1775 wrote: I have no experience with this unit, but if you have a weak signal, then a boost will work to increase that signal for you. If you have no signal, there is nothing to boost. The booster has to have a signal to boost.
true. But just because your phone won't connect and shows no bars doesn't mean a booster won't work. I have several wilson amps in vehicles and trailers and we go some places where we loose a signal from the phone 10-15 miles before the campground and when I hook up to my wilson 3W amp with external antenna we immediately get 2-3 bars, enough for very good phone service.
It all has to do with the way the phone/tower interact. The base station (tower) can vary the transmit power to your phone over a wide range once it gets a signal from your phone. So once the cell phone amp transmits with enough power to get a signal to the base station, the base station will then increase it's output power on your channel (phone) to connect, up to it's max power output for your channel.
Having designed cell phone base station emulators, suffice it to say that in the vast majority of cases if you can get a signal from the phone to the base station, the base station will have more than enough power to make a decent connection. In general, the phone output power is the limitation, not the base station transmit power.
FCC has a limit on the max output power from the phone of about 3W IIRC and a limit on the allowable antenna gain as well. If you stay within the limits, if you can get a signal to the base station, you'll be ok. Wilson does have amps at the max power level and antennas with the max allowable gain. If needed you can even go with a highly directional antenna (yagi) for better reception.
2011 Keystone Outback 295RE
2004 14' bikehauler with full living quarters
2004.5 Silverado 4x4 CC/SB Duramax/Allison
I bought one of those to install in my 2012 Sunstar 30T. It doesn't work in the RV. I tried to position it in various locations inside and the antenna in various locations outside. In order for the cell phones to work they had to be within 2 ft of the unit.
The key point about the Wilson Mobile Pro, as it is bought, is the fact that the magnetic mini-mount antenna is designed to work on a metal surface. It needs the metal surface to establish a ground plane; without it, the antenna is nearly worthless. I'd expect to work on a vehicle where the magnetic antenna was put on a ground plane. On your RV, when you were experimenting with locations to put the antenna, was it on metal surfaces with a 'rough' diameter of 6 inches or so? If not, that might explain why it didn't work so well.
I plan to try the Wilson RV/Trucker antenna paired with the Wilson Mobile Pro (I picked up used) in my Travel Trailer in the next month. I plan to try it mounted on my tow vehicle as well, for use while traveling. This antenna creates it's own ground plane, so it's not required to have a metal surface to mount on.
The guys at Wilson are very responsive and helpful when I've emailed them questions. The guys at WPSANTENNAS are really helpful too. They highly recommend the Wilson Sleek, so I'm looking forward to the 4G model when that comes out as another option to move to. They said the Sleek actually can outperform the wireless based Mobile Pro because when the Mobile Pro rebroadcasting/repeats the cell signal...it actually hurts it's reception slightly. The drawback with the Sleek is the phone needs to remain the booster cradle, whereas in the Mobile Pro, you just have to be within a few feet of the phone.
-lp
2006 F250 King Ranch, Crew Cab, 6.0l, 3.73, Equal-I-Zer
2010 Outback Sydney Edition 290RLS
1997 Ford Expedition XLT, 5.4l, 3.73 ls, Equal-I-Zer
2001 KZ Coyote 23CMS
I bought one of those to install in my 2012 Sunstar 30T. It doesn't work in the RV. I tried to position it in various locations inside and the antenna in various locations outside. In order for the cell phones to work they had to be within 2 ft of the unit.
The key point about the Wilson Mobile Pro, as it is bought, is the fact that the magnetic mini-mount antenna is designed to work on a metal surface. It needs the metal surface to establish a ground plane; without it, the antenna is nearly worthless. I'd expect to work on a vehicle where the magnetic antenna was put on a ground plane. On your RV, when you were experimenting with locations to put the antenna, was it on metal surfaces with a 'rough' diameter of 6 inches or so? If not, that might explain why it didn't work so well.
I plan to try the Wilson RV/Trucker antenna paired with the Wilson Mobile Pro (I picked up used) in my Travel Trailer in the next month. I plan to try it mounted on my tow vehicle as well, for use while traveling. This antenna creates it's own ground plane, so it's not required to have a metal surface to mount on.
The guys at Wilson are very responsive and helpful when I've emailed them questions. The guys at WPSANTENNAS are really helpful too. They highly recommend the Wilson Sleek, so I'm looking forward to the 4G model when that comes out as another option to move to. They said the Sleek actually can outperform the wireless based Mobile Pro because when the Mobile Pro rebroadcasting/repeats the cell signal...it actually hurts it's reception slightly. The drawback with the Sleek is the phone needs to remain the booster cradle, whereas in the Mobile Pro, you just have to be within a few feet of the phone.
mini mag mount antenna works real well with the wilson suction cup mount that includes a ground plane in the bracket.
In fact, I'm in a campground today where everyone I talked to says they can't get a cell signal. I'm using the wilson sleek with the mini mag mount & suction cup bracket/ground plane. Have 4 bars with verizon and great 3G reception for phone and the phones hot spot.
also, wilson does sell a ground plane for use with magnet mount antennas when you don't have a metal ground plane. It is about a 5" steel circle with velcro patch to stick it down with. I have one on the roof of my RV but haven't used it yet.
