Extending the range on a mobile

[Basil135]

Well, after my recent cannonball run to Nullabor and back, I was hit with the very sad, and slightly concerning, that my current mobile phone provider does not have any reasonable coverage outside of the largest of regional cities. Not towns, cities.

So, I have decided to make sure I am not put in the situation again, of 15 hours without mobile phone reception. No, this is not a need to stay connected to social media or things like that. But to enable me to stay in better contact with the family while travelling.

We have a superseded Samsung Galaxy S3 sitting around, which has an external antenna port. It is hidden, but it is there.

I have put a Telstra sim into it, and ordered a cable to plug into the phone, to connect to a mobile phone antenna. All looking good, until the cable arrived overnight, and I discovered that I had ordered the wrong one.

Shot an email off to Telco Antennas in Brisbane, and got a response within about 10 mins, asking for a photo of my antenna connection.

Couple of mins later, and they sent me an email back telling me I ordered the wrong cable, and which cable I needed. I asked that they send me the correct one. I was advised that if I sent them a tracking number of the cable to be returned, they would drop the correct one into an overnight bag at no extra cost.

So, after originally ordering on Tuesday night, having the wrongly ordered cable in my hand Thursday morning, and a replacement due on Friday, I will get things running on the weekend.

A big thanks to Brent at Telco Antennas in Hemmant, Qld for the outstanding customer service. I have never dealt with them in the past, but certainly will in the future.

[scarry]

I use those guys as well,very good.With telstra and an external antenna that plugs into your phone,you won't believe how good it is.My antenna is mounted on the rack of the D4.

On the farm, which is in western Qld i have no reception at all,unless the antenna is plugged in,then i have full reception on the whole property,amazing.

[p38arover]

I wish iPhones had an external antenna socket. I do have a Samsung with external socket but, having moved to an iPhone 4s, the SIM no longer fits the Samsung (smaller SIM in the iPhone). I tried an adaptor but that zapped the SIM.

I'm with Telstra. What surprised me was having service in Cook well away from the Eyre Hwy.

[Basil135]

Ron - why not put a Telstra pre-paid sim in the Samsung, and only put credit on it for when you need it? You can get a new sim at the shops for $2, and then choose a cheapy plan to suit the length of your trip.

Due to the location of the antenna socket on them, I will have to drill a hole in the back case. I will then sikaflex the cable to the case, so that it cant get caught & pull out.

As such, this phone has now being designated the "Travelling Droid" :D

[Don 130]

I wish iPhones had an external antenna socket. I do have a Samsung with external socket but, having moved to an iPhone 4s, the SIM no longer fits the Samsung (smaller SIM in the iPhone). I tried an adaptor but that zapped the SIM.

I'm with Telstra. What surprised me was having service in Cook well away from the Eyre Hwy.
If you ask in a phone shop, they might give you a little card the size of your original sim, that the little one fits into. This will allow you to use the iPhone sim in the other phone.
Don.

[Bushie]

I'm with Telstra. What surprised me was having service in Cook well away from the Eyre Hwy.

That surprised us as well, at the top of Googs track but a bit of research showed there should be coverage across the full length of the trans continental line.


Martyn

[LandyAndy]

Samsung mobiles dont have the best reception in the country.I had a Samsung supplied by work,it was pathetic.When we got updated the boss went Samsung again,I got the same Nokia as my personal mobile.
There are plenty of places around Williams where my pair of Nokias have full service,where the bosses phone Im also carrying as he is on leave has zero service.We were at a bushfire early in the new year when several other fires started,we could see them.Told the boss he better ring the others on holidays and get them in.He couldnt call them,his phone wouldnt work.I called the boys up on my phone,had full coverage.
Both the Nokia and Samsung phones have the Telstra rural tick,no comparrison.A few of the blokes at work have Samsung Mobiles,2 have already gone Nokia,the others swear they will next time thier phone is dead.
I have bought the latest 10.5 Samsung Tablet with the update second gen 4G,mainly because they have the rep as the best tablets you can buy,waiting to see how the matching smart phone size gets in a rural situation.
Andrew

[C00P]

If you are sitting in one place you can employ an even better aerial known as a "Yagi" which looks a bit like an FM TV antenna but on a smaller scale. The coax from these plugs into the same phone socket. They are relatively simple to build, and give a significant boost to the signal simply because they are highly directional. To use them you need to knows where the nearest mobile tower is and point the antenna in that direction. If you know where you are going, you can discover the location of the towers on the web, but of course, you have to do this before you get out of range. Alternatively you can search with the antenna and see where the best strength is.
Useless when you are moving, but helpful if you are staying in one place for a few days or weeks and want to stay in touch with reasonable download speed. I've not used one (yet) but a good mate with knowledge of these things has built one and reports excellent reception in the boondocks.
Coop

[Tombie]

If you are sitting in one place you can employ an even better aerial known as a "Yagi" which looks a bit like an FM TV antenna but on a smaller scale. The coax from these plugs into the same phone socket. They are relatively simple to build, and give a significant boost to the signal simply because they are highly directional. To use them you need to knows where the nearest mobile tower is and point the antenna in that direction. If you know where you are going, you can discover the location of the towers on the web, but of course, you have to do this before you get out of range. Alternatively you can search with the antenna and see where the best strength is.
Useless when you are moving, but helpful if you are staying in one place for a few days or weeks and want to stay in touch with reasonable download speed. I've not used one (yet) but a good mate with knowledge of these things has built one and reports excellent reception in the boondocks.
Coop

Were common initially on the mine site... there is a limit though...

