cdma phones/laptop again

Greg. I use QalcommQCP860 with car kit and an ex analogue aerial (from memory 6db). Personally think Car kit ius imperative. Nokia have now brought out their first CDMA phone, has an aerial socket so I assume can be used without car kit?
Suggest you look at their site.
Mike

G'day Greg,

I believe that some Nokia models support an external antenna - but dont quote me :)

I have a Hyundai phone and they dertainly do NOT - which is bloody annoying. the salesmen did not tell me that when I bought the phone, but were happy to tell me after when I went looking for an in car kit with external antenna.

Given that, the CDMA system outrates the GSM by far.

Winter last year we travelled extensively in the The Gulf area of FNQ with another couple, and our Telstra CDMA mobile always came back into range long before their Optus GSM model.

They used to get very annoyed by that fact , and were changing systems and providors when they got home.

Enjoy the bush

DennisN

I have a Kyocera 1135 which is a current model and available on the base plan which has an external aerial socket on it. An external aerial I find gives you in some cases three times the distance from a hand held.

What I am really really peeved at with Telstra the cost of mobile internet access has gone up from 5c a minute to 15c a minute - 200% increase and absolutely nothing was said about it at all.

I have a Hyundai 610e CDMA phone and had the same experience as Dennis. I was equally dark about it. Having previously had Nokia GSM phones, I didn't know that any phones (let alone CDMA ones, designed with the bush in mind) were sold without an external aerial socket. And no, the sales people (who knew nothing) didn't tell me either.

There is one (half) solution. On the back of my phone is an RF socket for testing the phone. You can plug an external antenna into it, although it is very fragile and if you damage the phone you may void the warranty. I ended up getting an external antenna ($18.75 for a magnetic antenna with a lead) and patch cable ($14.75), which I carry for use in an emergency. (Contact www.cellink.com.au if you are interested.)

Anyway, I wouldn't recommend the Hyundai phone for other reasons. Although it is small and light, and comes with two batteries, it is very badly designed - especially compared to Nokia. For example, it takes 8 button-presses to bring up a mate's number from the phone book!

Note that if getting an external antenna, choose one with the appropriate gain for your needs. Gain ranges from 0db to say 7db. High gain (say 7db) is not necessarily better - in flat terrain it will pick up a signal from further away, but will be less effective in hilly terrain. So it depends where you are going to use it. See http://www.benelec.com.au/pdf/Cellular_antennas.pdf for more info.

As for networks, I am with Orange - my plan is a flat rate 18c/30 secs, with a min of only $5/month (all of which is call charges - no access fee). Pretty good if you are not a heavy user. They have other plans for larger-volume users. The good thing about Orange is that they use Telstra CDMA network outside the major cities, so you also get the widest coverage.

I was talked into a WAP phone, but I have found no use for WAP. Consider whether you really need it.

You need to choose your CDMA phone and network carefully. Unlike GSM, there is no SIM card - your phone is tied to a particular network. You can't change networks without changing the phone, and to change the phone on the same network you need to get the new phone from that network.

I have a Hyundai cdma phone with a car kit and a Benelec 7db phone antenna (large black fibreglass one) I picked up from Kyle Communications in brisbane, it just plugs into the antenna lead out of the car kit- you have to crimp on the right connector-and the reception is brilliant!

I have an LG CDMA in car kit with a 6db antenna for CDMA, as well as an ericsson in car kit also with 6db antenna for GSM. It is a very rare occurance indeed that the CDMA has a signal that the ericsson does not. The Ericsson uses an excelent quality GME aerial.

In my line of work comms are incredibly important, for my money you can't go past ericsson for reception quality.

and don't rely on the phone shops, most employ 18-19 y.o. kids who have never been more than 100km from home. Do your research online and see if you can actually 'test drive' different phones for reception quality.

As much as i have never been a fan of nokia, their latest CDMA phone really is the ducks ..., I just got one for work and am, so far, very impressed, even with in building reception, which cdma is not fanous for.

I have an Erickson CDMA , I have heard that the G.U Patrol (I have one) have a socket on the radio antenna co-ax that you can plug a mobile phone lead into - thus using the radio antenna - has anyone heard this ? I haven't looked myself.

I have a Kyocera CDMA and it has lot's of nice accessories, including full car data kits and external antenna option. Best place to get the accessories is from Genuine Mobile Accessories - www.gmashop.com.au

I was on the internet (fixing an emergency) about 15 minutes out of Charters Towers (heading towards Emerald). I finished fixing the prob, and continued on my trip and lost coverage 5 minutes later.

Hi everyone,thanks for all your replies,we have bought a Kyocera 2235,and ordered all the gagets to go with it.Havn't ordered the antenna yet,will wait till I get the UHF radio..Once again thankyou
Regards Greg G