Cell repeater suggestions?

[kfp673]

Hello all,

Looking for suggestions on a cell signal repeater / booster. My wife and I are both able to work from home and sometimes we work from camper. However, some spots we camp have poor cell service and we use our phones as hot spots for our laptops. This past week for example we were in the PA mountains state park and had 1 bar LTE at our site. Good enough to send emails without attachments but not for Teams/Zoom calls or large attachments. Thankfully, we know this state park well and know if we drive up the hill from the campground a bit we can get 3 bars 5G and hold calls fine. I noticed 2 campers with an expandable pole and white antenna that I assume was a cell extender. Trying not to spend a fortune since it will likely be used 2-3 times per year, but let me know if you have suggestions of repeaters that work well. Thanks!

[routeforty]

Dutch-thanks for the info and pictures. Going to be on the road for awhile, when we get back I'm going to look into it. Hope I can figure it out. Thanks again, Gary

[Dutch_12078]

routeforty wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:
I've had better overall luck getting good cell signals with a dual aimable YAGI antenna set configured as a MIMO set connected to a hotspot. The antenna set has outperformed our previous $600 booster/repeater and the WeBoost prior to that. The MIMO set was about $140.

Sounds exactly like what we're looking for. I have some lake property for our TT but we only get 1 bar verizon. Could you maybe expound on what you have, where you got it, etc? We're slightly technologically challenged so you might have to go into a little detail if you have time. Thanks, Gary

Here's a link to the MIMO set I used. Sorry, the price has gone up a little since. And below that is a photo of how I installed them on my batwing TV antenna, making them aimable and easily raised and lowered. I use them with either an AT&T hotspot or a Verizon (MIFI) hotspot. The 'Y' mounting bracket is something I cut from a 1/4" aluminum scrap with the straightened out factory brackets bolted to it.

www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084GCBWTN/



And here's the back. The red arrows are just stickers that show "up" so the condensation vent is at the bottom.

[ktmrfs]

as mentioned, height, antenna can make a big difference. Also while most of the boosters have an internal wifi antenna, if the signal is marginal, you really really really want the phone to be right next to the inside antenna/cradle.

Next, the improvement in phone/text vs. data can be signficant. First they usually are on slightly different frequencies. Next the number of users has a bigger effect on data than voice.

We have the latest weboost in our trailer, along with a omni or yagi on a tall pole. There are places where the phone will not connect to a tower w/o the booster and with the booster we get very good voice/text and very good data (not good enough for netflix, but plenty fast for we browsing) and there are other places where we have no service w/o the booster and get voice/text but marginal at best data. And then there are places where nothing works.

And IMHO don't pay attention to "the number of bars". They are NOT a good indicator of signal quality, and the number of bars will vary based on which phone you have.

Go into the menus and look at signal strength for voice, you want shomething around -100db or less for ok voice/text, by the time it gets to -120db your likely out of luck. Once you get to about -60db your about as good as it gets and most systems will limit power so you won't see a signal much stronger than that. also if your phone show ASU the bigger the number, the better the signal.

Finally, just because your phone won't get any connection, does NOT mean a booster will NOT get you a useable signal, nor does getting a very weak signal on your phone insure that a booster will get you a useable signal.

I've experienced both of the above conditions. We often travel way off the beaten path well away from cell towers. In probably 90% of the time when we have very marginal service the booster gets us useable signals. the other.... well.... cell service is NOT everywhere.

Now if the boosters had a MIMO input....... my hotspot does.

[Tom_M1]

kfp673 wrote:
Curious, anyone try the "el-Cheapo" $200 options from amazon? Don't need huge sq ft coverage considering we can sit within 10' of the device. Thanks!

I have a weBoost Sleek that sells for $200. It comes with a small shark fin omni antenna. The outside antenna has a magnetic mount that's meant to stick to the top of a vehicle. The roof of the vehicle acts as a ground plane. Since RVs typically have a non-magnetic roof you will need something to stick the antenna to such as a pie plate or a piece of sheet metal. The inside antenna is a cradle that your phone sits in. This does an adequate job for me. It will typically give one more bar of signal level.

[pianotuna]

kfp673,

You can not boost a signal that doesn't exist.

I preferred an omni directional high gain antenna. A Yagi works better--but you need to know where to point it.

Get an Omni and a painters (extension) pole and get the antenna way way up.

[kfp673]

Thanks all. Star link seems awesome, but as mentioned, this is for 3 or 4 trips per year. Just trying to boost 1 bar to 3 or 4 for a few days. I read some reviews of a few on Amazon and some love and some hate. Also, some claimed better cell call service but no better data which is really what we need. I'll read about weBoost and the others.

Curious, anyone try the "el-Cheapo" $200 options from amazon? Don't need huge sq ft coverage considering we can sit within 10' of the device. Thanks!

[routeforty]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
I've had better overall luck getting good cell signals with a dual aimable YAGI antenna set configured as a MIMO set connected to a hotspot. The antenna set has outperformed our previous $600 booster/repeater and the WeBoost prior to that. The MIMO set was about $140.

Sounds exactly like what we're looking for. I have some lake property for our TT but we only get 1 bar verizon. Could you maybe expound on what you have, where you got it, etc? We're slightly technologically challenged so you might have to go into a little detail if you have time. Thanks, Gary

[pianotuna]

first step a high gain cell antenna
second step a pole to raise it up high
third step a weboost

or

starlink

It is too bad mesh wifi did not catch on. I did have a high gain wifi antenna and could get about a mile away.

[Matt_Colie]

I used to work out of my coach as a daily basis. Over some years and upgrades, I was a Wilson Fan. (I still have the antenna on the left mirror.) In complete honestly and given the situation today, if it is deductible, go with Starband. Yes, it is more, but it is more of everything.

Matt_C

[Dutch_12078]

I've had better overall luck getting good cell signals with a dual aimable YAGI antenna set configured as a MIMO set connected to a hotspot. The antenna set has outperformed our previous $600 booster/repeater and the WeBoost prior to that. The MIMO set was about $140.

[Bionic_Man]

I added a Weboost to our RV two years ago. It’s hit or miss at best. Spent over $500. If I were to do it again I’d just go Starlink. Sure there is a monthly fee with it, but it is so reliable. Much better than the WeBoost.

[RedRollingRoadb]

For hours of reading (Some free, some paid) https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/

Most popular cell booster seems to be https://www.weboost.com/

[CA_Traveler]

Wilson has good ones. But 2 people working away from home in a CG sounds wonderful, because when done for the day look at where your are. So why not step up to the plate and get Starlink? Use it at home and dump whatever you now have. Sure it's a few bucks but look at the pros.