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Cell phone booster

Big Country

Big Country

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 24, 2017
Messages
303
Location
NE Florida
Joined a club recently and cell service is bad to non existent. Anybody use a cell booster or anything that works?
 
For emergencies or conversation. I’ve tried several of the stick on and external antennas that were cheap and none of them worked. There are some you could mount in your vehicle that are supposed to be great but cost several hundred dollars and up. The in reach are not that expensive. I’ll add that the flip phones still seem to pick up in a lot of places smart phones don’t. Not sure why that is but that has been my experience.
 
EricS said:
For emergencies or conversation. I’ve tried several of the stick on and external antennas that were cheap and none of them worked. There are some you could mount in your vehicle that are supposed to be great but cost several hundred dollars and up. The in reach are not that expensive. I’ll add that the flip phones still seem to pick up in a lot of places smart phones don’t. Not sure why that is but that has been my experience.
Click to expand...
My experience mirrors yours. Smart phones can take magazine-quality photos, film in 4k, play video games, locate the best Chinese takeout in town, and even help you manage your stock portfolio...but they suck at making and receiving phone calls.

Most providers can install a booster though. If several of the members share a provider, you might can all chip in and split the cost?
 
Big Country said:
Joined a club recently and cell service is bad to non existent. Anybody use a cell booster or anything that works?
Click to expand...
I have abysmal service at my house, tmobile gave me a booster which works great.
At a couple properties I hunt I have no service with my tmobile phone so I got a cheap pay as you go Verizon phone which gets great service, I use that when I hunt.
If you're way out in BFE you might have no choice but to do what our forefathers did, tell folks if I'm not back by such and such send out the search party! Or sat phone. CB radio maybe.
 
With my experience if there is little to no bars a booster is only going to give you another bar so if you have non you might get a bar but you will probably just keep dropping calls. I guess in an emergency that might help. Like Nutter said it is extremely funny to me how the actual phone part has gone down hill.
 
I use one at my house. It takes our service from 0 bars/non-existent to 3-4 bars with 4g data. Most important aspect the design is a good directional yagi antenna. The actual booster is far less critical.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
I hunt remote from home most of the deer season and the spot I set up my camp has almost no cell service. Walk a 1/4 mile north or south and service is fine, must just be a dead spot. However, since I'm out there by myself I make sure to call my wife when I get out of the tree at the end of the day and am heading back to camp. I also leave a note in camp each time out giving the general area I'm headed to or at least the direction I'm taking out of camp if I'm undecided so they'll know where to look for me if I don't check in. I have buddies in the area who could come check and decipher my spot notes if the wife gets worried.
 
At my last house in Ms, I could only get one bar and it would drop calls all the time. So I got a booster and yagi directional antenna. It got me up to two bars when the antenna was pointed in the best direction and I would stand under the receiver (placed in attic). I was able to use my phone at home but I was like the old days when you had one phone in the house and you had to go to that spot to make a call. lol
Now at my new house in Al, Its the same issue. 1 bar inside that is not reliable. Have to go on back porch for 2 bars. I don't want to spend a few hundred dollars to get another bar for a phone that cost $1000. Pisses me off. I rarely make phone calls anyway so I'm just gonna do without and go outside if I need to make a call.
 
I have had good luck with this booster: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wilson-Ele...031770?hash=item1efa47da1a:g:Gv8AAOSwvDZcwxcQ

I had 0 bars inside my house, especially my basement but, could get two bars outside on my second story deck. I placed the antennae on my deck and the booster in my basement. I know get two bars in my house. As mentioned above the Yagi antennas are supposed to be even better but, cost more.
 
One thing worth noting to the OP. If there is signal poor in the general township of your club, it will be very difficult to boost the signal. You can only boost what an antenna/amp can see. Increasing your line of sight will improve results. Just like a TV antenna, don't forget to ground it for safety reasons.

If the signal is poor everywhere in the township, you won't get results.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
 
I go to the top of the mountain once a day to call home and check in from hunting camp other than that, zero service and the old timers like it that way. I can respect that! Once you get used to it, it is kinda nice to be unreachable like the old days. But my luck the furnace will break or wife's car wont start etc. Emergencies always seem to hit when I am away! LOL
 
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