Do any FReepers have experience with cell phone extenders?

A most interesting post you made there!

Our closest tower is not in a direction I drive often, esp. since the lake I fish at near there, once ow twice a year, is on a Wildlife Management area that closes down access from, IIRC, Oct. 15 to Mar. 15, and it’s usually flooded most of the Spring, anyway. But, I may mosey over that way the next time I need to release a trapped raccoon or something, and take closer note as to whether they even have an element pointing our way. I would think they would, since the most major road for quite an area runs right past our house and then eventually right past that tower. But, I don’t know that for sure. I do know new elements went up with the addition of 5G, but 5G is so short range it makes no difference for us. Unless they put a tower on top of one of those silos. (Please don’t let it be the one most lined up with those TV stations I mentioned! I watch them mostly for weather and local news, but esp. the local weather coverage is pretty important to us!)

Thanks for the info.! Anyone know if Verizon has a tower problem site / link?

Hmmm. 2021. That problem may or may not have been resolved, in a general way, anyway. I’ll have to research further. I’ve not found recent reviews mentioning that specific type of problem — the big one seems to be devices still tied to a previous owner’s registration.

Best bet may to try the device immediately, and if problems can’t be quickly resolved, return it.

Thanks!

Cell towers are arrayed in three sectors (sides) each covering 120 degrees. That’s because a single vertical panel array is nothing but vertically stacked dipoles that naturally have 120 degree 3 dB beamwidth. One line vertically has that beamwidth, the vertical part narrows and focuses the beam to to fit the vertical coverage slant, etc. The three panels on each side are to cover the 6 or so channel bands used.

There used to be number codes you could enter on you phone that would let it display the signal strength of the tower you were pointed at. I supposed they’re still there.

If using a phone (no external Yagi), just hold the phone backside “flat” (perpendicular) to the tower location?

I wonder if the “bars” on the phone display are signal strength or signal quality.

You can get the best indication of how the antenna in your phone is oriented (directive) by typing those numbers I gave and see what the RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) number is (it’s the one usually with the >-100 dbm number.) They are usually intended to be mostly omnidirectional because there’s no telling what orientation it’s likely to be used in.

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