View Full Version : How to improve the signal?
davidmort
06-15-2011, 06:08 AM
I need some advice or suggestion what to do. I have a problem with the signal reception in my house. When I'm at work - everything is fine and I can hear my caller and so on. But When I go home, the signal fades and even disappears at all. My house is located in the lowlands and a bit far from the city. The transmitting tower is rather far.
Any ideas?
Depending on where you are, companies like AT&T and Verizon offer home cell towers that you can put in your house to boost signal strength. You might want to look into those.
deepsand
06-15-2011, 10:16 PM
Are you referring to a microcell or a femtocell?
I'm referring to microcells. You can buy them directly from the carrier.
deepsand
06-16-2011, 10:55 PM
That's what I would have thought was best under the circumstances; but, wasn't certain, and wanted to clarify for the OP.
mikmik
07-19-2011, 01:20 AM
If he's with AT$T he gets a MicrocellFemtocell! AT&T Intros MicroCell Femtocell Device (http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/3G/224200443)
In any event, you have to have a broadband connection(with the same carrier), no? Opposed to an antenna based signal booster/ cellular repeater?
deepsand
07-19-2011, 01:31 AM
Femtocells are very short range. The OP needs something that he can place at a distance from his house, where there is still a useable signal, that will act as a relay.
weegillis
07-19-2011, 01:34 AM
Not to hijack this topic, but rather toss in an example connection: Our house has dish and modem on the roof, and an adaptor on the WAN port of a router. Our wireless router is CAT5 into that. The tower we are aimed at is 1.1 miles away, and we share that tower with about 20 other customers. We live in a river valley, and cell based internet is terrible, since we're a few hundred feet below optimum line of sight. What is this type of connection called in the grand scheme of things? As it works so well for us, I should think a similar service would be ideal for the OP.
deepsand
07-19-2011, 02:13 AM
No special name for that. It's just a parabolic reflecting antenna, which captures and focuses a larger cross-section of radiation, placed where there's an otherwise useable signal, connected to a long wire.
In the OP's case, he needs to amplify a cellular voice channel and retransmit it at a frequency compatible with his cell phone(s). That's what micro/pico/femtocells are designed to do. They're just radio repeaters with different ranges.