Extending the range on a mobile

**Basil135** · 23rd April 2015, 04:45 PM

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We have a superseded Samsung Galaxy S3 sitting around, which has an external antenna port.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** · 23rd April 2015, 06:16 PM

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** · 23rd April 2015, 06:42 PM

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** · 23rd April 2015, 07:21 PM

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"

**Don 130** · 23rd April 2015, 08:29 PM

Originally Posted by 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.

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** · 23rd April 2015, 08:37 PM

Originally Posted by p38arover

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** · 23rd April 2015, 09:41 PM

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 · 27th April 2015, 09:50 PM

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 · 28th April 2015, 08:01 AM

Originally Posted by 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

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

**PhilipA** · 28th April 2015, 08:08 AM

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

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