Repeater question

[jasiu00]

Hello All,

I was thinking of buying a repeater the YX500-PCS CELL for my cottage. I'm using CMDA Razor. The question I have is this:
I get very weak signal, I can receive text messages. The phone rings when someone calls, but as soon as I pick it up I loose the singal. Will this product or any other help?

The tower antena is located behind a mountain, so I think the signal is being bounced around and thus I can receive it. If so will this 3Watt repeater help in getting a strong enough singal to talk? In one spot I can actually call, but I have to be very, very still, if I move even an inch I loose the signal. This spot is near the lake.

Please help, this is driving me crazy and getting a land line will cost alot more.

Thanks.

[hillbilly44]

It might, but also look at companies like Wilson Cellular, Spotwave and a few others. If you're near a lake you're probably getting signal bounce from another site much farther away. A decent repeater will cost $300 to $500, Good luck.

[Bill Clinton]

For your situation the YX may not help much. Also before getting any repeater make sure you are getting the right band. CDMA uses 800MHz and 1900MHz. With your phone you can check what frequency you are on at your cottage. With the YX500 you need to mount the outdoor antenna in an area where you can already make calls. I have the YX510 and the outdoor antenna is mounted 20 feet above my roof. Then the cable is run inside to the amplifier/repeater unit. The reason it works is because there is a good signal 20 feet above my roof. If I mounted the antenna in an area of weak service it would just amplify a weak signal and it wouldn't really do much.

The YX500 and YX510 are no able to help you if you don't have usable signal already. You may need to put together your own repeater system. Instead of buying the kit you just buy the pieces separately. Get a high gain antenna because it sounds like you need it. Run low loss coaxial cable from the antenna to a bi-directional amplifier. Cyfre and Wilson have good products. Some sites online have already assembled Wilson repeater kits. I think you should do this unless you can get the YX500 with a return policy. The YX500 needs some signal in order to work.

[Maximum Signal]

They do sell an upgrade kit for those units with more powerful antennas , maybe that will help if you already purchased it. But as others have said those units need a good signal outside to give a good one inside.If you are just looking to do the one unit . Your best and most cost effective solution would be a direct connect dual band amplifier. The razr has an RF port to connect to . If you want wireless just use a bluetooth headset and leave the handset at the amplifier.

Originally Posted by jasiu00

Hello All,

I was thinking of buying a repeater the YX500-PCS CELL for my cottage. I'm using CMDA Razor. The question I have is this:
I get very weak signal, I can receive text messages. The phone rings when someone calls, but as soon as I pick it up I loose the singal. Will this product or any other help?

The tower antena is located behind a mountain, so I think the signal is being bounced around and thus I can receive it. If so will this 3Watt repeater help in getting a strong enough singal to talk? In one spot I can actually call, but I have to be very, very still, if I move even an inch I loose the signal. This spot is near the lake.

Please help, this is driving me crazy and getting a land line will cost alot more.

Thanks.

[Upwardly_Mobile]

Originally Posted by jasiu00

Hello All,

I was thinking of buying a repeater the YX500-PCS CELL for my cottage. I'm using CMDA Razor. The question I have is this:
I get very weak signal, I can receive text messages. The phone rings when someone calls, but as soon as I pick it up I loose the singal. Will this product or any other help?

The tower antena is located behind a mountain, so I think the signal is being bounced around and thus I can receive it. If so will this 3Watt repeater help in getting a strong enough singal to talk? In one spot I can actually call, but I have to be very, very still, if I move even an inch I loose the signal. This spot is near the lake.

Please help, this is driving me crazy and getting a land line will cost alot more.

Thanks.

Well, it's quite simple. If your handset is unable to "hear" the cell site, your carrier will say it's a problem with your handset!

I had the same problem in 1997 when VoiceStream rolled out their GSM system based in Jackson, Mississippi.

That was LONG ago, and I am still with them. Why, whould be a matter of understanding that "most" people would get lost in the fact.....

None-the-less, car-kit has what everyone wants!

If your signal is "____", then, get off the POT!

[RadioRaiders]

Lakes cause alot of signal reflections which produce interference. And if the tower is on the other side of the mountain, and is weak to begin with, that just makes it worse. The repeater may help, but I'd say your just stuck in a place with a bad signal

[Whiteout]

I say you will definately have an increase with it. Now, if it's going to be to your expecation that's not something you will see until you try it. If your getting SMS just fine, then you should be in good shape. Also, I don't know anything about your phone. But if it's capable of doing analog thats always a solution. Of course, if your phone is Analog ready, good luck trying to keep your phone off the charger!

[zephxiii]

no CDMA razr does analog. in fact, no razr does analog lol. However it should have an RF jack on the back of it which is cool. Try a repeater, if it works, cheers, if not send it back.

also give this a go, its cheap: ARC Freedom Antenna All-in-One Pack Reviews. Cell phone and smart phone accessories Reviews by CNET.

And finally, the antenna is built into the chin of that phone, so when you hold it, keep your palm away from it. I learned that after getting my V3XX, my first internal antenna phone.

[Fred333]

Thanks for the link. I had a situation when I was at condo in the mountains. It really messed with my signal too. Once I got out of the valley to a high stop, I had great service.