External <span class="highlight">antenna</span> and Nokia 6225 CDMA

Submitted: Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 23:02

ThreadID: 29098 Views:2204 Replies:10 FollowUps:7

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KenD

Don't get sucked in by the Telstra offer of a Nokia 6225 CDMA with in car kit on the assumption that with an external antenna you will get maximum CDMA coverage.

I did.

When I took it to Telstat to fit the in car kit and an antenna, Tony informed me that Nokia CDMA phones had no facility to connect to an external antenna. The car kit would provide no greater coverage than a hand held phone! No mention was made of this when I bought the phone.

When I went back to the Telstra shop, in a peed off state of course, the staff there were puzzled. The tech guy who came from the bowels of the shop looked up the Nokia web site for the 6225. After printing the relevant page and reading it from top to bottom, there it was, on the bottom of the page an NB: that in effect said Nokia CDMA phones can't be connected to an external antenna. The techy was surprised and spent some time looking for a way around the problem. Cellnet have a patch lead that might do the job, but the phone will have to be taken out of the car kit to use it. Anyway, that's on order and we will see what happens. The staff in the Frankston shop were as helpful as they could be.

So, while the Nokia phone has a superior user interface to any of my previous phones, I would not have contemplated it with this limitation. The old hand held Hyundai would have continued to do the job.

However, Telstra, the corporation, knows that people use CDMA for its superior coverage and to sell a phone package like this, with this limitation, is little short of gross incompetance or outright deception. Nokia is no better.

Would any smart-a... PR or marketing plonker from Telstra or Nokia like to explain?

We live in deceptive times!

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Reply By: Member - Nick (TAS) - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 23:09

Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 23:09

Yep they got me.I asked about 5 times that they were sure it was able to support an external antenna,yep was the reply each time.Got it home,checked out the web site and as you said dosnt support it.Rang up next day and got new phone switched off and reconnected my old 6385.My wife uses the new one on pre paid now.
Would have taken it back but had the car kit already installed and loom cut and shut to fit vehicle.

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Follow Up By: KenD - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 23:35

Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 23:35

Yeah, I've spent heap of time putting phone numbers etc into phone and figuring out how it works and am reluctant to start that process again on another phone. So I guess that's a plus for the snickering corporate cynics who stitch together these packages.
When I get the patch lead I'll get the Telstat people to let me know if it works properly and I'll post the results.

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Reply By: Member - Raymond - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 23:27

Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 23:27

Hi Ken

Interestingly I have a Nokia 6225 and purchased a car kit off Ebay for $200. Works a treat. The car kit and antenna adapter have to be put together and that took us about 1 hour to fit to the motorhome. The motorhome in the yard at home has 4 bars on the phone, no antenna, fit to car kit full bars on phone.

Ray

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Follow Up By: KenD - Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 23:55

Thursday, Dec 22, 2005 at 23:55

Hi Ray
The Nokia web page states "External antenna connection is not supported by current Nokia CDMA products."

Tony at Telstat said that while you can attach an external antenna the interface between the antenna and the car kit is not designed for CDMA. It only provides an inefficient connection which is only as effective as the antenna supplied with the car kit. It is unlikely that this will provide reception through the complete CDMA coverage map. It's like trying to attach a big hose to a small hose without a connector. Some water will get through but a lot is lost.

The kit supplied with my phone is the Nokia Advanced Car Kit CK-7W with a Nokia antenna coupler and mobile holder. What did you get via eBay?

Ken

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Reply By: Member - David (WA) - Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 00:04

Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 00:04

KenD,
I was interested to read your comments about the 6225.

I have one, with a genuine Nokia car kit, connected to an external antenna.

The cradle the phone sits in has a re-radiating antenna built into the top of back. While the phone itself does not connect to the external antenna the cradle does. When the phone sits in the cradle the phone antenna is located in front of the re-radiating antenna, thus receiving a boosted signal from the antenna on the bull bar.

Have a look at the cradle and if it looks like the 2 phones I have yours should work. I have never loaded photos so I will email then to you if you can give me your address.

My reception is similar to Raymonds comments, low out of the cradle, nearly full strength in it.

I am extremely happy with my phone and reception using an external antenna.

David

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Follow Up By: Member - David (WA) - Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 00:18

Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 00:18

Ken, I have posted the two photos in my profile which I hope will be of assistance.

David

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Follow Up By: KenD - Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 00:39

Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 00:39

Thanks David
I'm very interested in your comments. My car kit is the genuine Nokia and works the same way as you describe. It sounds that even if the connection through the non CDMA antenna coupler is not perfect, it is better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick.
I guess the question is how much reception one gets on the margins of the CDMA coverage areas. A full bottle antenna and a supported connection would maximise it. I suggest it's deception if Telstra, the CDMA king, sells this package without pointing out the limitation acknowledged by Nokia (although as a bottom of the page Please note:).
But I'm pleased that you are pleased David and it provides me with some reassurance to go ahead and fit the car kit.
KenD

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Follow Up By: KenD - Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 00:41

Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 00:41

David
Thanks for the pics. Yep, mine looks the same.
Ken

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Reply By: Member - Captain (WA) - Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 00:57

Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 00:57

Hi Ken,

I too have a Nokia 6225 with genuine car kit and external antenae. While the antenae uses a re-radiating connection, its performance exceeds my initial reservations.

