Cell Booster Question

[austinjenna]

So I am in the market for a cell phone booster when out in the fringes of reception. I know it needs some signal to amplify it but my question is that after reading reviews I see the range that it amplifies seems to be quite short on a lot of them.

A lot of reviews are saying a foot or inches away from the internal antenna. This seems to be for all of them knockoffs and weboost as well. I was hoping for something that boosted the range a little more as too outside the trailer as well.

So for those of you that have them, what is the real world review that you can share on the range?

[ktmrfs]

Big Katuna wrote:
I have a 4G X RV too and I was confused about the cradle statement. I don’t have one.
Mine has an interior antenna which Wilson states is good for 4-10’. Mine works better than that.

I did speed tests close and far away and results were consistently the same.

The trucker version has a cradle.

If your in a marginal signal area what you describe is what I've seen as well. It's when there is NO unboosted signal or unboosted signal near -115/-120 db that the cradle works but inside antenna becomes really marginal, at least for me. I also have the 4G X RV. I bought a cradle for my system. It's wired through a splitter one side goes to the cradle the other side goes to the inside antenna. yes I lose 3db gain, but is more versatile.

Often times I put my hotspot in the cradle for internet etc. and let the phones use the inside antenna.

[ktmrfs]

crcr wrote:

ktmrfs wrote:
the more gain you need, the closer the phone needs to be to the inside antenna.

The more gain you need the higher in the air you want the outside antenna.

The more gain you need the more directional you want the outside antenna.

We have the Weboost RV setup. in areas where the signal level w/o the booster is in the -100 to -110db range a omni outside antenna and being within a few feet of the internal antenna.

When the singnal level is in the -110 db or lower, the phone needs to be in the cradle antenna and the outside antenna sometimes needs to be a yagi.

And in any case, the amount of boost you get depends on how close you are to the inside antenna. If all you need is voice phone service or messaging, the lower your signal can be. If you want internet you want as strong a signal as possible which is best achieved by the phone being in the inside antenna cradle.

As an example this last weekend I was in a place with a unboosted signal level of -110db, voice but very marginal internet. with the weboost on and the internal antenna about 4 ft away the signal was near -100db, not bad, very good for voice marginal for internet. With the phone in the cradle signal level was -80db, very very good for internet.

I've been studying the WeBoost 4G-x RV, thinking about upgrading from my Wilson Sleek. When you mention about putting the phone in the cradle in your Weboost system, I'm left confused, as in studying online what is included with the Weboost 4G-x RV package, I don't see a cradle. Is the 4G-x RV the model you have, or do you have a different model?

I have the 75ohm RV system, but it didn't come with a cradle antenna, I bought it seperate. What I can say is that the cradle can gives me 10db or more boost over setting the phone next to the antenna included with the RV system. How much difference in boost is dependent on how strong the unboosted signal is. The booster won't always give the 50+db max gain. Typically the system will boost to a signal level that gives a certain Signal to noise ratio and then the provider limits power. They only want to allow enough power to give the acceptable performance level. increasing signal beyond that gives no benefit to you and can have a negative effect on others on the same tower.

What I've found is that when the unboosted signal is around -115db or lower (below about -115 is a no signal condition) the cradle gives better reception. I've had conditons with no signal w/o the booster and with the booster -100db so it's really maxing out the gain to even get me a signal. In that case the cradle gives me something useable, the inside antenna marginal if I'm next to it and nothing if I'm even a few ft away.

[Big_Katuna]

I have a 4G X RV too and I was confused about the cradle statement. I don’t have one.
Mine has an interior antenna which Wilson states is good for 4-10’. Mine works better than that.

I did speed tests close and far away and results were consistently the same.

The trucker version has a cradle.

[crcr]

ktmrfs wrote:
the more gain you need, the closer the phone needs to be to the inside antenna.

The more gain you need the higher in the air you want the outside antenna.

The more gain you need the more directional you want the outside antenna.

We have the Weboost RV setup. in areas where the signal level w/o the booster is in the -100 to -110db range a omni outside antenna and being within a few feet of the internal antenna.

When the singnal level is in the -110 db or lower, the phone needs to be in the cradle antenna and the outside antenna sometimes needs to be a yagi.

And in any case, the amount of boost you get depends on how close you are to the inside antenna. If all you need is voice phone service or messaging, the lower your signal can be. If you want internet you want as strong a signal as possible which is best achieved by the phone being in the inside antenna cradle.

As an example this last weekend I was in a place with a unboosted signal level of -110db, voice but very marginal internet. with the weboost on and the internal antenna about 4 ft away the signal was near -100db, not bad, very good for voice marginal for internet. With the phone in the cradle signal level was -80db, very very good for internet.

