T&T: Cell Phone Amplifiers

[George Hechtman]

Gee, another topic I have some bit of expertise in. I come from the  
cellular and mobile electronics industry, my old company is a  
wholesale distributor and resell of a range of these products. See  
archives for previous writings. We sold and installed a wide variety  
of both wired and wireless systems. In the consumer/small business  
arena, Wilson and Digital Antenna (DA), with the vast preponderance  
of sales in the latter. DA does come out of the marine industry since  
they started out as a high end boat antenna company.

When it came to equipping our new-to-us boat, I pretty much could do  
what I wanted equipment wise. I ended up keeping it fairly simple.  
One of the main reasons for that is that cell coverage, at least for  
our provider, AT&T (nee Cingular) is very good along the waterways of  
the eastern seaboard. I ended up installing a DA 8 ft antenna, wired  
to one of their DA4000 amplifiers. In turn, I I can hardwire that to  
our Sierra Wireless 875U USB data modem and one of the phones. If I  
wanted to, I could leave the phone safe and sound and use a Bluetooth  
handsfree as I wandered the boat. One of these days I will get around  
to hooking it up to the intercom/phone system using a Dock 'n Talk,  
which in our case involves some fiddling with the existing Charles C- 
Phone set up.

  From North Carolina to Miami, we have felt the need to use the  
system once; mostly to improve data speed in a remote anchorage  
(remote anchorages being our venues of choice). Our boat would be  
almost ideal for one of their wireless systems, using one of their  
indoor directional antennas. Since I can get one super cheap, I may  
do that someday, but I doubt it.  I can take the amplifier with me in  
its carrying case and use it in cars or wherever; it has both 12v and  
110v capability. The wireless units, even the newer boat/RV models,  
require specialized installation and conditions.

One thing one must keep in mind, there has to be a signal to amplify.  
If you are in a total dead zone, only the deadness will be amplified.  
In various cruises in other places and on other boats, I did find the  
amplifier remarkably useful in making something out of seemingly  
nothing, so you do have to try it. A nice antenna is the first and  
most important element, but if you end up with too long a cable run,  
its un-amplified benefits are mitigated by signal loss. I always  
suggest trying to improve the antenna first, before investing in  
electronics.

George