Cell Booster Install (1 Viewer)

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I thought these antennas like this one work way better. It is a dual band like the little magnet one above.

View attachment 2030127


Antenna theory and design is complex. Gain is often misunderstood. High gain has trade offs in the “shape” of the signal. In many mobile situations a low gain antenna may outperform a high gain antenna. If you want to antenna-match for a specific booster application, go to a site like the Repeater Store and check out the possibilities. They sell a wide variety of boosters with specialized inside/outside antennas for specific purposes.

Cellular Antennas for DAS, Repeaters, Boosters and Amplifiers
 
Good information and I wasn't aware of that. The earlier generic booster I got, like I said had a similar type of antenna. Perhaps they knocked off the earlier Wilson model?
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I can't attribute the performance of the my previous booster to the antenna, wiring, or booster itself, other than to say it did not perform as well as my current Reach booster. At least 10dB more overall in all conditions to what I measured with the others using Network Cell Info Lite. Just to clarify, what makes the Reach better for me is again, the uplink gain and support of additional bands.

The other thing I found interesting is the Weboost Reach uses a 4amp power supply. That's significantly more than the 1.5amp supplies the other boosters used.
 
Do you know how does this compare with the Wilson Electronic models?

Meaning the original blue ones.
When WeBoost bought Wilson, many (all?) of the boosters were simply re-branded. Since then, there have been performance improvements I've noticed in the latest WeBoost models I use over the older Wilson booster I still have.
 
the one I'm going to compare it with that I have is this one, wilson 460108

They call it +50db


looks like this

wilson 460108.jpg
 
Antenna theory and design is complex. Gain is often misunderstood. High gain has trade offs in the “shape” of the signal. In many mobile situations a low gain antenna may outperform a high gain antenna. If you want to antenna-match for a specific booster application, go to a site like the Repeater Store and check out the possibilities. They sell a wide variety of boosters with specialized inside/outside antennas for specific purposes.

Cellular Antennas for DAS, Repeaters, Boosters and Amplifiers
Of course. Gain for omni-directional, which is what all of these antennas are. That is the comparison, and for the band that you are likely to see.
 
Of course. Gain for omni-directional, which is what all of these antennas are. That is the comparison, and for the band that you are likely to see.
Omni directional simply means the signal radiates 360 degrees horizontally. The shape issue has to do with how high the signal goes vertically because antenna signals are 3-D, not just 2-D. High gain antennas get their signal "reach" by being primarily a very flat shape horizontally that can miss a tower completely if it's close by, or be confused by signals bouncing off building/hills/etc. Low gain antennas tend to have much "taller" signal reach that can work better when a tower is close by or when signals are bouncing around and coming from a variety of heights. Although it's too much of generalization, I think it's reasonable to say that in mobile applications, low gain antennas will provide a more reliable and useful signal than high gain antennas. And, of course, mobile antennas have to be omnidirectional. A 0dB gain antenna that looks broadly both horizontally and vertically for a signal will help a lot, simply by being outside the Faraday cage of the vehicle and connected to a booster that does the real work in getting those bars on the phone.
 
the one I'm going to compare it with that I have is this one, wilson 460108

They call it +50db


looks like this

View attachment 2032834
That's a good example of one that was simply re-named by weBoost when ownership changed. That same one was re-labeled the weBoost Drive 4-M. It's now updated and named the weBoost Drive 4G-M and there may even be a more recent version. It's hard to keep up. That's why I was really interested in the data posted by @TeCKis300. Good stuff.
 
I have the Wilson/WeBoost, they are based in St George, Utah- real nice people my experience their products work well. That said, just installed an “50db” LTE rugged antenna I picked up while down in AUS- It seems to perform a significant better than the one I was using before. The reason for quotes is packaging stated “50 dB” but once you read the specs they added the gain from 4 frequency ranges- still 9 dB gain is not bad.
BECBE7CD-84D5-4CDF-8B57-733EF6B3E3D7.jpeg
 
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Anyone know if there’s a similar app for iPhone?

Wilson has a section of their site devoted to how-tos and apps:

They also have a guide to check your signal strength. In typical Apple fashion, it's not as easy as it once was.
 
Omni directional simply means the signal radiates 360 degrees horizontally. The shape issue has to do with how high the signal goes vertically because antenna signals are 3-D, not just 2-D. High gain antennas get their signal "reach" by being primarily a very flat shape horizontally that can miss a tower completely if it's close by, or be confused by signals bouncing off building/hills/etc. Low gain antennas tend to have much "taller" signal reach that can work better when a tower is close by or when signals are bouncing around and coming from a variety of heights. Although it's too much of generalization, I think it's reasonable to say that in mobile applications, low gain antennas will provide a more reliable and useful signal than high gain antennas. And, of course, mobile antennas have to be omnidirectional. A 0dB gain antenna that looks broadly both horizontally and vertically for a signal will help a lot, simply by being outside the Faraday cage of the vehicle and connected to a booster that does the real work in getting those bars on the phone.
I understood the theory, but I had to dig in a little for the application of the math for off-roading to see how the nulls lined up and you are absolutely correct: High-Gain Omni Antennas in Mobile Applications - Alaris Antennas
 
Another especially bad reception driving segment. Turned into solid 4 and 3 bar reception with stable 4G link. I drop calls here regularly. No more.

