vB Easy Archive - Booster / Repeater Questions

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Booster / Repeater Questions
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Posted by: gbf999

Hi -

I hope this is the right forum for this question. My situation is:

Cell service is a mix of 4 prepaid (2 Tracfone, 2 Page Plus) and 1 contract (Sprint SERO, contract ends next week).
Want to just get us all on a Verizon family plan (best signal for my location), but of course that is only cost-effective if I can lose the land line payment.

So, I'm looking at signal booster/repeater systems and would appreciate some input as to what would work best under the following conditions:

Rural area.
Signal outside is very low: I get no "bars", but do get 1x and/or EV indicator and can send text messages and make a call from the yard if I don't move around. This is using my Razr v3m on Page Plus. My husband's...some kind of Samsung InPulse phone, can't remember the model number, will do it too, but less reliably. The Tracfones don't work at all and the Sprint phone (Rumor) will sometimes display a roaming signal, but won't complete a call.
Visitors who have had regular Verizon and US Cellular service have been able to use their phones in my yard with no issues at all. In both cases these people also had better phones (LG5500, Blackberry) than my husband and I.
Currently building a house. The walls & roof are on, but no insulation, inner walls, etc., yet. Can make call from inside building if standing by window facing above mentioned yard.

I've been doing a lot of reading, but am still unsure on some things, so I thought I'd put this all out here & see whether you smart people can clarify things & help me make a decision. :-) We expect to have the wiring & sheet rock, etc., done in the next few months, so this seems like a good time to buy & install a booster/repeater system.

The first couple of things I looked at were:
Clear Voice Kit with upgraded Yagi antenna, $349 for 800 single band kit. (I found a thread on HoFo from a couple of years ago implying that this kit might not be very good, but no definitive yes or no. Maybe someone has a more recent opinion?)

zBoost Repeater Kit with upgraded antenna, $309 for 800Mhz single band, $489 for 800/1900 dual band.

JDTek has several alternatives:

Signal Booster Kit - Rural. It looks like this is something you have to have your phone physically connected to? $325 for the dual band 800/1900 version.

JD55-PR Kit. This looks more like the Clear Voice & zBoost kits, with an outdoor antenna going to indoor base repeater. $340 for 800/850 single band, $480 for 800/1900 dual band.

JD55-PR Rural Kit. Same as JD55-PR above, but adds a signal booster that acts as a "pre-amp" when placed between the outdoor antenna and the base repeater. $550 for 800/850 single band, $675 for 800/1900 dual band.

I was hoping to keep it in the $350-$400 range, but I also want to get the best bang for the buck, and want it to work. My plan is to buy from someone with a good 30-day return policy, set it up temporarily -- very, very carefully, of course --- to test it with our existing phones. I figure if it works with them, then it should definitely work with the full Verizon service and newer phones (we're looking at LG Dare, Samsung Alias 2, LG enV3, and LG5500). Does that assumption seem reasonable?

Other questions:

Do I need to get a dual band setup, or can I just go with the 800, since it's Verizon and rural?
Will these "high gain" Yagi antennas also improve the signal in the yard?
Does the antenna included in the JDTek packages seem similar to the yagi antenna upgrades in the zBoost & Clear Voice packages, or would I need to go with an upgrade from them too?
If this works for my cell service, would it also work for a broadband internet card?

This is very long, but I did want to include as much info as possible (if nothing else, to show I've at least been trying to do my homework

. I appreciate any input; Howard Forums has never steered me wrong yet.

Thanks!

Posted by: desertbunny

I'm surprised that in your research, you didnt come across anything made by Wilson.

Two of my company trucks have a Wilson signal booster/amplifier. (one truck has TWO of them)

Typical configuration has them connected to a gain, fixed antenna outside the vehicle, with the 3 watt booster, and the interior antenna.

Occasionally, we'll swap out the interior antenna for a powered antenna cradle, or for a phone specific direct connection cord.
Also, we have the ability to swap to a directional antenna, if we're in an extreme fringe area.

