Signal strength update

The upshot is that I spoke to the manager at the Cingular store here in
Allentown PA. He told me that all the phones are manufactured to the same
FCC standards so that in theory, one is no better than another in signal
strength. Then he told me that is BS. He said first, with any given model,
if you manufacture one million phones, don't you think that 20000 are going
to be different in some way than the rest? I agree with that. Then he said
that different manufactures probably tweak their phones but are still within
the FCC specs. Then he talked me into taking a Razr V3 for a try. Well, I
drove around with it to the spots where my wife and I were having the most
trouble. Low and behold, the phone worked perfectly. We went back and got
another one and it is perfect also. Even works in the basement of my house
(3 bars, all other phones were 0 to 1 bar).

The bottom line is that there is a difference between handsets even though
there probably shouldn't be. And I would bet that different handsets work
differently in different areas depending on the exact "cellular tower and
signal logistics".

Thanks to all who responded to my original post!

Jim

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› See More: Signal strength update

Originally Posted by James Ellis

The upshot is that I spoke to the manager at the Cingular store here in
Allentown PA. He told me that all the phones are manufactured to the same
FCC standards so that in theory, one is no better than another in signal
strength. Then he told me that is BS. He said first, with any given model,
if you manufacture one million phones, don't you think that 20000 are going
to be different in some way than the rest? I agree with that. Then he said
that different manufactures probably tweak their phones but are still within
the FCC specs. Then he talked me into taking a Razr V3 for a try. Well, I
drove around with it to the spots where my wife and I were having the most
trouble. Low and behold, the phone worked perfectly. We went back and got
another one and it is perfect also. Even works in the basement of my house
(3 bars, all other phones were 0 to 1 bar).

The bottom line is that there is a difference between handsets even though
there probably shouldn't be. And I would bet that different handsets work
differently in different areas depending on the exact "cellular tower and
signal logistics".

Thanks to all who responded to my original post!

Jim

The signal meter of any cell phone has never been an acurate representation of signal strength or quality. You don't believe the miles per gallon figures listed on those new car stickers too do ya? That's what the sound quality of the pone call you just made is for. Who cares if you have full signal bars on the phone but you can't hear the other person or can't stay connected to a call. I'll take my crystal clear reception and be happy with no bars!

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <[email protected]> on Mon, 5 Dec 2005 20:36:57 -0500, "James
Ellis" <[email protected]> wrote:

>The upshot is that I spoke to the manager at the Cingular store here in
>Allentown PA. He told me that all the phones are manufactured to the same
>FCC standards so that in theory, one is no better than another in signal
>strength. Then he told me that is BS. He said first, with any given model,
>if you manufacture one million phones, don't you think that 20000 are going
>to be different in some way than the rest? I agree with that. Then he said
>that different manufactures probably tweak their phones but are still within
>the FCC specs.

FCC specs have nothing to do with it. Different phones have different receive
sensitivities.

>The bottom line is that there is a difference between handsets

Of course there is.

>even though
>there probably shouldn't be.

Of course there should be -- it's a matter of cost.

>And I would bet that different handsets work
>differently in different areas depending on the exact "cellular tower and
>signal logistics".

Bad bet. In general, better handsets are always better.

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS
John Navas <http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ>

"James Ellis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> The upshot is that I spoke to the manager at the Cingular store here in
> Allentown PA. He told me that all the phones are manufactured to the same
> FCC standards so that in theory, one is no better than another in signal
> strength. Then he told me that is BS. He said first, with any given
model,
> if you manufacture one million phones, don't you think that 20000 are
going
> to be different in some way than the rest? I agree with that. Then he
said
> that different manufactures probably tweak their phones but are still
within
> the FCC specs. Then he talked me into taking a Razr V3 for a try. Well,
I
> drove around with it to the spots where my wife and I were having the most
> trouble. Low and behold, the phone worked perfectly. We went back and
got
> another one and it is perfect also. Even works in the basement of my
house
> (3 bars, all other phones were 0 to 1 bar).
>
> The bottom line is that there is a difference between handsets even though
> there probably shouldn't be. And I would bet that different handsets work
> differently in different areas depending on the exact "cellular tower and
> signal logistics".
>
> Thanks to all who responded to my original post!
>
> Jim
>
>

the power output has alot to do with the SARS value, different phone
manufactures want to keep their phones in a certain bracket..
the signal meter thing has nothing to do with your actual signal strength..
you can have 4 Motorola phones sitting side by side and they will each
display a different signal strength.. now if you go into the diagnostic menu
you can see the actual db of the tower you are connected to. this is more
accurate..

cheap phones usually do have a lower quality of parts to make them cheap..
they might not get the best signal because the RF parts are usually made
cheaper because these parts are expensive..

you are right about all million phones acting different but this is mostly
because they are made in different locations, also have different updates
due to defects or run outs of certain pieces and different firmware.. these
makes phones of the same model very different.