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Topic Review (Newest First)

  • 06-19-2009, 11:12 AM
    Eisen
    They just put up a new tower near my house and I can even get reception in the basement.
  • 06-19-2009, 06:33 AM
    ttus
    You are very Welcome, Glad you have got more signal now.

    You Weren't any problem, Glad to help. Keep in touch.

    Take Care,

    ttus
  • 06-18-2009, 10:41 PM
    Bay44
    Last Monday night Alltel/Verizon turned on the cell tower thats 5 miles from my house. I have the LG Swift and when the signal is fully "pegged" it goes up to 6 or 7 bars. I now can sit outside and get 5 bars and be inside of my house(an old farm house with metal siding and still get 3-4). Sorry if I was an inconvience or a pain in the butt to anyone. Just wanted to say thank you everybody-ttus,Nicknrm, Aurakles and everyone else who posted stuff about this subject for me.
  • 06-17-2009, 09:19 PM
    Kai31410
    Under optimum conditions a tower can reach as far as 10 miles or so. That is provided that there is a clear line of sight directly from the phone to the tower. I was able to prove this on my way to Key West, FL when I was driving past the 7-mile bridge I was getting the signal from the same tower all the way to the other end of the bridge and a couple of miles more. This is because the signal was going over water. However, this is not the case for the rest of the United States. Buildings, mountains and the general terrain geography make coverage more difficult than it seems. Over flat land the signal can reach about 4 to 5 miles provided there are no trees or anything blocking line of sight.

    However, in the other extreme, in the mountains of North Carolina or between the skyscrapers of New York City, the tower range can be as little as 1/4 of a mile radius depending where you are. Another factor to be considered is the band your provider operates. 1900Mhz carriers like Sprint have more difficulty penetrating obstacles than 800Mhz carriers.

    Kev just brought up an interesting point and it is that if your building is shielded then you may not get a signal as soon as you step in. Electromagnetic waves just bounce off metal just like light does so the signal cannot penetrate your building. So I believe this is most likely the case since you say you get good signal outside. You might remember the old days where beepers didn't work inside certain places.

    Also, beware that not all towers have your carrier's antenna on it. It may be for a different company so your phone just ignores those towers.
  • 06-14-2009, 09:29 PM
    Bay44
    Land for the most part is pretty flat. Occassional rolling hills-but no mountains to speak of. Lots of farmland. Corn country up here
  • 05-26-2009, 06:36 AM
    ttus
    Yes I agree that Topo, has a very big part in signal spread. Down- tilt, antenna gain, input to the antenna (rf wise), to name a few.

    At the Freq. that these work, the signal is , (as I call it "Freaky").

    ttus
  • 05-25-2009, 03:41 PM
    nicknrm
    I'll put it in simple writing for you:

    CDMA 2000 towers, like Alltel uses can cover 5-7 miles, depending on how the terrain is. The device can have little impact in how well the tower works.
  • 05-25-2009, 02:47 PM
    ttus
    Ok Bay,

    I sent you a Private message back, read it and message me back.

    ttus

    Bay, with this as it is, you sent below. You shouldn't have a problem.

    I should hope they have some "down-tilt", as normal.

    ttus

    ((My elevation is 709 ft.
    The elevation at the tower site is 722 ft.

    They are panel type-6 of them at the top of a triangular base
    And the tower is a free standing/guyed structure 260ft. tall))
  • 05-25-2009, 02:12 PM
    Bay44
    ttus
    Here is some info about the new tower site-5 miles away I am talking about

    My elevation is 709 ft.
    The elevation at the tower site is 722 ft.

    They are panel type-6 of them at the top of a triangular base
    And the tower is a free standing/guyed structure 260ft. tall
  • 05-25-2009, 09:33 AM
    ttus
    Hi,

    This info you posted is about which tower?? you state 7 mile and 5 mile..