Check out the wilson products. They're in the same price range or lower.
Depending on your specific situation, i'd recommend the building specific kit, as it comes with an unidirectional interior antenna, and a no-ground-plane exterior gain antenna (actually the same one that they sell to truckers, but it works well for fixed site use)

Posted by: SAL8116

I am looking for a repeater/booster. Thanks for the info.

Posted by: Catdoogan

Yeah, Wilson is all we use as far as boosters go. They also make a good reliable line of In Building Amplifiers. Because of the high Gain of these IBA's you need to be careful about antenna placement and the type of cable you use. Ideally lots of vertical separation on the antennas, a light duty tower if possible. And use something better than RG58 coax, at least RG213 or LMR400. RG58 just has too much loss at 800 MHz to run any kind of distance and you will need somewhere around 70' of separation.

I know this is gonna bust your budget, but you will get full coverage inside your house if everything is set up properly.

BTW, look up X-Link Bluetooth gateway. This may allow you to use a cheaper vehicle booster and still have great coverage with the use of a standard cordless phone.

Posted by: DRNewcomb

Assuming that Verizon in your area is 850 MHz, then a single-band (850 MHz) repeater should work for you but may not do anything for visitors. Remember that these things can't create a signal where none exists. If you go to where the outside antenna will be located and have no signal on your phone, it's not a good sign. Also, the zBoost uses 75 Ohm RG-6 cable with F connectors.

Posted by: desertbunny

well, he did say that there is a barely usable signal in the yard.

if he gets the outdoor antenna mounted as high as possible (the one i reccommended can be mounted to the roof, and its got about a 3 foot pole before the bottom of the antenna), it'll pull in that signal.

Also, if that doesnt give the results they want, then they can always get a yagi pointed to the closest tower.

Posted by: Kyledoo

I have long looked at booster options, I live on the line between a suburban/rural area, but have had horrible service since we got our phones. Just about the time I saved enough for the system we wanted, verizon put up a tower about 1 mile from us, and we now have 3-4 bars

However, I did do extensive research on this. First of all, I do use external antennas directly connected to my phone in many areas, as I travel far out into the boonies on a regular basis. They do seem to "create a signal where there is none", but YMMV. First of all, to the OP, get the best outdoor antenna possible, it will make the biggest difference in your installation, in your case, the AMP basically takes the signal that is received from the outside antenna and sends it out (that way your phone does not need to be directly connected), it does make a small difference in outgoing (from your phone to the tower) signal "strength" but not nearly as much as you think.
Your phone puts out around 400-500mW, and an amp puts out 3W, so one would think that that would mean 6 times the signal.. in actuality it is around 7dB, so if your phone is already at the bare minimum signal (106dB) it will go up to 99dB, which on my Voyager is still "no bars". A more real world example is with a CB/ham radio. I have a 65Watt radio which i use in my car and at home. At home I have the directional Yagi type antenna you describe, mounted about 15 feet off the ground INSIDE my attic. in the car i have a 0 gain antenna mounted on the roof. in the car I can use 65 watts and still not hit stations that I can hit at home with 5 watts, yes it takes 13 TIMES THE POWER just because of a SLIGHTLY lower performance antenna.
What the others have said about antenna height is very important as well, but you can get away with mounting an antenna just on your rooftop since you do already have signal outside.
As others have said, Wilson is pretty much the best, my family has been using their antennas almost as long as the company has been around. The other options you mentioned will probably not get you the results you want.. and if you are installing this as an integral part of your home, you probably want it done right the first time.

http://www.alternativewireless.com/...r-repeater.html

That one should be in your price range, but look on the same site for the Yagi antenna and the feedlines(coax) and the cost will go up a few hundred dollars. Maybe you can find a better deal on some other sites.

The inside antenna should be mounted near the center of the house.

Do you have broadband service at home? If so the Verizon Network Extender may be a cheaper ($250) option.

Sorry my post is so long, but I thought it would be better to give you the information right away.

Posted by: DRNewcomb

Great post. Good information. Another good source for antennas, etc. is AntennaWorld.com. Their website stinks but if you talk to Raul, he'll get you what you need.