HELP: COAXIAL CELL PHONE ANTENNA?

We do alot of camping, an I had a question.

We usually connect to cable hook-up at the campgrounds & don't use our
aerial antenna for the television.

I was wondering if i could use it as an antenna for our cell phone?

I have a Nokia 6340i phone. Do they make a external antenna connector that
would "adapt" to a coaxial connection?

"anonymous" <anonymous@giganews.com> wrote in message
news:i7adnf-PUtyECqjcRVn-sw@comcast.com...
> We do alot of camping, an I had a question.
>
> We usually connect to cable hook-up at the campgrounds & don't use our
> aerial antenna for the television.
>
> I was wondering if i could use it as an antenna for our cell phone?
>
> I have a Nokia 6340i phone. Do they make a external antenna connector that
> would "adapt" to a coaxial connection?
>
No!! Do not hook to a tv antenna, could fry your phone due to a BIG antenna
mis-match.

Go to radio Shack or simular store and buy a magnetic cellular antenna,
stick on top of your camper and you're in business. Can also use it in your
vehicle.

bamp

"anonymous" <anonymous@giganews.com> wrote in message news:<i7adnf-PUtyECqjcRVn-sw@comcast.com>...
> We do alot of camping, an I had a question.
>
> We usually connect to cable hook-up at the campgrounds & don't use our
> aerial antenna for the television.
>
> I was wondering if i could use it as an antenna for our cell phone?
>
> I have a Nokia 6340i phone. Do they make a external antenna connector that
> would "adapt" to a coaxial connection?

While you might be able to find a suitable adapter, it's not gonna do
much for reception on your phone, simply because the cable system
isn't designed to transport mobile phone signals back and forth. It's
like connecting a washing machine to a gas line (instead of water).

"anonymous" <anonymous@giganews.com> wrote in message news:<i7adnf-PUtyECqjcRVn-sw@comcast.com>...
> We do alot of camping, an I had a question.
>
> We usually connect to cable hook-up at the campgrounds & don't use our
> aerial antenna for the television.
>
> I was wondering if i could use it as an antenna for our cell phone?
>
> I have a Nokia 6340i phone. Do they make a external antenna connector that
> would "adapt" to a coaxial connection?

TV antennas are designed for the VHF and UHF band which is a far cry
from the 850 and 1900 MHz spectrum. The antenna will not be resonant
at those frequencies. Another item is TV coax is 75 ohms and not 50
ohms and will only add to the problem.

Your best bet is to add with (or replace) the TV antenna with a high
quality external antenna designed for the carrier you use. This in
combination with high quality 50 ohm coaxial cable to connect the
external antenna to you phone would be the way to go.

"anonymous" <anonymous@giganews.com> wrote in message news:<i7adnf-PUtyECqjcRVn-sw@comcast.com>...
> We do alot of camping, an I had a question.
>
> We usually connect to cable hook-up at the campgrounds & don't use our
> aerial antenna for the television.
>
> I was wondering if i could use it as an antenna for our cell phone?
>
> I have a Nokia 6340i phone. Do they make a external antenna connector that
> would "adapt" to a coaxial connection?

You are on the right track. A television antenna is a Yagi design but
designed for TV frequencies.
Notice the similar shape to the tv antenna.
http://www.criterioncellular.com/antennas/yagi antennas.html
I bought a 9db Antennex Yagi for use out camping it works great. Needs
to be aimed a the tower or highest signal source. That's easy by
learning to read the debug screen, which an internal menu, accessed
through a special code on most phones, which will display the Received
(RX) and Transmitted (TX) signal strength. Just turn the antenna until
the highest reading is found.
The quality of the cable used to connect the antenna is important,
especially for longer runs. I got the LMR 195. USA Made "Times
Microwave Systems". Think it's Quad shielded and has little loss and
is still not to thick.
I prefer the high quality American (mostly) made stuff from Criterion
like the Antennex yagi and cable, though I'm sure most well designed
antennas are pretty much the same.
Criterion will even make up whatever custom cable length and
termination type is needed and figure out the proper connectors.
Especially handy, since I use multiple/antennas/ phones/chargers and
need the most efficient means of connecting them all.

Index - How to Improve Cellular, Nextel and PCS GSM Reception

http://www.criterioncellular.com/tutorials/index.html


They even have an FCC Bi-directional amplifiers, which I have not
used, but looks promising for use in the boonies where 3 watt power is
still needed. Wilson and Cellantenna have Bi-Directuional antennas as
well. Wilson's does not apear to be FCC approved.

The mag mount Wilson antenna was a piece of import junk and didn't
hold up well, though I haven't tried higher up antennas, like the
"trucker". Some guys really like those. They don't need a ground
plane, since it's built in. None of the mag mounts is going to provide
signal improvement like a high gain Yagi.

A collapsible swimming pool brush handle has made a great 18 foot
antenna mast, using a Yagi on top. Will even fit in my small car!

IIRC the 6340i Nokia phone is multiband and multi mode. Likely an
800mhz frequency is what you need in the woods. Either for 800
analog/TDMA/GSM. Check and see which frequency and network the phone
is using. For 1900 TDMA/GSM you will need a different antenna. Some
people have used "planar" antennas for 1900mhz. Cable losses for
1900mhz are very high, so low loss cable is critical. Havn't used a
planar type. The vertical, spring type, also known as collinear
(Wilson trucker) do not have as much gain as the Yagi "beam" type but
are able to receive a signal from multiple towers and don't have to be
aimed. Best for use in a moving vehicle, to get the signal outside of
a metallic car skin. These magmounts have been generally disappointing
when I've tried to use them for boosting a weak signal
indoors/outdoors. They just don't boost very much, over a good built
in stock antenna and especially compared with a Yagi.

IIRC, Customer Reviews on Phonescoop are that particular Nokia "GAIT"
phone has very poor reception, Unusual for a Nokia. Does have an
external antenna jack.

*More antenna info*

Check out the antenna FORUM!
Cell Antenna Corporation Q&A Forum

http://www.cellantenna.com/.cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi

CellAntenna Corporation: Building Repeaters, Cellular Antennas,
accessories, cellphone products.

http://www.cellantenna.com/

Willson Electronics Cell Phone Antennas

http://www.alternativewireless.com/c...-antennas.html


-
Dave

>I bought a 9db Antennex Yagi for use out camping it works great. Needs
>to be aimed a the tower or highest signal source. That's easy by
>learning to read the debug screen, which an internal menu, accessed
>through a special code on most phones, which will display the Received
>(RX) and Transmitted (TX) signal strength. Just turn the antenna until
>the highest reading is found.

How does one enter this debug mode and where can I get more info on
it????

It sounds interesting.

We live in a very fringe area and despite having a map provided by the
company, we don't know which cell site we are hitting...so, I can't
even fogure out which direction to aim a yagi in!

Do the cells all transmit control commands on different frequencies or
do they just transmit them to the mobile units on whatever channel the
mobile unit is listening to?

Debug mode for a Kyocera KX1? How do I get there?

Thanks,

T