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....

setters posted:

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

He did. I was looking at non weboost branded cell antennas. I'll keep it as is for now though.

Doug - I don't expect it to create signals, I just hope it expands on the fringe singals. As a benefit though, I am on Google Fi, which is (Sprint/T-Mobile/US Cellular) and my wife is on Verizon... so we'll see who does better.

The only thing I could think may work better for us is instead of the hersey bar internal antenna is the dome or wide area antenna for houses. That way you wouldn't have to sit with the antenna in hand.

My instructions say about three feet from antenna is max, when I did the first test I had it laying on the passenger seat

I bought an AC adapter for mine.  So, when not traveling it goes in to work where I have the antenna stuck to a window a/c unit outside,,, out from under the metal roof.  Now I don't have to go outside to take a phone call!  I just hold the transmitting little block/pad thing up to the back of my phone and now I get 3 bars vs 1 before!  Still love it!

Chris, do you notice any difference running it from the AC adapter vs the 12 volt adapter???

Nope, none.  I got one of those AC adapters that you can adjust the plug to match and switch the DC/OUT to match what you have. So, I just made it exactly what it was for my truck.  At the price it cost I am not going to over juice it for fear of busting it.

I hear ya......

For a little more info, and a decent video, the rv bloggers "Wheeling It" published just today a review of the weBoost 4G-X OTR product. They also reviewed 3 different antenna options and compared the new box to the cradle unit they had before.

Wheeling It Booster Review

Okie Doke. I installed this today in about 5 minutes. I say installed, but really I just plugged in everything and tried it. I am using the pre-built platform for my WIFI antenna. I have an junction box that was already on my roof from my Solar, so I previously installed two plates to it. Sealed it with sealant, and then would shove my vertical wifi antenna in when not in motion (or when I needed it). 

I adjusted it by backing out the screws slightly. I bought an L, and an steel electrical junction box cover (as did Big E). This sits firmly into the two straps, and then I tightened it down.

Powered up the unit, and went from 2 bars to 5 bars LTE (to be fair, I'm near a major metro area and do not normally have cell problems) I will be traveling to Asheville and can check it later this month. Ironically, I had no problem with this at the front of my camper and the interior antenna in the front of my camper. However, had more issues the further I went away from it. The dinette was about as far as I could go, and then it started oscillating. If I went to the back couch, it was fine again.

So the next thing I am going to purchase and test is this antenna: https://www.amazon.com/weBoost...RJ5PS45616Z759VBNBSK

It's a little different then what Big E tried.

To make my interior a little more permanent, I'm also going to try an internal antenna like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Wilson-...ords=weboost+antenna

I will compare between this and stock.

Edit: Just watched that video. Cool. Seems like they had about the same between the stubby and the OTR, but I'm willing to try it. I'll probably mount it to my roof rack. I might mount it to my flag pole, but I don't know if I have enough cabling. And the longer the cable the worse the reception.

I've mounted the OTR antenna to my roof. It's beefy. Probably about 2 feet long. It added maybe 8" clearance to my unit. I'll have to double check the height next time it's on the truck. I'll be testing it in the NC wilderness in a couple weeks. Until then, I ran the antenna wire inside the rear slide and zip tied it to the wall in various places.

The upgraded internal antenna doesn't seem to do well with the higher channels, though my phone doesn't operate on them. I'll do a whole test on this when I get back.

Looking forward to hearing how that new antenna works.  I've had my eye on it, thanks for being the test case.......

 with Erick.

On youtube, The Jade and John Show. Married couple from TN that are truck drivers. We Boost gave them a set up to try out and make video of what they thought. John used to be an IT guy and had built his own booster for the truck from home version type stuff. They were impressed with the We Boost mobile system they tried out.

Erick -

The RVgeeks just uploaded a video a few minutes ago that goes nicely with your thread -

Cool video Jeff.  Thanks for posting it.....

Hmmm...very tempting!

Thanks for posting that vid Jeff. I have a question for those in the know........if I wish to not install this permanently, where would you bring the antenna cable into the trailer? I'm thinking of running it in through the slide window but if it rains, I'll be having to remove it to be able to close the window.

Randy don't you have a pass thru storage compartment that is accessible under the bed.....?

setters posted:

Randy don't you have a pass thru storage compartment that is accessible under the bed.....?

