 7 feet from the power end. Office coverage usually runs 1-2 bars signal strength, after 20-30 seconds, phone indicated 4 bars signal. Call sounded normal. Wife got mad at my continued calls.

-Both antenna end and power end look/feel pretty robust, not cheaply made like some products. Antenna cable runs approx 16', uses the thin RG174 cable (I think), terminates in a 4" tall antenna with an outrageously strong magnet. The antenna does unscrew from the magnet base; however, the threaded post is smaller than the female end on my 9db gain model here in the office.

I'm headed to the mountains this weekend on a hunting scouting trip, I'll take this along and see what I see.

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

Lastly, office measurements as seen through the phone's debug screen (Casio G'Zone Boulder edition):

In office, approx 1.5' from outlet: varied between -101db and -95db

In office, approx 1.5' from outlet with unit engaged: varied between -72db and -67db

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives