Cell Booster

FosterWV

Baller On A Budget
New job w ability to occasionally work on the road, there's some areas I like to camp/fish that I loose signal, 20-25 miles from any signal. Is it possible to use a booster to get a signal? I have Verizon and ATT&T phone service if that matters? Hoping to get enough signal to use one as a hot spot for the laptop.

If this is the wrong section please give me a heads up where to post or if it's hopeless I'll stick to hotels lol

THANKS
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
from that distance it MIGHT be doable with a high gain directional antenna and some luck that you dont have terrain between you and the tower.. but the problem is the horizon, in order for that cell phone tower to see you 20 miles away over the horizon it would have to be ontop of a 300ft tower.. If you or it are ontop of a mountain, you might be in luck.. otherwise no.

Boosters are mostly for fringe areas, turning your intermittent 1 bar of signal into a more stable 4-5 bars, if you dont have any signal to boost they cant do anything.. they also rarely improve data throughput, if you only get 1Mbps with 1 bar but connectivity is not stable, a Booster might bring you back up to 5 bars of signal thats far more stable, but find bandwidth is still 1Mbps because it cant negotiate anything faster through the booster and at those distances.
 

FosterWV

Baller On A Budget
from that distance it MIGHT be doable with a high gain directional antenna and some luck that you dont have terrain between you and the tower.. but the problem is the horizon, in order for that cell phone tower to see you 20 miles away over the horizon it would have to be ontop of a 300ft tower.. If you or it are ontop of a mountain, you might be in luck.. otherwise no.

Boosters are mostly for fringe areas, turning your intermittent 1 bar of signal into a more stable 4-5 bars, if you dont have any signal to boost they cant do anything.. they also rarely improve data throughput, if you only get 1Mbps with 1 bar but connectivity is not stable, a Booster might bring you back up to 5 bars of signal thats far more stable, but find bandwidth is still 1Mbps because it cant negotiate anything faster through the booster and at those distances.

Thanks for the info, when I searched I couldn't find any info on how it worked. Was hoping it would find a signal where there wasn't any.
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
most of us who work from camp have to scout out and find locations w/a signal, and return later when we're on the clock.. without a booster its really hard to find anything at all but your still at the mercy of telcom infrastructure thats not going to exist at all in BFE.. here in the Rockies I often have to stay in the same valley as a little village w/coverage, take some of the old gravel passes out of town and find a dispersed forest spot before I loose line of sight to the infrastructure.. I'm usually on the side of the valley and so is the tower, so sometimes I can get pretty far away if the terrain is right, or I round a few corners and signal vanishes.

If Elon Musk ever deploys his low altitude satellite network, that could completely change the game.. would be possible to get decent low latency broadband basically anywhere with a view of the sky, but thats a decade out at best and i'll be paying dearly for it im sure.
 
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LR Max

Local Oaf
Check expo here. There was a good gear write up in the articles section (not the forum section we are in).

I've seen them in use and unless you are in a hole somewhere, they work rather well. Especially hooked up to Verizon or AT&T. I think Verizon has better coverage but AT&T works very well. I've at AT&T working where Verizon wouldn't, and vice versa (I carry two phones, personal and work, one is Verizon and the other AT&T so I can see the differences).

Seems like your cell phone has to be physically located next to the booster device inside the cabin. With that in mind, going with the "cradle" style might be the best because now your phone is basically forced to stay in one place.

The few people I have met who run them, love them.
 

java

Expedition Leader
I have a WeBoost, and as has been mentioned, no signal no boost. That's the basics...

That being said, if your on the verge of signal, IE phone wont make call, but still sees it etc, the booster can help a lot there. Antenna makes a big difference. Top of a hill vs valley makes a big difference. But at the end of the day you still need the signal to boost.

As also mentioned the interior antenna is very directional, we use a mifi under the booster antenna and work off its signal in/around the truck.
 

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
I just bought a new high gain antenna for my Wilson booster. I am hoping it performs better that the smaller antenna I was using. I see all the oil patch workers with the same style antenna so I'm hopeful it will.
 

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Pacific Northwest yetti

Expedition Medic
I just bought a new high gain antenna for my Wilson booster. I am hoping it performs better that the smaller antenna I was using. I see all the oil patch workers with the same style antenna so I'm hopeful it will.
Keep us posted once you get it installed.

Everyone's advice thus far is spot on, need a signal to boost. I have one hardwired into my truck, through the fuse box so only on when my truck is: its old at this point ( think 2G) but it still works, although it is time to upgrade. I have my inner antenna at the center console on my headliner, phone has to be close. or use the Cradle. The biggest bugger, is the good ones are expensive, and can become outdated quickly.

I have verizon, and the company uses them. They are expensive, but have had signal in more places then anyone else i have seen, including international travel.
 

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
Verizon has the best coverage. In my former career we focused on intercepting cell phones and our research concluded that. ATT has the least bars in the most places or more places with the least bars.
 

FosterWV

Baller On A Budget
Thanks for all the input guys, I've now got a Verizon phone so I'm thinking that I'll check it out this spring and if I get any signal I'll buy a booster and if its at zero bars as is my personal AT&T phone I'll just save my money.

mep1811 please shoot us a update after you try out your new antenna

THANKS
 

dreadlocks

Well-known member
My work pays for a mobile plan, so I put my personal plan on a different provider.. having more than one option has been a key to much of my success.. sounds like you needa go hunting for some more fishing holes this summer, take em both with you and if you can find a new favorite that has any coverage at all with either of em.. then go get a booster, and make sure it works on multiple frequencies and providers.

Its hard to invest the money unless you know its gonna work, might have to pocket those old fishing holes for holidays where you want no damn phones.
 

FosterWV

Baller On A Budget
My work pays for a mobile plan, so I put my personal plan on a different provider.. having more than one option has been a key to much of my success.. sounds like you needa go hunting for some more fishing holes this summer, take em both with you and if you can find a new favorite that has any coverage at all with either of em.. then go get a booster, and make sure it works on multiple frequencies and providers.

Its hard to invest the money unless you know its gonna work, might have to pocket those old fishing holes for holidays where you want no damn phones.

You nailed it, same here my new job has company plan w Verizon, I'm keeping my ATT and going to test them out this summer. The struggle is new job w limited vacation.... tough to get use to after leaving a 20yr unlimited vaca job, I'm just trying to find ways to cut corners and work somewhere w better scenery LoL Thanks
 
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carbon60

Explorer
How did the booster work out?

I'm about to get one for my offroad trailer, so we can work from more remote places. I seem to often find sweet campsites with a weak signal, so I'm hoping to improve that.

Need to decide on Wilson vs Surecall, next.

Then, do I mount the antenna so it's angled with the roof down and vertical with the roof up?

A.
 

FosterWV

Baller On A Budget
How did the booster work out?

I'm about to get one for my offroad trailer, so we can work from more remote places. I seem to often find sweet campsites with a weak signal, so I'm hoping to improve that.

Need to decide on Wilson vs Surecall, next.

Then, do I mount the antenna so it's angled with the roof down and vertical with the roof up?

A.

Wilson works good, use it daily in my truck. Camping it did the job took zero bars to 2-3 but could not get emails or use as a hot spot for my laptop. Calls were solid and clear.

Now where we go w 1-2 bars it boosted to laptop capable.

Overall satisfied but it’s not magic, hope that helps
 

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