    Do you have a GPS? If so get your elevation and the elevation at the tower site, and send those back. If there are antenna's on it , which type are where, are they Panel, Omni ( Pole type), is it Guyed or self supporting.
    which antenna are below the guys if that is the case.

    ttus

    ((Okay sorry to be a pain in the rump but I found the specs for a tower that is 7 miles away from my house(that I can't hardly pull anything off of) and the new tower that will be 5 miles away. Here goes:

    7 mile tower 5 mile tower

    Structure Type Mast Free standing or
    guyed structure
    Overall Height Above Ground 60.7 m(200ft) 78.9 m(260ft)
    Overall Height Above Ground w/o Appurtenances 54.9m(181ft) 76.2 m(251ft)
    Elevation of Site Above Mean Sea Level 219.4m(724ft) 220.7 m(728ft)
    Overall Height Above Mean Sea Level 280.1 m(924ft) 299.6 m(989ft)
    ))
  • 05-24-2009, 08:28 PM
    Bay44
    Okay sorry to be a pain in the rump but I found the specs for a tower that is 7 miles away from my house(that I can't hardly pull anything off of) and the new tower that will be 5 miles away. Here goes:

    7 mile tower 5 mile tower

    Structure Type Mast Free standing or
    guyed structure
    Overall Height Above Ground 60.7 m(200ft) 78.9 m(260ft)
    Overall Height Above Ground w/o Appurtenances 54.9m(181ft) 76.2 m(251ft)
    Elevation of Site Above Mean Sea Level 219.4m(724ft) 220.7 m(728ft)
    Overall Height Above Mean Sea Level 280.1 m(924ft) 299.6 m(989ft)

    Don't know how much this will help any but just figured I'd throw it out there.
  • 05-24-2009, 04:36 PM
    Bay44
    ttus

    Yes the panel types are square/rectangular in shape.

    I tried copy and paste the site down for you-but it said I needed to have 20 or more post to put down a link to a website or something like that. So since it won't let me post the link-I guess I'll ***** it out for you. It is cellreception dot com
  • 05-24-2009, 08:54 AM
    ttus
    Bay44,

    Bay read Within your Message below in BOLD


    I have a question about cell tower range. I am currently with Alltel right now and they are putting up a tower 5 miles from my house. I have called Alltel and stopped in my local Alltel store and depending on whom I talk to I get different responses. Some say its not gonna work-some say I will have great reception. I have done some research on this matter myself and again depending on where I look-I see the same results(that it might work or might not work that is). I will tell you that I live in a very rural area and that for the most part the landscape is pretty flat. Between my house and the cell site there is a set of maybe 10-20 trees. I can see the top of the tower blinking from yard and when I look out my side window. Other than that no big hills to speak of. Just a few dips in the road. I don't know all the specs of the tower.( Tower type does matter, height and Antenna DO. I am sure it it "panel type" antennas, These are flat Rectangle type.) The only thing I do know is that I went to a website to look to see if its registered and it is.( What is the addy of this site where you found this??) The website says the tower is a guyed/lattice structure and that it is 255 ft. tall. Just wondering if I am gonna finally get service here at my house. Because as of right now I am 7 miles from an Alltel tower. But its a monopole-and not know where near as tall-and you can't even see this tower till you're 2 miles from it because its in a forest pretty much. Don't know if there height plays any factors or not. Or also if one structure is better than another-lattice or monopole that is. Or even if being 2 miles closer to a new tower will help any or not. The new tower 5 miles away don't have that many reflectors/cells at the top as I've seen on others. I drove by it the other day and counted 6. But this is not a very populated area though as well. Anything can't hurt I guess. As close as you are and from what you said about the area, you Should be in High Cotton)
  • 05-24-2009, 08:14 AM
    Bay44
    Thank you very much. Sounds like as if it might work out for me. I know the nearest active tower is 7 miles away-but there is a ton of trees and a little town with some buildings-not very many or not very tall but it might be enough to bounce the signal around.
  • 05-24-2009, 07:34 AM
    misterSelf
    I'm no engineer, so I'll just point you to two links that discuss this very issue. You might find your answer there:
    Link 1
    Link 2
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