WeBoost (Wilson Electronics) Drive 4GM Cell Signal Booster

Erick -

Fantastic write-up and review!  

Excellent pros & cons as well as what not to purchase and great tips/tricks.

Bravo!

Although we aren't in the market for this device I just had to chime in.  

Oh, and good thing you threw in the disclaimer about your, er Cyndi's pretty phone cover.  

Excellent review and photos. I have longed for one of these devices but just haven't "longed" hard enough to shell out that much cash. I looked at your warehouse deals link and there's nothing offered right now.

Question, you indicated that the external and internal antennas need to have a certain distance between them to prevent oscillation? Can you report what that distance might be?

Also, it sounds as though the stock parts that came in the package are all one needs to maximize it's potential, correct?

Some kind of booster is on our list and I've been getting the WeBoost  email sendouts for learning. You should get an A+ on that report. Very well done...helped me a bunch in understanding.  Now to win the lottery so we can get the stuff on this list.

Randy, the tech I spoke to said to get the 2 antennas 10' apart.  That doesn't seem reasonable since these are made to use in a car.  I found success at about 6 to 7'.  I'm sure it has a lot to do with the composition of the roof and such.   And yes, I am having the greatest success with the stock antennas that came with the unit.  I think they recommend the Trucker/RV antenna due to the fact most RV roofs aren't metal and it doesn't require a ground plane.  The ground plane issue is easily overcome to use the magnet mount antenna.....

And re the link I had included, somebody must have scooped on that deal.  To check periodically click the link(s) below.  Then where it says "Buying Choices" if there are any used ones available you will see "used" in blue.  Click that and it will show what is available along with a description.......

4GM link
 http://www.amazon.com/weBoost-...keywords=weboost+4gm

4GX link
http://www.amazon.com/weBoost-...keywords=weboost+4gx

Here's the best price yet....I'm tempted.....!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/1...ps&ul_noapp=true

So Erick do you have the booster in the camper....or the truck.....?

setters posted:

So Erick do you have the booster in the camper....or the truck.....?

In the camper......

I have the old Speedboost by Wilson.  For portability, we mounted it to a little plank and carry it and the magnetic antenna in a little leather bag.  

Sometimes when traveling we put the bag in the truck to make calls while driving.  At night, we move it all to the camper.

Once we checked into a State Park in Arkansas and were told there was no phone service because we were in a valley on the lake.  We'd have to drive out of the park 1/4 mile to the top of a hill to use our phones.  

We moved the antenna all over, including all over the roof of the camper to no avail.   Then, by chance, I discovered a spot on the truck hood that gave us 1 or 2 bars.   We set a folding chair next to the truck to make calls and we called it 'the phone booth'.   They DO work if there's any chance of having some signal to boost.  

Doug, when you tried using the antenna on the roof was it placed on ferrous metal?

Thanks Erick for this thread. My work requires internet access.  This may be worth it (when we are closer to full-time). Great information.

I've been curious about a cell booster for a while, even considering making one myself with an old sat dish (directional) versus a non-directional like you did here. This further pushes me that route, but I don't think I'll be doing anything quite yet.

After dropping Sprint, my signal has already gone up But I would be curious if the residential version would actually be better for our application.

Leemom, if internet is something you require when you go FT, I would consider Hughesnet. It's not cheap, but they are making significant advances in satellite based internet and the associated speeds.  

 Just FYI, pink phone cover re wife's phone......

Sure it is ......we believe you too......

TangoFox posted:

 

Leemom, if internet is something you require when you go FT, I would consider Hughesnet. It's not cheap, but they are making significant advances in satellite based internet and the associated speeds.  

 

Thanks for the info. We are still a few years away from this, but I do enjoy thinking about what I will be doing when I can get up and go. I will try to file this away somewhere for future use.

I just finish looking at all the pictures....nice use of the electrical box cover.....

The cabin that I parked my camper at, and also rented a few times in the PA ANF had one in there left by a frequent renter.... would not do anything for my phone...but the owner of the cabin says it works for the guy who leaves it there....

I may steal that idea (box cover) for a XM antenna mount....

Big E posted:

Doug, when you tried using the antenna on the roof was it placed on ferrous metal?

Yes, Erick.  I made from galvanized tin, a ground plane plate.   It holds the magnetic antenna.  It is about 14 inches in diameter and flat like a pizza pan.   It just sets whereever I want the antenna for the moment.

