The zBoost YX039 Premium Antenna consists of two directional panel antennas, each with a 18″ jumper cable to connect them to an antenna combiner. The antenna combiner then attaches to a single coaxial cable for connection to the Wi-Ex Base Unit. The new YX039 System is to be used with the zBoost YX510-CEL-PCS dual band repeater kit.

The new and improved accessory antenna system, Wi-Ex zBoost YX039, offers an improved look and better overall signal gain!

Specifications:
This directional antenna system captures signals in both 800 MHz Cellular &1900 MHz PCS bands for the use with zBoost dual-band amplifier systems.
Gain: 8dBi (824-896 MHz) 13dBi (1850-1990 MHz)
Impedance: 75ohms
UPC: 1866390006
Connectors: The two antennas are inputted to the signal combiner, which has an F/Female connector

Kit Contents:
YX021-CEL Cellular Panel Antenna (824-896 MHz)
YX023-PCS Panel Antenna (1850-1990 MHz)
2x 18″ coaxial jumper cablesAntenna combiner
2x U-Bolt and mounting brackets for pole mounting (pole not included)
Instruction manual

A Cellular Repeater Kit will allow you to make calls when very little cell phone signal exists. This booster will also reduce dropped calls and increase internet speeds. We have had good success with Wilson Electronics Repeater kits customized for use in Motorhomes & RVs.

Wilson Electronics is well regarded in the industry because of their high quality.

Cell Phone Boosters or Repeaters are very simple to setup and they do not require expert installation. A Repeater kit consists of 3 major components; an external antenna, an amplifier or booster and an internal antenna that gives cellular coverage inside the RV.

Kits can range from $300 for a single-phone style amp to $600 for a more powerful amp that can support multiple cell phones and/or broadband data cards. A few of these kits are listed below.

Single Cell phone use:

http://www.repeaterstore.com/products/Wilson-841233-Wilson-841233-Mini-SignalBoost-RV-Kit

Multiple Cell  Phones or Data Cards:

http://www.repeaterstore.com/products/Wilson-841295-Wilson-841295-Ambulance-and-RV-Repeater-Kit

If your phone shows a 3G icon in the top left of the screen:

1. Dial *3001#12345#* on the keypad and press call.
2. Select “UMTS Cell Environment”
3. Select “UMTS RR Info
4. If the uplink frequency is a number between 4132 and 4233, your phone is using the 800/850MHz Band. If the uplink frequency is a number between 9262 and 9538, your phone is using the 1900MHz band.

If your phone shows no 3G icon in the top left of the screen:

1. Dial *3001#12345#* on the keypad and press call.
2. Select “GSM Cell Environment”
3. Select “UMTS Network Information
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and find the ARFCN
5. If your ARFCN is between 128 and 251, then your phone is using the 800/850MHz band. If your ARFCN is between 512 and 810, then your phone is using the 1900MHz band.

News Flash >> Starting Today, August 1st ‘07 the Spotwave Z1900 has taken a permanent price cut to $299 following the success of the temporary $100 discount that has been operating for the past month.

With a system gain of +63 dB the Spotwave Z1900 is one of the stronger amplifiers in its price range. The amplifier also features a modern and attractive design so you won’t want to hide it away in the corner of the room. The Spotwave Z1900 comes as a full repeater kit with everything you need to improve your cell phone recelption, including antennas, cables, power supply, mounting equipment and of course the Z1900 amplifier.

Networks operating on the 1900 MHz frequency band include Sprint and T-mobile. In addition to this, Verizon and Cingular operate the majority of their 3G data services on 1900 MHz, so the Spotwave Z1900 should improve the performance of 3G data cards operating on the Cingular or Verizon network. However, Cingular and Verizon only use the 1900 MHz for voice coverage in a small amount of areas. For more information on Cellular Network Frequency usage visit our cell phone repeater buyer guide, or contact us.

Buy it now or find out more on the Spotwave Z1900 product page – click here.

Since AT&T and Cingular merged a few years ago, the joint company has owned licenses for both frequency bands in most areas. In order to ensure an improvement on voice and data coverage, we recommend purchasing a dual band repeater for AT&T customers. Once installed, these repeaters will also improve the cell signal on every other network (except for Nextel). Here are our recommendations:

Medium reception: For users with medium signal quality outside their building (3 bars or more), the zBoost YX-510 kit will improve your cell phone signal to full bars for AT&T voice and data services, even if you currently have no AT&T service at all inside. This unit will usually cover up to 2,500 square feet. The kit is very easy to install, and comes with everything needed to set the system up. You can find our product page here: Wireless Extender zBoost YX-510.

Low reception: For users with low quality outside their building (2 bars or less), the YX-510 kit Premium Kit can be used to amplify the AT&T signal. This repeater will usually cover up to 3,000 square feet (or 5,000 square feet if you currently have 3 bars or more of signal outside). You can find our product page here: Wireless Extender zBoost YX-510 (scroll half way down the page).

Large coverage areas: For users with 2 or more bars of signal outside their building, and who wish to cover up to 10,000 square feet, we recommend : Digital Antenna DA4KSBR-50U 60dB Repeater Kit (scroll half way down the page). This more powerful antenna also comes with a high-gain omni-directional antenna, and is perfect for large-building installations.

