Mobile Phone ext Aerials

[10G]

Not sure if this is the correct forum, but ....

Wondering if anyone uses a cradle and an external aerial for their mobile phone? I'm heading away, but of course I'll still need phone coverage and was thinking of getting an external aerial.

Just wondering if they're worth getting?

Thanks.

[BigRAWesty]

Yea and no..
The biggest problem these days is the phones are usually only good for a couple of years..
Program updates, data capacity and general technology advances sees us changing phones so much more than 10 years ago..
Back when the good old 3210 lasted 10 years a car kit was a good investment.
But the 3210 kit fit anything from a 5110 threw to phones past the 3210 (3380 maybe.. to long ago lol)

Now days phones change so much between models so unless you have maybe a dedicated car phone the cradle my be useless in a few years time.. and they are quite a fair outlay for only a few years..

[taslucas]

That's only if the phone plugs into the cradle.
Some older phones had an external aerial plug but very few new ones do.
You can buy what is called an inductive cradle for phones without plugs. These work by putting the phone end of the antenna in very close proximity to the phones internal aerial. You can universal cradles that will suit many phones and therefore not need to replace when getting a new phone.



>>>tappin from tassie

[taslucas]

Ahh.. This explains it...
http://www.comnet.com.au/epages/shop...a&Locale=en_AU

>>>tappin from tassie

[10G]

You can buy phone specific cradles that clip into stands, then you just replace the cradle not the stand, aerial etc.

[the evil twin]

Are external antennae worth it?... depends.

You will usually get the best bang for your buck range wise by choosing a phone that has good reception off the shelf
Some are really shithouse
Induction cradles are lossy so the external antenna makes up for the losses of the cradle and then a tad more.

I use a ZTE Phone which has an external antenna socket for my truck.
I also use a selection of mobile antennas at work to backhaul data and in a practical sense they are more beneficial in preventing drop out at marginal signal strengths/range

Vehicle wise...
I had a GME AT6DB and that used to give me up to an extra 5 K's or so, maybe a bar or two of signal.
https://www.gme.net.au/catalogue/ant...one/at6db.aspx
I gave it the flick and use a ZGC wire whip which is as good or better
http://zcg.com.au/d/GID-M90T-NextG-SS/

[4bye4]

I have one in my patrol and it seems to extend the distance I can continue to make/recieve calls. I have the inductive type, initially for Iphone4 and then changed the cradle for iPhone6. The iPhone6 did work on the Iphone4 cradle but getting the correct cradle does make a big difference. When you upgrade the new cradle costs less than $20.00. The manufacturer of the system I have also has cradle for other brands of phones. Watch the shopassistants though, the girl behind the counter when I upgraded tried to sell me a new holder for $180.00. I had done the homework when I bought the original setup and knew more about it than she did though. I had already looked the part number up and knew what I needed.

[taslucas]

You can buy phone specific cradles that clip into stands, then you just replace the cradle not the stand, aerial etc.

Are you talking about induction cradles or plug in cradles?
Either way, you can get an aerial with a plug into the cradle so you can swap cradles without chucking the aerial.

>>>tappin from tassie

[Cuppa]

I specifically chose my 'blue tick' phone (ZTE -'Telstra Dave') because it has an external antenna socket but to date haven't needed to use it in rural Vic. When we were travelling around the country we had a small whip antenna (only about 8" high) on a magnetic base. Connecting this to the phone & putting it onto the roof of the vehicle (through a hatch) often made the difference between having a useable signal or not. I would expect that the antennae ET has linked to would be better. Stuck on a broomstick or similar to get it up higher would also improve range. I recall being camped at Yardie Creek Gorge (Cape Range NP/Ningaloo) where no one could get a signal except for one chap who had his antenna up above his truck on an extendable painters pole.

[the evil twin]

What Cuppa said ^^^^

The little ZTE's may not be a flash phone but they get the best range I have observed