FAQ: How can I get better cell service inside?

Are Tmobile and Sprint in your area? Test them too. TMo offers a very
detailed coverage map on their site.

From:[email protected]
[email protected]

> In alt.cellular.cingular Mij Adyaw <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Before you terminate your cell service, invite all of your friends
>> over to your home with their cell phones. Try each cell phone to
>> determine which one offers good service at your home.
>
> My neighbor said that a visitor with Verizon had wonderful signal in
> her house, which offers minimal signal on Edge Wireless. I have
> Cingular, and spotty signal.
>
> I filed that thought, since Verizon doesn't offer service here, and
> the visiting neighbor must have been roaming to USCellular, the third
> service in the area. (Actually Cingular doesn't offer service here,
> but there is a usable tower in a nearby town.)
>
> This last weekend, There were three cellphones sitting on the same
> counter in my house. Verizon showed no bars, but did receive calls
> with spotty coverage. Cingular TDMA on Nokia showed one bar, and
> spotty coverage. Cingular GSM on a Motorola v551 with a stubby
> replacement antenna showed two bars, and offers stable coverage
> throughout almost all of the house.
>
> The signal comparison has to be done carefully. With roaming
> possible (my phone was toggling between a poor home signal and
> roaming), and different telephones, and the simple addition of an
> aftermarket antenna, lots of variations are possible.
>
> ---
> Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

---

› See More: FAQ: How can I get better cell service inside?

I don't believe Sprint has any service in Lake County, CA

In alt.cellular.cingular BruceR <[email protected]> wrote:
> Are Tmobile and Sprint in your area? Test them too. TMo offers a very
> detailed coverage map on their site.

No Sprint. The very nice T-Mobile map shows roaming-only coverage.

None of the carriers will sell to me as a new account at my current
address, except for USCingular and Edge. USCellular has awful plans, and
Edge only recently offered decent plans, now that they are more closely
allied with Cingular. Previously, I was at the southernmost edge of
multi-state regions for both of them.

I brought my ATTWS-Cingular account with me from a previous address, and I
was always roaming at my house until a few months ago. Now I am usually
connected to a Cingular tower. I couldn't even make the switchover from
ATTWS to Cingular on the web, using my home address.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In alt.cellular.cingular John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > A friend has been complaining of almost no cell service in her house --
she
> > had to go outside to make and receive calls on her Motorola V551 -- so I
>
> I bought a pair of $1.50 extendable antennas from cellphoneshop.net. That
> has made a substantial difference, both on a v551 and a v220.
>
> I also bought their $10 "external" antennas, one plug in for the v551, one
> velcro-to-the-back for the v220. I haven't tried those yet. I don't like
> the exposure of internals on the v551 when the little tiny antenna plug is
> removed.
>
>
> --
> ---
> Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5
>

I took a 2 foot piece of multi-strands wire - stripped one end - attached it
to antenna - stripped about 4 inches from the other end and my 1 bar went to
4. Aint pretty but functional

Not a good idea. The antenna is the incorrect wavelength and will result in
a bad Vswr.

"Cliff" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> In alt.cellular.cingular John Navas <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> > A friend has been complaining of almost no cell service in her house --
> she
>> > had to go outside to make and receive calls on her Motorola V551 -- so
>> > I
>>
>> I bought a pair of $1.50 extendable antennas from cellphoneshop.net.
>> That
>> has made a substantial difference, both on a v551 and a v220.
>>
>> I also bought their $10 "external" antennas, one plug in for the v551,
>> one
>> velcro-to-the-back for the v220. I haven't tried those yet. I don't
>> like
>> the exposure of internals on the v551 when the little tiny antenna plug
>> is
>> removed.
>>
>>
>> --
>> ---
>> Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5
>>
>
> I took a 2 foot piece of multi-strands wire - stripped one end - attached
> it
> to antenna - stripped about 4 inches from the other end and my 1 bar went
> to
> 4. Aint pretty but functional
>
>

"Mij Adyaw" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:8Jbkf.19197$pF.18827@fed1read04...
> Not a good idea. The antenna is the incorrect wavelength and will result
> in a bad Vswr.
>> I took a 2 foot piece of multi-strands wire - stripped one end - attached
>> it to antenna - stripped about 4 inches from the other end and my 1 bar
>> went to 4. Aint pretty but functional

If the antenna is not a wavelength harmonic, doesn't the power feed back
into the electronics, s.l.o.w.l.y frying it's little brain?