#174102 - 06/08/2003 19:20
GSM signal amplification?
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
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Being that I own my house now, and that I am a cell phone only user, it might be nice to get excellent quality in any area of my house. Right now, my T-Mobile T68i does decently in most of the house, but does get a weak signal in the basement. My roomate has a T68i on AT&Ts GSM network, and gets very poor coverage at the house. So, I figure a good solution would be some sort of amplifier I could put in the house to help boost both of our signals.
Anyone have any suggestions and advice on such a device? Or is this even possible without using an external antenna jack of some sort on my phone?
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#174103 - 06/08/2003 19:42
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: drakino]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Think about it... Any sort of antenna amplifier that didn't connect directly to your phone would essentially be another cell tower, i.e., a relay point. Wouldn't it?
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#174104 - 06/08/2003 19:51
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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Perhaps he should write a letter to 2600. 
_________________________
-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#174107 - 06/08/2003 20:18
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: tfabris]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 31/08/1999
Posts: 1649
Loc: San Carlos, CA
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Any sort of antenna amplifier that didn't connect directly to your phone would essentially be another cell tower, i.e., a relay point. Wouldn't it?
We actually have something like this in our office. Apparently the previous tenants had enough pull with ATT to get them to put in some sort of relay. I don't really know what it is our how it works, but it is a relatively small box on the wall with a single antennae wire attached that runs somewhere (the roof?). Anyway, I don't know who makes it or what to really call it, but this type of device does exist.
-Mike
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#174108 - 06/08/2003 20:27
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: mcomb]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12341
Loc: Sterling, VA
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Apparently they have them in all the stores for the various providers. It would be a bit embarassing for them if you couldn't get signal in their own stores.
I don't think you'd be able to complain to your provider about signal levels when they're pretty good, but I had luck at contacting T-Mobile. They claimed to have great service in my area, but it was really so bad that my phone couldn't even find a network. After several calls to customer service and some visits to their stores, I got word that they'd be looking at a site to add service.
_________________________
Matt
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#174109 - 07/08/2003 03:42
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: drakino]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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You can get microcells which basically are scaled down versions of a full blown cell. It's what you sometimes get in big office blocks where the reception isn't very good. However as it's a proper cell it's linked into the providers network therefore it'll only help one of you.
The other problem is that you can't buy these things yourself. They have to be installed by your service provider.
There's a picture of one here
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#174110 - 07/08/2003 03:52
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: tman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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Ah. They also make bi directional amps as well. But it's still something you'd have to get your service provider to install. Also I wouldn't really want to live next to that thing. All that RF really can't be too good for you!
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#174111 - 07/08/2003 05:57
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: tman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12341
Loc: Sterling, VA
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You'd also need really understanding (and cell-hungry) neighbors
_________________________
Matt
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#174112 - 07/08/2003 09:25
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: V99]
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enthusiast
Registered: 18/02/2002
Posts: 335
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I put one of those an a nokia years ago, i didnt notice any difference, did anyone?
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#174113 - 07/08/2003 09:28
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: drakino]
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enthusiast
Registered: 18/02/2002
Posts: 335
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T-mobile here in california is basically cingular service. The t68i does get worse rf than other phones ive used. Does your T68i get "stuck" on the calling screen but never switches to the connecting scren?
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#174114 - 07/08/2003 10:33
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: eliceo]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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I put one of those an a nokia years ago, i didnt notice any difference, did anyone? Right, V99 was making a joke. Those antenna-amplifier stickers are a placebo, they don't really do anything. The people who sell them are committing fraud.
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#174115 - 07/08/2003 17:30
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: drakino]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 12/02/2002
Posts: 2298
Loc: Berkeley, California
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Welcome to the world of the t68i's inferior reception coupled with the 1900mhz band's inability to penetrate walls. I think about getting rid of mine on a weekly basis, but everything else about it is great. Come January I'll be upgrading to the best small phone with bluetooth and decent reception.
Anyways, I did manage to find this from an archived usenet post back in '00. It's close. Any of or italian members know any more about these? Perhaps they want to go into antena smuggling as a side job?
in Italy we have what you are looking for !!!
As you may well know, Italy has (according to last census) 57 million
people, and according to this month statistics, 28 million GSM cellphones.
Yes we are the world leaders numerically talking for the GSM market.
As you may immagine, in the store you can find every sort of gizmo for GSM.
There are for sale passive and active repeaters:
The passive ones are basically two antennas connected with a low loss
coaxial wire. The external one is a directional antenna, and the internal
one is a small panel. It works if you have signal outside, or near the
windows, of your apartment. They range from 50 Euro to 80 Euro.
The active ones instead are like the passive ones, with a difference that
they have an amplifier in between. They range from 150 Euro to the most
powerfull ones at 300 Euro. This things are made in Italy, France or Taiwan.
Some of them requires a double coaxial cable with two antennas outside and a
double panel inside. They usually work with 12 DC Volt.
1 Problem: Italy has GSM 900-1800 MHz and I have seen repeaters only for 900
MHz.
Matthew
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#174116 - 07/08/2003 19:08
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: matthew_k]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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_________________________
-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#174117 - 08/08/2003 01:58
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: matthew_k]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31600
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Interesting. So you don't need an actual cell in your house to have amplified antenna reception. I stand corrected.
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#174118 - 08/08/2003 09:35
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: robricc]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
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It seems they also exist in the US
Perfect, thanks. I knew I had come across enough to indicate they existed, I just coundn't find much more then that.
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#174119 - 12/08/2003 16:06
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: drakino]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 12/02/2002
Posts: 2298
Loc: Berkeley, California
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Did you find out how much these cost? I'd love to get something of the sort, but my budget is around $100 which I suspect is an order of magnitude off.
Matthew
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#174120 - 13/08/2003 00:02
Re: GSM signal amplification?
[Re: matthew_k]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
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Not yet, it's post Quakecon investigation for me, along with landscaping and air conditioning.
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