I've been studying the WeBoost 4G-x RV, thinking about upgrading from my Wilson Sleek. When you mention about putting the phone in the cradle in your Weboost system, I'm left confused, as in studying online what is included with the Weboost 4G-x RV package, I don't see a cradle. Is the 4G-x RV the model you have, or do you have a different model?

[ktmrfs]

the more gain you need, the closer the phone needs to be to the inside antenna.

The more gain you need the higher in the air you want the outside antenna.

The more gain you need the more directional you want the outside antenna.

We have the Weboost RV setup. in areas where the signal level w/o the booster is in the -100 to -110db range a omni outside antenna and being within a few feet of the internal antenna.

When the singnal level is in the -110 db or lower, the phone needs to be in the cradle antenna and the outside antenna sometimes needs to be a yagi.

And in any case, the amount of boost you get depends on how close you are to the inside antenna. If all you need is voice phone service or messaging, the lower your signal can be. If you want internet you want as strong a signal as possible which is best achieved by the phone being in the inside antenna cradle.

As an example this last weekend I was in a place with a unboosted signal level of -110db, voice but very marginal internet. with the weboost on and the internal antenna about 4 ft away the signal was near -100db, not bad, very good for voice marginal for internet. With the phone in the cradle signal level was -80db, very very good for internet.

[Big_Katuna]

twodownzero wrote:
Are there any of these setups that don't cost $500?

I read many reviews and I drew the conclusion that this was one of those times where I could pay less and be unhappy.

My wife works online and this (and a ATT hotspot and Verizon iPhones) usually enables her to work.

Campground WiFi is consistently poor. Too poor the stay connected. Maybe ok for emails etc but not uploading and downloading big files.

One of those times where you get what you pay for.

[twodownzero]

Are there any of these setups that don't cost $500?

[Dutch_12078]

We've been using a Max Amp RV 4G/LTE amplifier/repeater for a few years now, and it continues to perform well for us in deep fringe reception areas, including some where the coverage maps show no service. I installed the outside omni-directional magnetic antenna on a ground plane plate on top of the rear A/C shroud, and the inside antenna roughly in the center of our living area. The repeated signal easily reaches the entire coach plus several feet outside of the rig.

[Big_Katuna]

I have had a Weboost DRIVE 4G X RV all summer. I’m very pleased. The RV version has an inside antenna they say is good for 4-10 ‘ but it works when we’re outside.

It usually double transfer rates if not more. Even when we have three to four bars.

I avoided the cradle versions based on reviews.

I would buy it again.

I mount mine on a 8’ length of 1” PVC clamped to a big suction cup on an outside wall.

[CA_Traveler]

Wilson has solutions along with $$$. I have a older 3G unit with outside antenna on rear roof and inside panel amplifier that points forward and gives cell access inside and outside perhaps 50'. The stated separation between the two antennas is 20' with the amplifier in between. In my initial testing 15' worked fine. My outside antenna is omni directional and higher gain directional antennas are available.

Mine is not a mobile setup meaning that when I'm close to a cell tower with the MH it will overload, enter a error state and requires manual intervention. But it has served me well for 12+ years.

[Belgique]

I saw a rig with the Weboost (trucker antenna) yesterday at a gas station and asked him about the inside range. He said you have to have the device right next to the inside antenna...there is almost no range inside. In fact he creates a hot spot inside in order to use his phones etc normally. That said, he loves the Weboost and thinks it worth the money.

[wa8yxm]

First a saying "The higher the better" (within reason) it's a calculus job to figure out what the crossover point is but the higher the antenna (outside)
1: The farther it is from the inside antenna
2: The stronger the signal it can receive (or the farther it can see take your pick)
3: The greater the line loss if the amplifier is in the house (You can put the amplifier in a weatherproof box closer to the outside antenna and go quite high)

Next. there are direcitonal antennas. One is described in another post in this same forum.. Those greatly extend your range. each 3 DB gain = 1.4x distance. OR MORE.

[jorbill2or]

You have to remember that the outside and inside antennas set up a interference with each other. If the inside antenna was that powerful it would interfere with the outside reception.
We have a Wilson with the candy bar inside antenna. We lay the phone / hotspots on or within a few inches and use Bluetooth for calls or WiFi for data to other data devices. The rv broadcast type larger antenna is measured in feet . .. the one I tried was like 3’ then useless. If you go with the larger home style room broadcasters I would think the “loop” with the outside antenna would be a major problem.
The other thing .. many times if the outside signal is strong enough the booster actually degrades the reception , at least we found that to be true so we leave it off 90% of the time unless we actually need it.
In short , no way you sitting at the outside table getting a boosted signal, it won’t work like that.