Thread: Does anybody use a Signal Booster/Amplifier instead of Sat Phones

"Shouting all you like is fine, but what if you can't hear the response"

Consider a couple of other options:

1) Hire when needed
2) Spot tracker - the top model can send SMS

Ah yes, I noticed Gordon uses those Tombie, what about one of those coupled with an RFI antenna and cheap 3G phone that has a RF antenna point?

Do you think they are worth it? I wouldn't mind reception for just a little bit outsde of town mostly for updating maps, music and so forth. Could use it as a hotspot for the tablet.


There is a bit of effort required for the setup, the $190 RFI antenna requires mounting on the bar then the phone purchase and patch lead, on the phone coverage map it looks like there's no reception along the GRR even with an antenna so might be wasting my time....
Thanks

BMKal has a decent sized antenna - would be 6' off the Bullbar and a phone cradle which does about as good as it gets on 4Gx

Thanks, i'll send him a message.

Nothing short of a sat phone will get any coverage along the GRR, bar about 100km at each end.

When I was fishing we used boosters on the 3G network with a Aerial mounted high in the rigging . The phone needed to be 1 that took an external aerial via a patch lead which are not that common these days.

Many years ago I took the 3G phone with the aerial down the Gibb River Road and had the aerial on the bull bar with no booster and had mobile phone as far as the Kalumburu turn off coming from wyhndam and about 100 ks from the Derby end. The aerial could be bought at dick smith and was about the size of a UHF aerial. The trick would be finding a mobile which would take an external patch lead as I haven't found a smart phone that does so.

A Sat Phone will give you better around coverage but has the added cost, but in saying that you can get some very good sat phone call rates if you shop around.

Cheers Ean

Originally Posted by Ean Austral

When I was fishing we used boosters on the 3G network with a Aerial mounted high in the rigging . The phone needed to be 1 that took an external aerial via a patch lead which are not that common these days.

Many years ago I took the 3G phone with the aerial down the Gibb River Road and had the aerial on the bull bar with no booster and had mobile phone as far as the Kalumburu turn off coming from wyhndam and about 100 ks from the Derby end. The aerial could be bought at dick smith and was about the size of a UHF aerial. The trick would be finding a mobile which would take an external patch lead as I haven't found a smart phone that does so.

A Sat Phone will give you better around coverage but has the added cost, but in saying that you can get some very good sat phone call rates if you shop around.

Cheers Ean

Ean the site i posted above does give great info and provide all patch leads. Samsung S1 S2 S3 and S4 should all have RF ports. I would be checking before buying though as i have an old S3 in my house and it has ports marked RF which have no holes! Must be a specific model...

There is the option of going and grabbing a Telstra rugged phone which also has the ports, my last mobile plans expired anyway. I might give it a shot. Due to travelling in a tag along tour, I don't really need a sat phone as they provide one. But the phone reception could come in handy if we ran into trouble anywhere on the way back to Perth from Kununurra of which will be solo for 3000kms of mostly tarmac.

The S4 does not have any external ports - if you remove the back cover there is a diagnostic test port (actually) two that a patch lead can be plugged into but you run the risk of damaging the circuit boards outside of a test room type environment.

So yes it can be done but is not all that practical in a 4wd type environment.