I was walking with a friend recently toward his car. He pulled out his car remote and held it up to his chin to click the 'unlock' key. I asked him why, and his response was that the remote's battery was low, and that holding it next to his body extended its range. I don't know if this is true, or some new urban legend, but it got me wondering if there could be a way to apply it to portable phones. Has anyone come across ways of boosting the range of a cell phone when out of the normal coverage areas? My experience on camping trips is that phone providers are not interested in spending their good money on towers in remote areas.

I've seen a product advertised ("As Seen On TV!") that fits into the battery compartment of a phone. Does anyone have experience with it?

As an alternative, is there a way to jury-rig a phone to extend the range, possibly by using wire to extend the antenna?

Antennas are a tricky business. The antenna that comes with the cell phone is tuned with the transmitter and receiver circuits for the best range. Any outside influence is most likely to interfere with this, and reduce the range.

I'm sure everyone has touched the antenna for a low cost radio or tv and received better reception but that is due to the poor antenna on there so basically anything helps. I can't say I have ever seen anything improve the transmit range though, seems to me it would sink more of the signal to ground.

<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> The head amplifies the signal . . . Not a healthy thing when using cell/mobile phones though!

PS: Hello everybody, my first post after YEARS of reading this web site (from mid 90's if I remember right).

Regards

Brian

To answer your questions you need to know something about antennas. I won’t get into anything to technical, but rather really simple information.

All antennas with the exception of a few are omni-directional. This means the radiated energy from an antenna is radiated in a 360° arc. The RF signal is received in the same manner. Your friend was able to extend the range of his keyless remote entry by using his head as a “shield” to allow the transmitting signal to travel in a directional pattern, which was away from him (the shield) to his vehicle. Those little remotes have about a 30-ft range; you can extend it by about 10-12 ft. by placing it near your head. No it is not an urban legend.

Cellular phones work in a similar fashion, they radiate their RF signal in an omni-directional pattern. Your head and even your car can degrade this signal depending upon where you are located in relation to the tower, or repeater. Basically a cellular phone is an enhanced two-way radio similar to the “walkie-talkies” you may have used as a kid. For more information try these websites.

http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/whyantradiates.html
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question490.htm

You are correct that cellular companies won’t put up cellular towers in remote areas. Costing over a million dollars, access to phone lines, access to power w/o a generator all contribute to costs. Economically speaking would 25 end users justify the expense? If so, what would you pay for the call? Why would you want a cellular phone while camping? I thought the idea was to “get-away” and not always on the phone. Yes they are great in an emergency.

Should you buy the antenna extender “as seen on TV?” NO! It is a total scam, what does it hook to? Not the antenna itself, it uses no wires and glues into the battery compartment where interference from the battery itself (stored energy) would play havoc with it not to mention covering the device up. The people you see in the commercials are compensated actors. They are acting, which they do best, which is what the manufacturer hopes for. You don’t notice and then they scam you. Save your money.

Can a cellular phone be modified to transmit further? Yes and No! You can certainly buy an aftermarket kit for your phone, which can have an external antenna to resolve the interference issues previously discussed. Can you make a cellular phone more powerful by adding a linear amplifier similar to adding one to a CB radio? No, you cannot. Cellular frequencies are licensed under the FCC (in the US anyway) to the cellular phone companies. You, the end-user, agree to the terms and conditions of the service provider’s license when you contract with them for service. You can usually find the information in the contract under terms and conditions of the agreement. Modifying a cellular phone would be a violation of the contract and their license. With newer technology phones (i.e. GPS enabled) finding your more powerful signal wouldn’t require much. Older cellular phones, such as a bag phone, have up to 3 watts of power. The newer ones with only .4 watts of power, because of the smaller wattage cellular towers are being raised everywhere to meet demand. Consider finding an older bag phone if you need better reception.

The best solution would be HAM radio. Several of us here are licensed amateur operators (myself included) and the great thing about HAM is you don’t pay per minute for talking. For more information check the amateur radio site of the ARRL. www.arrl.org

Hope this helps.

Take care,

Stargazer
If we believe in absurdities, we shall commit atrocities - Voltaire

Radio Shack (or at least my local one) is now offering a true signal booster for handheld cell phones. The attachment to the phone itself is just like an external antenna (which, as mentioned only serves to move the signal outside the car, etc. and does not boost). Anyway, the attachment is from the handset TO an amplifier which is about the size of a decent sized paperback book...then on to an external antenna. Granted, not practical for walking around, lol, BUT, quite nice for car installs. Boosts the signal back up to the old bag phone days.

I can't recall off hand who the manufacturer is....most likely Wilson, but I'm not sure.

Harley