cellular antenna

[RubiDan 596]

My cell cost is $63.59.  Taxes and the phone is included.  The price is per year but the prices have gone up since I got this one in January of this year.  I get Tracfones off of Ebay that come with 1 year of service, 1,500 minutes and 1,500 texts.  That's way more than I'll use in a year's time and if you buy another card or phone before your service runs out you can roll the minutes and texts over.  It's usually cheaper to buy the phone with the service than it is to buy just a card.  

 

The service stinks (not just my phone) at my house so the phone is only for when I'm out and I still have to have a landline.  

[Chevymec 510]

We have Verizon and have no problems in the house and a metal roof.  We have 3 lines, unlimited data, and a tablet with unlimited data. only paying on 1 phone and pay $230ish a month. I know there may be cheaper, but I stick with what I know works.

[Fishfiles 20,145]

Talked with a buddy of mine who has WeBoost antenna boosters , he really seems to know a lot about them , he says it works good for him , he has it both his houses , his house in Alabama has a tin roof  and 3 of his oyster boats which are made of steel , the home units are directional multi room units and the boats are omnidirectional --- got a funny story on the boat for later 

 

Might go with  a  WeBoost #470144 Home Multi Room Signal Booster for   $569 

 

 

 

[jeepwm69 7,600]

9 hours ago, Fishfiles said:

Sierra , now you are  scaring me with different frequencies and where to point the antenna

 

There are  many carriers to choose from here , ATT , Verizon , T Mobile , Spectrum , Cricket , etc ------ ATT had great service for us where we live , likely the best .........  we are in the woods , but still close to the cities --- when friends come over to ride ,  many don't have good service , but ATT would work for me any where in the woods , BUT , I was paying $184.35 per month for two lines with unlimited cellular and 9 bits of data per phone ---- Spectrum comes along and say $29 per line flat rate , unlimited , no fees or taxes --- in the house I get 1 bar , on the patio 2 bars , one mile from the house 5 bars , the bill is $59.00 and some change with Spectrum , but it is sucking at the moment 

 

 Wilson brought up some interesting antennas , and it looks like Yagi and Wilson are the same -----  the Wilson brand antennas go from $69  to $300 , $500  to $1,000 ---- which model to get , HMMM  

We have a half dozen services here as well.  ATT is the only one with good coverage. 

 

The problem is, I HATE ATT.  I was paying about $85/month with ATT for one line.  I also had DirecTV (which was good pre ATT) and Uverse internet.

 

Just switching from ATT to ATT prepaid halved my bill.  Only difference was I paid at the first of the month instead of the end of the month.

 

Then my brother in law mentioned they were on cricket, and it was $100/month for 4 lines. 

 

Wife and I switched to cricket, ATT company so still get ATT coverage, and LOT cheaper.  Used our old phones too.  Just swapped in a new SIM card.

 

 

[jeepwm69 7,600]

I also got rid of U-verse after they changed my speed from 18 Mbps to 10 Mbps with no communication at all, and raised my bill five dollars a month in the process.

 

After playing the “I’m going to cancel” game with DIRECTV for years, and even with all of the hours spent on hold, our bill had still increased about 30–40%.

 

so when they told me they were lowering my Internet speed and raising my bill, I told them to F off and cancel everything.

 

we switched to the local cable companies high-speed Internet, and we are getting 50 Mbps and it was $20 a month for the first year and then we’ll go to $79 a month at regular price.  We just stream everything now and don’t miss DIRECTV at all.

 

I hate AT&T with a passion. They are the worst company I have ever dealt with in my entire life when it comes to customer service. Every time I had to call them I would spend an hour to an hour and a half on the phone and most of the time I would have to call back and do it all over again because the problem would not be resolved

 

Not having to deal with them is a really good feeling

 

Wife pays the cricket bill and it’s on auto draft so I don’t have to deal with it anymore

[Fishfiles 20,145]

I hear you on ATT sucks !!!  I know your pain  ,  I spent hours and hours  on the phone with them  and fought for  days of no service reversal of  charges >>> I really think they made it hard for me to leave and keep my phone number and phone going 

[PROV 1,441]

I would call Wilson Electronics and talk WeBoost with them and they will set you up. We couldn't call at all at our hunting shacks but mounted our antennas about 15' high and it works great. I just use my mobile booster and hook it up while we're there. I have 2 phones on Consumer Cellular for $55 a month unlimited talk and text and I think 10gig of data. Works great. Another friend mounted the home unit at their camp and they can even get signal outside of the cabin with it. 

