Cell Phone Booster

twocutes

This Technomadia post and site may be useful --
http://www.technomadia.com/2014/08/how-we-keep-online-illustrated-tour-of-our-rv-mobile-internet-setup/

Nomad

That's no excuse, she's got a booster - but maybe it's not working any better than mine :-)

Verna

PXLated said:

Verna - The Jeeps are noted for their durable, galvanized steel body panels - rarely rust. The hinges are the only thing that's aluminum. I may try a jumper to the hood.

PXLated, try finding a braided wire that will take the abuse of the hood opening many times, put the appropriate sized connectors to either fit under an existing bolt or screw and make fire the screw or bolt doesn't have any paint under it.  

Can I direct you to the braided wire? CB shop, truck stop or get a short length of coax, gently strip the rubber insulation from the outside, and gently cut the braided wire to length, then gently slide it down the length of coax. If the braid seems too fragile, take three of them the same length and braid them together to make a heavier strap. If you were here, I'd spend time with you figuring it out. 

I'm starting on a total kitchen remodel next weekend, so I'll be busy for the next couple of weeks after this weekend. 

Nomad

Thanks Verna - Putting this on my shopping list for when I hit bright lights, big city (or town) the next time.

vito

Reading all of the above comments convinces me to NOT buy a cell phone booster at this time. I remember in the old days when I had a rooftop RV antenna for (non-digital) TV broadcast signals. Wanting to pick up a somewhat distant local station (so that I could watch certain NFL games not being broadcast on the network station) I tried a higher, larger antenna on my roof. That was not a solution so I tried a "booster" device, which seemed to do absolutely nothing. Makes me skeptical about a cell phone booster as well. 

Nomad

Vito - I'm still undecided. Most full time RVrs (if you read their stories) seem to have boosters and claim they work. So far over 10 months of travel, I've not needed a booster as I've had good, solid coverage 85-90% of the time. That's "data" coverage, not voice. Have gotten a lot of dropped calls. For me, data's more important than voice except for an emergency call. Will try the grounding thing at some point but I'm definetly not going to chase the "keep throwing different hardware at the problem" shuffle unless it's guaranteed to work.
The big problem is there's too many variables. What works for one in the area of their travels may no work in another area, etc.

jkjenn

vito said:

Reading all of the above comments convinces me to NOT buy a cell phone booster at this time. I remember in the old days when I had a rooftop RV antenna for (non-digital) TV broadcast signals. Wanting to pick up a somewhat distant local station (so that I could watch certain NFL games not being broadcast on the network station) I tried a higher, larger antenna on my roof. That was not a solution so I tried a "booster" device, which seemed to do absolutely nothing. Makes me skeptical about a cell phone booster as well. 

I wouldn't say everyone needs one. I bought mine to help me able to work remotely. Will you have to do a little trial and error and problem solving to get it to work? Possibly. If you aren't interested in that, this probably isn't the device for you.

All of these things work in the right conditions and will never be a 100% solution. My house is situated at a low point. I get terrible digital TV reception over the air. I picked up a booster and gad little improvement. I moved the booster to the attic and, "Bingo!"

Cell phone boosters are widely and successfully used by RVers all of the time. The issue @PXLatedis running into is not unique to a cell phone booster, it is an issue that those putting a CB on a Jeep deal with, as well. When I mounted my CB antenna, I put a bracket on my tailgate. This issue is not reflective of how good a cell phone booster works or doesn't work; it's an issue of getting it to work on certain vehicles.

Nomad

"It's an issue of getting it to work on certain vehicles" <- Maybe - We'll see how well yours works once you get out with it more :-)

SweetlyHome

This is a very long thread and I may have missed a point or two reading it.  At no time did anyone mention actually grounding the ground planes.  A TV and Trailer share a common ground point, I.E. the negatives of all the batteries are connected together by the frame and hook up ground wire.  However the this is a floating ground as the the rubber tires isolate the whole thing from earth ground.  Perhaps the floating system needs to be attached to earth ground, a stake in the ground?

