Cell Phone boosters?

[89transam]

Are they junk? Are there a certain kind that are better than others? If people dont know what I mean here is a picture.


Anyone use one or have postive experiances? Or shouldl I not waste my dollar.

[Loup]

Street Cents (a Canadian consumer awareness show) ran a test on these a couple of years ago. Here are there findings.

Street Cents got a hold of a couple different cell phone antenna boosters.

They cost anywhere from $9.99 to $20.00 and they claim to reduce static and increase your reception in elevators, tunnels, and hallways. It says on the package "it's like having a four foot antenna on your phone."

Street Cents put them to the test.

We tried out the boosters in an underground parking garage, a tunnel and an elevator. The boosters didn't boost reception at all.

After the failed field test, we took the boosters into the lab. Street Cents conducted two scientific tests. We wanted to see if there was any conductive material in the boosters. In order to work as an antenna, they would need to contain metal.

Both tests showed conclusively that the antenna boosters didn't conduct electricity.

Next we talked to cell phone experts at Nokia, Motorola and Bell. They all say these antenna boosters are useless.

They say in order for the antenna booster to work, it would have to be physically touching the antenna on the phone, and it's not.

Health Canada sets strict guidelines for radio frequency levels. So all cell-phone companies must be careful how much signal strength they produce. All the experts Street Cents talked to said cell phones are optimized for performance and you can't boost your signal.

Street Cents was unable to contact the companies that make the boosters because the packaging contains no company information.

Take it as you may.

[ratbastid]

"it's like having a four foot antenna on your phone."

Anybody who knows anything about radio or wave physics knows this is silly. My physics is rusty, so anybody who catches me in a mistake here, please correct me.

An antenna is the length it is for a reason--it's meant to match the wavelength of the frequency it's tuned for, or some round fraction of that length (1/2 or 1/4, say). The frequency that CDMA and GSM phones operate on has a wavelength in the four to six inch range--not coincidentally, the length of your cell phone's antenna. So a four foot antenna really wouldn't help things.

[quadro2000]

They're complete bullshit. I've gotten them bundled with the last two cellphones I purchased, and neither helped. I asked a few cell phone salesmen in different stores about them and they said they were utterly useless.

[Nisses]

Ratbastid: I don't know where you got that part... What about the telescope antennas that you find on radios and old TV sets? they can be put at any length the user wishes, doesn't change the frequency it receives...

you're thinking of the inherit frequency of a body I believe (absolutely sure that isn't the right word in english )
by that I mean the frequency a body takes on when it's hit itself, like a string on a guitar... That has such properties, like fractions of the length etc.

Or I'm completely misunderstanding what you are saying to me, also a good possibility

[Sir wangs a lot]

I work at radioshack. we had to read memos on them, blah blah blah.

basically they don't work. they DO put extra strain on the battery. but they only areas they give --SLIGHT-- amounts of boosting is analog areas. With digital (99% of all phones out there are digitial capible and you're probably using a tri mode. analog is only used in rual areas anymore) it's all or nothing. Either you can connect and hear the other person or you can't. simple as that.

Also, rat is correct to an extent. (and so incorrect at the same time... as nisses pointed out. That type of frequency doesn't apply to cell phones or much of anything for that matter these days. also, consider larger outdoor dv antenna's compared to bunny ears... yeah....) but the reason these are supposed to help is because they're supposed to be antenna amplifiers. However, they do little other than suck the life out of your battery and whatnot.

So in short, don't waste your time. Who's your cell phone carrier. if it's verizon there --might-- be help. ohterwise... go cancel your phone and get verizon. seriously. i'm not even on the dealer/employee plan or whatever and i swear by them.

[ratbastid]

Originally posted by Nisses
Ratbastid: I don't know where you got that part... What about the telescope antennas that you find on radios and old TV sets? they can be put at any length the user wishes, doesn't change the frequency it receives...

I'm not saying that you tune an antenna to a particular frequency by changing its length. I'm saying that it receives signals best at a length that's an even fraction of the frequency it's tuned for.

Sure you can telescope those TV rabbit-ears. But notice that they pick up your selected channel best at a particular length.

[punx1325]

Good to know, I use GSM right now and its complete crap. I look forward to switching back to digital, then I will atleast get a signal.

