Number of Bars - WASSUP?

I had a Sanyo 4500 that would usually get three to five bars of signal
strength in my home and other locations. It is an excellent phone, however,
it lacked advanced voice dialing features and also had a very slow web
browser. I returned the phone and obtained the latest model Sanyo 7400. The
7400 has an excellent browser and advanced voice dialing, but displays a
lower number of bars in the same locations within my home. There is nothing
wrong with the 7400 because a friend of mine has the exact same 7400 phone
and it displays the same number of bars as my phone when it is in the same
locations within my home.

Why is there this variance regarding the number of signal strength bars that
are displayed from one Sanyo model to another Sanyo model? I could
understand that the bars may be calibrated differently between different
brands of phones, however I would expect the same number of bars to be
displayed on all of the Sanyo phone models.

Is this discrepancy simply a difference in the calibration of the signal bar
meter or does it indicate that the older model Sanyo 4500 has a much more
sensitive receiver and better RF performance than the newer Sanyo 7400
model?

What does everyone think?

Regards,

-mij

Sanyo re-calibrated their signal meters at Sprint's request (starting
with the 7300/8200/4920 models) so that their brands would have more of
a standardized signal meter. It's nothing to be concerned about as the
older Sanyo models had over-inflated meters to begin with. As long as
you can make and receive calls fine the number of bars on the meter
doesn't matter.

On Sun, 30 Jan 2005 00:41:36 -0800, "Mij Adyaw"
<mijadyaw@nospamforme.com> wrote:

>I had a Sanyo 4500 that would usually get three to five bars of signal
>strength in my home and other locations. It is an excellent phone, however,
>it lacked advanced voice dialing features and also had a very slow web
>browser. I returned the phone and obtained the latest model Sanyo 7400. The
>7400 has an excellent browser and advanced voice dialing, but displays a
>lower number of bars in the same locations within my home. There is nothing
>wrong with the 7400 because a friend of mine has the exact same 7400 phone
>and it displays the same number of bars as my phone when it is in the same
>locations within my home.

The number of bars has no real life meaning.

And from one phone model to another there is obviously no similarity -
3 bars on the model X may be 2 bars on the model Z.
--
To reply, remove TheObvious from my e-mail address.

OK a "bar" is not a standardized unit of measure.

It would be like if you got a new radio and you were pissed off becuase
the volume knob only went up to number 10 instead of number 12.



Mij Adyaw wrote:
> I had a Sanyo 4500 that would usually get three to five bars of signal
> strength in my home and other locations. It is an excellent phone, however,
> it lacked advanced voice dialing features and also had a very slow web
> browser. I returned the phone and obtained the latest model Sanyo 7400. The
> 7400 has an excellent browser and advanced voice dialing, but displays a
> lower number of bars in the same locations within my home. There is nothing
> wrong with the 7400 because a friend of mine has the exact same 7400 phone
> and it displays the same number of bars as my phone when it is in the same
> locations within my home.
>
> Why is there this variance regarding the number of signal strength bars that
> are displayed from one Sanyo model to another Sanyo model? I could
> understand that the bars may be calibrated differently between different
> brands of phones, however I would expect the same number of bars to be
> displayed on all of the Sanyo phone models.
>
> Is this discrepancy simply a difference in the calibration of the signal bar
> meter or does it indicate that the older model Sanyo 4500 has a much more
> sensitive receiver and better RF performance than the newer Sanyo 7400
> model?
>
> What does everyone think?
>
> Regards,
>
> -mij
>
>

12? Damn, and I paid extra for 11.

"Rob Merkle" <robmerkle1981@yahoo.com> wrote in message
newsk8Ld.47734$%I2.343@fe09.lga...
> OK a "bar" is not a standardized unit of measure.
>
> It would be like if you got a new radio and you were pissed off becuase
> the volume knob only went up to number 10 instead of number 12.
>
>
>
> Mij Adyaw wrote:
>> I had a Sanyo 4500 that would usually get three to five bars of signal
>> strength in my home and other locations. It is an excellent phone,
>> however, it lacked advanced voice dialing features and also had a very
>> slow web browser. I returned the phone and obtained the latest model
>> Sanyo 7400. The 7400 has an excellent browser and advanced voice dialing,
>> but displays a lower number of bars in the same locations within my home.
>> There is nothing wrong with the 7400 because a friend of mine has the
>> exact same 7400 phone and it displays the same number of bars as my phone
>> when it is in the same locations within my home.
>>
>> Why is there this variance regarding the number of signal strength bars
>> that are displayed from one Sanyo model to another Sanyo model? I could
>> understand that the bars may be calibrated differently between different
>> brands of phones, however I would expect the same number of bars to be
>> displayed on all of the Sanyo phone models.
>>
>> Is this discrepancy simply a difference in the calibration of the signal
>> bar meter or does it indicate that the older model Sanyo 4500 has a much
>> more sensitive receiver and better RF performance than the newer Sanyo
>> 7400 model?
>>
>> What does everyone think?
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> -mij
>>

On Sun, 30 Jan 2005 18:07:04 GMT, "Carl."
<usenetcarl@JUNKMAILhotmail.com> wrote:

>12? Damn, and I paid extra for 11.
>
>"Rob Merkle" <robmerkle1981@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>newsk8Ld.47734$%I2.343@fe09.lga...
>> OK a "bar" is not a standardized unit of measure.
>>
>> It would be like if you got a new radio and you were pissed off becuase
>> the volume knob only went up to number 10 instead of number 12.
>>
LOL! Reminds me of the movie "Spinal Tap" where the guitarist claims
his amp is "one louder" because the numbers on the volume knob go to
11 instead of 10.

