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Old 06-30-2011, 05:49 PM   #1
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What is the Best Cell phone and Internet Booster

Thanks for your time and patience for this newbie question.
We have Sprint Cell phone and Verizon MiFi as ISP.
We were looking online and we found the Wilson841295 as a very tempting option.
There is anything out there that can really get you signal were there is not? We are starting our RV lifestyle and we need phone and internet full time based on the nature of our income.
So what is it better? we also see recommendations to satellite as the only signal that you can get no matter were you at. If that is the case what goo providers are out there? Should we mount one on the RV or it should be mobile?
Thanks for sharing the info.
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Old 06-30-2011, 09:45 PM   #2
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Although we have traveled very little in the Mountainous west, we have found very few places our Verizon cell phones can't get service. I just bought a Verizon MiFi, so I can't give much reliable info on that yet. How long have you had your MiFi and what results have you gotten from it? What model do you have? We bought a 4510L 4G LTE and so far, so good.
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Old 07-01-2011, 06:01 AM   #3
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I telecommute for work, so reliable internet is critical to our RV adventures. I've considered satellite, but for the moment I only frequent campgrounds with good wifi or campgrounds where I can get decent Verizon coverage for the MiFi as well as coverage for my AT&T phone. I have found this a little limiting in some mountainous areas (eastern Kentucky in particular), but thus far have been able to make it work.

I have the Wilson SOHO setup in our coach to boost the cell phone signals, and honestly it is quite impressive. It can't make something of nothing of course, but when signal is very weak it boosts it to something useable. At Paintsville Lake campground in Kentucky, I had between 1 and 0 bars of usable signal inside the coach (both on Verizon & AT&T). After firing up the Wilson, that went to a solid 3 - 4 bars. We also tested leaving it on during our drive home as we are very familiar with the dead zones on that route. All but one dead zone disappeared. There was a brief (20 minute) window of no coverage in southwest Virginia, but all other areas where we would normally lose signal was suddenly available.

I've read that some of the newer designs from other brands may be slightly better, but I decided to go with Wilson as they've been around forever. Thus far, we're very pleased with ours.
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Old 07-01-2011, 06:04 AM   #4
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One other thing - while Verizon touts their coverage area, remember there are still areas where they do not offer full 3G service. I mentioned Paintsville Lake, KY above having Verizon signal, and it did have good signal with the Wilson running. But I was not 3G, and it was so slow it was practically unusable. For that trip, I had to use my WiFi Ranger (with WFRBoost) to snag wifi signal from the marina.
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Old 07-01-2011, 10:08 AM   #5
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I installed that amp for a friend last winter and it worked well. We did not have the recommended distance between the roof top antenna and the internal flat plate antenna but it worked anyway. Still I would try to get the recommended distance.

Note that the amp will not amplify the frequency band Verizon uses for most of their 4G network (700 MHz)
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Old 07-08-2011, 08:53 AM   #6
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Thanks to everybody for the input and sorry for the delay to reply but we were at the Rocky Mountains National Park an of course NO SIGNAL!!!!
Well we notice that the Camp Host had the Wilson Trucker's Antenna on their coach so we touched the subject.
They have the USB Air Card from Verizon and they had the same issues related to the signal before.
They order a signal booster kit from wilson but they decided to return the amplifier based on that according to their experience it didn't make any difference.
They are plugging the antenna to the device and it has the same results than with the amplifier. Could this be related to a bad installation? But on the other hand, how can a bad installation be possible? you can get wrong with the plugs and etc.
Now our issue with the MIFI 2200 is that the is no a connection port for the antenna.
Any other ideas or a particular kit?
Thanks again
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Old 07-08-2011, 01:22 PM   #7
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I would suggest calling Wilson Electronics direct. 800-204-4104
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Old 07-08-2011, 03:01 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quest View Post
Thanks to everybody for the input and sorry for the delay to reply but we were at the Rocky Mountains National Park an of course NO SIGNAL!!!!
Well we notice that the Camp Host had the Wilson Trucker's Antenna on their coach so we touched the subject.
They have the USB Air Card from Verizon and they had the same issues related to the signal before.
They order a signal booster kit from wilson but they decided to return the amplifier based on that according to their experience it didn't make any difference.
They are plugging the antenna to the device and it has the same results than with the amplifier. Could this be related to a bad installation? But on the other hand, how can a bad installation be possible? you can get wrong with the plugs and etc.
Now our issue with the MIFI 2200 is that the is no a connection port for the antenna.
Any other ideas or a particular kit?
Thanks again
The Wilson amplifier, or any amplifier, can only help if there is a signal to amplify. If there is truly NO signal nothing will help. Calling Wilson is an excellent suggestion.
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Old 07-08-2011, 03:05 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Quest View Post
...we also see recommendations to satellite as the only signal that you can get no matter were you at. If that is the case what goo providers are out there? Should we mount one on the RV or it should be mobile?
Thanks for sharing the info.
Satellite will get you internet anywhere in the country, and even down into Mexico and up into Canada - as long as you're not under trees.

A rooftop internet satellite dish costs about $5k installed. The dish finds the satellite automatically, and you can even attach a TV LNB to receive standard def TV signals (separate contract with Dish or Direct required).

Satellite internet dishes can be put on a tripod, but the manual setup every time you move can be tedious. However, the tripod gives you some flexibility if the campground is wooded. An internet dish on a tripod will set you back $1.5k

Although they call satellite internet high speed, the downside is (other than cost and the shade problem for rooftop), it's slower than 3G, and waaaay slower than 4G.
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Old 07-08-2011, 04:05 PM   #10
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So many people have switched over to aircards that pretty cheap used satellite equipment can often be found.
A guy in the RV park we were in last winter in AZ sold a complete tripod set up for $250.
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