I have two ways of moving it about on the roof.  I open the escape hatch over the bed and set it somewhere I can reach, sometimes on the top of the air conditioner.   WIth no luck there, I climbed the ladder and tried it in back of the camper.  

Almost always, the escape hatch trick works as I've used it countless times in the past to call home when I was out on work assignments where I overnighted in my TC. 

In the case of the state park, nothing worked.  We were deep in valley walls, and in a curved cove on the lake..so we were blocked by terrain.    

I plugged the booster in the truck's power receptacle and started moving it about.  Picnic tables, etc...did nothing until I found that six inch spot on the hood.  

People walking by, seeing us sitting in our lawn chair talking on the phone, would get out their phones and start punching on them.....to no avail....and then walk on.  We'd LOL at them for they thought they had a hot spot.

My booster is old, but it saves the day many times.   Mine is not wireless.  It has a wire from the booster with a 'puck' that attaches to your phone temporarily with velcro.  It sticks to your phone near the phone's antenna.  You have to put a small, mating dot of velcro on your phone, or, as we do, just use a rubber band to hold it on the phone.

What are your thoughts on this?

https://www.wilsonamplifiers.c...-booster-kit-470103/

We need something for work really badly.  I was also wondering if I unplug the room mounted antenna, can i plug the mobile antenna into it and bring it on the road?

We just returned from our favorite boondock site. We have NEVER had service there before and probably would have still thought service was non-existent until I received a text Sunday evening. There was one spot on the table next to the trailer that would occasionally show one bar of service. Move the phone one foot in any direction and the signal was lost. Also, trying to call out instantly caused the one bar to disappear.

This is the most sketchy service I've ever experienced and I thought about this thread and whether Erick's booster would have made much difference. I'll likely never know as we kind of like the idea of totally getting away but it was kind of fun trying to communicate from our "media outpost". The recipient of my texts said there were a few "multi-posts" of the same text.......probably a result of me responding to the "Resend, Try Again" screen that consistently popped up.

Randy, that indicates that there is a weak signal available and the signal booster would most likely make a difference.  So here's what you do.  Get a booster, go back there and call me after it's set up.  Just make sure your GPS location setting on your phone is enabled before you call..........

Another sly fox trying to hone in on our paradisical site. Nice try Big E 

R&V Spiker posted:

Another sly fox trying to hone in on our paradisical site. Nice try Big E 

Awww, you saw right thru me........

So far after getting the 4gX it has improved our signal by 20-40 dBm's.  This has made the difference between being able to make a call and/or getting data and not.

Today we will be in yellowstone and will try it and next week in glacier for an extended stay and will let you know how it performs there.

We will be getting the base/home unit for work when we get back from this trip as the many times at work you have to go outside, out from under the metal roof, to make a call to a customer.

The 4gX seems to be pulling ahead.  I am also considering a similar setup.  Thank you for sharing.  You are saving me both time and $$$$. 

Fizbin posted:

So far after getting the 4gX it has improved our signal by 20-40 dBm's.  This has made the difference between being able to make a call and/or getting data and not.

Today we will be in yellowstone and will try it and next week in glacier for an extended stay and will let you know how it performs there.

We will be getting the base/home unit for work when we get back from this trip as the many times at work you have to go outside, out from under the metal roof, to make a call to a customer.

Just remember, there has to be some available signal for it to work.......

Big E posted:

Randy, that indicates that there is a weak signal available and the signal booster would most likely make a difference.  So here's what you do.  Get a booster, go back there and call me after it's set up.  Just make sure your GPS location setting on your phone is enabled before you call..........

My older Wilson amp still works great and makes a real difference in being able to get phone service and Internet.

On our previous TC I had the antenna mounted pemanently on the roof attached to the roof rack. Tree branch snags would break off the tiny ground plain antenna stub outs. With the new Lance 1172 I decided to keep the antenna portable and and I built a antenna mast out of PVC, 24" threaded sections, that I can erect in a few minutes and mount to the roof access ladder. I mount the antenna to the PVC mast and I then run the antenna coax through the dinette slideout rubber wiper seal into the interior of the camper and connect it to the amplifier which is powered from the Lance factory USB/12volt cigarette receptical. Mucho better setup with no antenna breakage to deal with.  

I would never want to be without the amplifier and antenna when in the boonies,  cus it's always good to get a call out in emergencies, the Internet access is just a convenience. 

