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Boosting Cell Phone Signals in Strange Places?

Posted by Cliff on from the places-like-my-basement dept.

hedgemage asks: "I work at a retirement home and we have trouble with the cell phones that our nursing and maintenance staff use. The problem is that our nursing home area is built into a lower level that was originally constructed as a fallout shelter in 1960. There's a lot of solid concrete in the walls and ceiling. We have paid out tens of thousands to try and get an on-site mobile to work using NEC Dterm PSII phones, but they have proven absolutely unreliable (not just in the bomb shelter but throughout the campus) and the only solution our telecom provider has is to install several thousand dollars more in transceivers. If we could use ordinary cell phones, it would be ideal for everyone. Is there an off-the-shelf solution that could boost regular cellular signals in our bomb shelter?"

4 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. yep by mastershake_phd · · Score: 3, Informative

    Theyre called cell phone repeaters. They are expensive ~ $300 - $100 and may run afoul of the FCC. If the cells are for job related communication, why not get some walkie-talkies?

    --
    Libertarian Leaning Political Discussion Forum.
  2. Leaky coaxial cable by Dibblah · · Score: 2, Informative

    http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=leaky+coaxi al&btnG=Search&meta= Does exactly what it says on the tin. Used in tunnels in Europe for cell phone coverage.

  3. Get one of these by eagl · · Score: 3, Informative

    Get one of these.

    http://www.jdteck.com/repeaters-consumer.htm

    Yea they cost a few hundred bucks, but they look really simple.

  4. have you worked with your provider? by notgm · · Score: 2, Informative

    as a one-time employee of a smaller provider, and now as a bigger provider, i suggest that you first see if there are any smaller providers in your area willing to set up a repeater for you in/on your building. if a customer made enough noise, and had a big enough account (tens of phones, maybe?) we could be swayed into helping out with signal propogation. if you start talking about using repeaters on your own, depending on the law in your area, you may force their hand, as an improperly tuned network could be degraded significantly by such a device (handoffs can act strangely, for instance) also, using a repeater can have negative effects on positioning technology, if your provider is using a network-based e-911 solution. one last thing - if the signal in your area is bad outside of your building, and it's a large enough area, offer to house a site on your property. you never know where that could lead - you might boost your signal, and get some monthly cash flow to boot.