cell phone amplifier & add-on antenna

[Tom Trostel]

There was a recent thread about which cell phone network is best for poor reception areas and I thought I'd relate a personal experience about a different answer to this problem. Last fall my wife and I met my son and his fiancee at Big Bend National Park for a long weekend. We stayed at the Chisos Basin lodge and had no cell phone coverage. My son makes several trips a year to BB and was our guide. He had us drive over the ridge by the Lost Mine Trail, park the car, and attached a Wilson Electronics amplifier and antenna to one of our cell phones, and voila; we had coverage.

I don't know if the amplifier and antenna will work for everyone; but, it sure did for us.

Tom Trostel

[Nita F.]

Tom,

The amplifier probably helped with the signal and you were on the correct side of the Basin for a good chance for service. The small cell tower is located behind the Panther Junction headquarters.

It sure has been nice to have some cell service available while visiting Big Bend, instead of having to use expensive pay phones.

Nita

[BobB]

An amplifier sounds like a good thing. Probably would make a difference in some situations. We don't use an amplifier. Sometimes moving over 50-100 feet makes a successful call possible. Climbing a hill almost always works. We use cellular phones with analog and digital capability. If your owners manual says AMPS capability, that's analog. Phones with only digital (2G) capability aren't very effective in remote areas like ours (hilly with not many cell towers). BTW, we have Golden State Cellular (Verizon) and a Nokia 6015.

[Pete Dumbleton]

The amplifier usually has its own antenna, better than that of the cell phone, so it's a double-whammy for a better signal -- One can also improve basic cell phone reception by use of an external antenna if one exists for the particular phone model (see the Wilson Antenna Company's web site for specifics).

BTW, the expensive coin phones in BBNP are by special decree because of the distances that were involved to get the basic wired services out to the park in the first place -- That's why it even costs to call a 1-800 number.

[LindyW2]

I did the same thing using the Maximum Signal amplifier and it works both in the casita at home and in the car(12volt)
It also works excellent with a Data service from Cell Company for your Computer
Where I live in a Valley If we went outside and found a spot the Cell phone would work after getting the Amplifier we get 2 to 3 bars in the house in the Casita it really improved cell phone service in most areas no bars would go to 2 or 3 bars

http://www.maximumsignal.net/xcart/product...=1&featured

http://www.maximumsignal.net/xcart/home.php