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Topic: Verizon cell phone external antenna (Read 7 times) previous topic - next topic
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Verizon cell phone external antenna
Yahoo Message Number: 49904
We have a 26.5 MB on order for April/May delivery and are trying to get all the items built in like an antenna cable that might need to poke a hole in the roof.

We are thinking that the cell phone range will be limited by being inside the LD aluminum shell and would benefit greatly with an external antenna.

Would be very interested to know if anyone has mounted an external cell phone antenna in their LD.  We have an LG4500 phone with an external antenna jack available and it "seems" like an antenna like the Wilson one shown below might work:
 http://www.wpsantennas.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=22

Also wondering about a dash mounted cradle for the phone that would pass thru the charging function and the antenna connection.

Anyone with experience doing this?

Ron and Linda Tenny  (Tyrone, GA)  Goinabees 8284
Re: Verizon cell phone external antenna
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49906
Linda,

I also have a verizon phone &  I use a wilson magnetic mount that I have on a small metal decorative candle trivet. As we have a 30 IB I either have it on the back of the table area by that window, or if I am in the passenger seat I set the trivit on the window sill behind the sofa. The cable is long enough that it is no problem. I can email a picture direct to you if interested.

Sylvia H Satellite Beach FL "The DogHouse"
Re: Verizon cell phone external antenna
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49908
I'd like very much to see the photo, please.

I was told the Wilson cell phone antenna works well. Are you seeing pretty good improvement
Re: Verizon cell phone external antenna
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49916
Quote
Linda,

I also have a verizon phone &  I use a wilson magnetic mount that I have on a small metal decorative candle trivet. As we have a 30 IB I either have it on the back of the table area by that window, or if I am in the passenger seat I set the trivit on the window sill behind the sofa. The cable is long enough that it is no problem. I can email a picture direct to you if interested.

Sylvia H Satellite Beach FL "The DogHouse"
Below are some links to Ted's Wilson antenna installation.  I use the Wilson dual mode magnetic antenna.  When we are parked, I put it on a pie plate on the roof and run the antenna cable in through the passenger cab window.  It really improves reception.

Chris Horst

http://tinyurl.com/5ku86
http://tinyurl.com/3l8pc
Formerly: 2002 30' IB
Re: Verizon cell phone external antenna
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49918
Quote
I'd like very much to see the photo, please.

I was told the Wilson cell phone antenna works well. Are you seeing pretty good improvement in marginal reception areas?
I've had good results with the Wilson Magnetic Mount. Mounted it on top of the plastic cover of the ref. then ran the cord down the ref. chimney, out behind the drivers seat then to either cab seat or the dining table in my MB plan. The antenna comes with a 10' cable as I recall but you will want to order a 10' extension to give you enough slack to move around. Flying J stocks Wilson antennas.
I tested the antenna after I mounted it. Usually improved the signal strength by two "bars".

Ed
Re: Verizon cell phone external antenna
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49921
Hi, Ron and Linda,
 I've done exactly what you're proposing with a Wilson Truckers Cell Antenna.  It really does improve my reception, usually adding two bars to the signal.  Since the antenna is a bit fragile, I devised a mounting system that allows me to easily fold it down for travel.   You can find a description and a few pictures of my installation at www.fobria.com/toad/LD/LDenhance.htm . If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

Ted H.
'02 FL  NE12 @Gamble Rogers SRA, FL
 From: "Linda Tenny" LTenny@...>
 Subject: Verizon cell phone external antenna

Would be very interested to know if anyone has mounted an external cell phone antenna in their LD.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Verizon cell phone external antenna
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49930
Quote
I also have a verizon phone &  I use a wilson magnetic mount that I have on a small metal decorative candle trivet. As we have a 30 IB I either have it on the back of the table area by that window, or if I am in the passenger seat I set the trivit on the window sill behind the sofa. The cable is long enough that it is no problem. I can email a picture direct to you if interested.

Sylvia H Satellite Beach FL "The DogHouse"
Hi Sylvia,
 Sure would appreciate a pic emailed to: 

Do you remember the model of the Wilson magnetic mount?

