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Topic:
Cell boosters- Sure Call vs Wilson
This thread has 17 replies. Displaying posts 1 through 15.
Post 1 made on Thursday March 30, 2017 at 22:00
PSS
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I have a few clients that need cell boosters.I picked up a Sure Call but it doesn't seem to do a thing. Using a Sure Call signal meter I thought I found the correct signal and pointed a directional antenna to pick up signals and have one inside, it doesn't do a damn thing. Maybe it's installer error???
For those that do cell boosters, what mfg do you use and why?
I swear it seems like voodoo!!! Any input would be appreciated.
Post 2 made on Thursday March 30, 2017 at 22:14
Brad Humphrey
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I use Wilson, only because that is what I started with many years ago.

The thing about a signal booster is this:
You are needing to put one in because the signal at the house sucks. You "HAVE" to get a good signal on the outdoor antenna. This almost always requires you to have a high gain (directional) antenna high up above the roof line to get a strong signal. I have NEVER seen a situation that an antenna in the attic worked properly or one installed on the side of the house. Have to get it high above the terrain with a strong signal.
The indoor antenna is usually directional too. And you need to be mindful NOT to have the direction of coverage, towards the direction of the outdoor antenna. This is another important reason the indoor & outdoor antennas need to have a large vertical separation, as well as faced the correct way.
Any re-modulation of signals will cause the amp to cut back on its gain, resulting in poor performance. Also: large coverage areas (i.e. large homes) will require multi indoor antennas to get proper coverage inside. Each one needs to be placed very carefully.

All of this is covered in the training to install these things (at least it use to be with Wilson).
Post 3 made on Friday March 31, 2017 at 04:30
Mac Burks (39)
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Voodoo for sure... For our first project/s we were fortunate enough to do a practice/guest house and then two houses side by side for the same client. Great learning experience.

Make sure equipment is installed properly/grounded/check F connectors. At one house just re-terminating the RG11 got it working. At each house we pulled new RG11 between the roof and the amp and between the amp and the splitter. Then we used existing RG6 to each indoor antenna.

After installation at the second & 3rd house...a year passes and one of the two houses starts having issues. When i go out to visit the site i notice two brand new high rises across the water. We moved the roof top antenna around and got the signal strong again...whats weird though is that now the antenna is almost pointing the opposite direction. I leave...a couple of months later i go back for something else and we decided to move the other houses antenna to point the same direction as the first house and the signal there improves.

Now both houses are working great and their antennas are almost 180 degrees from where they were originally.

Avid Stamp Collector - I really love 39 Cent Stamps
Post 4 made on Friday March 31, 2017 at 08:21
cma
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yep, a lot of trial and error even when following the instructions to a T.. on top of the issue that Wilson has ZERO tech support. They will not be able to offer any guidance other than ask you what kind of wire and how long it is and then use the old mathamatical formulas of 3db per 100 feet and every fitting/junction. There answers when it is not working is always your wire is too long or something along those lines..

Not sure about Sure Call though my local supplier that dumped Wilson over support has now picked up Sure Call and he is pretty impressed with their input so far.
Post 5 made on Friday March 31, 2017 at 08:57
Ranger Home
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Mac. Thats interesting. Sounds like another tower was added after your first install, thus moving it 180 worked now as it did not before?
Post 6 made on Friday March 31, 2017 at 09:00
Fred Harding
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CMA, my calculations for signal loss over coax are much different.
On the West Coast of Wisconsin
Post 7 made on Friday March 31, 2017 at 10:21
Mac Burks (39)
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On March 31, 2017 at 08:57, Ranger Home said...
Mac. Thats interesting. Sounds like another tower was added after your first install, thus moving it 180 worked now as it did not before?

Not really sure about the tower. The project is in Florida. We uses surecall products that we purchased through a 3rd party that did most of the planning for us. they chose the products and even the locations for indoor antennas. We had to adjust the plan on site and add a few extra antennas to cover key areas (clients office, master bedroom etc).

The tower may have been there but we went with the other one because it had a stronger signal. Or it may have been added. The original install was about 2 years ago.
Avid Stamp Collector - I really love 39 Cent Stamps
Post 8 made on Friday March 31, 2017 at 10:21
tobe
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For my personal use (no pro here) I battled various boosters for years and wasn't very happy (and yes I did hire a pro.)
I have done much better acquiring "cell" service through the internet.
My femtocells worked well with both Sprint and Verizon and are much cheaper and easier than a Wilson set-up.
Now I just use Verizon WiFi calling, which is terrific.
I haven't tested handoffs in and out of the wifi connection, as I don't need that often. In all other respects, its seamless, invisible and free.
Probably doesn't fit your needs, but thought I'd throw it out there.
Post 9 made on Friday March 31, 2017 at 10:36
Audiophiliac
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So at these houses, they get poor signal from ANY carrier? Or just the carrier they currently use? Have they tried switching carriers first? Seems to be a much cheaper and better solution. Most places these days are covered by multiple providers, with varying signal strengths. I know there are dead spots around my area. But they are not the same for every carrier.
"When I eat, it is the food that is scared." - Ron Swanson
Post 10 made on Friday March 31, 2017 at 10:47
Fred Harding
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Several points:
1. Know what carrier you are trying to pick up
2. Know where their tower is
3. If you don't have a signal outside, stop. I can't help
4. If you do have a signal outside, but it is poorer or not available inside, proceed
5. Point the directional antenna at the service providers tower and check with signal strength meter

from there, it's math.
On the West Coast of Wisconsin
Post 11 made on Friday March 31, 2017 at 11:08
Mac Burks (39)
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On March 31, 2017 at 10:36, Audiophiliac said...
So at these houses, they get poor signal from ANY carrier? Or just the carrier they currently use? Have they tried switching carriers first? Seems to be a much cheaper and better solution. Most places these days are covered by multiple providers, with varying signal strengths. I know there are dead spots around my area. But they are not the same for every carrier.

It's usually the house causing the problem. Concrete walls/floors. 1'+ thick exterior walls. Tons of plumbing wiring etc in every wall/ceiling. Outside you get a signal but inside you get nothing. So the cell boosters usually fix the issue...once they are tamed.
Avid Stamp Collector - I really love 39 Cent Stamps
Post 12 made on Friday March 31, 2017 at 11:25
Fred Harding
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Double insulated windows are also effective shields for cell phone signals...
On the West Coast of Wisconsin
Post 13 made on Friday March 31, 2017 at 11:45
andrewinboulder
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After about 4 different installs - all Wilson a few years ago.I tapped out on cell boosters completely. Unless you do them all the time, I think they are a major pain. I spent a crap load of time on Wilson tech support, even bought their fancy meters. I was very careful about calculating supposed gains etc. It worked well on ONE house. In retrospect, it was probably because the houses I was trying to instal had signal that was too weak to begin with. I was even using the outdoor antennas, aiming them at the correct towers etc.

A few years later, the same customer bought a microcell cell phone repeater from Verizon, and for $250 bucks it beat the socks off the Wilson.

Way better solution in my opinion.

Plus, if I'm not mistaken you now have to report the use of an antenna to the FCC or some other organization.
Post 14 made on Friday March 31, 2017 at 12:06
tobe
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A few years later, the same customer bought a microcell cell phone repeater from Verizon, and for $250 bucks it beat the socks off the Wilson.

Way better solution in my opinion.

That's the femtocell approach I mentioned above
Post 15 made on Friday March 31, 2017 at 13:12
highfigh
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I have a Wilson signal strength meter, if anyone is interested.

Sure Call was started by people from Wilson, right?
My mechanic told me, "I couldn't repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder."
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