Many of us have trouble with cell phone reception at some time or another; either at home, the office or in between in the car.
Dropped calls, delayed text messages and missed voicemail messages are some of the telltale signs of poor signal strength.
These symptoms may even seem minor to those of us that have to go outside in the cold or rain for even a hope of completing a call.
There may be an answer for you in the form of a phone signal booster.
This device takes the outside cellular signal, amplifies it and passes it into the interior of your house or car.
These devices usually have three main components, an external or receiving antenna to capture the weak signal from the cell site, a repeater or amplifier to boost the signal, and an internal antenna to broadcast the amplified signal inside the car or building or alternately a physical connection to the phone or wireless modem.
In a fixed or building installation the receiving antenna is typically located outside the building or in some cases inside the attic.
In most situations an omni-directional antenna that pulls in signal from all directions is used, although some experimentation may still be required for optimal signal reception.
In some cases directional antennas are used when the donor signal is particularly weak.
You will also have to determine the direction of the cellular tower for the specific wireless carrier that you are trying to reach in order to ensure proper antenna placement.
Vehicle installations will require an omni-directional antenna due to the movement of the vehicle.
The most common types are glass mount and magnet mount, although some installations will use a more permanent fixed mount antenna that requires drilling a hole in the exterior of the vehicle.
Not recommended for leased vehicles.
The repeater is the device that takes the weak signal pulled in by the antenna and boosts it up to a usable level.
This unit can be installed in the attic or a utility space such as the garage, laundry room or closet, in some cases the device will sit on a table inside the home or office.
The appearance of the table top models is very similar to a cordless phone base station.
In most cases they are simply plugged in to a standard wall outlet.
Automotive installations usually will either utilize the cigarette lighter outlet for power or will be hard wired to the electrical system of the vehicle.
Typically the repeater is located under one of the seats or in the trunk and may be a bit more industrial in appearance, more like a car audio amplifier.
The internal antenna then broadcasts the amplified signal within the vehicle or building.
The coverage area varies greatly, anywhere from a few feet to 10,000 square feet or more, based on the type of antenna (or antennas) and its placement.
In other cases, more commonly vehicle installations, a physical cable connection is used.
Phone signal boosters can help out in many situations from those of us in more rural locations, to industrial or office buildings that are large enough to impede signal penetration.
The cost involved to install such a device, typically a couple hundred dollars to a thousand dollars or more for more elaborate systems, may be well worth it to those of us that rely heavily on our cell phones for daily communication.