weboost (Wilson Electronics) Drive 4G-S Cell Phone Signal Booster Kit #470107

[Durango]

Sioux and I are planning our 40th anniversary road trip from Durango, CO to Portland, OR and then back through Idaho and Wyoming. We'll obviously be traveling through marginal cell phone reception. (No freeways for these old coots!)

So has anyone had success for increasing their internet reception through this weboost Drive 4G-S Cell Phone Signal Booster Kit | 470107? Our current provider is Verizon and we use the Samsung S-3 with 4GB monthly data with our phone being a mobile hot spot.

Thanks for any input or suggestions. (We aren't married to the above cell booster.)

Steve

 

[WanderinWhitlows]

We use a different booster made by the same company and it really does work surprisingly well. We did opt to use a NMO mounted antenna instead of the magnetic model it came with. One thing you need to do before you purchase the booster, depending on the country you are in, is to find out if your carrier will support it. When you buy it there should be documentation stating that your carrier must approve it before it will function properly. We called ours - AT&T - and they had no problem with it and walked us right through the process. However my sister-in-law who uses a different carrier could not get them to approve her use of one.

 

[mpinco]

Read this thread:

Best IPhone for Rural Coverage

Not saying buy an IPhone. It's a good discussion that highlights the Australia Blue Tick rating system. Best I can tell the S3 is not Blue Tick rated. Some discussions note it performs poorly in fringe areas. A booster may help but maybe a different cell phone is a better choice as it can be with you when hiking/exploring/etc.

 

[Durango]

So based on your responses I ordered this booster last night along with an extra 12" antenna for the cab. The plan is to move the booster from the cab back to the camper at night where I will install the standard antenna that comes with the kit. I'll let everyone know how it does and thanks for the help.

Steve

 

[mhiscox]

It's good to have that booster, and it's also good to have Verizon service, which seems to consistently get more rural Oregon spots than others. And the two Wilson boosters I have in my rigs are often valuable.

One thing I've learned, though, is when you use the Wilson booster, there has to be something to boost. It can turn two bars into four or one bar into three, but it can't turn "no service" into anything. You'll be going through areas that just don't have any coverage, so don't think it a malfunction if you can't pull in anything if there's nothing to get.

Enjoy the trip. We did Portland-Durango-Portland last September and really enjoyed the traveling.

 

[doug720]

We have a house in Ashland, outside Medford OR, and we have found that ATT works way better than Verizon once you get outside of most towns. I think it's as much device as carrier.

 

[Davev1954]

I have no love for verizon- but I'm out in the boonies alot, and I seem to always have the best or only signal of my friends. And my wife has ATT- and she is constantly borrowing my phone. So in remote Utah and Nevada- Verizon wins. I'm still going to look into this booster idea.

 

[kojackJKU]

Ok, aren't these antennas supposed to have a ground? I noticed that they have an antenna mount that suction cups on the glass of the rig? If not. I may use this for my Jeep. Having a fiberglass top does nothing for mounting options. I would use that suction cup mount, and two way tape it to my rear glass. Mag mount the antenna on that and have a nice tidy good looking setup.

thoughts?

 

[gary in ohio]

make sure you get the booster for your carrier and service type 3g/4g... Also not to be legal you need to register the boosters with the cell company

 

[kojackJKU]

yep, I had one before, and it worked great wth my CDMA blackberry, however, not working with my new phone. I need to buy a new one. now, anyone have any information on the stick on antenna mount for the mag antenna? or is the stick on antenna for the window just as good? I am deciding what way to go.

 

[kojackJKU]

make sure you get the booster for your carrier and service type 3g/4g... Also not to be legal you need to register the boosters with the cell company

This is not a requirement in newfoundland. I guess different places are different.

 

[CaliMobber]

Ok, aren't these antennas supposed to have a ground? I noticed that they have an antenna mount that suction cups on the glass of the rig? If not. I may use this for my Jeep. Having a fiberglass top does nothing for mounting options. I would use that suction cup mount, and two way tape it to my rear glass. Mag mount the antenna on that and have a nice tidy good looking setup.

thoughts?

Antenna ground plane depends on the design. some require a ground other do not. If you looking for a non ground plane the 2 best we have used are these 2.

The cheaper option is the wilson trucker, this is a great one for the price and have very good success with it.

Trucker can be had as cheap at $25 for the nmo ( I have this one) or much more depending n the kit like this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Wilson-Electr...qid=1434205841&sr=8-1&keywords=wilson+trucker

Or the even better but more money is this guy. We are really into boosters have lots of experimenting and this one gets the bests results. Just remember to get good cable to prevent much loss.

http://www.wpsantennas.com/TRA6927M3NW-001-Laird-3G-4G-Multi-Band-NMO-Phantom-Antenna.aspx

 

[bigwapitijohnny]

Wilson 4G booster...

I have one in my rig, and I have used it for quite some time. It does increase the signal by a significant amount. I actually bought a Verizon mifi jetpack, and it works like a charm. Now, I can use the mobile mifi or slip my cell phone in the booster cradle. Works great.

Hope this helps!

Regards,

BWJ

 

[Durango]

The booster helped quite a bit on our 4300 mile trip through the back roads of Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Sioux and I have the same phone (Samsung S3) and with the same service. (Verizon) So it was easy to test the effect the weboost 4g had on reception. We found a definite increase of one to two bars. We bought the optional 12" antenna and installed it in the cab and ran the other 4" antenna (included in kit) back into our FWC hawk. Then all we had to do was change the cradle (easy) to have service day and night.

 

[kojackJKU]

When I had my old phone and system, the difference was actually quite dramatic. There were lots of places before I would not have service that I had full bars with the booster.