Improved cell phone installations in trucks

[Gordon Maney]

I have a cell phone installation in my 2001, 2500, 24V Cummins powered Ram. The phone and associated hardware is Nokia. It is all about two years old.



I remember a Dave Barry column once where he said that the cell phone was something that allowed us to spend money and then ask, "... ... are you there, are you there????"



I got this installation with the external antenna because I frequently drive some highway on trips out of town. The terrain for a good part of it is quite hilly and distant from cellular towers. The added antenna made a huge difference in reception.



Even with all of that, there are too many times when signals are lost, calls are dropped, and I think in an era when we have smart bombs and can put people in outer space, why don't these phones work better?



My question for you is this: Is my equipment too old now, or are there some changes I could implement that would make the performance of the phone much better?



Also, I decided I was really glad I got the handset, as the windshield pillar mounted microphone just did not cut it in that big cab. I don't think it is so much the diesel, it is just too far away from the person.



What has been your experience with any of this?



I post a photo of my current installation. Actually, I would have posted one, but when I click on the Choose File button, the computer makes a boink noise indicating it does not like what I am doing. Why is that? I also just tried posting a photo in a reply to this post and was not allowed to, either.



I also have a vBulletin forum and I am able to post photos in that. Perhaps a moderator has a thought here, or Steve, this site's administrator.

 

[Phrogger57]

cell phones....

Not sure if this will help, but here goes...

I had an older Nokia (5165 & a 6165) that I had put much time and effort into to get mounted the way I wanted, first in my '96 3500 V-10, and now in my '03 3500 CTD. I recently (29 dec,03) purchased a new phone to replace the 6165 because I had greatly abused it and it was no longer reliable (nor would it consistently make contact with the cradle contacts) because of the "fashion changes" that these items seem to go through (get smaller and smaller, as well as more complicated) I had to ask specifically for the 6360 as it is the last phone that will still fit the cradle (Nokia's cark-91H). The setup I have has served me well, with only 2 places around here with no service- both of those are in river canyons going west from the front range. The best suggestion I have is to make sure that you are using a high quality antenna (may cost as much as $75 or so) and mount it so that you have a good ground plane. Remember that through the glass antennas tend to have more loss than a direct roof mount, so you will have to decide which is more important to you-the cell usability or no holes in the roof ( this is not to say that there are not any excellent through the glass antennas, just harder to get a "perfect signal" with one).



I guess I would say that as long as your phone is working well, I would not "upgrade" as you probably will not have as good of service as you do now-my . 02 rather than based on absolute knowlege of the current phones.



I have to admit, I sure liked my older phones that had a 3 watt amp as part of the car kit, but those days are gone. Hope this was helpful rather than a rant, -Eric

 

[wyosteve]

Guys, fwiw, there is a device called a 'Smoothtalker' that will bump a handheld cell phone to 3 watts. A bit pricey, but worth it. Have one in my truck and can easily get full signal where there was little or none before.

 

[scotty1]

3 watt phones

I have had 3 watt bag phones since the late 80's.

Only in the past 3 yrs did I get away from the bag phones and go to the mini lil . 6 watt digitals.

Recently I have run into an issue. The cellular companies that own the towers in the different areas are not renewing their contracts for usage with the other companies. The cell company I have been with for over a decade called me and said that there will be problems with the service outside of the major centers.

I had to reprogram the phone to even get the metro service in digital. On analog I can get service but not digital outside the cities.

I might be firing up one of my old 3 watt phones again since they are analog and they do work better then anything else I have used. I did buy an expensive magenetic mount cell antenna that has two pieces to it and is about 30" tall. I could go from Saskatchewan to Vegas and not lose a call no matter where I was.

I use my cell mainly in the truck. If I need it in the house I can use a 12 volt converter.

I also elected to ditch the big batteries since I cannot get them anymore anyway. 12 volt lighter plug is what I used.



Scotty

 

[Forrest]

I wonder if the signal loss is the type of system the phone is on. My phone is a Nokia 8265 w/ analog & digital service on ATT.



I was recently in Death Valley & one of the ATT cell phones didn't have any service. It might have been a GSM phone, which I understand don't have the coverage.

 

[Tulsa618]

One thing you might do is take your phone into your service provider and ask them to check it for the software version. Sometime changes are made in the network itself that can benefit you - but they can do so best if you have the "complementary" software version. It usually costs nothing - and can sometimes be accomplished by calling your customer service line. If there are software updates for your phone, they can sometimes be "pushed" directly to your phone without your even having to leave your house (or office or truck or ... ). Keep in mind that any network software upgrades should be backwards compatible with any software version in your (and everyone else's) older software, and that any upgrade might not improve your service experience. Kinda like visiting the dealer for an ECM flash.



'Sounds like some of the other recommendations (like boosting to 3W! Hmmm... cell phone BOMBing - I LIKE it!) would be fine, too!

 

[Rotty]

This is long, sorry.

I understand your pain. Make sure that you have a compatible antenna, i. e. dual/multi band. Get the proper adapter from your phone to the coax. Some antennas need a ground plane and others do not. Stay away from mount on the glass. A dummy load/50 ohm resistor can provide better gain.



Find a local HAM/ amature radio operator to help you set it up if you don't feel confident.



After you have it set up do some testing, like go to a marginal area and see what your signal strength is w/o the external antenna. Then plug it in and see what the change is.

You do not need to know what the absolute gain is but use the little bar grap that comes with the phone. When you plug in the external antenna, you should see the bar graph increase 1-3 bars depending on lots of parameters. If it gets worse or stays the same the external is not going to help you. Figure out what is wrong.



Also, if you are in a marginal area and the phone only works in analog mode and then it suddenly changes to digital when you plug in the extenal antenna, this means that you have provided lots of signal gain.



As a ham operator and elecrical engineer, you very soon learn the to have the best system gain you need and excellent antenna and coax with good connectors.

This will out perform any BIG power amps that can be added.



Good luck.

 

[LRoy]

Go to this place and look at what they have.



http://www.cellantenna.com



I'm using one of their mag-mount antennas (I fed the wire through the firewall then up to the roof). Makes a really big improvement in reception.



I have one of their RF amps too though I don't hook it up unless I really need it. I seem to get intermittent audio distortion when I use it in a metro area that already has a good signal - but I am not positive it is causing the problem either. I think it might be overloading the rf receiver of the cell phone.



I'm using a Moto v60 + "pro" car kit on AT&T service.



Like you - I don't think the pillar mounted mikes do a great job. When I have to talk a lot I just plug a headset in.