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Hi this is Mike from wpsantennas.com. There are 2 key parts to the antenna setup. 1. The antenna itself of which there are many options which I would be happy to discuss (every situation is different based on tower location, wireless carrier etc) and 2. The antenna adapter cable http://www.wpsantennas.com/antenna-adapter-cables.aspx. Most aircards/mifi's have a small rf port that is designed to connect an external antenna to. There are numerous different adapter cables and they are device specific. Unfortunately most phones do not have antenna ports (some do but very few). For phones without ports there are 2 options a passive adapter http://www.wpsantennas.com/359914-passiveantennaadapter.aspx which will give you some signal gain but it likely won't be significant as it is passive and a powered amplifier booster which would very based on which carrier your service is thru

Hi this is Mike from wpsantennas.com. There are 2 key parts to the antenna setup. 1. The antenna itself of which there are many options which I would be happy to discuss (every situation is different based on tower location, wireless carrier etc) and 2. The antenna adapter cable http://www.wpsantennas.com/antenna-adapter-cables.aspx. Most aircards/mifi's have a small rf port that is designed to connect an external antenna to. There are numerous different adapter cables and they are device specific. Unfortunately most phones do not have antenna ports (some do but very few). For phones without ports there are 2 options a passive adapter http://www.wpsantennas.com/359914-passiveantennaadapter.aspx which will give you some signal gain but it likely won't be significant as it is passive and a powered amplifier booster which would very based on which carrier your service is thru

For that price range I would recommend the MAGLTEANT http://www.wpsantennas.com/MAGLTEANT---Magnetic-Mount-Antenna-for-LTE.aspx. The advantage of this antenna is that you could mount it outside where there is typically stronger signal. You would need the antenna as well as an adapter cable (these are device specific). wpsantennas.com has adapter cables for most Aircards modems.

HI all, This is Mike from wpsantennas.com. If anyone has questions on specific antenna options let me know. We have quite a few different options available ranging from a $35 for a magnetic antenna http://www.wpsantennas.com/MAGLTEANT---Magnetic-Mount-Antenna-for-LTE.aspx that can typically boost your signal 1-2 bars (10-12dB) to a high gain yagi like the 477-yb for maximum gain. The current price on the 477-yb http://www.wpsantennas.com/477-YB---Digital-Antenna-700-MHz-Yagi-Directional-4G-Cellular-Antenna---9dB.aspx is $120 but because of all of the questions from this blog I am lowering that down to $89 for the day. Once again any questions let me know.

HI all, This is Mike from wpsantennas.com. If anyone has questions on specific antenna options let me know. We have quite a few different options available ranging from a $35 for a magnetic antenna http://www.wpsantennas.com/MAGLTEANT---Magnetic-Mount-Antenna-for-LTE.aspx that can typically boost your signal 1-2 bars (10-12dB) to a high gain yagi like the 477-yb for maximum gain. The current price on the 477-yb http://www.wpsantennas.com/477-YB---Digital-Antenna-700-MHz-Yagi-Directional-4G-Cellular-Antenna---9dB.aspx is $120 but because of all of the questions from this blog I am lowering that down to $89 for the day. Once again any questions let me know.

Something like this costs 30$ http://www.wpsantennas.com/700MHZ-LTE-4G-Antennas.aspx

Ebay has things for 20-25$ Did you look at these options before deciding to building your own?

If you're telling me that works and that's the best I can do, then okay, you've got it figured out and I just don't understand antennas at all.

Like I said, I googled and looked for costs. The models that I see on your link that are $30 are 7.72” in length and look like the same things that come with any wireless router. I assume the Verizon Jetpack already has an antenna of this quality. What I was hoping for by asking Slashdot was that someone would belittle me and tell me how to build something more like this but without the $120 price tag since it's probably just a bunch of metal configured a certain way connected to a balun connected to the device. I know where the cell tower is from my parent's house, I just don't know how to construct something that will function better than the little device they have.

Also, I was kind of hoping that there were really cool designs people knew of that consisted more than just "a big stick of metal you point at the tower." However, like I admitted in the submission, I don't know jack shit about antennas.

