Its time to move to Next G!!

traveller2
Your comments are interesting, they back up my comments of a few months back about the need for external antenna ,
The reallities are starting to show ,

Doug

Doug
Actually I've found that so far the Next G 6120 doesn't need an external antenna as much as the old CDMA Kyocera.
I've had better coverage with the Nokia velcroed to the windscreen than the CDMA with broomstick. Either the Nokia is a much better phone or the coverage is far better on Next G.
I've yet to take it 'outback' so we'll see what happens next year when I do.

Yeh But!, No But!, Yeh But!

I have and existing Nokia CK-7W Car Kit which I used to use with both GSM and CDMA phones. These were interchangeable in the cradle and used either direct connection via the cradle, or bluetooth connection. (but not at the same time)
The cradle connection always took preference. This worked very well and the CDMA reception was noticeably improved out in the sticks with the addition of the external aerial. The CDMA cradle connection was also via an inductive coupler and worked very well, regardless of the fact that Nokia did not "list" inductive coupling as a feature for the CDMA phone. "Electric Bug", the company that advised me on the practicality, had done their own testing and recommended the coupler (actually designed for GSM use) as being far superior to a "through the glass" type aerial connection when used on a dual mode antenna.

Well I have since upgraded both the GSM phone and changed over from CDMA to a Nokia 6120 NextG phone.

SO, it was an easy choice and cheap investment for me to replace the cradle to accept the 6120 which now provides external aerial connection via a inductive coupler built in to the cradle.

Now the only "negative" I have to comment on is that the cradle (built and released by Force Technology) is powered by a separate cable plugged into the cradle and ciggy socket, rather than via the CK-7W base unit, like the old one did. Apart from this I now have a readily available charging capability, external aerial connection and complete hands free operation, while the phone is in the cradle.

I have not had a chance to "road test" the external aerial reception "in the sticks" yet, but I have no doubt the already excellent reception obtained from the 6120's internal antenna will be further improved by the external aerial connection, even via the coupler which according to Force Technology is specifically designed for the 3G (NextG) frequency.

Where can one buy one of these cradles Sandman?

Picked mine up at my local Telstra Shop.

Force RC-CR6120 cradle with FME External Antenna connection.

$79.95

You will also need to buy a 12 volt power adapter with 2mm jack, unless you already have one.

It is perhaps relevant to mention that the RC-6120 cradle will work just as well as a "stand alone" phone holder

As the 6120 uses bluetooth to communicate with any "hands free" kit, it doesn't depend on the CK-7W kit being present.

I have read that some people have trouble with echo when using a 6120 with the CK-7W car kit but I cannot fault mine at all.

It is much, much superior to the bloody Supertooth II hands free kit I tried. The volume was "ordinary", the mic pickup "OK", but worst thing of all was you couldn't control it via the ignition switch. When you flip the microphone down it switches on, when you flick it up, it switches off. The problem is remembering to flick it up before you exit the vehicle, otherwise it may "take over" your phone when you are indoors and the Supertooth is still within range.

I gave it to my wife to use in her car and she has the same "problem".

The CK-7W is controlled by the ignition switch, disables the radio if you have this feature wired up, the speaker volume is exceptional and the remote microphone pickup unbeatable.

Best thing of all is the cost of the kit is not much more than one fine if you are caught using the phone while driving.

Oh, another thing with the 6120 is the automatic voice tag associated with each contact entry. You can't "train" it with your own voice, but the computer generated tag is automatically added to each entry and recognised almost every time, even though the computerised pronunciation may be somewhat unintelligible.