[PhilipA]

Just a cautionary word.. I put an 8db gain antenna on my RRC to improve my mobile performance. It was fine until in hills when you could receive for many ks but the other person could not hear you as the radiation pattern was flat.
After I broke the antenna under a motel entrance I replaced it with a little 4 inch in the middle of the roof and that worked much better.

Often you can get reception just by elevating the antenna. When using a mobile wireless router many travellers have found that if they put them in a tree, there is much better coverage. In fact I find if I toss mine on top of my camper trailer it is better than on the table with antenna. In Ningaloo there is a bloke making good money selling poles and 8 db antennas in the caravan park at yardie creek station.
Regards Philip A

[Tombie]

What gain are we talking here?

dBi or dBd? There are different scales :cool:

[PhilipA]

dBi or dBd? There are different scales

Well the one used by all antenna manufacturers.

In fact I just looked and DBi

Mobile One NextG Phone Antennas (http://www.mobileone.com.au/antennas/3b_3gnextg.html)

That is the antenna I had in the middle of the RRC roof

Regards Philip A

[Tombie]

dBi is an interesting measurement of an omnidirectional antenna!

dBd is far more suited to measuring them.

Isotropic antennas essentially exist in the world of theory only...

And 8dBi is in reality only 5.85dBd.. (But the dBi figures help sell...)

[clubagreenie]

I put an 8db gain antenna on my RRC to improve my mobile performance. It was fine until in hills when you could receive for many ks but the other person could not hear you as the radiation pattern was flat.
After I broke the antenna under a motel entrance I replaced it with a little 4 inch in the middle of the roof and that worked much better.

The shorter stubbier antenna has better gain characteristics for hillier terrain than the longer antennas. Which are suited more for distance.

The small antennas radiate a shape akin to a fat donut, where the taller antennas are a flatter projection, which may also be slightly more pronounced in some directions depending on it's mounting location.

[TheTree]

Hi

I recently got a Telstra 4G WiFi Advanced Pro X (Huawei E5786) modem for mobile internet and I have been looking at antenna options.

The main purpose is to have good internet when camping not when mobile. So I was thinking one of the Mimo Panel antennas might be the go, such as this one

External Mimo 3G 4G 4GX Antenna Suitable FOR Huawei E5786 Mobile Modem | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/External-MiMo-3G-4G-4GX-Antenna-Suitable-for-Huawei-E5786-Mobile-Modem-/262379560604)

or an RFI unit

LTE MIMO Directional 4G Panel Antenna 698-2700MHz - RFI Wireless (http://www.rfiwireless.com.au/high-gain-mimo-lte-xpol-002-v2.html)

My current thinking is to have a pole, possibly mounted on a bull bar swivel which folds down along the side of my roof rack. Then when I stop I can attach the modem to the top of the pole and swing it up vertical. It will need to be able to be rotated of course. The panel antennas seem rugged enough to do the job.

There is always the option of putting the modem in a bag, attaching some rope and tossing it over the nearest branch :p

Steve

[gavinwibrow]

Or use a sand flag if you carry such a weapon

[TheTree]

Or use a sand flag if you carry such a weapon

Thanks for the input !

Yes my thinking is now more along the lines of a detachable pole and its always good to have double duty items ;)

These are a possibility if they are not too flexible

Telescopic Poles flag amatuer HAM radio antenna squid pole (http://www.haverford.com.au/telescopic-poles.html)

I have also spotted a 1.5m aluminium pole on EBay

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/27199457188

Steve

[Pedro_The_Swift]

We did this with the van, radio and 4G.

[incisor]

I like the window awnings

[gavinwibrow]

Thanks for the input !

Yes my thinking is now more along the lines of a detachable pole and its always good to have double duty items ;)

These are a possibility if they are not too flexible

Telescopic Poles flag amatuer HAM radio antenna squid pole (http://www.haverford.com.au/telescopic-poles.html)

I have also spotted a 1.5m aluminium pole on EBay

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/27199457188

Steve
I scored a 6m heavy duty orange pvc pipe from the side of the road, which I cut in half for storage/transport, then fitted a joiner, got a proper flag from the kids for my birthday and voila - one excellent sand flag that attaches easily to the front bar and is rigid enough for said aerial.

[TheTree]

I scored a 6m heavy duty orange pvc pipe from the side of the road, which I cut in half for storage/transport, then fitted a joiner, got a proper flag from the kids for my birthday and voila - one excellent sand flag that attaches easily to the front bar and is rigid enough for said aerial.

Just before you posted this I noticed someone on eBay selling an antenna pole kit made of of some PVC pipe and clamps so that looks to be the way to go

Thanks for the tip :D

Steve

[p38arover]

My wife insists I use this when I'm away:

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=108981&stc=1&d=1462702953

[laughto]

What about one of these - S9 Cradle Universal XXL - Active cradle for a wide range of smartphones (http://goo.gl/7LJD1d) with a suitable magnetic roof mount antenna. Just connect it all up when needed. Just a thought.

[scarry]

What about one of these - S9 Cradle Universal XXL - Active cradle for a wide range of smartphones (http://goo.gl/7LJD1d) with a suitable magnetic roof mount antenna. Just connect it all up when needed. Just a thought.

I have yet to hear of anyone that has had any success with this type of passive antenna.

[Debacle]

I have yet to hear of anyone that has had any success with this type of passive antenna.

Apparently the loss you get through the passive connection is almost cancelled out by the gain from your antenna.

I had a Galaxy S3 with RFI antenna and patch lead from Telco and it worked quite well. Have just replaced it with a Telstra Tough Max which has a dedicated antenna port and going to get a lead from Telco for it. Will let you know how it goes.

[TheTree]

A patch lead is always going to be much better than an inductive cradle, but every bit helps if you don't have an external antenna port :cool: