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Antenna Boosters for Cell Phones?
Hollinger asks: "Earlier this summer, I bought a brand-new Samsung 8500 PCS phone. It looks great, sounds great (more on that in a sec) and is very small. However, I have one problem. I thought that my new apartment was in the middle of a PCS deadzone. However, friends with other model phones (less expensive, mind you) can get a good, clear signal. This leads me to wander about the signal strength of my own phone. I've been shopping around to see if anyone has reviewed any of the 'Internal Antenna Boosters' that I've seen ads for, but I can't find any. Has anyone on Slashdot tried one of these? Do they work, and if so, how well?"
Maybe is the only way to describe them. I've seen passive repeaters, things you stick in a car window and are supposed to proved a boost. But only for the 800mhz cell frequencys, not the 1900 PCS band. Still they might be worth a shot if you have a regular cell phone.
My Nokia 5190 had a little rubber button you could remove and put an external antenna on. Run the external antenna up a tree, and reception was good. Often one bar better, but the real improvement was in clarity. Everytime you move without the antenna you introduce static, while with it you come breath and still hold a converstation. (always a good thing) The newer Nokias don't have this though, and I just broke my old phone. Still if you can stay within range of the cord this might get your service.
Best is to contact your provider. It takes 6 months or more, but they do take into account customer comments when they build new towers, so you might get one in your neighborhood. Make sure your local town concil isn't doing everything they can to block building a tower though, or you won't get it.