Nextg phones with external antennas

Submitted: Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 19:08
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Hi All,
At the moment I am using a Kyocera 2235 CDMA phone with a "patch lead" which connects the phone to my RFI external antenna. I am very happy with the setup and get great range with it but now that the Nextg phones have been around for a while I am just wondering how people are finding the performance with external antennas? I emailed Telstra asking them advice on which phones will take a patch lead/external antenna and of course they couldn't answer, instead giving me the phone numbers of all there phone suppliers so I can ask them. My cousin has a Samsung 701 which he reckons is good but it doesn't look to have an external antenna plug. Another mate has an LG which looks to have an external plug but seems to divert to messagebank alot without the phone ringing and also has frequent dropouts.

Any advice from people using Nextg + external antennas would be much appreciated,
Peter
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Reply By: Member - AVA 191 (QLD) - Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 20:09

Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 20:09
I've just replaced my CDMA with an A701 and have made some enquiries through the office about incar setup and external aerial (as per my existing one). I have a link on the work computer for the people who are looking into it for me. I'll put it up tomorrow if you like. Their initial estimate however is $600 or so fitted.

I had not had many calls on the CDMA car kit for a while and wasn't going to worry about it - but the 1st time I hopped in the car with the A701, I had 5 calls in less than 1/2 an hour. So, with the extended range and the battery recharge as-u-go, I figure it will be money well spent.

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Follow Up By: Oznuggets - Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 22:31

Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 22:31
Thanks for the info, I wont spend that much on a car kit though which is probably why I only ever got the patch lead for my Kyocera as CDMA car kits were pricey too. I'll either go for the A701 or the LG with patch lead, thanks again,
Peter
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Reply By: Member - Duncs - Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 20:15

Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 20:15
I have the LG. Or I will have when it comes back from repair. It seems OK and has a plug for and external antenna. The reason it is in for repair is that it was dialling numbers on its own. The guy at the Telstra shop thought it was a software problem and said they are improving the software all the time. I think he was guessing but there may be some truth to what he said.

I got mine for free with a car kit (car kit was $40 )on a $40/month plan when I moved over from CDMA. I used my exisiting CDMA antenna and it works well.

I live in an area that is pretty difficult for coverage, my wifes GSM only has coverage in certain parts of the house and drops out just a couple of doors down the street. My LG works OK all around the area. I did not have any dropouts but did have quite a few calls divert to messagebank. I wonder if this is a Telstra trick to get more money out of me, but I don't have anything else to compare it to. Never had a drop out on Optus CDMA in 4 years.

Duncs
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Follow Up By: Lachie - Monday, May 14, 2007 at 10:09

Monday, May 14, 2007 at 10:09
Interesting to see that your LG had to be repaired. I had an LG CDMA phone and had nothing but trouble for the two years I had it.

The optus shop told they are the phone that give them the biggest trouble.

Telstra agreed but reckon the new LG nextg phone will give you no troubles ????

I was pleasantly surprised how much better my sumsung nextg phone reception was compared to my cdma phone on the farm when I got it home in December.
Testra said it would only get better in January but instead I can hardly even get a single bar now.

Telstra country wide are looking into ????
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Reply By: Graham & Ann - Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 20:30

Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 20:30
Hi Peter,

We now have the Next G LG TU500 phones, they take external aerial via patch lead or the car kit. So far in the areas we've travelled we've found the nextg service better coverage than cdma, and much much better clarity.

A few months ago we swapped over our cdma Kyocera 3425 that I used a patch lead with (and the wifes gsm Nokia 3810) over free to NextG ... both phones are now LG TU 500 and came with 1 free car kit & 1 free blue tooth hands free... ( I think that deals gone but car kit still availavble on special for $49) car kit fitted easily in the car and works fine with the old cdma aerial (I did part of the fitting rest cost me $75 at Tekace in Mildura) we also got a patch lead to suit the phones as the van also has external aerial fitted and used for the NextG BigPond USB modem we have for our laptop. Both phones are on the $45 untimed call plans that were about a little while ago, so we can phone most fixed line/telstra mobiles and talk for as long as we like for .25c a pop for as long as we like.