Thanks,

Ron and Linda Tenny Tyrone, GA
Re: Verizon cell phone external antenna
Reply #9 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49933
Quote
I also have a verizon phone &  I use a wilson magnetic mount
that I have on a small metal decorative candle trivet. As we have a 30 IB I either have it on the back of the table area by that window, or if I am in the passenger seat I set the trivit on the window sill behind the sofa. The cable is long enough that it is no problem. I can email a picture direct to you if interested.

Quote
Sylvia H Satellite Beach FL "The DogHouse"

Hi Sylvia,

Sure would appreciate a pic emailed to:  LTenny@c...

Do you remember the model of the Wilson magnetic mount?

Thanks,

Ron and Linda Tenny Tyrone, G
Ron and Linda, I'm not Sylvia, but I suspect this is the Wilson antenna she is referring to: http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/antennas/wcnmo.htm

It works best if attached to something like a stainless steel pie or pizza pan.  I have mine on a pie pan and rest it on the top back of the couch by the window when traveling.  It usually adds a couple of bars to the reception.

Chris Horst
2002 30' IB
Denver
Formerly: 2002 30' IB
Re: Verizon cell phone external antenna
Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49935
An older employee in the gas station/store outside the entrance to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which certainly is a "remote location",  told us he cannot even use his cellphone without his Wilson antenna.

He also whispered to us not to buy one in the store where he worked because it was available on-line "for a lot less $$". I do not know what specific provider or cellphone he owned.
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] Re: Verizon cell phone external ante
Reply #11 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49954
The Wilson Trucker antenna uses a standard 3/8" thread at the bottom with the coax coming out the side of the antenna near the bottom.  What this means is that almost any standard 3/8" antenna mount will work with it including mag-mounts, mirror mounts, trunk mounts, etc.  Your local Radio Shack carrys many of these for "CB" antenna use.  You don't need one with coax attached, if it does, either wind it up or snip it off and make sure you use the coax from the antenna itself.

Rich Gort
2000 MB

NW Washington State
Former 2000 MB- Now Bullet Crossfire 1800RB trailer pulled by a Chevy 2500HD
Re: Verizon cell phone external antenna
Reply #12 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49961
By the way, I forgot to mention that the Motorola T730 I was talking about has an external antenna jack, although Motorola calls it a "test port" or something like that. Works fine with the Wilson external antenna.

Andy Baird
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Free StarTAC gear
Reply #13 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49962
All this talk about Motorola StarTAC phones reminds me that I have a box of StarTAC gear I'm no longer using. It includes two phones, two manuals, three batteries, four AC adapters, three or four DC adapters, charging cradle, emergency AAA battery boost charger, spare StarTAC antenna, belt clip and magnet-mount Wilson trucker antenna.
 Some of it is mine; much of it I inherited from friends who upgraded from StarTACs to more modern phones; but all of it is working, as far as I know. I'll sell the lot cheaply to anybody who wants StarTAC spares; if interested, contact me via private email.

Andy Baird
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: Verizon cell phone external antenna
Reply #14 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50037
TJ,
 I've seen several posts here earlier from folks whose Wilson Truckers antennas have been demolished by striking tree branches.  I think some people put a spring at the bottom to absorb shock and let the antenna bend.
But still, those three little arms could hook on something and get ripped off.
 And I have noticed that the antenna still adds to my signal even when folded down.

Guess my theory is better safe than sorry.

Ted H
  From: "Tom Johnston" johnstn@...>
 Ted, I hope this isn't a dumb question, but why fold it down for travel? Why not leave it up? TJ

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Verizon cell phone external antenna
Reply #15 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50426
Too true Ted,  we hit ours on a tree branch last week and it now hangs down rather limply.  We actually had to secure it to the ladder, hanging down, until we get up there and do something with it.  It still works though, adds a couple of bars.  The 3 prongs are fine, it's the pole
Verizon cell phone external ante
Reply #16 –
Yahoo Message Number: 49924
I devised a mounting system that allows me to easily fold it down for travel.
Ted H.
 Ted, I hope this isn't a dumb question, but why fold it down for travel? Why not leave it up? TJ
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] re: Verizon cell phone external ante
Reply #17 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50040
Quote
    And I have noticed that the antenna still adds to my signal even when folded down.

