How do I tell if something is a stealth site?

[Jay2TheRescue]

There is a church in my area that has this decorative "tower" in front. I have perfect signal while this tower is in the line of sight, once it is not visible the signal drops off quickly. Is there a way to confirm my suspicion without tromping through their flowerbeds surrounding the base of the tower?

[Andy]

Well I guess you could always look for the equipment box which should be located somewhere close, also maybe a sign somewhere, or even field testing. db Levels around the base should be low if this is a cellsite.

[Jonathan Kramer]

Some thoughts from a rather experienced hunter.

1. Call the church's business office. Ask outright. They're likely to tell you and identify the carrier.

2. Look for an external gen plug. It may or may not be near a transfer panel. See: http://www.cabletv.com/cells/albums/...coPA070069.JPG

3. Look for a carrier's electronic lock on an external door.

4. Look for a GPS antenna in an otherwise camo site. See:
http://www.cabletv.com/cells/albums/...ace.PB1200.jpg

5. Check with your local government planners. They be able to tell you if a wireless project was approved for the church, then you can hunt down the details.

Best,

Jonathan Kramer

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by Andy84094

... db Levels around the base should be low if this is a cellsite.

Update - I just got the full engineering menu enabled on my Motorola V551. Which option is it in the menu to do this? Thanks, Jay

[Jonathan Kramer]

Originally Posted by Jay2TheRescue

Update - I just got the full engineering menu enabled on my Motorola V551. Which option is it in the menu to do this? Thanks, Jay

J2TR: Is there any online documentation about the engineering menu on the 551? If so, where?

Thanks,

Jonathan

[Jay2TheRescue]

Originally Posted by Jonathan Kramer

J2TR: Is there any online documentation about the engineering menu on the 551? If so, where?

Thanks,

Jonathan

I found this document @ www.motomodders.com in their knowledge base. It is the most in-depth explanation of features found in the engineering menu I have found.

http://www.motomodders.net/portals/0...ineering_.html

I would add a few tips that I really struggled with that you don't easily find on the net:

1. To enter Field test click settings, scroll down to engineering , click field test status, click availibility, click FTS, then reboot your phone. After it reboots you can scroll through all sorts of neat info such as tower strength, and listings of neighboring towers.

2. When you're bored with field testing hit the menu button, then the left soft key to exit. Navigate back down to field test availibility and select off, or it will enter field test every time you turn your phone on.

3. The cell sticker is a powerful tool to keep your phone on networks other than your home network. For example, I am a Cingular orange customer. Cingular blue has a tower closer to my office. Since my phone detects an orange signal it jumps to orange the first chance it gets. I log onto the blue network and then apply the cell sticker to tower #0629 (the id# of the blue tower closest to my office - find these tower numbers through field test mode and watching the reselection messages if you have them enabled) Since I am not traveling durring the day I can leave the phone on tower 629 and have full signal all day at work. Without the cell sticker the phone seems to jump back onto the weaker orange signal from the more distant tower within 5 - 10 minutes.

Enjoy! Jay