TaBFan

Hey Pix, hope you got the 4Gm model. While it's scary expensive, it has the best review of any out there.
I suspect the height/location of the antenna is the main problem. Since it's semi portable, you could connect it to a battery and move it around on the roof of your JK while watching the reception bars on your phone to see what's best. You could even clamp the antenna to a pole to extend the height and see what difference that makes. Hope this helps....Jerry

Nomad

SweetlyHome - I'm not sure where I read it but someone would drive a piece of rebar into the ground and run a ground wire up to the base of whatever antenna they were using so that might be something I try. So far I've just had short periods to try stuff as in general I've had good reception.
For instance, right now I'm in the Black Hills. While driving up to the campgrounds I was in and out of coverage but here at the campgrounds I have 2-bars and solid LTE data. Was the same at Devil's Tower campground.

TaBFan - Yep, the latest one.

Lisa33

I put the antenna in one of two places.  Either on the roof of the T@DA--just balance it up there, or I also have the little suction mount thing and put it on the outside of the door porthole window.  I also sometimes stick the antenna to one of those galvanized square metal electrical box covers.  It provides a better base for balancing the antenna on the roof.  Plus, maybe there is some benefit to the extra metal.  I put rubber stick on feet on it so it doesn't scratch the trailer.  

I have a very tech-savvy boyfriend, who poo-pooed the idea of the booster through half of our trip.  We were so busy that I hadn't bothered with it, and in Canada I didn't want to pay roaming charges anyway.  At some point he had no signal and needed to make a phone call and send a few emails for work.  I had one bar at the time, so I got out the booster.  Lo and behold, he immediately bumped up from no service to three bars.  He was amazed (and that's coming from a man who isn't very effusive).  As an experiment, we tried both the older 3G version and the new 4G version with LTE turned off and on.  We got better results with my older 3G booster.  I have no doubt that he'll be buying one.  He said he never would have believed how well it worked.

Lisa33

Here is the electrical blank cover that I use.  It costs less than a dollar.

Nomad

Thanks Lisa - I've yet to get back into no/marginal coverage so haven't been able to test anything. Am amazed that I've had 2-3 bars with strong LTE in most of the southern Black Hills, Badlands and Pine Ridge Reservation. Little pockets of "no" service but in and out of those fairly quickly.
Bought a painters pole, antenna bracket and wiring but still waiting to see if anything works.

ChanW

Check your hood for ground with an ohmmeter? Aluminum will conduct, but there might be bushings in the hinges that insulate. Aluminum against steel would have galvanic corrosion problems, so they would probably insulate between the two metals. Just guessing here.

You could add a ground plane with a long ground wire or two just lying on the ground, pointed toward the source of the cell signal. That's what I remember from my CB days.

Nomad

ChanW - Was looking under the hood to see where I could connect a ground wire and discovered there already is one - at least that's what it looks like. Big copper band going from hood down somewhere I can't determine (see pic).

ChanW

Yep, certainly looks like a ground strap!

Test the connection with your ohmmeter. Looks pretty crusty!

ChanW

And that "long wire" I mentioned wouldn't have to be that long, I'd think, cuz cellular uses so much shorter wavelengths.

Nomad

Had never noticed that strap before - so, the whole hood should have a good ground/ground-plane I'd think. What would one use to decrust it?

ChanW

That's not rust, it's copper crust (copper rust?). Vinegar, then rinse well? I don't really know... Replace the strap maybe would be best, but see if that's the problem first, with a temporary replacement to test.

Verna

Corrosion on copper

Nomad

I knew it was corrosion on copper ;-)

jkjenn

Verna said:

Corrosion on copper

@Vernaknows copper.

Verna

jkjenn said:

Verna said:

Corrosion on copper

@Vernaknows copper.

Oh yeah, Verna knows very well what corrosion does to copper. It creates an "open".

jkjenn

Had a chance to use the booster today. My brother's service is so bad, you can't make a call without dropping it. They have the wifi antenna, but I turned off wifi and gave the Weboost with the window mount antenna a try.

With no antenna no 4g, about 2-3 bars of 3g. With the booster, 4G with 3 bars.

Nomad

Cool - Will be interested in how it works with more marginal service. I find data's easier to boost than voice but I've yet to be in an area of widespread poor signal.
Were you able to make a call? The bars represent tower strength to you, not the strength of your device back to the tower.

jkjenn

Without the booster, the call wouldn't connect, with the booster, crystal clear.

Nomad

Keep us posted when your out boondocking - other than Walmart lots ;-)

ChanW

I've reviewed this whole thread...

Jenn, which model weBoost do you have?

Nomad

Hmmmmm - No Jenn reports once she left Walmart and headed into the mountains - Wonder if the booster ain't a boosting.