A mate with an older CDMA Nokia with car kit and proper antenae connection had a good 20 kms less range when we were travelling together some 100kms south west from Coolgardie. We were both suprised at the difference in range, especially when we were both expecting his "proper" connection to outperform my re-radiating connection. Also, my previous Kyrocera CDMA phone with car kit only had similair range to the 6225.

Am suprised that Nokia now don't advertise the 6225 as external antenae capable, they used to do on their website over a year ago.

Cheers

Captain

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Reply By: Member - Raymond - Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 07:55

Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 07:55

Hi Ken

We often bush camp and so are at the fringe of the CDMA coverage. I also have a 6 metre mast and a high gain antenna. When others had no reception we often had 3-4 bars.

The one on the car is a through the glass antenna, the one for the mast is a ground plane independant 9db gain. Interesting in the USA you can get 60DB gain beams and amplifiers for CDMA phones, but Telstra has banned there use here.

One thing I learnt was that Telstra has very little idea about how the CDMA works, or even which phones do what. When buying the phone they said we could not get a car kit, after buying of ebay went back in and showed them, they looked up Nokia's website and said they had not been told they were available.

Ray

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Reply By: Ray Bates - Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 10:42

Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 10:42

Hi I have a Nokia 2280. That does not have provision for an external anttena but Telstra wanted to sell me a patch cable that had velcro on it that sticks to the back of the phone. I did not buy it as I did not trust it. I am not in the market for a full car kit. Would anyone think that this velcro system would work?????
I do think that Nokia have lost the plot in what is required in this country by not making facilities for external aerials. I may revert back to my old 3810

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Reply By: AndrewW - Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 12:05

Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 12:05

Hi,

I have this phone and car kit too. I bought the extra geniune Nokia phone holder for it the car too.

I haven't hooked it all up yet, but will do soon. The 6225 needs an antenna patch lead, and uses a re-radiating antenna connection. You will need to buy the coupler AXF-15S which will then connect to a normal CDMA external aerial. This sits behind the genuine holder (MBC-15S) and will work with your phone without removing it from the holder. This stuff is available from ebay quite cheaply.

There is some info about all this on the Overlander Forum too. I haven't setup mine yet, but this is what I am planning to do.

Nokia say you can't do it and that its not supported, but people have done it and found that it works better than without the external aerial. I believe the re-radiating antenna uses different frequencies that work best with GSM phones, but do assist the CDMA phones enough to be worth while.

Good luck.

Andrew

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Reply By: yota - Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 19:33

Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 19:33

Do you all know that the cdma network is getting cut off within the next two years.

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Reply By: Utemad - Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 20:08

Friday, Dec 23, 2005 at 20:08

I have the Nokia 3200 GSM and the Nokia car kit with the reradiating antenna thing you are discussing. I want to change to CDMA so I thought the 6225 would be ideal as it fits the kit I already have. I looked up the Telstra website and it said no external antenna connection available. However after someone mentioned on here that it would work with an external antenna I thought I would look into it. So when I was in Gadstone (thought they would know more about CDMA than a Brissie store) I went to a Telstra shop and asked them. They said that although Nokia says that the 6225 won't work with the external antenna that they have done their own tests and that it does work.

However as for not getting reception all over the coverage map. My Dad has a 6385 with a car kit and an external antenna (a big sucker) and he doesn't get any reception at his house at all which is well within the "car kit needed" range. So those maps too reliable anyway.

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Reply By: geocacher (djcache) - Saturday, Dec 24, 2005 at 13:55

Saturday, Dec 24, 2005 at 13:55

Can't for the life of me work out why anyone would buy CDMA now.

It has been widely publicised and criticised in rural Victoria that the network will be turned off - I think in 2008.

Article

Only one of many links to articles and pi$$ed off forumites you will find if you google "telstra cdma shut down".

Which makes buying one of their broadband plug in cards (expensive too) for the laptop which relies on the CDMA network pretty pointless too.

Dave

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Follow Up By: KenD - Saturday, Dec 24, 2005 at 20:26

Saturday, Dec 24, 2005 at 20:26

Well Dave, for the life of me I probably would not have bought a new CDMA phone if Solly's announcment had preceded the purchase. Instead it came a day or two after--how's that for timing.
Anyway it only cost me a 24 month contract and the phone is certainly more user friendly than the old one. The car kit was chucked in.

Still, one can't help but feel a bit cynical. Would Telstra try and dump as much CDMA product as they could before making their announcement about the forthcoming demise of the network?

YOU BETCHA!!!!!

Do Solly and his henchpersons give a big fat rats clacker?

NUP!!!!

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Follow Up By: geocacher (djcache) - Saturday, Dec 24, 2005 at 20:56

Saturday, Dec 24, 2005 at 20:56

I reckon you are onto something there. I don't follow the ads so I hadn't really paid much attention to the deals and stuff.

Given the the 3G stuff they are going to replace it with supposedly has about a third of the range I'd say the users in the bush are screwed big time cos I can't see them putting in another 8 towers for every 1000 square km (or what ever the figures are).

Pain in the ar$e for us fourbiers too cos the CDMA network is the low cost bit of Globalstar I think and therefore all those with those phones as a Satphone alternative are buggered. Can't see the call costs staying down now.

I hope the Telstra Board, Johnny & Pete (never to be PM) Costalot all go straight on Santa's naughty list.

Dave

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