Cell Phone Booster with a twist

[Acampingwewillg]

Hi all
Recently purchased a like-new 3G Wilson booster at a great price and I'm very happy with its operation. MY question revolves around signal loss. At the moment, I can raise the antenna so that it's approx 6-7 feet above the MH(its on a painters pole), while I'd like to go higher for those really bad cell area's, it would involve purchasing an extension cable. So my question is, would, let's say 10' more height cancel out the loss I would have for adding an extension cable. Would I gain anything or just stick with my 7' height? As to the 3G....I'm behind the curb cell wise and have no plans for upgrading to 4G.
Thanks

[rwbradley]

This is tricky. The big problem with antenna's is cable loss. Adding an add on cable will guarantee you about 1db loss for the connector itself. I believe the Wilson use LMR100 which is just under 4db loss per 10 feet of length. So if you have the stock little stubby antenna which claims about 3-4db gain, adding a 10 foot extension will add 4 db loss plus 1db loss for the connector, thus giving you less that what you started with before adding the extension.

I would recommend one of a few options to maximize signal:
1) get a higher gain antenna like the Wilson 311125 antenna, it will get you up to 6db gain, you can also get directional antennas that if you want to point it, can get you much higher gain. A Yagi antenna can deliver up to 25db real world gain, but only has about a 15 degree margin for aiming it right.
2) having a custom cable made with RG-58 or LMR195, it is under 2db loss per 10 Ft but is double the thickness.
3) cut your cable length as opposed to lengthen it, as long as you clear the roof of your rig with absolutely minimal length.