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Follow Up By: Oznuggets - Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 22:57

Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 22:57
Thanks all for the good info,
Peter
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Follow Up By: Member - Mike (SA) - Monday, May 14, 2007 at 08:22

Monday, May 14, 2007 at 08:22
Peter,

I have the same experience as Graham and Ann and I live in rural SA. I am still using my analog aerial! Worked well CDMA and now probaly better with Next G.

regards

Mike
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Follow Up By: Willem - Monday, May 14, 2007 at 08:37

Monday, May 14, 2007 at 08:37
The other day I was out in the Flinders standing next to a person who was using the old CDMA in an area where a signal was detectable. She had a signal and my F850 Next G, nothing. I take all these CDMA phones with a pinch of salt and use my Satphone if I need to ring someone.

Cheers
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Follow Up By: Oznuggets - Monday, May 14, 2007 at 08:50

Monday, May 14, 2007 at 08:50
Thanks Mike, I take it that you are using the LG tu500, are you using a car kit or patch lead with it? cheers,
Peter

Willem, You are right not to rely on them if you really need to talk to someone. Makes me chuckle a bit at how some people let the mobile phone rule there life, I wonder what they did back in "the good old days"!
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Follow Up By: Member - Mike (SA) - Monday, May 14, 2007 at 12:54

Monday, May 14, 2007 at 12:54
Yes I do and I got the car kit for free when switching over. Easy to install as it used all the "old" wiring. Slightly OTT I also use a Next G card in my lap top as required. That too is a lot better than CDMA used to be - full broadband.
I carry Sat phone mainly to receive text messages from the family when solo in the bush.
Mike
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Reply By: Member - Doug T (W.A) - Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 20:36

Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 20:36
Peter
I had a Kyocera CDMA too with an external Antenna so let me try and explain some logic to you,
I now have a Samsung 701 , no external Antenna and now I dont see the reason for one, think about it.........an external will only give you a few extra Ks out of a Country town, how long does it take to do those extra Ks 20klm is about 12 minutes, in my opinion 12 minutes is not worth stuffin around with and if someone does call and your out of range they will leave a message , NextG is getting better by the month anyhow , and as for a hands free kit the GPS Bluetooth does a fine job via the 2nd FM Radio
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Follow Up By: Olcoolone (SA) - Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 22:16

Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 22:16
An external antenna give you a lot more range and less drop outs in hilly or fringe areas.

Think about it you are using you phone in a vehicle made of steel with the phone attatched to your ear in a not so vertical position.......very poor radiationg qualitys.

If we had not to worry about external antennas then we would be using UHF handhelds not uhf vehicle mounted radios with external antennas.

Is your life only worth the price of and external antenna?
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Follow Up By: Oznuggets - Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 22:44

Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 22:44
Thanks Doug, I have found that the external antenna on the CDMA did make a fair sort of difference though in some areas and not very much in others. I've managed to get up to 80km (as the crow flies) from Meeka with the CDMA + antenna on a ridge and no hope of getting reception anywhere within cooee of that without the antenna. I just thought seeing as though I have the antenna on the bullbar I probably should be utilising it, even if it doesn't get the range of my CDMA (which is excellent!) what choice is there when it's getting switched off :(
Peter
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Follow Up By: Member - Doug T (W.A) - Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 22:50

Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 22:50
Oznuggets
I am heading up to near Newman tomorrow , will try mine and see how far from Meeka I get service , I still don't see the need for an Antenna, besides I'm forking out more bloody dollars for a hands free kit just to have an Ext' Ant' when I got a damn good set up now , some blokes are amazed just how good it is , as the Truckie who went and got a Nuvi as soon as he got home from a trip , I guess he has shelved the Navman or passed it over to his Mrs
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Follow Up By: Oznuggets - Monday, May 14, 2007 at 00:01

Monday, May 14, 2007 at 00:01
That would be good to see how far it gets Doug, also if you go through Tuckanarra (Nth of Cue) see if you get a signal there, cheers!
Peter
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Follow Up By: Member - Duncs - Monday, May 14, 2007 at 11:01

Monday, May 14, 2007 at 11:01
I guess Doug the issue comes if you are working in a marginal area. I tend to agree with you though if you are travelling at 100km/h and only lose coverage for a few min why would you bother?

