Help me boost my cell reception

[CynicalGabe]

Is there a way to legally boost the transmission power of my cell phone? This is a runofthemmill little ol nokia. I'd like to ramp up the power to the full legal 3 watts, from the .6 watts as well. Of course, I'd need a bigger antenna as well. Anyone have any ideas? I am reasonably comfortable with a soldering iron, so ugly hardware hacking isn't too much of a problem.

[groman]

My WAG would be that you'd have a lot more luck with building a retransmitter.

[Mr2001]

I don't think any hardware hacking would be legal.. the phone is FCC certified as is, and if you change it, it's not certified anymore, so you wouldn't be able to use it on the cellular/PCS bands.

[Mr2001]

Also, a bigger antenna doesn't necessarily mean better reception or transmission - more likely, it'd mean the opposite. The antenna length is tuned for the particular wavelengths the phone is designed to use.

[Vlad/Igor]

Yes, ideally the antenna is cut to an odd 1/4 wavelength for optimum electrical match to the transmitter. Older analogue phones operate around 850MHz, with a 1/4 wavelength = 3.33 inches. The newer PCS phones operate around 1900MHz, with a 1/4 wavelength = 1.5". The little stub of an antenna on my PCS phone is more like 3/4" long. If I take some time and find the correct die, I will cut a 3/4 wavelength antenna, thread it to screw into the antenna terminal, and use it for indoor or fringe reception areas.

Vlad/Igor

[kanicbird]

External antennas do boost reception a great deal. Instead of making one try to buy a external car antenna for you phone. I know someone who takes that car antenna hiking (for emergency calls) and yes he can make and get calls when others can't.

Also my experence with Nokia is that reception is not a high priority with them, so another phone might be helpful.

[Mr2001]

Originally Posted by Vlad/Igor

Older analogue phones operate around 850MHz, with a 1/4 wavelength = 3.33 inches.

The 800 MHz band is also used by digital phones. I think even Sprint, which was PCS-only for a long time, now supports roaming on 800 MHz digital networks.