Internet signal booster antenna

[Done_Wrong]

Advice and opinions appreciated! I have a new job that requires me to use the internet from my home. (This is a good thing –and I want to keep the job). I’m in Charles County 35 miles from the Nation’s Capital but I can’t get high speed internet (fios). For the past few years I have use Wildblue Satellite (and Dish TV). When it rains, or wind blows we have lousy to no signal. I’m interested in switching or adding the Verizon mifi for internet. My family also uses the internet, sometimes simultaneously. I’m technically challenged. My current Verizon cell signal is around 2 bars, sometimes 3 bars. I have tried to understand what type of antenna/signal booster system would help. I have found these two web sites that sell devices and before I invest this amount of money I wondered if anyone with knowledge of these systems could point me in a good direction. I’m willing to spend the money for a good system if it will help me keep my job. I’m not sure which system would help the most and found the two web links. If you know of a brand or tech specs that I should look for that would be great to. My work cell is also a t-Mobile which has no signal at my house. It would be nice if this system helps the t-mobile cell signal but Internet is my main priority. Thanks a bunch!
WiFi Signal Improvement, WiFi Signal Strength, Wireless USB, Increase WiFi Signal

Newegg.com - Wilson Electronics Dual Band Pro (800/1900 MHz) 62dB Cell Phone Signal Booster for Home or Office

 

[cableguy]

Well here is the bad news, I have a client in a similar situation, and there arent many good answers,
the booster you were looking at requires a indoor and outdoor antenna, it didnt look like it came with the stuff, and after that you would have to install it, and dont forget the grounding kit, because its not a smart idea to stick a antenna on the roof without having it grounded.

The signal booster I have installed the total package with antennas and ground kit came to around 900, its a bit pricey for a couple extra bars.

most cell phones have a setting where you can read the db's that they are receiving, in order for the booster to be effective you would have to have at least 82db on the roof where the outside antenna would be, lower than 82db's and the booster wouldn't be that effective. So I'm guessing that it wouldn't help with tmobile unless you can stand on your roof and use the tmobile phone.


also max distance from booster to outdoor antenna is 100', for the 100' cable its about 100bucks,

if its longer than 100' it can still be done, but a different type of cable has to be used, and it would cost more than the booster.

so my opinion is save your money on the booster, a verizon internet card is better than wild blue or directway, but all three have usage restrictions,
satellite internet has whats known a a fair access policy, direct way is a 24hr rolling policy so if you download too much you get shut down for a day, wild blue has a monthly policy, so you can get shut down for weeks, (very possible if the kids download movies and games).

my advice is to keep the wild blue for the family and get yourself a verizon card and use it for work, as a lot of vpn's will not work over satellite.

 

[aps45819]

my advice is to keep the wild blue for the family and get yourself a verizon card and use it for work, as a lot of vpn's will not work over satellite.

With a separate system for your work, it would be a tax deductible business expense.

 

[Baja28]

You don't have cable?

 

[getbent]

Well here is the bad news, I have a client in a similar situation, and there arent many good answers,
the booster you were looking at requires a indoor and outdoor antenna, it didnt look like it came with the stuff, and after that you would have to install it, and dont forget the grounding kit, because its not a smart idea to stick a antenna on the roof without having it grounded.

The signal booster I have installed the total package with antennas and ground kit came to around 900, its a bit pricey for a couple extra bars.

most cell phones have a setting where you can read the db's that they are receiving, in order for the booster to be effective you would have to have at least 82db on the roof where the outside antenna would be, lower than 82db's and the booster wouldn't be that effective. So I'm guessing that it wouldn't help with tmobile unless you can stand on your roof and use the tmobile phone.


also max distance from booster to outdoor antenna is 100', for the 100' cable its about 100bucks,

if its longer than 100' it can still be done, but a different type of cable has to be used, and it would cost more than the booster.

so my opinion is save your money on the booster, a verizon internet card is better than wild blue or directway, but all three have usage restrictions,
satellite internet has whats known a a fair access policy, direct way is a 24hr rolling policy so if you download too much you get shut down for a day, wild blue has a monthly policy, so you can get shut down for weeks, (very possible if the kids download movies and games).

my advice is to keep the wild blue for the family and get yourself a verizon card and use it for work, as a lot of vpn's will not work over satellite.

I'm pretty sure I asked them about a limit and they said no, but the more people you have using the speed slows down.