If you have any questions about repeaters, or want a custom recommendation, feel free to call us at 1-800-761-3041 or e-mail us at support@repeaterstore.com.

To explain why, I’ll have to give a little background on how cell phone networks are licensed to use their frequencies. The FCC (the Federal Communications Commission) is in charge of designating and selling licenses for the frequency spectrum that cell phones use. The FCC has two main frequency ranges that it has licensed networks to use, one is around 850MHz (the “Cellular band”) and another is around 1900MHz (the “PCS band”). Each one of these “bands” is then subdivided into smaller frequency “blocks” and sold to networks. The 800MHz band is usually shared between two networks (usually Cingular and Verizon), and the 1900MHz band is usually shared between six networks (usually T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, Cingular and a couple of regional carriers).

Have a look at the diagram below to see what the FCC licensing scheme looks like.

As part of their licensing rules for these cellular frequencies, the FCC requires that networks only sell and use equipment that works on their specific frequency “blocks”. However for technical reasons it’s very difficult and expensive to create repeaters that only cover these smaller frequency blocks. You’ll notice that all the repeaters we sell on our site cover an entire frequency band, and never just a frequency block. If networks were to start installing repeaters wherever they could, they’d be flouting FCC rules and would probably get slammed with a big fine. Moreover, Sprint would hardly want to install a 1900MHz repeater that would also improve the reception for all the other networks that share the band and with which it competes.

Since networks can’t install these repeaters or even make a little cash selling them to their customers, they don’t promote them at all. By contrast, in Asian countries like South Korea repeaters are installed in every apartment complex, shopping mall, and even on street corners. Unless the FCC makes an exception for repeaters, it’ll be a while before we see similar market penetration here in the States. With no network backing, the repeater market in the US is developing as people learn of the products through word-of-mouth and as manufacturers like Wi-Ex, Wilson, TelecomTek and Spotwave gradually promote their products.

A Faraday shield consists of a wire mesh which blocks external electric charges from entering the cage. The video below, from a German university, illustrates its purpose pretty vividly.

In addition to stopping the person inside from being electrocuted, the Faraday cage blocks electromagnetic fields and frequency waves – the latter resulting in interrupted radio and cell coverage. When such waves encounter conductive material, they do not pass through the material but rather flow around its surface. For example, when lightning strikes the metal frame of a car or airplane, that frame shields the passengers inside from the electric charge.

Faraday cages, intentional or otherwise, are everywhere in our daily lives. Some auditoriums and exam halls use them to prevent disruption or cheating in tests. Microwave ovens have inbuilt Faraday cages to contain the microwaves within them. In practice, we expect to encounter them regularly, anticipating losing radio signal driving under a bridge, or cell signal when entering an elevator.

Most homes were certainly not deliberately constructed as Faraday cages. For one thing, a true Faraday cage would be exceptionally expensive, and only of interest to sensitive government buildings. Nevertheless, the wire frames and meshes used in building construction have the effect of blocking or severely reducing the quality of cellular signals inside them. This is obviated somewhat by a building’s doors and windows, but the ‘Faraday cage effect’ still results in many, many homes and offices receiving little or no cell phone coverage.

Poor cell phone reception is an ubiquitous problem across the United States, and the causes of bad signal fall under two categories: localized poor coverage due to building materials or destructive interference, and geographical distance from or obstacles between your phone and the nearest cell tower.

Let’s deal with the latter first. Say you live in the middle of a desert, miles from a town or major road. If you are physically too far away from the nearest cell tower, and have to drive a couple of miles to get a signal, a repeater is unlikely to be able to help you, because it cannot create a signal where one does not exist already. Similarly, if you live on the side of a mountain, and the cell tower is on the other side of that mountain, a repeater is not likely to able to pick up a strong enough signal through that obstacle to improve your coverage.

So geographical reception barriers are often insurmountable. Fortunately, they are relatively rare. The cause of your bad cell signal is far more likely to be due to the construction materials used in your home or office, or destructive interference from the buildings around you. Cellular signals have a hard time passing through metal and concrete within the walls of your home. That’s why you might gain two or three bars of signal by hanging out of an upstairs window. Obviously, you can’t make all your cell phone calls like that (!), but you can set up a cell repeater there, magnifying the good signal to an internal antennae within the walls of your house and bypassing the ‘blocking’ effect of the building walls. Many buildings also use a wire mesh in their construction called a Faraday cage. This mesh blocks external static electricity fields, meaning that cell phone signals cannot get through.

Destructive interference runs along similar lines and is a particular problem in built-up areas. If you can’t get a signal in your Manhattan apartment, it’s obviously not because Cingular/Sprint/Verizon etc coverage is poor there. In cities, cell signals will be reflected from walls and other barriers and many separate signals will be found traveling in different directions. These different signals will interact with each other and some of these can be diminished in strength, which results in weaker cell signal for you. Luckily in these cases you will probably be able to get a reasonable signal nearby, and so again, a cellular repeater is an excellent solution. This article from slate.com has more on bad cell reception in city apartments.

A good rule of thumb is the following: if you can get a signal outside your home or office, but not inside, the problem is likely to be one of localized bad coverage which can be improved by a cellular repeater. Everyone’s situation is different though, and if you have any doubts, contact us to discuss your case in detail.