WirelessAdvisor.com

sunny1 · 07-13-2006, 3:39 PM

I moved 5 miles north of a city - 1/2 mile of the interstate in Louisiana and am now in a "Dead Zone" as stated by Sprint customer service.. Cingular is supposed to work but do not want to hassle changing providers and paying etf. Will a signal repeater work? If so, what kind, who sells them, etc.

strunke · 07-13-2006, 8:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunny1

I moved 5 miles north of a city - 1/2 mile of the interstate in Louisiana and am now in a "Dead Zone" as stated by Sprint customer service.. Cingular is supposed to work but do not want to hassle changing providers and paying etf. Will a signal repeater work? If so, what kind, who sells them, etc.

I am looking at the Sprint maps. Have you tried using your phone with the mode set to analog only (if you have a tri-mode phone)? There seems to be a mix of analog and digital in your area, and analog will allow you to make and recieve phone calls at home.

SmArTeStChIlD421 · 07-14-2006, 10:10 AM

first of all.....what kind of phone do you have and maybe we can help you better

sunny1 · 07-14-2006, 4:18 PM

I have an LG VI125

sunny1 · 07-14-2006, 4:21 PM

Also, I have tried it in analog - roam. It is full of static and my listeners get frustrated and hang up. On the map there is a Cingular tower near by - but don't want to go there.

strunke · 07-14-2006, 4:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunny1

Also, I have tried it in analog - roam. It is full of static and my listeners get frustrated and hang up. On the map there is a Cingular tower near by - but don't want to go there.

Oh, hmm, unfortunately I've heard only bad things about that particular phone. But I don't have much experience with repeaters, maybe a 3 Watt booster will work? But again I don't know much about them. I'm sure someone else on here will though.

sunny1 · 07-14-2006, 6:49 PM

Can you suggest a Sprint phone that would work?

strunke · 07-14-2006, 7:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunny1

Can you suggest a Sprint phone that would work?

Oh well I was just saying in general technical issues etc. Reception wise the best phones to get are Motorolas and Nokias, samsungs are decent, kyoceras, LGs, Audiovoxs are typically the worst as far as reception goes. I wouldn't be able to reccommend a phone or know exactly what kind to get unless I were to go there and see if one of mine work better. I believe that if you were to get a booster it would solve most of your problem.

Something like this...because it looks like you would be using different carriers towers anyway.
http://www.smoothtalker.com/products...r_for_cdma.php

If you are picking up pcs towers then this...
http://www.smoothtalker.com/products..._cdma_1900.php

But there a lot of money. There might be less expensive ones somewhere.

Do you get about 1 bar of digital service around your house but not enough to make a call?

sunny1 · 07-14-2006, 7:17 PM

Thank You!

SmArTeStChIlD421 · 07-14-2006, 10:41 PM

any phone that is dual band/tri-mode will get the best reception.....most of the phones listed on the sprint website are dual band/tri-mode......but like strunke said:

Quote:

Originally Posted by strunke

Oh well I was just saying in general technical issues etc. Reception wise the best phones to get are Motorolas and Nokias, samsungs are decent, kyoceras, LGs, Audiovoxs are typically the worst as far as reception goes.

nokias are the best followed by motorolas, samsungs...the rest are just crap

motounlock · 07-16-2006, 8:27 PM

You really don't want to be using a cell booster, if you're prepared to pay a little more you can get a cellular repeater. Boosters have to be connected to your phone, while repeaters are wireless. Also, the whole "3 watt" booster thing is really misleading. Cellular signals are so weak, that having a 3 watt repeater really means nothing at all beacuse the signal won't be nearly strong enough to provide that much power. So you're better off looking at the gain of the amplifiers - something around 55dB is usually good for a medium sized house. Repeaters are generally much better amplifiers (in terms of noise and linearity)...but cost a bit more. http://www.cellboosterstore.com have repeaters for both frequencies, I have a 1900 and it works great improving signal for Sprint, Verizon EVDO, and Cingular in Orange County.

strunke · 07-17-2006, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by motounlock

You really don't want to be using a cell booster, if you're prepared to pay a little more you can get a cellular repeater. Boosters have to be connected to your phone, while repeaters are wireless. Also, the whole "3 watt" booster thing is really misleading. Cellular signals are so weak, that having a 3 watt repeater really means nothing at all beacuse the signal won't be nearly strong enough to provide that much power. So you're better off looking at the gain of the amplifiers - something around 55dB is usually good for a medium sized house. Repeaters are generally much better amplifiers (in terms of noise and linearity)...but cost a bit more. http://www.cellboosterstore.com have repeaters for both frequencies, I have a 1900 and it works great improving signal for Sprint, Verizon EVDO, and Cingular in Orange County.

