I've been camping a lot. Glamping that is. Yet is it really glamping without cell reception? Or civilized off-roading without real-time data?
Time for a cell booster install. Sneak peak:
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This is the newest WeBoost Reach model that improves upon the prior king of consumer boosters, the WeBoost Drive 4G-X. This booster supports multi-carrier and just about the complete spectrum of 2G, 3G, and 4G/LTE cellular bands. For context, I'm strictly a Verizon Android user, but this will support just about anything out there, with added support for some of the newer bands.
So why this particular model? Couple major reasons:
1) Uplink power
Boosters universally advertise "gain" which is interpreted as downlink signal boost. This is actually federally limited so there's relatively little differentiation. Mobil multi-band applications are limited to 50 dB. Static boosters, 65 dB. Other variations allow more power when only single band. Comms however is bi-directional. A far-away tower can't establish comms if it can't "hear" you. What's little spec'd and the significant differentiation is uplink power or uplink gain. That's where this Weboost Reach makes the biggest difference having upwards of twice more power than the last top of the line model. And way more than generic boosters.
For comparison of uplink power the popular WeBoost line-up. Signal is measured in dB which is a logarithmic scale, each 3 dB represents a doubling of power. Which is not quite double the range as that actually takes 4x the power, but it's appreciably more. Good luck finding these specs for off brand boosters.
Drive 4G-M – 21.4 dBm
Connect RV 65 – 24.6 dBm
Drive 4G-X – 24.8 dBm
Drive Sleek – 25.6 dBm
Drive Reach Fleet - 29.5 dBm
2) LTE/Bands Supported - 12/17, 13, 5, 4, 2, 25
Just about complete for every carrier in the US. Including some newer bands like 25 which is really important to T-Mobil users. And Band 66, which is an extension of band 4 and important to Verizon and I think AT&T.
Notes
- Interior to exterior proximity between the antenna's is important as the send/receive signals are common and can loop back attenuating or shutting down the booster (much like microphone sound system feedback). It's important to have the unibody metal prevent line of sight of the antennas through glass (moonroof) for example, to maximize signal power and gain.
- Proximity between the phone and the interior antenna is also important to maximize uplink gain. This is a particular parameter to pay attention to if you want to maximize spec'd booster performance.
- The antenna included in this kit requires a ground plane. Meaning approximately an 8" x 8" section of sheet metal that the base of the antenna (magnetic) mounts to and is necessary for antenna functionality.
- Boosters can't conjure up signal from thin air. The predominant case it's effective for is at least 1 bar, perhaps non-functional, worth of signal that's then boosted to establish solid and fast communication. It can on occasion elicit signals, but more rarely.
- Physical gain can be added with height, antennas that are larger, specialty antennas that are both larger and don't require a ground plane (trucker OTR), directional (yagi), or the many other variations. These would have compromises to a consumer vehicle for obvious reasons.
Results
This booster kicks butt and is the definitely delivering significant gains beyond what I've seen before. Prior to purchasing this unit, I tried a WeBoost Sleek and a Phonetone band 12/13/17 booster. I hated the WeBoost Sleek for its retarded phone cradle that was troublesome to use, and for the fact that it had a ridiculous bright on light staring at you. The Phonetone was better and had a similar candybar interior antenna to the Weboost Reach which I like as it's completely transparent in using. Yet it had limited band support. My research told me that Verizon was predominantly band 13. In use and in remote areas, I saw a ton of band 2, 4, and 66 (part of band 4) , which it did not support so was of no use.
Initial results. It's boosting all the channels that I want. And producing gains substantially higher than I saw from the other booster models I tried. Here's two snapshots. First one turning a non-functional signal into a strong stable and fast signal on band 2.
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