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Cellular Phones/Cell Phone wavelengths

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Expert: - 8/18/2009


Question
Hi,
I have a Sprint Pantech 500 "air card" for my laptop.
One of the places I spend a lot of time has a really lousy signal, even with my external antenna.
I would like to make an auxiliary antenna, possibly directional, that would give me a decent gain.
I need to know the wavelength of that particular unit.
Any ideas on how best to proceed and what the wavelength is?
Thanks !


Answer
It's not legal to enhance the signal of a wireless carrier anymore than the external antenna that you are using. If you purchase a third party repeater and it interferes with Sprint's signal, they will shut you down. You can try it at your own risk, but you need a CDMA repeater and it has to work on both CDMA bands. The best thing to do is to find a carrier who has a good signal where you need to use your aircard and perhaps Sprint may not be the best carrier. Also, repeaters can't be used remotely, they are for fixed locations, so if the place you go isn't your home or office or location where it could be permanently placed, that won't work either. Sorry that I didn't have better news. Thanks. DebiN

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DebiN

Expertise

I can answer questions on cellular phones, the physical device, the network, contracts, billing, ordering, porting and what to look for when purchasing cell phones. I am located in the United States. I am an expert on BlackBerrys, Treos, HTC devices and iPhones as well as cellphones and aircards. I have over 15 years of experience in both the wireless and wireline world with the carriers. I have a lot of knowledge regarding the wireless providers - their services, prices and policies, both GSM AT&T and T-Mobile) and CDMA (Verizon, Sprint/Nextel). I am very familiar with the individual devices and their specifications. I can also answer questions regarding BlackBerrys, iPhones and other PDAs, both Palm-based and Windows-based. I can troubleshoot most any problem someone is having with their cellular device or with the provider.

Experience

Over 20 years in the Telecom industry working for the carriers with individuals, small business, medium business and large corporations(Fortune 500). Also worked as a professor in Maryland for 10 years teaching telecommunications.

Organizations
I belong to several organizations

Education/Credentials
Master's in Telecommunications

Awards and Honors
Received several awards for papers that I have published over the years

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