 When we were out at the Boomerang, one of our friends had his Wilson Antenna attached to his local TV antenna so that it would go up and down just by using the inside crank-up handle.  We're probably going to do that with the one we just recently purchased.

Linda & Earl 2004 23.5'  Red TK From Quartzsite, AZ
Linda Hylton
Re: Verizon cell phone external antenna attached to TV antenna
Reply #18 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50057
"When we were out at the Boomerang, one of our friends had his Wilson Antenna attached to his local TV antenna so that it would go up and down just by using the inside crank-up handle.  We're probably going to do that with the one we just recently purchased."

Quote
Linda & Earl 2004 23.5'  Red TK From Quartzsite, AZ
Linda and Earl:
 Sounds like a good idea.  Technical questions:  Would either antenna cause any sort of reception interference with the other?

Chris H
Formerly: 2002 30' IB
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] re: Verizon cell phone external ante
Reply #19 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50059
Linda and Earl, That sounds like an excellent solution.  Just wondering though...do you think its proximity to the metal TV antenna would interfere with reception?  How was it affixed to the Weingard?  And any negative effect when the antenna is rotated?
 Lorna, still screwing the Wilson into an old mop stick planted in the ground!  (Hey, it may look hokey, but it works!!)
2003 RB
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] re: Verizon cell phone external ante
Reply #20 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50090
Quote
That sounds like an excellent solution.  Just wondering though...do you think its proximity to the metal TV antenna would interfere with reception?  How was it affixed to the Weingard?  And any negative effect when the antenna is rotated?

 Lorna, as I told Chris, I don't know the answer to the question about one antenna causing interference with the other.  If you use your local TV antenna for watching TV, you might want to try a temporary installation first just to check it out.
 Unfortunately, neither Earl nor I got up on the roof to check out our friends' installation up close and personal (I don't do roofs!).  However, I do know that he had purchased some type of clamp and had bolted the Wilson antenna to the local TV antenna.  If I can get them to send me a close-up picture of their installation, I'll post it.

Linda & Earl 2004 23.5'  Red TK From Quartzsite, AZ
Linda Hylton
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] re: Verizon cell phone external ante
Reply #22 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50095
Do you know where or how he routed the cable into the RV?

Quote
Unfortunately, neither Earl nor I got up on the roof to check out our
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] re: Verizon cell phone external ante
Reply #23 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50098
Quote

... Apparently the ground plane does not need to be grounded as the antenna works fine on a non-grounded pie pan.
At radio frequencies, "ground" is, uh not really ground (like a chassis ground).  It's a different concept altogether. With antennas fed from coax, ground is the surface that connects to the coax's outer conductor.  As long as that surface is at least roughly a 1/4 wavelength in radius, it will act like "ground" even if it is up in the air.  The longest wavelength of a cell phone signal is about
1.25'(the high band signals are about 0.5').  So a 12" pie tin is
 almost a wavelength in diameter or about 1/2 wavelength in radius; so it will work fine.
 Another point I have been meaning to raise is that at cell telephone frequencies the loss of the cable to the antenna is not neglectable.
Avoid extending the antenna cable where ever possible to avoid reducing the signal amplitudes.  When you do extend the cable, larger cable almost always has lower loss than smaller cable.  This is quite unhandy considering the tiny connectors that are used on cell telephones.

Linley
Re: [Life With A Lazy Daze RV] re: Verizon cell phone external ante
Reply #24 –
Yahoo Message Number: 50100
-----  > Do you know where or how he routed the cable into the RV?


 They have a fifth wheel with slides -- they've snaked the wires through the slide, but were looking for a better solution.

Linda & Earl 2004 23.5'  Red TK From Quartzsite, AZ
Linda Hylton