Seriously though, I never trust the bars. I use the field test screen
from the hidden menu. Much more useful numbers there.

RX level displayed as a negative value from -105 (barely usable) to
-32 (standing directly under the cell tower).

Also remember signal to noise ratio. You may have a strong signal,
yet interference from other sources may keep you from getting decent
reception. On the LG phones (Ec/Io), this is also a negative number,
-31 to -15 (extremly high noise) to -14 to 0 (normal). The closer to
0 the better the ratio. Values from -6 to 0 are considered very good.

- Sandy

Sandy,

Thanks for the information. How do I get to the field test screen menu on my
Sanyo 7400?

regards,

-mij
"Sandy A. Nicolaysen" <sandynic@verizon.net> wrote in message
news:1o9qv0dfptniq1qnfgplhfq5pmg7i4vdi9@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 30 Jan 2005 18:07:04 GMT, "Carl."
> <usenetcarl@JUNKMAILhotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>12? Damn, and I paid extra for 11.
>>
>>"Rob Merkle" <robmerkle1981@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>>newsk8Ld.47734$%I2.343@fe09.lga...
>>> OK a "bar" is not a standardized unit of measure.
>>>
>>> It would be like if you got a new radio and you were pissed off becuase
>>> the volume knob only went up to number 10 instead of number 12.
>>>
> LOL! Reminds me of the movie "Spinal Tap" where the guitarist claims
> his amp is "one louder" because the numbers on the volume knob go to
> 11 instead of 10.
>
> Seriously though, I never trust the bars. I use the field test screen
> from the hidden menu. Much more useful numbers there.
>
> RX level displayed as a negative value from -105 (barely usable) to
> -32 (standing directly under the cell tower).
>
> Also remember signal to noise ratio. You may have a strong signal,
> yet interference from other sources may keep you from getting decent
> reception. On the LG phones (Ec/Io), this is also a negative number,
> -31 to -15 (extremly high noise) to -14 to 0 (normal). The closer to
> 0 the better the ratio. Values from -6 to 0 are considered very good.
>
> - Sandy
>

Hah! My radio goes to 35!


Rob Merkle wrote:
> OK a "bar" is not a standardized unit of measure.
>
> It would be like if you got a new radio and you were pissed off
> becuase the volume knob only went up to number 10 instead of number
> 12.
>
>
> Mij Adyaw wrote:
>> I had a Sanyo 4500 that would usually get three to five bars of
>> signal strength in my home and other locations. It is an excellent
>> phone, however, it lacked advanced voice dialing features and also
>> had a very slow web browser. I returned the phone and obtained the
>> latest model Sanyo 7400. The 7400 has an excellent browser and
>> advanced voice dialing, but displays a lower number of bars in the
>> same locations within my home. There is nothing wrong with the 7400
>> because a friend of mine has the exact same 7400 phone and it
>> displays the same number of bars as my phone when it is in the same
>> locations within my home. Why is there this variance regarding the number
>> of signal strength
>> bars that are displayed from one Sanyo model to another Sanyo model?
>> I could understand that the bars may be calibrated differently
>> between different brands of phones, however I would expect the same
>> number of bars to be displayed on all of the Sanyo phone models.
>>
>> Is this discrepancy simply a difference in the calibration of the
>> signal bar meter or does it indicate that the older model Sanyo 4500
>> has a much more sensitive receiver and better RF performance than
>> the newer Sanyo 7400 model?
>>
>> What does everyone think?
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> -mij

It's very tough to get a signal reading as low as -32 dbs even when
standing right next to a tower. The lowest I've seen is -45 when under
a tower. This is due to the 1900 Mhz frequency and low power output of
most sites. I've heard Verizon users (800 Mhz) claiming to get -30
when under a tower.

On Sun, 30 Jan 2005 10:56:49 -0800, "Mij Adyaw"
<mijadyaw@nospamforme.com> wrote:

>Sandy,
>
>Thanks for the information. How do I get to the field test screen menu on my
>Sanyo 7400?
>
>regards,
>
>-mij
I've been suggesting someone create a FAQ about the hidden menus for
some time now. I don't know the key sequence for Sanyo phones.

For LG phones, it is "Menu", then "0", when prompted with "??????"
just enter all zeros. Proceed from there.

Howard Forums maybe? Sorry, I don't have any other info. (shrug)

- Sandy

On 30 Jan 2005 13:13:46 -0800, larryt510@hotmail.com wrote:

>It's very tough to get a signal reading as low as -32 dbs even when
>standing right next to a tower. The lowest I've seen is -45 when under
>a tower. This is due to the 1900 Mhz frequency and low power output of
>most sites. I've heard Verizon users (800 Mhz) claiming to get -30
>when under a tower.

I'm just relating my own experiences. I don't know the actual range
of numbers, but that is what I've seen on my LG phone testing signal
strength. Maybe someone here has more information to contribute?

BTW, my LG phone is on Verizon.

- Sandy