Briand
South of Denver
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Joined: 11/27/2005
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I am less than 24 hours from locking and loading on something to improve cell phone reception. Primary concern is not calls, but improving connection quality for data transfers when tethered to a computer.
I am pretty much set on Wilson Electronics gear. But the installation, connections, cables and antenna choice are postponing my purchase.
If you have a setup, please describe it!
Some specific questions if you do already have a set up.
Where did you purchase your gear?
Did you manage to use the cable TV connector on the outside of the camper. If so did you rewire any internals to get better Db and impedence?
Where did you mount the amplifier?
How did you run wires from the amp to the antenna?
How did you connect your mobile to the antenna?
Right now this is my list
Amplifier:
811210
Antenna:
308411
Antenna2:
yagi
Misc:
Cable:
rg58
SurgeProtection
surge protection
DC, AC adapters/direct connects... you get the point.
Thanks!
'97 F-350, CC, PSD
'02 NL, Ten2000 RD
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Atchafalaya_man
Lafayette, Louisiana
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Joined: 08/24/2009
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This is not direct answers, but testimony. I bought the Wilson amp and mounted it on a small piece of plywood. I put it in a leather handbag. I bought a magnetic mount antenna and just use the unit as a portable. For the ground plane, I either stick the antenna on the hood of the truck, or in really poor places, I have a 12 inch sheetmetal disk that I use for the antenna mount. I just stick it on the roof of the camper when not moving and feed the wire through the escape hatch.
The booster really works, giving you a signal when none appears present. I had a particular trip I made daily that was 55 miles...of which 48 of it was without signal. It was in the piney woods. With the booster installed, I had USABLE coverage of about 3 bars for all but a couple of miles of the 55 mile trip. Before that, I had zero showing for most of it.
Some friends borrowed it for use in some canyons on a lake where they had no coverage beforehand. Bingo...they went out and bought one for each of their boats.
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Chuck and Di
Ontario, Canada
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Joined: 09/28/2008
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A word of engineering caution: The 400 cable in the link is not RG-58. RG-58 will not work for this purpose as the per foot losses at these frequencies is way too high. Use the recommended cable even if you buy it somewhere cheaper. Forget about using the camper TV cable and connectors - even if it wasn't extremely high loss it is the wrong impedance to start with. Keep the length between the antenna and the amplifier short and with no connections if at all possible - at these frequencies the gain of the antenna can be lost in the connectors or in the cable in just a few feet.
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fullautodave
currently in Rogers, Ar
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Joined: 07/24/2008
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Chuck and Di wrote:A word of engineering caution: The 400 cable in the link is not RG-58. RG-58 will not work for this purpose as the per foot losses at these frequencies is way too high. Use the recommended cable even if you buy it somewhere cheaper. Forget about using the camper TV cable and connectors - even if it wasn't extremely high loss it is the wrong impedance to start with. Keep the length between the antenna and the amplifier short and with no connections if at all possible - at these frequencies the gain of the antenna can be lost in the connectors or in the cable in just a few feet.
Good info here. And my Wilson does a good job, but it will not make signal where there is none.
2009 Mobile Suites TKSB3
2008 Ford F-450 Superduty
2009 Jeep Rubicon toad
1999 Bigfoot C1011FR
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Kemahsabe
Kemah, TX
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Joined: 07/10/2006
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Answers to your questions:
Where did you purchase your gear? Prime Cellular. Recommend highly.
Did you manage to use the cable TV connector on the outside of the camper. If so did you rewire any internals to get better Db and impedence? No
Where did you mount the amplifier? Not permanently mounted. Just put it in a convenient place. I also use it in the car, in hotels, at my daughter's house and at the hunting camp. So it has to be easily moveable.
How did you run wires from the amp to the antenna? The magnetic base antenna is either stuck on the bumper, or on a ground plane at the top of a mast to get it above the TT. The wire is run in through a window.
How did you connect your mobile to the antenna? The inside antenna lays on the desk next to my aircard and cellphone. I use an earpiece so I can be online and on the phone at the same time.
Right now this is my list
Amplifier: 801212
811210
Outside Antenna: 301103
308411
Inside Antenna: 301127
yagi
DC, AC adapters: I have both the 12v and 120v power supplies
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Briand
South of Denver
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Joined: 11/27/2005
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Thanks! Yes Chuck and Di, definitely the best cable. After a few googls I found that the stuff in the camper really is******and wrong impedence (I think).
I had a busy day and could stop to make the purchase, tomorrow it is...
Post up!
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Briand
South of Denver
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Joined: 11/27/2005
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I tried my setup and was very happy. I did not do any real tests of reception since it worked so well. It took reception from 1.5-2 bars to 4. Internet bandwidth increased 3-4x I was at about 700+kbps with the amp.
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CalifDreamin
Ca
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Joined: 03/07/2010
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I would not buy the Yagi Antenna if you are in a mobile situation, that antenna is highly directional and will have to be pointed at the source of the weak signal you are trying to improve. To use it you will have to be stationary and slowly rotate the antenna while watching a signal strength indicating device to point it for maximum receive signal.
Be sure to follow the excellent cabling/connector advice given in the previous post.
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JollyGreen01
Owasso
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Joined: 05/31/2010
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I have a wilson.
It works great.
The antenna is the most important part but as someone already stated, it will not make a signal where there is none.
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88lover
Florida
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Joined: 08/27/2005
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I don't mean to butt in but I also need a cell phone amp system. Wilson units are expensive and I need one for both my house and also for the camper. Wilson has a lot of models and I need advice on how to get the job done for both house and camper without breaking the bank. RV / Trucker Roof Mount Cellular Antenna (301119) looks like a
better antenna for the camper and I thought maybe I could buy just one amp and use it for both home and camper.
The one for the house says I need a yaggi antena which is directional but that won't work in a camper. The magnetic base is not as sturdy as the RV / Trucker Roof Mount Cellular Antenna (301119) Any help on solving both problems will be appreciated
* This post was
edited 06/15/10 08:57am by 88lover *
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