external phone antenna

Submitted: Wednesday, Aug 17, 2011 at 21:07
ThreadID: 88522 Views:2609 Replies:6 FollowUps:5
This Thread has been Archived
Do you need a special antenna to use with a next g phone?

I have had an antenna on the car for years that I used with a very old phone and was hoping to use it with my next g phone.

I already have the patch cable which attaches to it.

As I have only tried it at home I get all bars whether or not I use the antenna.
Back Expand Un-Read 0 Moderator

Reply By: Notso - Wednesday, Aug 17, 2011 at 21:12

Wednesday, Aug 17, 2011 at 21:12
Depends whether it was an antenna for the Digital network or the CDMA network I think.

You won't notice any difference in reception strength till you get into a marginal area.

Best to check with a tech re the compatibility .
AnswerID: 462836

Reply By: Member - hopbush - Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 05:49

Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 05:49
I have a next g antenna and it makes a difference of between 1 and 3 bars in fringe areas. Bought it at WoW Sight and Sound about 3 years ago. I also use my next g phone as the modem for a netbook computer, so can often send and receive emails, internet, etc from some quite remote places.
Tony
AnswerID: 462849

Reply By: Meggs - Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 08:31

Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 08:31
I built one of these and it is great but the catch is you need to know in which direction the tower is so you can fine tune it in very weak signals. I got phone reception which I also use a as modem where everyone else got nothing. One of the problems now is there are not many phones with external antenna connection I have a Samsung which is nearly three yrs old.

Yagi
AnswerID: 462852

Follow Up By: Member - hopbush - Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 08:56

Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 08:56
I agree Yagi, If you're in a borderline reception area and don't know where the tower is you can move the car around till the reception improves, particularly if the antenna is bullbar mounted. In a perfect world you would mount your antenna on the roof for optimum reception. I also have an old Samsung which is ideal for the job.
Tony
0
FollowupID: 736633

Follow Up By: Meggs - Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 10:03

Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 10:03
I'm not Yagi the Yagi is a link to home made Yagi antenna I should have been a bit more explicit
0
FollowupID: 736642

Reply By: P and JM - Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 10:48

Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 10:48
Hi,

Sometime ago I was told by a Telstra Tech that the 3G and Next G networks use the old analogue frequencies. If you have an old analogue antenna try it !

Cheers P&J
AnswerID: 462857

Follow Up By: bks - Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 10:52

Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 10:52
It was installed for a Nokia 5110 so you can imagine how old it is. However as that was gsm 2g I hope it works.

Because I cant check if it is working until I go to a fringe reception area I though I would make sure that I was not completely wasting my time.

Thanks for your feed back
0
FollowupID: 736644

Follow Up By: Zebra400 - Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 19:16

Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 19:16
I had an external antenna for my CDMA phone. When I went 3G, I didnt get very good signal strength in some remote areas. My new 3G antenna works a treat.

BTW, make sure you specify your carrier. There is a different antenna for the other networks, as they use different frequencies.

Laurie
0
FollowupID: 736697

Follow Up By: Zebra400 - Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 19:16

Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 19:16
I had an external antenna for my CDMA phone. When I went 3G, I didnt get very good signal strength in some remote areas. My new 3G antenna works a treat.

BTW, make sure you specify your carrier. There is a different antenna for the other networks, as they use different frequencies.

Laurie
0
FollowupID: 736698

Reply By: TerraFirma - Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 14:13

Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 14:13
Not sure on what antenna you have now, buying another one if needed isn't expensive, on Ebay from $10 up to $100 depending on the quality and the gain etc. I have a ZTE165 Telstra Phone as an emergency phone with external marine antenna on a boat and we have been able to get calls out in places that don't have normal reception.
AnswerID: 462863

Reply By: Sigmund - Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 19:57

Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 19:57
RF transmitter maps here:

http://spench.net/drupal/software/ozgeorfmap

In the bush, best use a T 'blue tick' phone regardless.
AnswerID: 462899

Sponsored Links