Sounds good, although they are probably going to want a Cellular repeater over a PCS one, that area is free roaming.

Sunny1 - When you are picking up any signal at all what is the current SID that is showing up in the phones status/network settings? We can find out whether you need a 1900 mhz repeater or an 800 mhz.......unless you got a new phone and things are better now.....

strunke · 07-17-2006, 12:31 AM

Also, I'd reccommend switching to Verizon Wireless if you are out of contract or near out of it, they have more expansive native coverage in that area then Sprint.....
VZW...

Sprint...

The VZW one is from closer up. You are north of Lafayette right?

wirles · 07-17-2006, 8:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strunke

Also, I'd reccommend switching to Verizon Wireless if you are out of contract or near out of it, they have more expansive native coverage in that area then Sprint.....
The VZW one is from closer up. You are north of Lafayette right?

IIRC the best coverage in the area is Cingular because they had a decent network and made it better by adding an extremely well planned blue network, which is legacy Telecorp/Suncom.

jimwayda · 07-17-2006, 12:07 PM

A repeater will most likely be more expensive than the ETF. Can you force the phone into "Digital Roaming Mode" and roam on Verizon? This should work. Have you tried?

larry · 07-17-2006, 2:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimwayda

A repeater will most likely be more expensive than the ETF. Can you force the phone into "Digital Roaming Mode" and roam on Verizon? This should work. Have you tried?

The poster said he has an LG Vi125. That phone does not have the ability to force digital roaming.

strunke · 07-17-2006, 3:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wirles

IIRC the best coverage in the area is Cingular because they had a decent network and made it better by adding an extremely well planned blue network, which is legacy Telecorp/Suncom.

They said they don't want to go to Cingular though.

strunke · 07-17-2006, 3:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by larry

The poster said he has an LG Vi125. That phone does not have the ability to force digital roaming.

I could always help them change the NAM on their phone while they're at home to run on VZW, but i think if they get a phone with better RF they should be able to at least make a call, i read in the other post that she gets 1 bar all around her house.

wirles · 07-19-2006, 6:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strunke

I could always help them change the NAM on their phone while they're at home to run on VZW, but i think if they get a phone with better RF they should be able to at least make a call, i read in the other post that she gets 1 bar all around her house.

If they did a NAM change to VZW at home, they would be carrying 2 plans....I think that is counter to their goals.

strunke · 07-20-2006, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wirles

If they did a NAM change to VZW at home, they would be carrying 2 plans....I think that is counter to their goals.

Actually you can do it without that. Only one plan would be neccesary. As long as they are on a Sprint plan with no roaming charges. And Sprint lets their customers roam on vzw without extra fees (which i'm fairly positive they do). Then they could just use the NAM 2 at home on VZW while on extended free roaming, and when they traveled or they get in an area with adequate sprint service just change the active line back to the first one...

wirles · 07-21-2006, 9:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by strunke

Actually you can do it without that. Only one plan would be neccesary. As long as they are on a Sprint plan with no roaming charges. And Sprint lets their customers roam on vzw without extra fees (which i'm fairly positive they do). Then they could just use the NAM 2 at home on VZW while on extended free roaming, and when they traveled or they get in an area with adequate sprint service just change the active line back to the first one...