[herostar]

a waste of money

find yourself a digital service and you'll be happy

[cyclone]

just dont try and make calls in an elevator and you'll be fine

[Cynthetiq]

Originally posted by ratbastid
I'm not saying that you tune an antenna to a particular frequency by changing its length. I'm saying that it receives signals best at a length that's an even fraction of the frequency it's tuned for.

Sure you can telescope those TV rabbit-ears. But notice that they pick up your selected channel best at a particular length.

actually the length really means more for the transmission of the signal more than reception of the signal.

tv's don't broadcast... walkie talkies, cell phones, CB and Ham radios... do.

[analog]

I sold cellular telephones including Bellsouth, Cingular, Primeco, Tracphone, SprintPCS and Verizon for over 4 years at a national electronics chain, and I can tell you that EVERY customer that has EVER bought one for ANY model of ANY maker of ANY cell company that they don't do shit.

Take that info as you will. You have been warned.

PS to everyone: Every cell company will instantaneously void any warranty you have on the phone if you stick that piece of shit on it. And most of you know how expensive phones are to replace.

[jujueye]

At first, that looked like a big ol' helmet. And I thought: do you put that big tanker on your head????? Geez. I need more coffee.

[CSflim]

surely someone can be sued?

[zer010gic]

I got a free one slaped it on my phone and it did not help a bit they are worthless.

[Seaver]

don't know where you got that part... What about the telescope antennas that you find on radios and old TV sets? they can be put at any length the user wishes, doesn't change the frequency it receives...

The length of the antennae is for transmission, not recieving. It must be at least 1/4 the wavelength to transmit, 1/2 for decent quality. The 1/2 is because the transmitter grounds itself (through the casing) so you only require half the sine wave.

This is important because cell phones dont just recieve, but transmit. These do increase receiving, but as far as transmitting goes it wouldnt increase anything.

To recieve it requires area and height. When you see recieving stations there are usually one big antennae with 3-4 small ones around, all connected. The big one is for transmitting and the small ones that are connected provide an "area" for recieving. You dont need a sheet, but just a triangle/circle of wire, and it acts just like a metal sheet would as far as quality goes. So yes, the little thing would increase surface area to aid in recieving, but no it wouldnt change transmitting.

... god I hate calc-based physics... go through all those sleepless nights and this is the first time I've ever used ANY of it.

[God of Thunder]

Got one bundled with a car adapter for my phone. I slapped it on beacuse I figured what the hey, I didn't pay for it and there are a couple of "dead spots" where I work. Maybe it will help.

It didn't do jack.

As I said, it came bundled so I didn't pay for it.

One of the "radiation shields" came with it as well. I didn't even waste my time with that.

[saltfish]

Originally posted by punx1325
Good to know, I use GSM right now and its complete crap. I look forward to switching back to digital, then I will atleast get a signal.

I blame the phone before I blame the protocol!!

What kind of phone do you have?

If you say Nokia 82xx, 39xx or Motorola (Any) I GUARANTEE it's the phone..

oh, and GSM is Digital...


-SF

[saltfish]

PS to everyone: Every cell company will instantaneously void any warranty you have on the phone if you stick that piece of shit on it. And most of you know how expensive phones are to replace.

I worked for Wireless Retail INC for a year and a half, and have sent numerous phones back for warranty repair. Never have I ever been told that a sticker will void your warranty, and have never see anything to validate that. Hell, I have been told by 2nd and 3rd tier service reps to give the customer one of those to put on there for the 'psychological' boost.. I have had many customers tell me their phone was fixed with a 'sticker'.
Mostly because they got a 20$ sticker for free..

Oh, I wish I was that oblivious.



-SF

[brandon11983]

We sold these when I worked at Staples a few years ago. I was amazed at how willing customers would be to shell out the money for these pieces of shit. Just shows how far a little advertising can go.

[Averett]

*bump*

I just got one of these things in the mail. It doesn't plug into my phone so I can't even say if it works or not.

I live in a sort of half basement apartment. It is HELL on my cell phone reception. I have a Motorola 120e and Verizon service. Would a different phone help? It's so annoying talking to somebody and having the signal drop out

[Fremen]

Cell Phone boosters?

You mean this isn't a thread about cell phone enthusiasts?

