Best cell phone service provider?

[Chuck Dye]

Please, from a former cellular provider customer service call taker, regardless of which company you have or switch to

READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS!


One of the most common answers I provided was some form of "That is precisely what you purchased when you signed the contract.  I can offer these changes at these prices."

If there is any possibility of coverage issues, get a phone from the prospective provider, preferably the model you will buy, and test the ground yourself.  It should be a deal killer if the vendor will not cooperate. 

[Tallpine]

The nice thing about this is that you can build it all (except for any cable you need) with "stuff".  The antennas can be made with something as simple as broomstick for the beam and welding rods for the elements.  I built a 3 element yagi for 144mhz using 1/8" rod from the hobby shop and PVC for the beam.  I soldered the coax directly to the driven element.  It worked quite well.

Maybe you could.    Since I'm not a "radio nut" then I doubt that I could, without first learning all about this stuff. 

First step of course, would be to get a cellphone that actually works on top of the hill.  If it doesn't work there then no antenna is going to make it work at the house.

Lots of folks in the general neighborhood have and use cellphones, but we seem to be in a dead spot.

[Brad Johnson]

Actually, building a YAGI is easier than you think.  If you know is the frequency all you have to do is download any of a number of simple antenna plans on the net.  You could probably cobble one together in twenty or thirty minutes, even without knowing exactly why it does what it does.  No biggie.

Brad

[Bogie]

1) What is a yagi?
 
2) How does it plug into the phone? They're all different...
 
(I've got a Verizon LG9800 keyboard phone, and I love it - my girlfriend's deaf, and we do a LOT of text back and forth)
 

[grislyatoms]

1) What is a yagi?

It's how Scooby Doo says "Shaggy".

It's an antenna.

[Brad Johnson]

1) What is a yagi?
 
2) How does it plug into the phone? They're all different...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yagi_antenna

A very directional antenna.  Think old-style TV antenna, but in reverse.  In fact, it's pretty easy to modify some TV antennas for low-power transmission.  And they work darn well, especially for the price.

It won't plug into the phone, unfortunately.  You have to be able to link directly to the phones transmitter for that.  You might be able to rig up some kind of passive feed that goes around the phone.  By passive I mean that it simply picks up the signal and re-radiates it through the larger, more directional antenna.  You will lose overall signal, but the directional nature compensates for that by concentrating the signal into a smaller, more precise beam.

1) What is a yagi?

It's how Scooby Doo says "Shaggy".

A bit bored at the office today, are we? 

Brad

[Tallpine]

In fact, it's pretty easy to modify some TV antennas for low-power transmission.

Too bad I trashed and threw away the old TV aerial that was on the roof when we bought the house

I have an old TV dish lying around - what could I do with that ...?

[mtnbkr]

In fact, it's pretty easy to modify some TV antennas for low-power transmission.

Too bad I trashed and threw away the old TV aerial that was on the roof when we bought the house
I have an old TV dish lying around - what could I do with that ...?

A TV antenna (VHF/UHF) is too big for cellular frequencies.  They operate from 40mhz to 400mhz (+/- a few mhz).  The driven element for 144mhz is 3.2' for a halfwave element.  The driven element of a yagi for cellular reception would be measured in inches, especially if you were on one of the digital systems.   I'm running the numbers off the top of my head, so don't yell if I'm off.

As for the dish, I *think* they're only good for 2.4ghz and higher.  Lots of hams make use of them.  I've seen the plans for antennas using them and they're pretty straightforward.  However, my interest is in the lower bands, so I haven't done anything with the spare dish I have at home.

As for attaching a yagi to a cellphone, it should be pretty straightforward if your phone has a port for an external antenna, you can get the appropriate connector, and connect it to coax that's connected to your antenna.  That said, you'd look pretty funny with your tiny flipphone and an antenna connected via a couple feet of cable.

Chris

[grislyatoms]

A bit bored at the office today, are we? 

Brad


I am now. This morning was a bit of a flustercluck.

[Thor]

wavelength (meters)= 300/ Freq (MHz)  That'll give you the dimensions of the elements.

[mtnbkr]

wavelength (meters)= 300/ Freq (MHz)  That'll give you the dimensions of the elements.

Actually, to get the halfwave dimensions (feet) of the driven element, use 468/freq.

Example: 468/900mhz=.52'.  If you were to make a yagi for 900mhz, the driven element would be half a foot long.  There's another formula to determine the length of the reflector (longer) and director(s) (shorter).  BTW, you can use the same 468/freq to get the length of any driven element that is a half wavelength (dipole for example).

Chris

[Silver Bullet]

Dont overlook pay-as-you-go prepaid card services, such as Tracfone and Net10.  No account and no bills.  You buy a card (at the store or online), call up (or go online) and extend your talk minutes and monthly service.  You can do this anonymously if you dont pay with a credit card.

For example, you can buy 150 minutes of talk time and 30 days of service for only $15.00.  In another words, if you limit your talk time to less than 150 minutes a month on average, youre only paying $15.00 per month (plus the initial cost of the phone).  You can buy larger time/service increments.

Ive seen the phones (Tracfone) for as low as $20.00 for a Nokia 1100 in the grocery store.

[Brad Johnson]

Dont overlook pay-as-you-go prepaid card services,

That's was Sprint's claim to fame.  Remember when they called themselves Sprint PCS?

Prepaid Cellular Service

Brad