Next G phones and external antennas

I need one myself
http://store.comnet.com.au/cat/2000942.html

Cruiser,

In my experience, your best antenna is one that is tuned for NextG/CDMA frequencies.
This antenna is also suitable for GSM phones as its frequency is not that much different.

The reality is, an external antenna will extend the range somewhat, but in some areas you will just not be in range of a tower.

The location of an antenna is not that much different than that required for a UHF transceiver.
The best place is on the roof line of your vehicle.
The second best choice is the rear left or right corner of the bonnet, providing the top of the antenna is above the vehicle's roof line.

Mounting one on the bull bar, you would need a fairly long antenna and this gives a distinct disadvantage of practicality IMO.

The antenna I have is a Laser brand ground independent collinear antenna with a frequency range 825-890MHz and a gain of 7dBi, mounted on the roof line of the Jack. (Code 509)
I originally purchased this for CDMA phone usage, but as the frequency is the same as NextG, I haven't needed to change.

Around town it is fitted with a 5" stubby rubberised antenna which gives ample reception. Travelling in the country, I exchange the stubby antenna with an 800mm long fibreglass flexible antenna to extend the range somewhat.

Basically, an external antenna will extend the range in marginal locations, but will not give full coverage everywhere.

Much of Highway 1 is reasonably well covered by phone towers, especially along the southern and eastern coastlines, but I suspect there will be many other sections where no coverage at all will be found.

Wouldn't rely on "sound" advice from Dick Smith personnel as they are merely salespeople. The best place for sound advice is a Communications specialist who should also provide a competitive price and installation services if you can't do it yourself for any reason.

Bill.

I have a Samsung A411, and an external antenna definitely works a lot better.
Also check out Prestige Communications - they have a 6.5db which covers Next-G 850, GSM900/1800 and 3G 2.1GHz.
The roof is the best place for coverage, but bear in mind its vulnerability - I destroyed my last one from overhanging branches despite it having a spring base.
Gerry

6 Db Glass antenna on th bullbar, recommended by the area manager of Telstra when we were in the Pilbara!

We were in one of the "pale orange" reception areas (marginal) on the Telstra Website reception map.

It meant we could get good recpetion in that area - we for example had another such ariel on the roof of the house and could get 50 kilometers line of sight connection to the Wickham tower, and faster mobile net connections to the internet than via our sattelite connection.

We could get connection all the way from Balla Balla - Whim Creek along highway 1 into Roebourne, Pt Samson, Karratha Dampier etc

Amazingly good system IMHO

Cheers

There is another benefit in having a decent aerial connected to your phone - improved battery life. This is only relevant of course if you normally run the phone in the car using it's own battery.

Theory is that if the phone is getting a better signal (from the external antenna) then it doesn't have to transmit at maximum power as often to communicate with the cells as you move.

I have a Samsung A412 also and notice a significant increase in battery life on a country trip when I connect the external aerial.

Improvement may not be as noticable when you are travelling really 'outback'.

I had a 7Db CDMA aerial which I used for Next g mounted on a swivel mount on the roof gutter. I often forgot to put it upright and then I broke it off going under an arch. I felt it probably also added a lot of air resistance.

I have replaced it with a small 50MM 4db gain antenna which needs to be in the middle of the roof for best signal propogation to get the 4DB gain. However I think this will be better than the 7Db as the radiation pattern is also wider for hilly country. However you have to drill a 16MM hole in the roof.

If you mount an antenna on the bullbar it will have a very skewed radiation pattern towards the rear of the vehicle. They are the same as UHF CB in this sense. I found that if I was travelling away from the transmitter I could hear the caller but they could not hear my transmission, as my antenna was at the rear of the car.
So I reckon the 4Db on the roof is the better compromise ie on average it will perform as well as a 7Db on a bullbar .
http://www.citytechnology.com.au/microbeam/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=36
Regards Philip A

Look at the Telstra NextG coverage Maps and they will show you how much more coverage you get using an external antenna -

Cruiser, we use the same phone. We have an RFI CD 2195 Antenna on the bull bar. It is a 6.5db antenna and is available from many Telstra shops for around $100. It is an excellent antenna and gives vastly improved range.

You will also need a patch cord that plugs into the antenna cable with a small plug that matches the phone. Often available at Telstra shops, or available from a lot of places on the net. I think I paid about $15, including postage from a web based shop.

All works very well and we have had phone and internet access in some surprisingly remote spots with this set up.

Norm C

Cruiser,
I was with a mate on the Murrumbidgee near Mt Selwyn where he was getting reception to call home with his vehicle mount broomstick antenna.
I was so impressed that I brought the same set up from "Cellit" on eBay for $129 incl patch cable and Z mount bracket delivered to Canberra.
On a recent trip with my wife we were at Sawyers Hut in the Snowys with no reception on her stand alone mobile with Telstra and I had 2 bars of signal on my mounted telstra phone and made a call home with no probs.
I have no idea of its specs but it will do me.
BTW
I have the situation where I have a garage for my truck but in the past I have had to remove various antenna elements to get the car in to it.
The phone antenna brought the same problem back so I turned the Z bracket upside down and bolted it to the bull bar antenna mount and then but the antenna on the Z bracket which effectively lowered the antenna by about 100 mm which allowed it to fit under the roller door.

Our aerial mounted on bullbar ,MobileOne ,MaxiGSM , 3G/GSM-7db ,,
increases signal strength on average by 2 bars .IE: phone signal showing only 1 bar will jump to 3 bars when plug in aerial , ,, also use same for wireless broadband on laptop ,