[analog]

Originally posted by Averett
I just got one of these things in the mail. It doesn't plug into my phone so I can't even say if it works or not.

I live in a sort of half basement apartment. It is HELL on my cell phone reception. I have a Motorola 120e and Verizon service. Would a different phone help? It's so annoying talking to somebody and having the signal drop out

Don't waste your time. See my comment above. I'm still in cellular sales, sell even more carriers now, and it's always been the case- they don't do shit.

[Averett]

So do you think a new phone may help, or am I just basically fucked?

[BigGov]

A new phone doesn't guarentee it would work.

In the basement of my house, I can get anywhere from zero reception to perfect.

In a friend's basement down the street, I get nothing. Anywhere. I get 1 bar out of 4, but it will not send or receive calls. Other people can still send or receive calls just fine (meanwhile, these same people get horrible reception throughout my basement, same carrier, different phones).

It's really hit or miss depending on the model.

[The Phenomenon]

Originally posted by 89transam
Are they junk? Are there a certain kind that are better than others? If people dont know what I mean here is a picture.


Anyone use one or have postive experiances? Or shouldl I not waste my dollar.

I worked for a GSM Middleware company for 3 years so I know a bit about the tech.

A CellBooster would probably have no effect, or very little effect, since the quality of your call is not determined by the phone, but rather the node you are in. They might only help in reducing the amount of lost packets. Cell Phones are Digital devices, not analog like a radio or standard SS7 landline telephones, so reception only plays a part in whether the packet is delivered or not, not the actual quality of the data.

The GSM towers are arranged in oval nodes that they can cover, and they have a relatively short distance.

Quality is determined by the settings of the network, and how long it takes for a signal to reach your phone.

Each second of broadcast time is split between the various converstations so every few milliseconds you will receive the data. The networks have very limited frequencies so they have to share frequencies between conversations, IIRC this process is called TDMA which basically means that broadcasting is time delimited.The lower the quality on the node is set to, the smaller the packets get (they use lossy encoding), and thus the more simultaneous calls can be serviced by that one node.

The higher quality the less calls can be serviced at any one time.

Reception only has an effect on your call when you are actually missing or not receiving some of the packets.

[Averett]

So basically... me and my basement apartment mean that my cell phone is fucked in it?

[The Phenomenon]

Originally posted by Averett
So basically... me and my basement apartment mean that my cell phone is fucked in it?

basically yes.

You get three types of reception:

None, Lossy and Perfect.

Lossy means there are silent bits (or missing bits of teh conversation). Quality has nothing to do with reception I am afraid.

[losthellhound]

The Phenomenon

- That was a good explanation of GSM.. Unfortunatly Averett doesn't have a GSM phone. She has a CDMA phone. The rules change

internal boosters are crap. They even advertise like scams (a postage stamp on your battery is like a FOUR foot antenna).. External antennas have done well in testing though.

[Averett]

Originally posted by losthellhound
- That was a good explanation of GSM.. Unfortunatly Averett doesn't have a GSM phone. She has a CDMA phone. The rules change

Well, damn, I didn't even know what kind of phone I have. Of course GSM and CDMA might as well be Rocks and Sticks as far as I would know.

[Yakk]

For a basement apartment, might not a repeater help? I have no idea if they are economical or practical...

Google gives me:
http://www.mobilecomms-technology.co.../cell_antenna/
http://www.alternativewireless.com/c...ar_amplifiers/
price is in the <100$ range.

[The Phenomenon]

Originally posted by losthellhound
The Phenomenon

- That was a good explanation of GSM.. Unfortunatly Averett doesn't have a GSM phone. She has a CDMA phone. The rules change

internal boosters are crap. They even advertise like scams (a postage stamp on your battery is like a FOUR foot antenna).. External antennas have done well in testing though.

Bah!

CDMA isnt THAT much different in what i explained really. The major difference is how the packets are encoded and how the frequency/time delimiting works... But my knowledge of CDMA is not all hot. Read through some of the specifications once, thats all.

Another difference is how the towers work though. They have much larger coverage.

[Averett]

So I went last night to AT&T and got a phone there. I'm going to give it 30 days and see how it goes. If it works better I'll keep it. If not, well, back to square one.

Seemed to work much better last night.