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Acquire Cell Signal #7602906 09/10/19 01:38 PM
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TLew Online Content OP
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I'm sure I'm going to get blasted here, but I figured I would ask the question any way. I have a couple of blinds with zero cell signal, and I was curious if anyone had successfully found a method to acquire signal through a whip style antenna plus booster or something similar.

Before you ask, no I don't have to watch movies while I hunt. I am looking into this because I could hunt more if I was able to at least check and respond to work email while I'm in the stand. Unfortunately this day and age has created a workplace centered around immediacy, and while I can handle the folks that work for me, my customers don't understand as much.

Re: Acquire Cell Signal [Re: TLew] #7602970 09/10/19 02:37 PM
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You would need a battery and solar charger, but you could put in a booster that is designed for a car. Maybe strap a stick of conduit to your stand to get the antennae up a little higher.


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Re: Acquire Cell Signal [Re: TLew] #7603011 09/10/19 03:17 PM
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Get you a quiet generator and run a Wilson antenna. grin Solar inverter battery probably better.

Re: Acquire Cell Signal [Re: Texan Til I Die] #7603064 09/10/19 04:00 PM
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Originally Posted by Texan Til I Die
You would need a battery and solar charger, but you could put in a booster that is designed for a car. Maybe strap a stick of conduit to your stand to get the antennae up a little higher.


I actually have done this, with little success. I have a 12v Motorcycle battery, decent size solar panel (forget the wattage), a Wilson 4G Weboost amp, one of their $$$ truck antennas mounted on a 20ft mast. No change. I'm going to try adding 10ft to the mast and see if that works. If you try it, don't use plastic conduit, Texas sun causes it to bend due to the weight of the antenna.

To get cell game camera reception, I'm using the Cuddeback cameras where the cameras talk to each other and then talk to a separate cell Home Point they call it. The Home Point is behind my blind up the hill a bit. I have some cell signal, it's just above my blind.

At the end of the day, you have to have a signal to boost, they cannot create a signal where one is not present.


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Re: Acquire Cell Signal [Re: TLew] #7603068 09/10/19 04:02 PM
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You caught two of my problems Charlie, you need at least one bar close by to boost and the cost/benefit is questionable. It may not be a project for me this year, so I'd be interested in your results. Given one of my blinds sits down in a trough, I'm thinking a large mast is the only way to go and that likely won't be the easiest/most resilient thing.

Re: Acquire Cell Signal [Re: TLew] #7603075 09/10/19 04:08 PM
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Like already mentioned. If you don't have any service where you are, boosting it won't likely do anything. If you have service somewhere nearby then it might work but you need at least a bar. Depending on how much you want to spend/setup a satellite internet option might work but you will need power for it.

Re: Acquire Cell Signal [Re: TLew] #7603095 09/10/19 04:21 PM
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I guess I should add... if I sit in my fiberglass blind with the phone in front of me, I get a bar of 3G from Verizon and Sprint (I carry 2 phones). If I place the phones leaning up against the window glass and leave them there for a bit, I can get a couple bars of LTE. If I open the front windows and lean them against the fiberglass wall section in between, there's no change from the single bar of 3G. I can't explain it... So I guess I actually do have a bit of signal, just not enough for the booster to grab and amplify any.

It's not in this pic, but the mast is hose clamped to the right side of the trailer shown, next to my blind. I too am down a hill just a bit.

[Linked Image]



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Re: Acquire Cell Signal [Re: TLew] #7603139 09/10/19 05:02 PM
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For cell cameras I have gotten a Truck booster antenna for about 50 bucks, bought an adapter on amazon for the connections and it has worked great.

For cell phones, you could probably rig up a system with a solar, battery, booster and antenna. I went from 01- bars to 3-4 bars on the cell camera with the new antenna.

The thing with the antenna is they are specific to the cell service, so be careful if/when you buy.

Re: Acquire Cell Signal [Re: TLew] #7603198 09/10/19 06:05 PM
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Need to check dbm to know the correct signal if -120 dbm or over you have no signal to boost. You can go to Wilson Amplifiers site and it shows you how to set your phone up to check dbm. You also have to have the outside antenna 50' away from the inside antenna unless you have a metal roof. I wonder if that is the issue with the fiberglass blind?

Re: Acquire Cell Signal [Re: TLew] #7603330 09/10/19 07:52 PM
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Wilson makes a great signal booster. As mentioned go to their site and follow the direction for measuring your signal with your cell phone. I set one up for my home that never showed more than 1 bar of service and could only occasionally send or receive calls. Once it was hooked up I got 3-4 bars of service and no more dropped calls.
Wilson boosters are not specific and will work with any wireless provider. You will need a power source for the booster. My unit is for 5,000sf coverage even though my house is half that size. They make smaller ones and car units, their techs are very willing to answer any questions you may have.


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Re: Acquire Cell Signal [Re: circlep] #7603491 09/10/19 10:52 PM
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Originally Posted by circlep
You also have to have the outside antenna 50' away from the inside antenna unless you have a metal roof. I wonder if that is the issue with the fiberglass blind?
Are you quoting for home units or auto? Yes a car has a metal roof, but 50' without seems like a big distance requirement. Aren't Tandem truck cabs mostly fiberglass?


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