Aerial/antenna for fone in black spot

BlueSpud

I spend some time in an area that is just outside Vodafone coverage. Does anyone know can I get an aerial/antenna to plug into my Nokia 6230i to improve reception?

FergalBoards.ie

Is this to be used in a building in a permanent fixture? Or in a car?

Or just an extra-long antenna that you carry around with you?

I don't think the latter option would work.

Many sites I have read say that if you get 2-3 bars where you put an antenna you should make a difference if you connect to that antenna, but if it is just 1-2 bars then the calls may still fail or disconnect a lot.

Have you considered a wireless repeater installed in a vehicle? I am thinking of getting one, but I don't know much about them.

Google wireless cellphone repeater.

The same companies that offer them also have a range of other reception aids.

Avoid anything like a stick on reception enhancer. These don't seem to work except under very bizarre laboratory conditions (hence allowing them to make their claims).

BlueSpud

It is fixed position, i.e. in a house. I get little or no reception (zero bars most of the time) in the house, which is on a slope. If I go 30 meters up the hill or 30 meters down the hill, I can get a few bars & enough to make a call, most of the time.

BlueSpud

FergalBoards.ie wrote:

Google wireless cellphone repeater.

I did and it seems that there is kit there but mostly to use in the case where there is signal outside a building but none inside the building. My case is different, I have to go 30 m to get signal. Might mean having to run a cable. Anybody know of anyone in Ireland doing this kind of stuff?

ethernet

If you're really desperate, something like this may be needed.

BlueSpud

ethernet wrote:

If you're really desperate, something like this may be needed.

That looks like what I want. I have emailed the company to see if it works in Ireland.

Urban Weigl

Vodafone Ireland's GSM network operates at 900MHz if that is any help. You can get lighter duty repeaters for less as far as I recall, however it may be simpler to switch to another provider that does offer coverage in your home...

barrett1965

Just out of curiosity, are cell phones not available in Ireland with external antenna's anymore?

JohnnieM

Have you a landline in the house and or broadband..??.
What i do is divert all calls to my voip number before I enter the house if no broadband just divert to your landline but handy to know when calls are ringing the mobile... (ie voipline rings)

FergalBoards.ie

@barrett, if you mean phones that are built in the factory with a stub style antenna coming out, I can't think of one apart from the Palm Treo 680.

If you mean do they have sockets that you can stick antennas into, yes most of them have. It used, and I still think it is, possible to get "desktop" antennas for a cellphone, but in my experience they don't really work, except outdoors and even then I wrote them off as too much hassle.

@BlueSpud I think that where the antenna is, you will need reception. Otherwise how will the phone know what cell to start trying to initiate contact with? Sure you could get an illegal 25W booster built to get the signal to the cell, but that wouldn't really work cos the cell then has to go the phone "OK I accept your contact" for the call to proceed.

barrett1965

FergalBoards.ie wrote:

@barrett, if you mean phones that are built in the factory with a stub style antenna coming out, I can't think of one apart from the Palm Treo 680.

If you mean do they have sockets that you can stick antennas into, yes most of them have. It used, and I still think it is, possible to get "desktop" antennas for a cellphone, but in my experience they don't really work, except outdoors and even then I wrote them off as too much hassle.

Thanks for that. I often see cell phones on TV (films etc.) with aerials. I was thinking of health concerns when I asked the question.

BlueSpud

ethernet wrote:

If you're really desperate, something like this may be needed.

This is the response I got from them, no joy there I'm afraid.


Thank you for your inquiry. Our products are compatible with US
frequencies of 800/1900 MHz. They are not compatible with European GSM
900/1800. Also, we can only process/ship orders in the US and Canada.
We are sorry we are unable to assist you.

Sincerely,
Lisa Calcagni
AlternativeWireless.com, Inc.
15555 Tradesman Dr. STE 300
San Antonio, TX 78249
210-493-0023 . Fax 210-493-0247