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Topic:
Cell phone repeater for 3 story, 6500sqft concrete and steel, mostly below ground house
This thread has 16 replies. Displaying posts 1 through 15.
Post 1 made on Sunday June 29, 2014 at 13:09
Richie Rich
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Client has tasked us with finding a reliable cell repeater setup for this cliffside bunker of a home.
Level of difficulty is we have to work with the existing cabling, house is impossible to retrofit. Concrete+ steel + venetian plaster + the equipment room is a story and a half below grade, under the driveway (yes, really).

What I have to work with:
Roof: one RG6 coax, one cat6
Demarc: One RG6 coax, 2-3 cat6
Exterior: Several cat6 stub outs at various places on outside walls (I went heavy on camera locations during prewire).

Distributing signal once in the home can be done via the existing, unused coax distribution or one of many unused cat6 going to touchpanel, WAP, tv and lighting control locations.

Budget is not so much of an issue, functionality is a priority. Provider specific hotspots (M-Cell) are not really what is being looked for.

Ideas?
I am a trained professional..... Do not attempt this stunt at home.
Post 2 made on Sunday June 29, 2014 at 21:31
edizzle
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there is only one, Wilson Electronics, but you do not have what is needed in place to make work.
I love supporting product that supports me!
Post 3 made on Monday June 30, 2014 at 00:34
bcf1963
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I think your only chance, is to contact Wesley Mullings... he knows how to future proof this stuff! He'll surely have a solution for you.
Post 4 made on Monday June 30, 2014 at 02:39
Ernie Gilman
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Richie, you've got to tell your client that the wiring in place is excellent for covering the areas where it is, which are unfortunately all outdoors. The illogic is just baffling when there's outdoor wiring a)without PLANNING, b) without knowing if it's even usable for the signals that are needed, and c) for indoor coverage.

I'm a bit familiar with a three story house, one story underground, where we have excellent coverage, but wires were put in place for equipment in specific rooms.

The proposed request is just nuts. I feel sorry for you.
A good answer is easier with a clear question giving the make and model of everything.
"The biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place." -- G. “Bernie” Shaw
Post 5 made on Monday June 30, 2014 at 09:02
jrainey
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Talk to Wilson, their design guys are excellent and your coax in place might be sufficient.
Jack Rainey - Full disclosure...reformed integrator, now mid-Atlantic manufacturers rep for: Integra, Paradigm, Anthem, Parasound, Atlona, LG TV's and Metra Home Theater...among others
Post 6 made on Monday June 30, 2014 at 09:14
Fred Harding
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Understanding that the concept behind a cell phone repeater is to get signal to areas that are shielded, I respectfully disagree with Jack.

Things that shield cell phone signals include concrete, plaster lath, metal ducting, earth, water, foil from insulation, and more.

Putting an antenna outside the shield, running a coax into the building, and amplifying and then rebroadcasting is essentially what a repeater mechanism does. If your have the limited wiring in place described, you will essentially be trying to push the signal through a shield. It may work, but it may not. Unfortunately, the only way to find out is to try. Will your customer pay you to try?

I suspect that there may be marginal improvements in some areas, but you really are facing a challenge here. If it's that vital, can you do some retrofitting and get coax inside the building? That will improve your chances.

If you'd like to discuss it further, please feel free to contact me.
On the West Coast of Wisconsin
Post 7 made on Monday June 30, 2014 at 12:43
jrainey
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Fred...maybe I am missing something....there is a RG6 to the roof and then a number of unused coax lines around the house....that told me outside the shield to inside .
Jack Rainey - Full disclosure...reformed integrator, now mid-Atlantic manufacturers rep for: Integra, Paradigm, Anthem, Parasound, Atlona, LG TV's and Metra Home Theater...among others
Post 8 made on Monday June 30, 2014 at 13:06
Fred Harding
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My read was rg6 stubbed out of outside walls for camera, which is where my good luck message came from.

If it's inside, your chances for success improve greatly.
On the West Coast of Wisconsin
Post 9 made on Monday June 30, 2014 at 14:25
jrainey
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Yeah...if you re-read I think you will see that there are numerous unused RG6 at various places in the house.
Jack Rainey - Full disclosure...reformed integrator, now mid-Atlantic manufacturers rep for: Integra, Paradigm, Anthem, Parasound, Atlona, LG TV's and Metra Home Theater...among others
Post 10 made on Monday June 30, 2014 at 14:31
King of typos
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I haven't read all of the replies, but I did see mention of Wilson. So I'll post the link to a "large building" [Link: ubersignal.com]

I was also thinking of what Verizon Wireless and AT&T uses. Which are little repeaters that work over IP. Here's the one for AT&T, but I could not find one for VZ. [Link: att.com]

After doing a little research, the Wilson large building may not work legally that is. As this is for a residential use. See FAQ 10 [Link: verizonwireless.com]

Sorry that I couldn't of been any farther help. Though I think the cell booster that I pointed to for AT&T might help. Though you'll need one from them and another from VZ, as they are using different networks. And I would imagine that your client would want one that would cover both type of networks. So his friends/family who visit can receive cell reception.

KOT
Post 11 made on Monday June 30, 2014 at 15:37
Easton Altree
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Call Wilson.
 
Post 12 made on Monday June 30, 2014 at 18:56
edizzle
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king of typos. the att and vzw femtocells will not work very well here. they cannot hand off calls from one to the other so you are limited to one per residence. if they did, it would be absolutely incredible for me.
I love supporting product that supports me!
OP | Post 13 made on Monday June 30, 2014 at 21:45
Richie Rich
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On June 30, 2014 at 14:25, jrainey said...
Yeah...if you re-read I think you will see that there are numerous unused RG6 at various places in the house.

There is an entire unused coax network in the house from the headend to various locations. House has a Crestron DM system so the coax was run "just because".
Roof has one remaining RG6 and one Cat 6. The others at the roof are taken up by a Directv dish, XM antenna and an AM/FM antenna.

I was always under the impression that Wilson stuff used RG11 and that RG6 was a total "no go" for their stuff. Their 4G repeater has been "coming soon" on their website for quite some time too. If I were to be able to do anything, it would be that. I will call them in the morning and see what (if anything) they have that might work.

The M-Cells and Verizon cellular to IP based "hot spot" things won't work because there is no way one of them is getting a GPS lock in "the cave", nor do they hand off. And to top it all off, the client lives out of the USA primarily, so I doubt I will find one that works with a Canadian cell provider.
I am a trained professional..... Do not attempt this stunt at home.
Post 14 made on Monday June 30, 2014 at 23:37
Mac Burks (39)
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Does your doomsday prepper client know that the first thing "THEY" will take out is satellites and mobile communication?
Avid Stamp Collector - I really love 39 Cent Stamps
Post 15 made on Tuesday July 1, 2014 at 08:39
Fred Harding
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Richie

Wilson, along with others in the cell phone repeating business, had to radically adjust what they could bring to market after new FCC rules took effect. Today, they are packaging three separate systems using RG6 coax with yagi style of antennas and 4G compatible amplifiers. Considering the construction of your project, you probably will end up with a splitter and a second rebroadcast antenna inside the structure (at least). I would recommend getting a signal strength meter for this type of project.

RE femtocells; one of the disadvantages with those is that when you are on the phone and entering or leaving the structure, you need to terminate the call and redial, as the femtocell does not hand off like a traditional cell phone.
On the West Coast of Wisconsin
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