How would they get a 2nd (active) NAM on a single plan? I know you can have mutliple NAM's, but not without paying for it since it is two different phone numbers. To be even more precise, a NAM is the assignment module, or chip, that holds the phone number, lock codes etc...similar to a SIM for GSM. An active NAM or SIM requires carrier activation except for emergency (911) use as mandated by federal law. So, how does one have 2 NAM's on one rate? Unless you are talking about a single 'family' type plan with two numbers...which I would consider two plans (semantics aside).

strunke · 07-22-2006, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wirles

How would they get a 2nd (active) NAM on a single plan? I know you can have mutliple NAM's, but not without paying for it since it is two different phone numbers. To be even more precise, a NAM is the assignment module, or chip, that holds the phone number, lock codes etc...similar to a SIM for GSM. An active NAM or SIM requires carrier activation except for emergency (911) use as mandated by federal law. So, how does one have 2 NAM's on one rate? Unless you are talking about a single 'family' type plan with two numbers...which I would consider two plans (semantics aside).

I can get onto Verizon and Sprint's network in my area by merely changing the SID, setting my MIN and MDN to my phone number just like in NAM 1, changing the

07-13-2006, 3:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
sunny1 Movin' on up! Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Dead Zone! - Signal Repeater? I moved 5 miles north of a city - 1/2 mile of the interstate in Louisiana and am now in a "Dead Zone" as stated by Sprint customer service.. Cingular is supposed to work but do not want to hassle changing providers and paying etf. Will a signal repeater work? If so, what kind, who sells them, etc.

07-14-2006, 10:10 AM	#3 (permalink)
SmArTeStChIlD421 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Reading, PA Posts: 3,639 Phone(s): Motorola RAZR V3m (Red) Provider(s): Sprint Thanks: 4 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	Re: Dead Zone! - Signal Repeater? first of all.....what kind of phone do you have and maybe we can help you better

07-14-2006, 4:18 PM	#4 (permalink)
sunny1 Movin' on up! Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Dead Zone! - Signal Repeater? I have an LG VI125

07-14-2006, 4:21 PM	#5 (permalink)
sunny1 Movin' on up! Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Dead Zone! - Signal Repeater? Also, I have tried it in analog - roam. It is full of static and my listeners get frustrated and hang up. On the map there is a Cingular tower near by - but don't want to go there.

07-14-2006, 6:49 PM	#7 (permalink)
sunny1 Movin' on up! Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Dead Zone! - Signal Repeater? Can you suggest a Sprint phone that would work?

07-14-2006, 7:17 PM	#9 (permalink)
sunny1 Movin' on up! Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 7 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Dead Zone! - Signal Repeater? Thank You!

07-16-2006, 8:27 PM	#11 (permalink)
motounlock Fresh Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 15 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Dead Zone! - Signal Repeater? You really don't want to be using a cell booster, if you're prepared to pay a little more you can get a cellular repeater. Boosters have to be connected to your phone, while repeaters are wireless. Also, the whole "3 watt" booster thing is really misleading. Cellular signals are so weak, that having a 3 watt repeater really means nothing at all beacuse the signal won't be nearly strong enough to provide that much power. So you're better off looking at the gain of the amplifiers - something around 55dB is usually good for a medium sized house. Repeaters are generally much better amplifiers (in terms of noise and linearity)...but cost a bit more. http://www.cellboosterstore.com have repeaters for both frequencies, I have a 1900 and it works great improving signal for Sprint, Verizon EVDO, and Cingular in Orange County.

07-17-2006, 12:31 AM	#13 (permalink)
strunke .:\|Always Covered\|:. Join Date: May 2005 Location: BVR Posts: 1,703 Phone(s): KRZR K1m, SLVR L6, v710, E815, E816(ampd), LG 380, 8600 Provider(s): Alltel, T-Mobile, Sprint, Centennial Devices: Garmin eTrex Vista Cx, Bluetooth headset Thanks: 1 Thanked 6 Times in 5 Posts My Auctions	Re: Dead Zone! - Signal Repeater? Also, I'd reccommend switching to Verizon Wireless if you are out of contract or near out of it, they have more expansive native coverage in that area then Sprint..... VZW... Sprint... The VZW one is from closer up. You are north of Lafayette right?

07-17-2006, 12:07 PM	#15 (permalink)
jimwayda Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Laguna Niguel, CA Posts: 255 Phone(s): Sanyo MM-7400 Provider(s): Sprint Thanks: 2 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Dead Zone! - Signal Repeater? A repeater will most likely be more expensive than the ETF. Can you force the phone into "Digital Roaming Mode" and roam on Verizon? This should work. Have you tried?

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