Possible to put a cell booster on a hill above house?

ErinP · #1 02/15/10, 11:02 AM

OK, all you techno gurus--
We have a full board of signal on the hill (which we own) right above where our house is going to sit. AT out house, on the other hand, we're low enough we have nothing. Were we to put a booster on the roof, it still wouldn't be high enough.

Is there a way to put a booster on the hill above the house? What about wiring? Or power?

Any ideas?

rancher1913 · #2 02/15/10, 03:57 PM

yes but you would need amps to boast the signal between the house and hill. the longer the run of cat 5 wire the more signal loss. you would need a pro to do the design but could probably do the install yourself

TnAndy · #3 02/15/10, 04:23 PM

Try this website. https://www.smoothtalker.com/

Guy I know has one....without it, he has virtually NO signal at his house....with it, phone has great signal.

Not cheap, but a LOT cheaper than a tower, booster, power/etc.

ErinP · #4 02/15/10, 04:42 PM

I'm pretty sure that wouldn't work.
You have to have some kind of signal for those and we have absolutely nothing. All I have is "Searching..." Our house will sit too low. Even the peak of the roof will be too low.

It'll have to be something that can be placed on the hill that then transmits somehow, down to the house.

Quote:

you would need a pro to do the design

Where do you find a pro?

deaconjim · #5 02/15/10, 05:06 PM

Will you have DSL available? If so, Verizon has a Network Extender which acts as a cell tower in your house, and transmits your phone calls over your internet connection.

ErinP · #6 02/15/10, 05:08 PM

Nope.
The wireless provider in our part of the country might be expanding to our area in the next few years, (and bring with it internet as well as VoIP) but at the moment the best we have is the cell reception at the top of the hill

We won't even get in to what AT&T would require to string in a new phone line.

deaconjim · #7 02/15/10, 05:18 PM

Do you have to go all the way to the top of the hill? How much higher is the hill than the building site? It may be that, by the time you account for the height of the house, a booster antenna in the attic might put you into at least a weak signal.

ErinP · #8 02/15/10, 05:27 PM

Yep, we have to go clear to the top. And I'd guesstimate the top to be a good 50' maybe above where the peak of the house will be.
I'm guessing that not only is the house site low, but also that the hill itself is blocking the signal.

cfabe · #9 02/15/10, 05:35 PM

Yes you can put it on top of the hill and run a cable to the house. If the hill is really 50 feet taller than the house, you'll have no signal at the house even with a repeater system. Your choice is either build a 50 foot tower at the house or run a cable. I'm guessing it will be at least a couple hundred feet of cable to get up to the top of the hill. You'll need some good quality coax to do that, and it will be expensive. It might be a toss up between building a tower and running the wire.

You should consult a professional for this. This company happens to be local to me, I have worked with them before and they will design you a system to get coverage at your house. This is all they do and they know what it takes. Be prepared for the cost to be between $500 and $1000 for the situation you described. Here's the website: http://www.mycellularsolutions.com/

brosil · #10 02/16/10, 07:50 AM

You can do it wirelessly with a two antenna system and one of these.http://www.tessco.com/products/displ...&subgroupId=20

You'll have to come up with power for it, probably solar. Next time, build the house on the hill.

fordy · #11 02/16/10, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ErinP

OK, all you techno gurus--
We have a full board of signal on the hill (which we own) right above where our house is going to sit. AT out house, on the other hand, we're low enough we have nothing. Were we to put a booster on the roof, it still wouldn't be high enough.

Is there a way to put a booster on the hill above the house? What about wiring? Or power?

Any ideas?

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................Stack 7 sections(70 feet) will require 3 sets of guys , dig a 3'x4'x3' foot hole and cement a 40" short section for a base and start stacking tower ! Find some 1/2 hard line with connectors , a directional antenna . You will want an amplifier of some sort as you will have some insertion loss even with hardline at UHF frequencies . The tower should be less than $1000 if you do most of the work yourself , I'd contact the nearest Ham Radio Club because at my old club , we put up numerous towers for Hams who were afraid too "Climb" for free gratis other than beer after we got through . , fordy

fordy · #12 02/16/10, 09:38 AM

............An Addendum , 25G tower can safely and easily be stacked too 125 feet , You'll need additional guys ! Locate the tower as close too your home as possible too minimize the lineal footage of Hardline from the house too the Antenna on the top of the tower . You'll probably beable too utilize this setup with an aircard for faster internet service . , fordy

ErinP · #13 02/16/10, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brosil

You can do it wirelessly with a two antenna system and one of these.http://www.tessco.com/products/displ...&subgroupId=20

You'll have to come up with power for it, probably solar. Next time, build the house on the hill.

Good heavens, no! lol
It's windy and cold up there. The hill is a natural shelter from the north wind.

Harry Chickpea · #14 02/16/10, 11:49 AM

Just curious, have you tried mounting a passive reflector up there? If you get no signal below, but great signal up there, it could be all you need to get a small signal.

ErinP · #15 02/16/10, 12:42 PM

What kind of passive reflector do you mean?

Harry Chickpea · #16 02/16/10, 01:02 PM

You would need to experiment. I'd start off with a small circle of aluminum foil glued to a scrap sheet of thin plywood or wall paneling - maybe two or three feet in diameter. Find a spot near the top of the hill where the phone doesn't get a signal, then raise the thing until it hits the signal, and move it around to see if you can make the phone below pick up a reflection. Another way to see if it might work is to get a large aluminized mylar party balloon, fill it with helium, and tether it to the hilltop on a calm day, trying different heights. That'll tell you if it might work.

Reflections can be the bane of radio and especially UHF signals because the waves of reflected and refracted signals can alternately cancel each other or become additive, just like waves in a pond. Here you would take advantage of the shadow of the hill to allow a strong reflection into that shadow without the cancellation that normally can happen.

Shepherd · #17 02/16/10, 03:43 PM

Erin, we're in the same position. Our cell phones won't work inside the house, or we might get a momentary 1 bar which disappears as quickly as it comes. We're down in a valley. The house is a berm home with 10 inch concrete walls, built in the middle of the forrest, with a north hill immediately behind it which shelters us from the north wind in the winters.

Sometimes I can get an 'iffy' signal out in the valley, but usually we have to drive up to the road to get a good, steady signal.

I'd be real interested in learning what you end up finding out is your best solution.

Smokesignals · #18 02/16/10, 04:09 PM

Check out Wilson products. If you're getting a good signal on top of the hill you should be good to go. The antenna will be mounted on the hill, the booster/repeater can be installed anywhere in your house. You'll need to talk to them about maximum length of your coax run. They have many different options.

http://www.repeaterstore.com/product...erkits/wilson/

artificer · #19 02/17/10, 07:01 AM

If your signal at the top of the hill is great, you might get by with a passive repeater antenna. Its basicly a big antenna pointed at the cell tower, and connected to another antenna pointing back at the house. They only work in a limited number of situations, but your's sounds like the ideal one.

I have heard of people doing this for TV signals, and I think I've heard of it for cell phones as well. The good thing about it is the lack of power, and its fairly cheap.

I'm talking about on of the big antennas, not one of the little stick on the car things. I would go with as big as I could afford, at least 18-20dBi.

Michael