cellular antenna questions??

[Todd T]

I have two cell phones we use at home. where we live is on the fringe of digital coverage. most of the time inside the house all we can get is analog and its not always clear. i want to get a yagi antenna and piont it towards the nearest cell tower. but here is my problem. our phones are both these handheld jobs they sell these days and do not have an external antenna connector. plus both of our phones are different brands. i have checked and the car mounts for both phones dont have antenna mounts either.



if i took a 5db gain antenna and wired it to the cable for the Yagi antenna and placed the 5dbg in the house somewhere. would the signal reach that antenna and transmit and recieve through the cable to the Yagi on the roof? if so what kind of gain could expect. the yagi is a 9-10 gain. would this setup work?



discuss



Thanks,

Todd

 

[The patriot]

Todd, most hand helds have a plug in the back for an antenna connection.

Most everyone uses this for the hands free kit in an auto, but there are connectors made and sold to connect the phones to a standard coax connection. It's sometimes sold as a "test wire", and I payed $10. 00 for mine.

I found mine at a flea market vendor. I've long since lost the business card. Sorry.

Eric

 

[The patriot]

Might this help?

I know it aint what you asked, but.....

http://www.kidslake.com/cell_phone_link.htm

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Todd, cellular comms is my line of work in Europe, but the principles are the same whether it's Digital/Analog/ TDMA/CDMA/GSM architectures. FWIW, Here's my 0. 02 cents.



The critical thing to note here in improving your reception is not just the aerial configuration and it's relative dB gain but even more important are facts like line-of -sight and antenna height. It may be worth asking the local cellphone companies to consider the strategic location of RF Repeaters to fill in the coverage hole.



There may also be zoning laws for you to consider also when considering some sort of external antenna, but they can be accomodated by adopting a patriotic stance . Question: How do you feel about a 30 foot Flagpole with the stars and stripes in your front/back yard. This would be a good way to get around some of the zoning limitations with a few caveats of course.



It may require some experimentation for the optimum direction as you have got two cellphone networks to reach. If both cellphone signals are marginal, then here's a thought..... the cellphone companies concerned may already be aware of the degaded coverage in your part of the world and might be considering improving local signal quality by strategic siting of a new Base Transceiver Station.



If your property is suitable and enables them to meet or better still exceed their enhanced coverage requirements locally, then they could locate a cosmetically concealed mast on your property and pay you rent for the privilige for ever and a day... . plus you get 5x5 cellular coverage in your own backyard.



This solution will not be to everyone's taste however. :{



Regarding the new style handheld cellphones with integral antenna, take a look at the base of your phone where you would normally connect it into a battery charger. One of those connectors will be an auxiliary antenna input, used in conjunction with hands-free operation whilst driving for instance.

The connection will be somewhat proprietary plus make and model specific. Over here in Europe, it's an instant on-the-spot fine plus some penalty points on your licence if you're caught on the cell phone whilst driving and not using a handsfree system.



Hope this helps.....

 

[JLinder]

While you experts are reading this, what about antenna's in the car? I've got Nextel now, and it's great but the service is a bit spotty here on the west side of the state. Any suggestions for an antenna in the truck that actually works?



Thanks

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Originally posted by JLinder

Any suggestions for an antenna in the truck that actually works?

You should consider a re-radiating antenna that lies flat on the dashboard in the middle of the truck and near the base of the screen, which can then be wired into the handsfree cradle. The ones we have in Europe are about the size of a book of matches and about half an inch thick - almost unnoticeable but they work like a charm on GSM cellular frequencies 900 and 1800 MHz, so GSM 1900MHz in the USA is perfectly possible as is the TDMA and CDMA analog/digital equivalent offerings, which are in the same general frequency bands... .



One thing I've come to appreciate about GSM in Europe and South East Asia, is that the GSM cellular coverage across Europe and South East Asia is SOLID and the roaming agreements work very well. If only we could get the cellular companies stateside to provide the same degree of coverage. Just imagine driving coast to coast and never losing service... .



JMc

 

[Todd T]

Just imagine driving coast to coast and never losing service... . stop it, OH it hurts



there is a tower about two miles from me but its not online yet. it has been there for two years this august, I found the owner and contacted them. they would not give me any idea of when and who would be on it. I see their company is 164Mil in the hole right now, so I think am the least of their worries



back to my original question... if a have a radial 5db gain base grounded antenna and tied it direct to a Yagi directional antenna, will the signal from my phone and the carrier ride those antennas to improve coverage?



Phone-to-radial-through coax cable-to-Yagi-to air and back again. what do you think? try it?

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Originally posted by Todd T

Just imagine driving coast to coast and never losing service... . stop it, OH it hurts Phone-to-radial-through coax cable-to-Yagi-to air and back again. what do you think? try it?

What have you got to lose Todd? It's not my specific area of expertise, but in principle it sounds like it might just work. However, be careful with the impedance matching though. If you get it wrong, it can really eat into your dB gains.....



Later ... . JMc