No, we have the sofa conversion and besides, running the antenna cable in through one of the pass-thru doors would mean that it stays open during the time we use the We-Boost which I would like to set up and leave it until we leave the campsite.. Not sure I like that scenario.

Run it down the fridge vent I think that's what I'm going to do.....then run an extra phone antenna from the camper into the truck cab so I can use it when driving...also getting a mini so I can run one hidden in side the roof panel of the new Jeep...then I just have to swap the unit between the vehicles/camper.....

Wow!!

This unit is literally priceless. I used it in the Pisgah national forest (Camping here: https://goo.gl/maps/5uNX8QPbxxH2 ) and the Ocala national forest recently. I had 0 bars on either phone in Pisgah [My wife has Verizon/ I have Google Fi]. Using the booster I had 4 bars, 3g with US Cellular (This is a Google FI Carrier). In the middle of the night we had a freak windstorm that luckily I was able to pull up radar for from my phone, so I knew exactly how bad it was going to be. I was only able to test the OTR antenna in this configuration. The stubby was mounted ontop of my truck and had 0 bars (But it was under the cabover, so obstructed).

Testing the different antennas, in the Ocala national forest, the base on T-Mobile (Google FI) was -107db. With the booster stock antenna mounted on a ground plane forward over my bed (outside), my signal was -90 db, with the OTR antenna mounted on the rear, my signal was -91 db. So the OTR/Stock in this case were the basically same.

Do I think the OTR was a good investment? For me? Yes. It allows for a semi-permanent installation that looks nice and I don't have to move the magnetic stubby around when I switch to my truck.

I now leave the stubby on my truck cab, and the other ontop of the camper.

Tom, your signal acquisition success is what I meant when I said it often saves the day!  

Communication-wise, you literally got something out of what was otherwise...nothing. 

I'm very impressed. I'm going to continue comparing different types of antennas and see if there's a difference. 

Ask Doug, he left me use his in Vogal SP in Georgia, for about an hour or so, and by the time I got back to PA I had one ordered.......

I'm interest in this OTR antenna....but if the little one works as good, I'll just stick with one mounted onto a small metal plate glued to the fridge vent....

Randy, why don't you want it permanent?

I was thinking to get this unit and rotate it between the TV and TT based on my location at the time, but I would leave the antennas mounted in each location.

Kent Smith posted:

Randy, why don't you want it permanent?

I was thinking to get this unit and rotate it between the TV and TT based on my location at the time, but I would leave the antennas mounted in each location.

Well, that there just might be the best solution. Get two antennas and permanently mount one on the trailer and keep the spare for those rare times we might need a boost in the truck.

Sometimes my penny-pinching ways can definitely cloud my ability to see the easiest answer to my woes. Thanks for shocking me back to reality. 

You might make a trip or two before you permanently mount it.  We move our antenna around quite often to obtain a better signal. 

Randy, I'm planning on using the suggestion to get the kit with the mini mag mount (for the truck) and then separately order the larger spring mounted antenna to place permanently on the TT.

I think I want to use a semi-permanent mount on the TT in a relatively short position on the roof to have good clearance but still have the ability to quickly reposition it on a taller rod/staff for those more remote locations where height helps, per Nutman's feedback.

setters posted:

I'm interest in this OTR antenna....but if the little one works as good, I'll just stick with one mounted onto a small metal plate glued to the fridge vent....

It did. But I'll try when I get to more fringe areas of service. Though it won't be for a little while. My next trip in April is two weeks and going to Montana, Wyoming and California.... from Florida.

This was another stop in Pisgah. But only with the OTR antenna. This is on/off. At -77dbm, service is very very usable. Not quite LTE, but very consistent. It should be noted that I have the 4GX.

First time I have needed a boost to get data, here parked alone Rockhouse Rd near Borrego. Unwrapped the weboost and stuck the antenna up on the truck hood. Inside, went from almost nothing to 4 bars of 4G. This will be really nice up in the mtns of Colo, where signals go to die.

I like it. New project on my list, a permanent installation. Now, how to get the coax thru the roof?

Thanks for all the great information.  Is the magnetic mount antenna an option?  The 4G-X comes with a bolt-through-the-roof antenna.  Assuming I can get a magnetic mount antenna, can I glue it to the roof of my trailer and have it work properly?

Thanks in advance!