This was a relatively expensive upgrade, but its going to make a positive difference in my road trips and camping. My preference in trip planning is to nail down the corner stones and play the rest by ear. A bit more difficult when not having cell access. This will go a ways to maximizing opportunities out on the road.

1563726302873.png
 
Another especially bad reception driving segment. Turned into solid 4 and 3 bar reception with stable 4G link. I drop calls here regularly. No more.

This was a relatively expensive upgrade, but its going to make a positive difference in my road trips and camping. My preference in trip planning is to nail down the corner stones and play the rest by ear. A bit more difficult when not having cell access. This will go a ways to maximizing opportunities out on the road.

View attachment 2035441

I'm curious as to how/why you decided on the Reach mounted in your LX, as opposed to the WeBoost RV unit mounted in your trailer.
 
That's a really great question that I mulled over.

It come down to this - Whenever I camp, my LX is with me 100% of the time. It has benefits to driving on the road and going on side excursions. The travel trailer is with me about 33% of the time, and in those types of trips, serves as a home base from which we explore further with the LX.

I still want great reception in the travel trailer so I have a couple strategies when parked:
1) Leave cell phone in the LX to get boost (I actually have 2 active cell phones) and enable wifi tethering that the whole family can use. This actually works better as wifi has much better range than the booster. The booster has feedback issues such that it's necessary to keep the cell phone in very close proximity to the interior booster antenna. Booster has few feet worth of range versus wifi at 50++ ft. May alternatively get a hotspot device.
2) Buy another set of antennas and power supply to mount in the travel trailer. Then just move the booster to go between. This could allow me better range as I can mount a directional yagi antenna on a folding and rotating mast (winegard TV antenna) that is 10 feet higher in the air.
 
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That's a really great question that I mulled over.

It come down to this - Whenever I camp, my LX is with me 100% of the time. It has benefits to driving on the road and going on side excursions. The travel trailer is with me about 33% of the time, and in those types of trips, serves as a home base from which we explore further with the LX.

I still want great reception in the travel trailer so I have a couple strategies when parked:
1) Leave cell phone in the LX to get boost (I actually have 2 active cell phones) and enable wifi tethering that the whole family can use. This actually works better as wifi has much better range than the booster. The booster has feedback issues such that it's necessary to keep the cell phone in very close proximity to the interior booster antenna. Booster has few feet worth of range versus wifi at 50++ ft. May alternatively get a hotspot device.
2) Buy another set of antennas and power supply to mount in the travel trailer. Then just move the booster to go between. This could allow me better range as I can mount a directional yagi antenna on a folding and rotating mast (winegard TV antenna) that is 10 feet higher in the air.
Thanks.
I figured there’s a compromise of sorts between better signal in the tow vehicle vs the trailer. When you’re driving, whether towing or on an excursion, you want signal in the TV. When you’re at s campsite, you want signal in the trailer. I like your solution with the hotspot...I hadn’t thought of that.
 
I just got done running the weboost Drive Reach for a week and I am very impressed. Never really thought much of boosters until I started researching good solutions to offer on my website. Everything pointed to the current Wilson(weboost) product. I was intrigued so much that I bought one personally prior to becoming a dealer. I bought it fully thinking it would be meh, but that's just not the case. It simply makes it better anytime there is any kind of signal. I literally sat in the middle of nowhere and had a decent enough signal to make calls and text without issue. I even sent some videos and photos from White Crack campsite inside Canyonlands, but like many say, if there is no signal it won't create one, you still have no signal. I run a small teardrop trailer so I did move the unit back and forth each day to see what kind of hassle that was along with my desire to overcome the fact that my trailer is skinned with aluminum so the signal inside has never been good. I also figured out how to get into the signal strength menu inside my iPhone so I will post up some of that info once I finish writing my review.
 
I have the Wilson/WeBoost, they are based in St George, Utah- real nice people my experience their products work well. That said, just installed an “50db” LTE rugged antenna I picked up while down in AUS- It seems to perform a significant better than the one I was using before. The reason for quotes is packaging stated “50 dB” but once you read the specs they added the gain from 4 frequency ranges- still 9 dB gain is not bad.View attachment 2034305
love the stoutness of the antenna. I searched google but can't seem to find. Do you happen to know the online supplier for your antenna? Thanks~
 
I have the Wilson/WeBoost, they are based in St George, Utah- real nice people my experience their products work well. That said, just installed an “50db” LTE rugged antenna I picked up while down in AUS- It seems to perform a significant better than the one I was using before. The reason for quotes is packaging stated “50 dB” but once you read the specs they added the gain from 4 frequency ranges- still 9 dB gain is not bad.View attachment 2034305


I have same antenna ... what shovel mount is that? and what are you using you have for that fold down?
I have a rugged ridge but it needs an Allen key to fold it down.
 
Just noticed this thread. I'm currently working on my own cell booster solution and I reached out to a buddy who designs these systems for a living. He offered lots of great info with regard tuning and and optimizing my signal depending on my provider. One very interesting nugget he offered was how to properly place your in-car repeater. All too often you see these configured with the antenna mounted in the rear of the vehicle and the repeater is mounted in the front of the vehicle with the repeater on or behind the dash (facing rearward). The problem with this configuration is the reflection you create when you point the repeater in the direction of the external antenna. In order to avoid excessive reflection (i.e "echo" in RF terms) you should try to point your repeater in the opposite direction of the antenna.

Just passing along the info.
 

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