In terms of sleek vs. mobile pro I have both. IMHO the mobile pro is slightly better IF you attach a wilson patch antenna or cradle antenna to the port on the back of the mobile pro and set your phone on the patch antenna. Interestingly, no mention is made of this port in the manual, but when I called wilson and asked if it was an external antenna port for the phone they said yes. Tried it and yup it does work. Otherwise, you need to be within a few feet of the mobile pro. In very weak signal areas, you may need to place the phone on top of the mobile pro.
But in general, the sleek is more convienent, but does require the use of a cradle while the mobile pro doesn't but can be hooked to a cradle antenna and plugged into the back of the mobile pro as well.
Just a short note on antennas and amplifiers... Verizon uses two frequencies, 800 mhz and 1900 mhz, for both cell service and their 3G internet service. AT&T uses a different frequency band. So, when you are purchasing antennas and amplifiers you must order them according to what service you use. Personally, our family uses Verizon.
Now, to throw a monkey wrench into the mix, Verizon's 4G LTE service uses an entirely different frequency, 700 mhz. I do not know what AT&T's 4G service uses.
So, to get a complete "signal amplification system" you need to buy an antenna and amplifier that work with your particular provider, and handle all the frequencies of that provider. As of this date, I can only find antennas that operate on all of Verizon's frequencies. The tri-band amplifiers are under development and should be available sometime this year according to Wilson's web site. The 3G Store has tri band antennas.
With my fairly recent acquistion of a MiFi device, I ended up giving away my old antenna and amplifier to a friend that is quite happy staying with 3G service. A tri-band antenna is on order and I'm waiting for an amplifier to be released.
Wayne Lee
Out West Somewhere
2007 36' Class A HR Endeavor | 2006 Hummer H3 Dinghy | Millenicom 4G MiFi
I use this particular model in my motorhome. The only way this small one watt unit will help is if you put it right beside the phone or aircard or MIfi unit. When I say right beside, I mean almost touching it. We bought this unit to help with internet, as most SP are usually way out in the boonies and usually down in a valley next to a lake. The more permanent booster which cost more like 3 to 4 hundred dollars would be much better. It is 3 times more powerful sending and receiving and has an antenna inside and outside. To anwswer you question about this exact booster, yes it will help in most cases but only if you have it right beside your phone ( within and inch or two).
WayneLee wrote: Just a short note on antennas and amplifiers... Verizon uses two frequencies, 800 mhz and 1900 mhz, for both cell service and their 3G internet service. AT&T uses a different frequency band. So, when you are purchasing antennas and amplifiers you must order them according to what service you use. Personally, our family uses Verizon.
Now, to throw a monkey wrench into the mix, Verizon's 4G LTE service uses an entirely different frequency, 700 mhz. I do not know what AT&T's 4G service uses.
So, to get a complete "signal amplification system" you need to buy an antenna and amplifier that work with your particular provider, and handle all the frequencies of that provider. As of this date, I can only find antennas that operate on all of Verizon's frequencies. The tri-band amplifiers are under development and should be available sometime this year according to Wilson's web site. The 3G Store has tri band antennas.
With my fairly recent acquistion of a MiFi device, I ended up giving away my old antenna and amplifier to a friend that is quite happy staying with 3G service. A tri-band antenna is on order and I'm waiting for an amplifier to be released.
Most/all the wilson amp/antennas cover the ATT and Verizon 3g and voice bands (800/1700 MHz or so). But as you point out the don't cover the 4g band yet. They do have a unit announced but not shipping that will cover 4G. IIRC nextel did or does use an odball frequency range and needs a specific amp.
We have the sleek and mobile pro boosters along with a 3W amp. All work fine with our Verizon and our son's ATT phones.
But, so far 4G is only in major metro areas, so more than likely if your out of metro areas (out camping) your not likely to be within 4G coverage areas anyway even with a booster. Maybe in a few years 4G coverage will be wider. Would be nice, once your hooked on 4G, 3G does seem slow. But 3G is plenty fast for non video internet etcc.
I have the Wilson MobilePro, and it worked for me last summer while camping in a remote area of the central Sierra Nevada. I found that the phone did need at least 1 bar phone signal strength without booster for the MobilePro to work best. With the MobilePro turned on, I would get 2-4 bars. For email, I tethered my iPhone to my laptop, went and parked at the dam where I could get the best signal.
Good luck with whatever choice in signal booster you make.
'07 Chevy 2500HD Silverado "Classic" CC D/A 4x4
'07 Komfort Trailblazer T252FS fifth wheel
Reese Signature 18K Slider and other stuff.....some useful.....some not
For those of you that like the Wilson Sleek, here is their web page announcing the new Sleek's that will support 2G, 3G and 4G cell service and internet service Wilson Web Page. The Sleek 4G-V for Verizon and the Sleek 4G-A for AT&T - "Coming Soon"
I have the wilson trucker antenna with ground plane. The antenna is mounted to a modified paint roller handle which is in turn screwed onto an extendable aluminum drywall pole. Zip-tied a 2' length of pvc to the spare tire carrier with the bottom of the pvc setting on the top of the bumper.
The Pole slips into the pvc and the cable is routed through the dinette window where it is hooked to a Sleek. We put one of our droids into the sleek and use mobile hot spot to access internet from out two laptops.
I used this temporary mounting set-up to see if it would really help boost the signal at the most visited campgrounds, and so far it has not failed to boost the signal to a usable level. Our most frequented campground shows no bars on the phone and making a call is impossible, though sometimes we can get a text to go through. Put the phone in the sleek and the phones have a steady two bars, and sometimes three bars at night.
Offline
