Reception problem in old house

I just got my first cellular phone and am visiting a friend's house. I get fine
reception outside the house, but end up with "digital roaming" or "outside
service" messages inside the house. It is an old house with lots of VERY old
wiring which I think causes the problem.

Are there any "hints and tips" on what to do in this situation? Any hardware I
can add to my phone to improve reception? Any clues on where in this type of
house to TRY and get good reception?

--
Bill Klein
wmklein <at> ix.netcom.com

---

› See More: Reception problem in old house

If it's a multistory house, you'll probably get better reception
upstairs than downstairs, and the nearer a window the better. Best
would be upstairs by the window facing the nearest Sprint PCS cell tower.

Tell us which phone model you have and which city you're in or near.

If you expect to be making lots of calls at this house, it might be
worthwhile to add the $5/month "America" no-roaming-charge option to
your plan.

Setting your phone's Roaming setting to SprintPCS-only will sometimes
help your phone hold a Sprint signal or regain it faster (no time wasted
searching for a roaming signal) but only if there's a smidgen of a
Sprint signal to be had.

William M. Klein wrote:
> I just got my first cellular phone and am visiting a friend's house. I get fine
> reception outside the house, but end up with "digital roaming" or "outside
> service" messages inside the house. It is an old house with lots of VERY old
> wiring which I think causes the problem.
>
> Are there any "hints and tips" on what to do in this situation? Any hardware I
> can add to my phone to improve reception? Any clues on where in this type of
> house to TRY and get good reception?
>

--
Frank Harris in San Francisco with an A680

The model is a Sanyo 200. I am in the village of Wilmette which is a suburb of
Chicago.

--
Bill Klein
wmklein <at> ix.netcom.com
"Frank Harris" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> If it's a multistory house, you'll probably get better reception upstairs than
> downstairs, and the nearer a window the better. Best would be upstairs by the
> window facing the nearest Sprint PCS cell tower.
>
> Tell us which phone model you have and which city you're in or near.
>
> If you expect to be making lots of calls at this house, it might be worthwhile
> to add the $5/month "America" no-roaming-charge option to your plan.
>
> Setting your phone's Roaming setting to SprintPCS-only will sometimes help
> your phone hold a Sprint signal or regain it faster (no time wasted searching
> for a roaming signal) but only if there's a smidgen of a Sprint signal to be
> had.
>
> William M. Klein wrote:
>> I just got my first cellular phone and am visiting a friend's house. I get
>> fine reception outside the house, but end up with "digital roaming" or
>> "outside service" messages inside the house. It is an old house with lots of
>> VERY old wiring which I think causes the problem.
>>
>> Are there any "hints and tips" on what to do in this situation? Any hardware
>> I can add to my phone to improve reception? Any clues on where in this type
>> of house to TRY and get good reception?
>>
>
> --
> Frank Harris in San Francisco with an A680

Bill,

Some older homes have a type of lathe on the walls (for plastering) that has
wire running through it. Sort of like sheet rock with wire woven into it.
This could be creating a form of RF shield, preventing good, or any,
reception. My mother in law had one of this type homes and she couldn't even
get a radio to play well in it.

Rick

"William M. Klein" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I just got my first cellular phone and am visiting a friend's house. I get
>fine reception outside the house, but end up with "digital roaming" or
>"outside service" messages inside the house. It is an old house with lots
>of VERY old wiring which I think causes the problem.
>
> Are there any "hints and tips" on what to do in this situation? Any
> hardware I can add to my phone to improve reception? Any clues on where in
> this type of house to TRY and get good reception?
>
> --
> Bill Klein
> wmklein <at> ix.netcom.com
>

On Mon, 30 May 2005 20:15:57 GMT, "William M. Klein"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I just got my first cellular phone and am visiting a friend's house. I get fine
>reception outside the house, but end up with "digital roaming" or "outside
>service" messages inside the house. It is an old house with lots of VERY old
>wiring which I think causes the problem.
>
>Are there any "hints and tips" on what to do in this situation? Any hardware I
>can add to my phone to improve reception? Any clues on where in this type of
>house to TRY and get good reception?

How much stuff can you take along when you travel?

You might consider buying a small portable external antenna and
extension cable (assuming you can find an antenna adapter for your
phone). You could run the wire temporarily through a window and let
the antenna dangle from the window, or perhaps put the antenna up in
the attic. Most antennas require a ground plane of some kind.
However, there are antennas that have a built-in ground plane system ,
which is probably better for temporary installations.

In theory, you can make a passive repeater by connecting two antennas
together (one inside, one outside). I've never tried it though. You
would likely need a low loss cable to connect the antennas. I travel
quite a bit to rural areas, and I have an 800/1900 MHz amp and a
couple of portable antennas. It works very well, but is cumbersome to
set up.

If you search the web, you can find any number of antenna sellers out
there. I've used www.wilsoncellular.com (www.wpsantennas.com is an
online reseller for Wilson Cellular).

Joe Huber
[email protected]

When I got my first Sprint phone, the only place in my house where
I could get a usable signal was by an upstairs bathroom window,
while standing on the edge of the tub. :-)
Thankfully, Sprint added a nearby tower a few months later,
which gave me good reception all over the house.
Best places to try are by windows, balconies, porches, etc.

--
John Richards


"William M. Klein" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>I just got my first cellular phone and am visiting a friend's house. I get fine
> reception outside the house, but end up with "digital roaming" or "outside
> service" messages inside the house. It is an old house with lots of VERY old
> wiring which I think causes the problem.
>
> Are there any "hints and tips" on what to do in this situation? Any hardware I
> can add to my phone to improve reception? Any clues on where in this type of
> house to TRY and get good reception?