Best Cellular Booster System

Not being connected can be a blessing. When you find yourself out of touch with the world for a few miles ... stop for a while. That kind of silence is golden.

Jim we already had teh satellite wiring running on the roof so it was an easy decision to route the Wilson Low Loss line beside it and just drop it down into the electronic cabinet.

The SOHO amp needs to air circulation to keep it cool.

Andre, we always ask each campground which cellular service works the best, and between Verizon and ATT one seems to always work. Unlike Jim we have not had good experience with campground wifi. We could count on one hand the number of times we have had great wifi from the campground set up. They are many times at best dial-up speed particularly during peek times for the retiree crowd. Late at night and middle of the day are best times to use campground wifi, everybody is asleep or gone. Remember the CandlePoint Cellular connection is great while you are driving, almost all highways are not hotspots.

Best to you and see you both in OKC.

I did a search for "Inernet" and decided to throw this link up here in case this sollution works for anyone. I'm keeping what I have which is an independent card for mine and my wifes lap top but if you've got a family full of laptop surfers this looks like not only an affordable but simple sollution. Suppose it get's slower the more users that are using it at once.

https://shop.acnwireless.com/mobile/...ringdomain=acn

We are sitting at Enota Retreat campground about 15 miles outside of Hiawassee Ga in the pouring rain using our Aircard with our cellphone booster up in the Georgia mountains near Brasstown Bald mountain. Great hiking wonderful location, but absolutely no cell or internet service, as we are surrounded by 3500 to 4500' mountains all around.

I need to stay connected and have installed a cellphone booster antenna repeater on the roof with a 5 watt booster in the motorhome. If I turn it off I get no signal whatsoever, if I turn it on I get as much as five bars a real life saver for us, it allows us to go outside of normal coverage areas and still get service.

If any of you absolutely needs to stay connected then I would recommend the booster along with a Router inside the motorhome with a 3G Aircard installed very nice solution and in most cases no need for a Sat internet dish.

So, Bruce. Can you tell us exactly what you have booster wise and what it took to hook it up. Thanks

Jon: It sounds like you and I are on the same page using computers. When I purchased my last Liberty, I had them put in a gizmo that made the bus a "hot spot". This contraption cost $2,500 and required two Sprint air cards ($124/month!!!) It was a total piece of crap and would not work very well anywhere. After I complained about it for a year and a half, I turned it off and cancelled Sprint, and purchased a single Verizon Air Card. Have had it since Jan. 2, 2009, and it has worked perfectly everywhere I have been, including the Smokie Mtns. It is even better than something on the coach, as I can take my computer anywhere and it works perfectly. It is fast Broadband speed. Even though I get 5 gb or whatever per month, I have never used over l.2. Verizon covers the Eastern US like a blanket. Some holes out West, but even there Verizon is better than anyone else. Go to Verizon.com or ATT.com or Sprint.com and get their coverage map and you will see what I mean. My computer is in the house wirh the air card right now! Ed

Jon: Forgot to mention, but Verizon has an extra antenna that connects to the air card that has suction cups for a window available for $20. I bought one and have never used it as it has not been needed. Ed

There are several options and configurations that will work, Wilson offers a great product as well, we ended up with the PowerMax 70DB system:

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.as...ingid=49196995

The key to this install is to make sure that you place your outside antenna as far back on the rear cap (we drilled hole in cap near right side use lots of sealant to make sure you seal the hole from the weather) as possible at least 40' from the inside front antenna is very important. You will get 50' of cable from the outside rear antenna that needs to be run forward (can be tricky) need a good chase or way for the cable run. On the bus we placed the amplifier, 3 watt over the entry door in a cabinet where we terminated the cable run from the rear antenna. The 50' cable connected to the booster amplifier on the top easy to read well labeled. You will need either AC or DC access for the amplifier you will get both in the kit, (we used AC found it worked better) then you want to connect the inside antenna to the bottom of the amplifier, you will get about 12' of cable for this. We placed the inside antenna over the drivers seat in overhead.

Once all is installed you should be able to use the system and get a better signal for both cellphone and Aircards.

We have 2 laptops that are in use 24/7, so we added a router, I would use the one that Lloyd recommended along with a Verizon USB 727 aircard (depends on your carrier) installed, all in all it works very nicely.

I agree that the Verizon coverage is better overall than the rest, but there are still plenty of locations where Verizon shows nothing but "White" on their coverage map, no coverage at all, which is where we are now, about 14 miles southeast of Hiawassee GA. (go east from Hiawasse Ga on Rte 76, take right on Rt. 17/75 to Route 180, go about 5 miles on 180 to my location) in the pouring rain, no coverage on the Verizon coverage map, yet with our Cellphone booster antenna ($500) we get great signals for everything we need.

The amps really help, I use the 36 db ATT capable Wilson and never lose signal. My Royal had an unused celluar antenna installed when built. I hooked the antenna to the Iphone with a cradle and it may have helped. When I added the amp reception has been prefect.

Cradlepoint is my next tech step.