Something like this costs 30$ http://www.wpsantennas.com/700MHZ-LTE-4G-Antennas.aspx

Ebay has things for 20-25$ Did you look at these options before deciding to building your own?

If you're telling me that works and that's the best I can do, then okay, you've got it figured out and I just don't understand antennas at all.

Like I said, I googled and looked for costs. The models that I see on your link that are $30 are 7.72” in length and look like the same things that come with any wireless router. I assume the Verizon Jetpack already has an antenna of this quality. What I was hoping for by asking Slashdot was that someone would belittle me and tell me how to build something more like this but without the $120 price tag since it's probably just a bunch of metal configured a certain way connected to a balun connected to the device. I know where the cell tower is from my parent's house, I just don't know how to construct something that will function better than the little device they have.

Also, I was kind of hoping that there were really cool designs people knew of that consisted more than just "a big stick of metal you point at the tower." However, like I admitted in the submission, I don't know jack shit about antennas.

Something like this costs 30$
http://www.wpsantennas.com/700MHZ-LTE-4G-Antennas.aspx

Ebay has things for 20-25$
Did you look at these options before deciding to building your own?

Exactly.

A contract dispute, a civil matter, and quite possibly not something under the FCC jurisdiction.

Maybe the Cell carriers sue BART for disruption of services by cutting power to their micro-cells or something.

But Bart would likely have been one party to the contract to provide power to the carrier's micro-cells, whereas Tortuous Interference pretty much requires action by a third party, not a party to the contracts.

Was there an "out" in Bart's contract with these carriers?

Were there even Carrier Contracts involved, or was BART using off the shelf Cellular repeaters that anyone can buy, which they would be fully within their right to turn off?

There are a lot of questions to be answered before some guy on slash dot can pronounce something illegal, plain and simple.

Please mod parent up: He's completely correct, and his simple methodology is a good example of best practices.

However, there are more impromptu ways to accomplish similar feats:

One obvious possibility is the test mode built into many (perhaps all) cell phone handsets. These will typically display a number of different datapoints, such as signal strength and error rate. If the asker is troubleshooting only troubleshooting GSM or CDMA (so that switching carriers does not necessarily entail switching radios, antennas, etc), and isn't interested in the accuracy or automation of doing GPS-based maps of cellular coverage, this might work just fine -- perhaps even for free.

All it would take is a map, a pencil, a copilot, and (ideally) an external antenna, to chart this stuff the old fashioned way.

With a quick Google search, I found a concise list of procedures for entering field test mode on a number of handsets. Other handsets, past and present, are likely to have information available at places like HowardForums.

And, indeed: Good luck. I've charted my share of wireless systems, and it is (at best) tedious to get good results.

They do sell extenders and repeaters. http://www.wpsantennas.com/residential-commercial-amplifiers-boosters.aspx While the full kits can get expensive, you can save money by getting just want you need antenna wise.

Why not just get an aircard? You can get wireless EVDO routers like this one from keyocera. http://www.evdoinfo.com/content/view/264/63/ Or even get a pci to pcmcia adapter, this will allow you to use one in your PC. They sell them at newegg for under $20.00. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815124021Y I used a Verizon air card for over a year and ran a 5 computer network off it. I had to use an external antenna as I had no signal with my pc on the floor in the corner of my room.It was made by Wilson they call it their "Trucker Cellular Antenna" http://www.wpsantennas.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=3 It cost me 100 bucks but was well worth the investment. It wasn't cable but it sure beat dial-up. I now have a wireless setup that uses Motorola Canopy technology that rocks!!!

I have a Motorola 270c. It's 4 or 5 years old now and despite numerous harsh falls onto rocks, concrete, and bricks, has managed to survive quite well. One nice thing about the phone is its external antenna port. I use it in an exceptionally marginal area for cell phone coverage, but I get many days of standby and 4 bars of signal when it's attached to to this nice trucker antenna. The only problem I'm starting to have is that the screen sometimes goes blank after I drop it now. I dread the day I have to buy a new phone because my requirements are hard to find: brick style (for durability), external antenna, speakerphone -- at least my current carrier doesn't currently offer a phone that meets my needs.