RV Today Cell Phone Signal Booster

[DonavonP]

Watched RV Today. I'm not sure how old the program was but I found the cellular phone signal booster very interesting.

There are many pages of very simple to understand explanations about cell phones and how to get better reception in fringe areas.

Google Smoothtalker.com if you're interested.

[DonavonP]

Watched RV Today. I'm not sure how old the program was but I found the cellular phone signal booster very interesting.

There are many pages of very simple to understand explanations about cell phones and how to get better reception in fringe areas.

Google Smoothtalker.com if you're interested.

[zetron]

Don't bother with the amplifier. Make yourself a Yagi beam cellular antenna for under $10.00 and connect virtually anywhere in the western United States with Verizon.

David/Zetron

[C.CARNEY]

OK you got me, what's a Yagi beam antenna? I have Verizo and inquiring minds need to know!!!

Clark

[zetron]

Yagi is the name of a Jap engineer who came up with the design (he and Udi) for this antenna many years ago.

Look at almost any TV antenna and you see an example. You have these elements sticking out along a 'boom'. Towards the back of this thing there is what is called the 'driven element' this is a pair of those elements I mentioned. The driven element is the only one connected to the TV. All the elements in front of the driven element are called 'directors'. They are shorter than the driven element (progressively) and act as LENSES to focus the TV signal onto the driven elemnet. The element in back of the driven element is a 'reflector' it is longer than the driven element. As the name implies this element acts as a MIRRIOR reflecting the TV signal back onto the driven element.

This type of antenna design can be used for just about any frequency (even cellular phone). The more directors you put on it the more signal gain you obtain. It is VERY DIRECTIONAL only picking up and receiving signals from the director end of the antenna. It must be pointed accurately at the cellular tower you want to use. No big deal, just mount it on your Wineguard TV antenna and turn it until the cellular signal peaks on your computer.

Take a look at the other thread (Broadband access, I believe) and also go to 'freeroaders.com'for the directions and pictures for making this antenna yourself. At freeroaders search for the word 'Yagi' and look in the end of the photo section.

A linear amplifier for cellular is expensive and dumb. I would stack my home brew Yagi up aginst any cellular amplifier and it only cost $10.00 for the parts.

David/zetron

[Erich]

Okay I've tried freeroaders.com, or .org or .humptydumpty and come up with nothing. guess Zetron is busy around the campfire, no pm answer yet. Does anyone have the actual instructions/dimensions to build one of these Yagi antennas for the old 890mHz analog cell phoes? Getting tired of standing on the picnik table with one leg up and a finger in my ear. Thanks.

[DonavonP]

Erich,

While you wait for Zetron to respond. Try this site.
Also, when you search Google or your favorite search engine, try "Homebrew Yagi" and "Do it yourself antenna". If you want to buy a yagi, go to Wilson Electronics for starters.

You might also consider a Wilson truckers antenna. It may be enough to pull in your signal.

I see you're south of me, up in Canada.

[Erich]

Donavon: Thanks for the msg, that will keep me busy for a while. Ha, after this past winter, I wish I was a bit further south, but spring/summer is here, and off to the campground tomorrow. Our dilemma is that we're "over the hill" when it comes to phone signals...but, some days are better than others. I've got a no name brand external mag mount antenna hooked to my bag phone, about the only phone that works reasonably well, just need that little extra tweek that maybe a Yagi will provide.

[DonavonP]

Here's a calculator for your yagi spacing etc. Calculator
I had a bag phone 3 watt transmitter and a tech savy guy gave me a Yagi and told me not to stand down wind of it ?? might cook some brain cells - that could explain a lot of things come to think of it. Anyway, he said not to worry about aiming it at the site because my Buffalo Wy site is tucked down in a valley. I got a signal by aiming it at a mountain at 250 degrees and received a signal either from a site at 160 degrees(Kaycee,Wy) or ?? (my bill said it was Billings, Montana -200 miles away ?? couldn't be -). Anyway, the yagi really sucks in the radio waves.

I'm currently in the process of rigging that store bought Yagi to my Verizon
V 620 internet card. My place in Plato, MN is sort of a black hole but I do get a few bars now on Verizon so things are looking up.

In the US we can locate cell sites by going to the FCC site Locator
Your government agency CRTC probably has
a locator also but I can't find it.

Things I don't understand so far about this are "balun", "standing wave"
(sorta like the signal gets stuck on the antenna - somebody jump in here -
I'm obviously lost )- "element" size - diameter affects the length and spacing - I think.

[RVrs R US]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by DonavonP:

You might also consider a Wilson truckers antenna. It may be enough to pull in your signal.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Tania and I were in a "dead zone" on Rt 27 about 15 miles south of Clermont, Florida last winter and I ordered the Wilson Trucker Antenna, set it up on the roof of our fifth wheel and went from 1 bar to 4 bars on our Cingular LG 1400 cellphone.

Obviously pleased with the results but cost was around $80 for the antenna and accessories. $10 and the reported results for the homemade Yagi sounds like one heck of a better deal to me.

In fact, I've already come up with ways to spend the $70 savings.

Dave

[feistycapn]

Also try CellAntennaas a source for both boosters and antenni. I have one of their Yagis and it works well.

[zetron]

Erich: I left a reply back on May 09. The instructions were then still in Freeroader.com somewhere under Yagi. There were also pictures in the photo section.

I have been very busy with my TurboKool swamp cooler, and RO system plus flooring.

A Balun is a electrical device that matches a 'balanced' antenna to an 'unbalanced' feedline. A balanced antenna is balanced in the sense that it has two radiating elements, one opposite the other (dipole etc). Unblanced feedline is coaxial cable. Balanced feedline would be TV twinlead or Ham ladderline. The balanced line is like the balanced antenna it has two feed elments one opposite.

Standing Wave Ratio (SWR) is the ratio of the reflected energy to the radiated energy from your transmitter. If the antenna is not designed for the frequency you are transmitting on the energy from your transmitter will not radiate off the antenna into space; it will REFLECT back down the antenna into your transmitter. This can destroy the final amplifiers on your transmitter. The higher the SWR the more enrgy that is reflected back down to the transmitter.

An antenna properly designed for the frequency you are transmitting on will radiate most of the energy from your transmitter; this will give a low SWR.

With a Yagi antenna you will have a lower IMPEDANCE than the impedance of your transmitter (50 ohms). The more elements on the Yagi the lower the impedance. You need to MATCH the impedance of the Yagi to that of the feedline and that of the transmitter. If you use standard 50 ohm coax you only need to match the antenna to the feedline.

david/zetron

[DonavonP]

Thanks David. Good luck with the other projects.

[jimandsandy]

This might be a dumb question but I am going to ask anyway, Does these anti. have to be connected to the cell phone? Some times when we travel and do not have much service we would like to hook up to the lap top, we use Verison
Thanks Jim