 

[cableguy]

all satellite internet packages have restrictions, and fair access policy's, the more you pay the more you get, but all have a cap,

also the majority of the salesmen either deliberately lie, or are clueless themselves.

verizon also caps at 5gb download,

always read fine print, and never trust salesmen, what is in writing is whats true, not what the salesman told you

 

[cableguy]

all satellite internet packages have restrictions, and fair access policy's, the more you pay the more you get, but all have a cap,

also the majority of the salesmen either deliberately lie, or are clueless themselves.

verizon also caps at 5gb download,

always read fine print, and never trust salesmen, what is in writing is whats true, not what the salesman told you

just looked on the wild blue website,
WildBlue | Get WildBlue | Availabilty & Offers | Your Zip Code Results

the stopped calling it fair access policy, now its a network management policy, but the fact remains you download too much and you get slowed down.

but satellite internet really blows.

your packets are travelling 100,000 miles before they get back to you, which at the speed of light is about a 1 second delay, doesn't sound like much, but if you are used to fast internet, it will slowly drive you insane.

ping times on standard cable,dsl or air card are usually between 30-60 milliseconds, satellite is 800-1000 milliseconds.

 

[Done_Wrong]

Thanks for cell Booster info! From what I have read I thought the 3 part system would be the cell booster, outside omni-directional gain antenna and signal amplifier (range extender) for inside. I had not thought about the grounding for the antenna – Thank you so much for that info. If I do decide to give it a try I would definitely want to have it grounded. I’m trying to read and understand what options might be available. And I do need to access a VPN and thought if I could increase the cell signal it would improve my service. And you were right about the Wildblue shutting me down – it happen and it was painful in that we could not even check email without waiting 5 min. I really need a solution. And after making the switch to the cell signal I may get two systems and then drop wildblue/satellite forever. There is no cable option where I live.
Can anyone tell me what I need to look at to get the best air card for signal strength? Is it worth buying an antenna for the mi-fi? Again, this is not something that I know a lot about and I appreciate the great info.

 

[aps45819]

I had not thought about the grounding for the antenna – Thank you so much for that info. If I do decide to give it a try I would definitely want to have it grounded.

An ungrounded antenna is like putting a lighting rod on your roof and feeding it into your house.

 

[Done_Wrong]

Yes, it’s obvious that I’m not qualified to be talking about high tech things. But I really need a solution and I’m trying to educate myself and spend my money wisely to obtain the results I need for my work. I struggle with understanding how this works and if I could find someone to trust and pay to get this done I would.
In searching for a booster for the recommended 80 db I found this?
Cellphone-Mate-80dB-Cellular-Amplifier-Kit
The price is a MERE $2065 plus the $100 install kit. CableGuy -Can you tell me what system you found for $900?

 

[TWL]

Cell Phone Accessories# -#Signal Boosters - Shop at SolidSignal.com - Page 1

 

[itsbob]

Where at in Charles County? Number of bars doesn't really matter, what matters is do you have 3G or 4g availability?

3g is better than satellite, can be set with a smart phone or mifi as a wireless network, and you can network printers, laptops, game systems etc...

If you have 4g, you'll think you had cable.

 

[itsbob]

We use repeaters at work, i get 4 bars at my desk, but NO network. Don't know why, but it seems to me the repeatet carries cell phone but NOT data.

 

[Done_Wrong]

I'm in Dentsville and I'm not sure how to tell if I can get 4g signal here. I have a 3g phone and it appears to be receiving a 3g signal. The nearest tower to me is at Gilbert Run park (maybe 4 miles away).

 

[cableguy]

yep your gonna have 3g, we do not have 4g out here in the woods, I have seen a small external antenna for the mifi that sticks to a window, I would recommend that,

I wouldn't recommend a large amplifier system, cost to return wouldn't be there, your t mobile still wont work, (if you boost zero signal, you still get zero),

there arent really any good answers for your problem as of yet, so I would recommend solving it with the least expensive solution, which is probably a verizon mifi, possibly two, one for the family and one for work.

depending on how many computers you have 5gb is very easy to download in a month.

 

[Done_Wrong]

Thanks a bunch for all the help!

 

[TWL]

depending on how many computers you have 5gb is very easy to download in a month.

5gb is nothing. I d/l 5gb every few hours. It's what happens when you get rid of DirecTV and get everything via Netflix and "other" online sources.

 

[Done_Wrong]

Guess T1 is not an option for me, this is what I found from Verizon.
QUOTE
Section I.3.4 - Verizon Business Services Flexible T1 Service (also “Verizon Business Services II Flexible T1 Plus Service” and “Verizon Business Service III Flexible T1 Plus Service”)



(Effective October 1, 2010, this service will no longer be available to new Customers. Effective September 1, 2011, Customers will not be permitted to modify existing service or add new service.) UNQUOTE