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Lady's Travels: From Minnesota on Lake Superior to Nassau, to Charleston, SC., to Key West, Fl. & Return.
Charleston to Windsor, Ontario Canada
Now exploring the Great Lakes...
Lady's Travels: From Minnesota on Lake Superior to Nassau, to Charleston, SC., to Key West, Fl. & Return.
Charleston to Windsor, Ontario Canada
Now exploring the Great Lakes...
We have a Wilson on the houseboat and it works just fine at the lake. I don't know how they work, I just know that without it I can't use my cell. I also made the mistake of getting the wireless type. On any weekend the dock-space in front of my houseboat is a large gathering area The guys in the slip next to me thanked me. Now they don't need to spend $300+.
Edd
__________________ If you didn't get a Border Collie, you shoulda just got a CAT!
ther was/is a company called M-tech that makes a very robust cell repeater but I cant find any info about them. I installed one on a Lobster boat and the owner reports great reception offshore but like I said a google search came up with Zero.
good luck.
__________________ "I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends"
The best way to get offshore cell reception is a high efficiency antenna, as high on the boat as you can get it, then good quality coaxial couplings to the phone. I must admit when we did this it was an old "bag" phone that had an antenna jack so I'm not sure how you would couple it in now-days at the phone end. I imagine, a second high efficiency antenna on the receiver end below decks in the vicinity of the cell phone(s) would re-transmit the data. This passive signal transfer is used on steel vessels. But without any amplifier, just getting the antenna about 25 feet above the water gave us 50 miles off shore.
There is a downside. When we would get back to the dock the antenna had to be disabled. With the high efficiency it would pick up multiple cells even on lowest (automatic) power and the cell companies get very upset if you start doing that.
I've installed some that work. Only problem is that the ones that actually work are intended for office / home. Consist of a Yagi antenna, a booster, and a transciever that mounts on the ceiling and some RG-8 cable. I installed one in a construction site in a jobsite trailer about 4 years ago. Went back several weeks later and there must have been 15 guys inside that trailer talking on cell phones! Kind of funny. Everyone at the site would migrate inside the trailer to have cell phone converations and although the phones worked fine inside the trailer, with so many conversations going on, it was still hard to have a conversation.
I know. Doesn't answer the OP's question but usefull info regardless.
What is your expectation? Is it additional range or more power? If it is power get an amplifier. If it is range then you need a taller antenna.
Not sure I understand the question. Don't both of them provide the same end result? More range? Why would I need more power if it does not provide more range?
I am looking for more range, 40 to 50 miles would work for me, on my blackberry, in the Great lakes I am losing signal at about 5 miles off shore even though my flybridge is 14 feet up.
The only connection on the blackberry is power and USB. Don't think I can connect an antennae unless it has a USB connection.
Lady's Travels: From Minnesota on Lake Superior to Nassau, to Charleston, SC., to Key West, Fl. & Return.
Charleston to Windsor, Ontario Canada
Now exploring the Great Lakes...
Not sure I understand the question. Don't both of them provide the same end result? More range? Why would I need more power if it does not provide more range?
I am looking for more range, 40 to 50 miles would work for me, on my blackberry, in the Great lakes I am losing signal at about 5 miles off shore even though my flybridge is 14 feet up.
The only connection on the blackberry is power and USB. Don't think I can connect an antennae unless it has a USB connection.
there are both wireless and wired cell amps. The digital model is wired - at least the one I have is. But I've seen wireless repeaters as well. Your phone will use the repeater as a tower (it's not, just the same result), and it will comm with other towers.
__________________
Terry Jason 35, Yanmar 370 hp, Lots of fun at a leisurely pace
there are both wireless and wired cell amps. The digital model is wired - at least the one I have is. But I've seen wireless repeaters as well. Your phone will use the repeater as a tower (it's not, just the same result), and it will comm with other towers.
Lady's Travels: From Minnesota on Lake Superior to Nassau, to Charleston, SC., to Key West, Fl. & Return.
Charleston to Windsor, Ontario Canada
Now exploring the Great Lakes...
ther was/is a company called M-tech that makes a very robust cell repeater but I cant find any info about them. I installed one on a Lobster boat and the owner reports great reception offshore but like I said a google search came up with Zero.
good luck.
that is the company info. their website appears to be down. i havent installed one of their systems in about 6 months, i wonder if they are out of business. they did make a good product though.
__________________ i'm just some idiot from the internet
Not sure I understand the question. Don't both of them provide the same end result? More range? Why would I need more power if it does not provide more range?
I am looking for more range, 40 to 50 miles would work for me, on my blackberry, in the Great lakes I am losing signal at about 5 miles off shore even though my flybridge is 14 feet up.
The only connection on the blackberry is power and USB. Don't think I can connect an antennae unless it has a USB connection.
Transmissions from VHF and UHF radios are line of sight. More power does not necessarily equate to more range. A taller antenna is generally the answer, not more power.
Think of this. A typical airplane VHF radio does not have a lot of power. Maybe not much more than 10 watts, if that. At 10,000 feet altitude, the receive and transmit distance can be 100 miles or more. With the airplane on the ground the transmit and receive distances can be less than several miles.
Cell signal amplifier 
The guys in the slip next to me thanked me. Now they don't need to spend $300+.
