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How can I improve reception at home? |
MonkeyK
Joined: Jan 30, 2003
Posts: 19
From: Minneapolis
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Can anybody tell me what I need to do to improve reception for GSM phones at my home (or point me to an article describing how). I live in an older house with stucco outside and plaster inside. The house is quiet, but I essentially live behind two layers of concrete. I only get good reception near the windows.
Is there some sort of antenna that I can put on top of my house to improve the signal inside?
Thanks,
Mike |
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MonkeyK
Joined: Jan 30, 2003
Posts: 19
From: Minneapolis
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Someone must have suggestions...
I have been looking into repeaters, essentially an outdoor antenna linked to an indoor antenna by an amplifier. This is an expensive option (500-1000 $US). If I had no other option, I could consider this and sell it to my wife as a "upgrade to the house", since it would make the house more cell phone friendly.
-Mike |
wapt
Joined: Jan 10, 2003
Posts: > 500
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Hey, the repeater should be invested by your network provide r... I think it is possible for you to simply have an external indoor antenna (Algon or some else) connected to your phone if you are using a traditional Ericsson or one of some types of Siemens phone, while the radio covers not too bad in your house.. It gives a little gain although still no power amplification.
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Coramoor
Joined: Nov 13, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Norway
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500-1000?!?
Buy a p800 and a car set. The p800 has an external antenna connector..
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petrutms
Joined: Nov 17, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Cluj Napoca, Romania
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bart
Joined: Feb 03, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Flanders
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let them set an antenna in your garden. if got one only 500meters away from me. so i have full reception. |
MonkeyK
Joined: Jan 30, 2003
Posts: 19
From: Minneapolis
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The money is not as bad as it seems. The repeater solution would make my house have good cell reception for any phone. Also, from the perspective the phone, the solution is passive. (These two reasons amount to a future selling point for the house).
It is a good suggestion that I should contact T-mobile about the reception and ask if there is anything that I can do.
Another thing that I was looking into was the cell phone docking station. These devices let you put your cell phone into a cradle and then reroute the traffice into/out of the cell phone over the home phone lines. So you can put your cell in a docking station in a place that has good reception, and then talk (and make/recieve calls) on an ordinary home phone using the mobile phone account. These are much cheaper (like < 100 $US), but nobody makes one for the T68i.
-Mike |
sunjivas
Joined: Aug 17, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: London, UK
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u cud ask ur network. they are alwayz looking for places to put up aerials in bad coverage areas and actually pay ppl to put them up near them, but most ppl dont want antennas on their hs because of radiation or wateva |
701
Joined: Nov 26, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Romania
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Pls call ur provider.there are antenas for the problem u have.I Know that here they were around 200$ but there is a prob with the fact that u cant walk around the house talking to the phone cuz u have it pluged into the ... base(if i might say so).
When i was in a training with this gsm provider the mentioned it roughly and they said that the thing is great, improves reception a lot and it's cheap.Why 1000$ there?:O
" They say i'm sick; they`re right, it's called 'Terminal Boredom!' " Follow me on twitter.com/bogramaRead my Symbian UIQ 3.0 reviews at Juvo's |
CyberGnu
Joined: Mar 05, 2003
Posts: 25
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You have a T68i?
Get a new phone. The T68i has the worst reception of all current phones in the US market.
A workaround solution would be to get a bluetooth headset. Put the phone in the window, and as long as you are in the same room you can use the headset without interference.
That's what I'm doing while I'm waiting for the used T39m I bought to arrive... And the T68 is going back to Cingular. |
MonkeyK
Joined: Jan 30, 2003
Posts: 19
From: Minneapolis
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I don't know that the T68i has such awful reception. I think that it's signal strength meter just displays different values than other phones. My wife has a Motorola T720i and it gets about the same reception at home, but it reports a much higher signal strength.
I am using a bluetooth headset, but this only provides very limited mobility.
I plan on contacting T-Mobile as many posters have recommended.
-Mike |
CyberGnu
Joined: Mar 05, 2003
Posts: 25
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Aaah, you can't compare with motorola!
It's like saying "Lada isn't such a bad car, it is just as good as Drabant". 
I used to have a T28w, and got decent reception in my apartment (cingular). My girlfriend got good reception using her Nokia candybar (that immensly popular Nokia that came at the same time as the T28w). A friend had good reception on his Nokia 7250.
When my T28w died, I got a T68i, and the only way I get enough reception to even maintain a conversation is by putting the phone in the window...
All in all, I get about one bar less than the T28w.
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701
Joined: Nov 26, 2002
Posts: > 500
From: Romania
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@mike:it a must2contact tmobile.They fill in a report with u on the phone,an engineer checks it out@the base antenna,gives back feedback&the solution:reorientation of an antenna so u can get reception or to buy a repeater.Threat them with disc of the subscription u'll get a discount on the repeater:p
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Posted: 2003-03-09 06:09