[Fishfiles 20,145]

I know $500+ is a lot to pay for a cellular antenna ,  the wife is not happy about it  ------  telling her that  it is not just for us to use , guest that come over will get use out of it ------------  then you have safety issues , a call to the EMS/ ambulance  , Fire Department or Sheriff department could be delayed with bad service --- by saving $135 per month , in 4 months it will have paid for itself ---- trying to talk myself into it ------  my buddy told me that he tried the cheap ones and was not happy with performance 

 

The story of my buddy's oyster boats and cellular antennas I mentioned above :

 

he didn't know much about antennas when they first came out years ago  , so they bought one and hooked it up to the boat , it worked great all the way out to the oyster fishing grounds , which is  " south east " out of Hopedale , La , when they started heading back in to " northwest " , the phones had no service , after much troubleshooting they found they had installed a directional beam type of antenna , omni directional was not available at the time , and the boat turns around ,  in fact they told him they could not sell him one that was omni directional , but he learned about some adaptors , purchased them and that made it work , omni directional  is available now days 

[_Wilson_™ 6,563]

Yes, but in your case a beam (i think would be better) I'm glad your doing the research, because i was thinking along  the same lines when i was cutting hauling wood, and some places on my farm had no service with  Verison, i have yet to check with my new phone (AT&T) , but I'm with jeep i do not like AT&T at all...... Long story from the past, now when bell south was here, they did regular hard line  repairs, but when AT&T took over, they didnt lift a finger for up keep on pole hung hard lines, or under ground lines, and for some thats all they had for communications, so they forced to go to cell phones, not fare at all..... But me ? I went with radio, i have a direct line to emergency services , with no dead spots, the draw back is it's illegal for me to key those repeaters, but when it comes to living , or being severely injured and un able to get to help, then YES! I will key those repeaters and deal with the consequences. 

[56Sierra 1,844]

I agree with Wilson on both counts.  Two fixed points use a directional beam.  And illegal to hit a HAM or GMRS repeater?  Yep but that would be my last concern if the SHTF.  I already have every repeater programmed in to my HT that I may need to escape a hurricane.

[Fishfiles 20,145]

Finally got the antenna hooked up temporary across the floor of the house , and increased my bars from one to 3 in my office , and from 2 to 4+ on the patio , and I did not fine turn it yet , cause I can't get the app to locate the towers to work , so just took a guess on pointing it --- so far it is great 

[_Wilson_™ 6,563]

Glad its working! And this is the beam antenna model ? 

[Fishfiles 20,145]

37 minutes ago, _Wilson_™ said:

Glad its working! And this is the beam antenna model ? 

Yes a beam , got it set up temporary at the moment , till I find the sweet spot , I am not even sure if I have it pointed the right way 

[_Wilson_™ 6,563]

If it's not a perm mount..and you can take your phone with you this is an old school fix, might work ? Turn the beam and look at your signal as you do so..... And see if it drops, or climbs, and fine tune accordingly.

[Fishfiles 20,145]

14 minutes ago, _Wilson_™ said:

If it's not a perm mount..and you can take your phone with you this is an old school fix, might work ? Turn the beam and look at your signal as you do so..... And see if it drops, or climbs, and fine tune accordingly.

 

 

Don't know why , but the instructions say , turn the antenna , then turn the power off to the unit and repower and then check for signal change  , I would guess from them saying that,  that , it needs to reboot after moving it 

 

I need to get this app going ,  it is called Open Signal , I have some of it working , it will show me down and upload speeds , but not the direction of the tower , yet  

[_Wilson_™ 6,563]

Okay, might need to get Sierra's attention for that ^^^^^ my guess would be like yours reboot. I've never messed with a beam  (,just read about them) ......sence i listen to surrounding counties ham, fire rescue,ems state wide highway patrol, MTEARS ... Etc etc .... Omnidirectional A/S monitor 52, and 58 << ground plane works best for me.... If i used a beam I'd burn up the rotator too fast.... Besides I'm not monitoring freqencies that high 1.5 gig is far as i plan on going at this time. Besides the antenna needs to match what freeqency your using. 

[Fishfiles 20,145]

You have to register the booster , there are numbers on the back of the unit that need to be photographed and sent in 

[56Sierra 1,844]

13 hours ago, Fishfiles said:

 

 

Don't know why , but the instructions say , turn the antenna , then turn the power off to the unit and repower and then check for signal change  , I would guess from them saying that,  that , it needs to reboot after moving it 

 

I need to get this app going ,  it is called Open Signal , I have some of it working , it will show me down and upload speeds , but not the direction of the tower , yet  

That power down sequence might be to allow the booster to drop the current tower and search for another.  My uneducated guess would be for fine tuning while remaining on one tower you shouldn't have to reboot.

 

Glad to hear you are now the forum expert on these.

[Fishfiles 20,145]

21 minutes ago, 56Sierra said:

That power down sequence might be to allow the booster to drop the current tower and search for another.  My uneducated guess would be for fine tuning while remaining on one tower you shouldn't have to reboot.

 

Glad to hear you are now the forum expert on these.

That  sounds about right , drop one tower before you reset to another 

[Fishfiles 20,145]

42 minutes ago, 56Sierra said:

 

Glad to hear you are now the forum expert on these.

I wouldn't say that --- you the man