A few years ago I was north of Broken Hill moving about on properties to the west of the Silver City Highway. With my phone in the car kit connected to the antenna I had good signal. With the phone in my hand, not connected to the external antenna I had no signal. For me it was one day and I could certainly afford to have missed the few calls I got, but for the property owner who works there every day it would be well worth having the improved reception.

To all the others questioning coverage think on this. During the time I lived in Broken Hill and used CDMA I watched the signal improve steadily. Late last year I travelled from the Hill to Sydney and back via Dubbo. I had CDMA coverage all the way. The next weekend I travelled to Adelaide and back, coverage all the way. When I first moved to the Hill I lost coverage before I got to the SA border and about 30km east of the Hill on the way to Sydney.

I reckon NextG will only get better. Trouble is once it gets good enough to keep most of us happy most of the time..................they'll change to something else.

Duncs
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Reply By: Scrubcat - Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 21:21

Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 21:21
Peter,
The Samsung SGH-Z150 has a plug at the back for a patch lead that I use connected to an external 6db gain antenna. It is nowhere near as good as the Kyocera Active CDMA that I also can use with a patch lead to the same external 6db gain antenna.
Member Doug T in previous post suggests it`s only a matter of driving a few k`s to get reception. All due respect to Doug, but what if you happen to live in a country town and the only way to get a signal bar is with a patch lead and external highgain antenna . My Kyocera Cdma goes to 3>4 bars on ext. ant. The Samsung next G only goes to 1 maybe 2 bars from the same location. Without the p/lead and ant. all I get is a "no service" message from NEXT G but can use my CDMA without it.
Clear as mud ? sorry.
Cheers,
Scrubcat.

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Follow Up By: Oznuggets - Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 22:53

Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 22:53
Thanks Scrubcat, So much for new technology hey, who is kidding us all? I haven't heard of that model phone though is that a new model number?
Peter
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Reply By: Member - outback2 (WA) - Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 21:28

Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 21:28
We have a Samsung A701. I have had a lot of advice from Senior Telstra staff over signal strengths and drop outs...as we are in a "funny" area

In summary the A701 does not have the facilty of an external arial. The LG does. Telstra techo's tell me that in their tests the LG has superiour signal pick up over the A701 in marginal areas.

I have other people on the property here and one of them has the LG. We have repeatedly held both phones -- my A710 and his LG side by side and compared the displayed signal...the result is inconsistent maybe over all the LG might on average have a half a bar more signal strength...not enough to worry about I reckon so am keeping the A701

Doug ( I think it was) made a sensible comment about cost vs the distance travelled in car befor external arials have a benefit...If an external really is essential then you can get bluetooth kits that will connect any mobile that doesnt have an external arial jack...personally I wouldnt bother

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Follow Up By: Olcoolone (SA) - Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 22:20

Sunday, May 13, 2007 at 22:20
" ...If an external really is essential then you can get bluetooth kits that will connect any mobile that doesnt have an external arial jack...personally I wouldnt bother "

Bluetooth does not have anything to do with external antenna and NO Bluetooth kits have antennas, nor transmitting facilities built in.

Regards Richard
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Follow Up By: Member - outback2 (WA) - Monday, May 14, 2007 at 00:01

Monday, May 14, 2007 at 00:01
Thanks Richard

Your correct...My wording could have been better...I knew what I was trying to say but on reflection it didnt read quite right

....what I was attempting to write was that you can get a hands free car kit with the external arial connected to a base station in the car...that base station connects via bluetooth to your phone

Regards

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Reply By: Member - Warren R- Karratha WA - Monday, May 14, 2007 at 14:27

Monday, May 14, 2007 at 14:27
G'day All. I've got an A701 which has just started giving me intermittant problems. Spoke to the local Telstra shop who had another one in the same day wit hthe same fault. When you turn the phone on & enter the code, the opening page and scroll bar just keeps repeating without logging in. Has anyone else experienced this. Regarding signal strength, we were camped on the beach near Dampier on the weekend and had to walk up the hill to get a signal. The old CDMA was ok there.
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Reply By: Olcoolone (SA) - Monday, May 14, 2007 at 18:26

Monday, May 14, 2007 at 18:26
soooooo what did come first the chicken or the egg!

Regards Richard
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Follow Up By: Member - Warren R- Karratha WA - Monday, May 14, 2007 at 18:58

Monday, May 14, 2007 at 18:58
The rooster
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