Nutman you raise a good issue. I actually have a small junction box on my roof for this purpose, I got two mending rods and screwed them in and then put a little silicone behind them to hold them away from the junction box, then I just slide the antenna into this gap which holds it securely in place. When I stop somewhere I open my sky light, stand up on the bed, and drop it into the holder. When I leave somewhere, I reverse the process - that way it's not sticking out way above my camper on my drives.

The cable from the antenna runs down into the skylight, which is a little annoying - I guess I could run it somewhere else, but it works for me.

Big E posted:

I recently aquired a WeBoost Drive 4GM cell signal booster.

                    Hope somebody finds this useful,  Erick

 

Looks like this will be very useful to us.

Just got back from a few days up by Big Basin, very spotty cell and internet service.

My truck has built in WIFI so that helps on that end, but inconvenient having to have the ignition in the Aux position (and the keys in the ignition). Good reception and broadcasts very well from the truck to inside of the trailer, AT&T based, but a bit inconvenient and doesn't really solve the phone issue.

I could add a separate phone service to the truck I suppose but would only use it infrequently, and then I would have to be in the truck.

I'm thinking what you have here is a good solution, wife is on Verizon, I use AT&T so there are two chances of getting a signal.

Just ordered my Drive 4G-X, we'll see how it is when it gets here

I bought one a few weeks back, there is a place in the State Forest about 15 minutes from my house that I have never been able to use my phone....I can now...

I only tested it at that spot and driving along in that State Forest road it seems to work really well for about 2 1/2 mile stretch of the road that I drove, I have not tried putting the inside phone antenna up against the phone, I just had it laying on the seat along side of me, so I can not give a report on that, I wanted to go up to the Allegheny National Forest to a spot I know, I only get one bar and can not make any calls from that location, it will be a good test also...but unfortunately I had got sick and didn't make the trip....

Tom, it's not total magic, but close to it and it.  Often it will save the day when you think you have no phone service.  And, it improves your mobile hot spot for the internet.

Last month with Setters in the Smokies, we had no phone signal.   The Speedboost worked in both our campers and we were also able to make a mobile hot spot with our phones because of it.  Without it, no dice. 

I had forgotten the metal ground plane for the magnetic mount antenna so we improvised by sticking the antenna to the bottom of a cast iron skillet and then put it on the roof.    

When Doug brought his over to my camper I instantly made my phone a hot spot and got on the internet....as a test we would turn it off(weboost) and I would instantly loose the internet connection...turn it back on and get back the internet... we tried that test a few times.... it sold me on one....!!!!

I'm now going to buy another two mini antennas and drop the wire from one down the Fridge vent and put a Velcro mount on the back of my dinette seat for the unit. The other one I will mount in my Jeep , and the one that came with I will mount on the truck...not necessarily in that order having three antennas will speed up the set up in all the vehicles......

I don't know if there's truth to this, but someone said the 120V adapter puts out 12v to the unit. Whereas the 12v adapter only puts out 6. They said that when at 120V, it gets a lot better reception than the 12v, because of that input power.

Anyone try that?

I have been looking at these boosters, and was confused by the 10' distance requirement between antennas. I too wondered, how can this work in a car. It is nearly impossible to get 10' of separation in a truck camper. I had not seen this thread until today, and now I am thinking this will be my next mod project.

I have seen some RV'ers use a Wilson directional antenna, on a pole. More trouble to set up, but they report more gain than the vertical stubby. That would be the cat's meow, but I am not sure the directional antenna is type accepted with these units.

TangoFox posted:

I don't know if there's truth to this, but someone said the 120V adapter puts out 12v to the unit. Whereas the 12v adapter only puts out 6. They said that when at 120V, it gets a lot better reception than the 12v, because of that input power.

Anyone try that?

not yet....didn't have mine that long....!

As far as 10 ft I just had mine on the roof above the driver....I did read where you should stay in the center of roof away from sun roof and windows ...I think it showed toward the back of car, which in my jeep will only be about 6.5 ft

I wouldn't try the input thing until you speak with the customer service department to confirm it, because I see now that some of the 120V inputs are 6v in... so I wouldn't want to smoke the device because of it.

Debating getting a different antenna other then the stubby one. Maybe I'll keep it for now and try it out first.

I think,if I remember right @Big E said he bought two different antennas and said he felt the stubby one worked the best....