Results 1 to 7 of 7
  1. #1
    seani
    Guest
    We live in a bit of a signal blacksport wrt DAB, DTV and more
    importantly, mobile comms.

    Our current T-Mobile provider shows coverage as patchy at best, as does
    Orange, O2 etc. A recent visitor was able to make calls just outside the
    front door, and some experimentation with a 50p PAYG SIM from ebay shows
    a bit of promise - I can at least receive text messages, and I can call
    intermittently from selected locations right next to the window.

    My question is, would buying a carkit with a separate aerial be any help?
    Even if I had to stick it in the loft / externally and the phone sat in a
    cradle somewhere discreet for hands-free calls, this would be a good
    result for us.

    But is a decent external aerial likely to yield any benefit?



    See More: Carphone kits as a way of boosting reception




  2. #2
    seani
    Guest

    Re: Carphone kits as a way of boosting reception

    On Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:01:57 +0000, seani wrote:

    > We live in a bit of a signal blacksport wrt DAB, DTV and more
    > importantly, mobile comms.
    >
    > Our current T-Mobile provider shows coverage as patchy at best, as does
    > Orange, O2 etc. A recent visitor was able to make calls just outside the
    > front door, and some experimentation with a 50p PAYG SIM from ebay shows
    > a bit of promise - I can at least receive text messages, and I can call
    > intermittently from selected locations right next to the window.


    Whoops, made a mess of that. Our visitor was on O2, and had reasonable
    luck with reception, so O2 shouldn't be in the list of "dead" providers.




  3. #3
    Ivor Jones
    Guest

    Re: Carphone kits as a way of boosting reception

    In news:[email protected],
    seani <[email protected]> typed, for some strange, unexplained
    reason:
    : We live in a bit of a signal blacksport wrt DAB, DTV and more
    : importantly, mobile comms.
    :
    : Our current T-Mobile provider shows coverage as patchy at best, as
    : does Orange, O2 etc. A recent visitor was able to make calls just
    : outside the front door, and some experimentation with a 50p PAYG SIM
    : from ebay shows a bit of promise - I can at least receive text
    : messages, and I can call intermittently from selected locations right
    : next to the window.
    :
    : My question is, would buying a carkit with a separate aerial be any
    : help? Even if I had to stick it in the loft / externally and the
    : phone sat in a cradle somewhere discreet for hands-free calls, this
    : would be a good result for us.
    :
    : But is a decent external aerial likely to yield any benefit?

    Yes, if you can site it in the right place. But you'll need a phone with
    an external aerial connector, these are few and far between these days, I
    think the Nokia 6310i with the CARK-91 kit was the last.

    I have dreadful reception in my office, so I built a CARK-91 kit into a
    box with a sloping front panel (from Maplins IIRC) and mounted the phone
    cradle on it plus an external handset. I can use either the handset or the
    handsfree microphone/speaker and it works very well.

    The other alternative might be something like a Premicell and a landline
    phone.

    Ivor




  4. #4
    Theo Markettos
    Guest

    Re: Carphone kits as a way of boosting reception

    Ivor Jones <[email protected]> wrote:
    > The other alternative might be something like a Premicell and a landline
    > phone.


    Or mount the phone where there's best signal and everyday use via Bluetooth
    accessories (headset, dialpad etc - not sure about phone menu operation)

    Theo



  5. #5
    Jon
    Guest

    Re: Carphone kits as a way of boosting reception

    In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]ere
    says...
    > We live in a bit of a signal blacksport wrt DAB, DTV and more
    > importantly, mobile comms.
    >
    > Our current T-Mobile provider shows coverage as patchy at best, as does
    > Orange, O2 etc. A recent visitor was able to make calls just outside the
    > front door, and some experimentation with a 50p PAYG SIM from ebay shows
    > a bit of promise - I can at least receive text messages, and I can call
    > intermittently from selected locations right next to the window.


    SIMs are free from teh networks, you dont need to pay for them.

    > My question is, would buying a carkit with a separate aerial be any help?


    Yes, it would. The antenna in a carkit is much betetr at picking up
    signal than the antenna in your phone.
    --
    Regards
    Jon



  6. #6
    Ivor Jones
    Guest

    Re: Carphone kits as a way of boosting reception

    In news:[email protected],
    Jon <[email protected]> typed, for some strange, unexplained reason:
    : In article <[email protected]>,
    : [email protected]ere says...
    : > We live in a bit of a signal blacksport wrt DAB, DTV and more
    : > importantly, mobile comms.
    : >
    : > Our current T-Mobile provider shows coverage as patchy at best, as
    : > does Orange, O2 etc. A recent visitor was able to make calls just
    : > outside the front door, and some experimentation with a 50p PAYG
    : > SIM from ebay shows a bit of promise - I can at least receive text
    : > messages, and I can call intermittently from selected locations
    : > right next to the window.
    :
    : SIMs are free from teh networks, you dont need to pay for them.
    :
    : > My question is, would buying a carkit with a separate aerial be any
    : > help?
    :
    : Yes, it would. The antenna in a carkit is much betetr at picking up
    : signal than the antenna in your phone.

    Now find a phone with an external aerial (not 'antenna' please, it's a
    phone not an insect) socket. Few and far between these days, not seen one
    since the Nokia 6310i.

    Ivor




  7. #7
    Steve Dulieu
    Guest

    Re: Carphone kits as a way of boosting reception


    "Ivor Jones" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    news:[email protected]...
    > In news:[email protected],
    > Jon <[email protected]> typed, for some strange, unexplained reason:
    > : In article <[email protected]>,
    > : [email protected]ere says...
    > : > We live in a bit of a signal blacksport wrt DAB, DTV and more
    > : > importantly, mobile comms.
    > : >
    > : > Our current T-Mobile provider shows coverage as patchy at best, as
    > : > does Orange, O2 etc. A recent visitor was able to make calls just
    > : > outside the front door, and some experimentation with a 50p PAYG
    > : > SIM from ebay shows a bit of promise - I can at least receive text
    > : > messages, and I can call intermittently from selected locations
    > : > right next to the window.
    > :
    > : SIMs are free from teh networks, you dont need to pay for them.
    > :
    > : > My question is, would buying a carkit with a separate aerial be any
    > : > help?
    > :
    > : Yes, it would. The antenna in a carkit is much betetr at picking up
    > : signal than the antenna in your phone.
    >
    > Now find a phone with an external aerial (not 'antenna' please, it's a
    > phone not an insect) socket. Few and far between these days, not seen one
    > since the Nokia 6310i.
    >

    Some *fairly* recent Sony Ericssons had them, K800i and Z750i for instance.
    --
    Cheers, Steve.
    Change jealous to sad to reply.