We have a cabin in the mountains of SE Tennessee, the nearest cell tower is over 12 miles away and not clear line of sight. We had terrible cell coverage and decided to install a cell phone booster which is a Wilson DB Pro 4G, currently known as Weboost. The system we installed is similar to yours, with a couple of exceptions, both the indoor and outdoor antennas are directional not omni directional which came with your booster kit. The results that we had were not as favorable as yours we did improve to 2 bars, sometimes 3 with periods of 3G signal strength but that was very inconsistent and unless we stood close to the indoor antenna, we would still drop some calls which was annoying. Tiring of the inconsistent signal strength and the uncertainty of calls dropping, I did further investigation into ways of modifying the set up for improved signal strength. Abiding by FCC regulations, it is my understanding when you purchase these "kits" and not individual components, they have to supply you with the omni directional antennas and RG6 cable that you have. That was changed from when we purchased ours that came with the directional antenna, but the RG6 cable still applied. I was running 70 feet of RG6 cable to my -8dbi outdoor antenna which at 800 MHz has .83 dbi drop and at 1900 MHz, has 1.35 dbi drop. Unfortunately my carrier, Verizon operates on both of the frequencies. Doing the math you can see the dbi loss of this cable was basically nullifying the gain from the antenna. Realizing this shortcoming, I purchased an aftermarket Log Periodic Directional -15 dbi outdoor Yagi antenna and purchased 70 feet of RG11 cable which has half of the dbi loss of RG6, installed this replacing the "kitted" antenna and cable. Once I had the antenna pointed in the proper direction, it was time for the moment of truth, I energized the system and I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at my phone, I was now at 4-5 bars with LTE signal strength! Checking the SIM status on my phone, I was going between -90 to -96 dbm which was ranging from excellent to good signal strength and I could not be happier with the $175.00 I invested on upgrading the antenna, cable and connectors. Additionally, we use a Verizon Mifi for internet use on our laptops or when we have guests come to our cabin. We position that close to our indoor antenna and gives very good hotspot signal, I am able to work on my laptop doing estimates, writing CNC programs and design work as I own a business several states away, the ability be able to e-mail such things is integral while being at the cabin. Hope this helps with future modifications if needed to booster systems.
What brand of aftermarket antenna did you buy? Im looking to getting the Weboost but want to go your route of upgrading it. Im worried about combatabilty and some antennas not working.
I am a Prepaid Wireless Sales Rep for Straight Talk and I get many customers who have poor service out in the country of Upstate New York. I will be telling them about this product, Thank you for posting it.
12 years in the wireless industry. A couple of things you should know. BTW Network Signal Info is an awesome app. Also look into LTE Discovery. It will give you frequency info about the tower you are connected to and aid in geo-locating towers. 1st. Phone calculate bars based on a formula that is different for every manufacturer. For example the same -100dBm signal on a Iphone 8 may show 4 bars while on a Google Pixel 3 it may only show 2. The devices may perform identically in term of most things besides data throughput ( Snapdragon processors have integrated modems and are just plain faster than the seperate processor and modem configs used by apple in terms of raw network performance ). They will however seem to indicate different signal strengths if you just look at the "bars" 2nd. The algorithm that the phone uses to display bars is different for 3G and 4G networks. LTE needs less in terms of signal to work appropriately than does 3G-HSPA ( TMobile/At&T ) or 3G-EVDO (Verizon / Sprint ). -100dBm 3G will be significantly less stable than -100dBm LTE. The FCC also permits slightly higher TX power on the cell site's 3G bands than on LTE. Honestly have no idea why and I trained employees on the network equipment. 3rd. The bands may make some difference but inside a house at close range the difference in penetration between Band 4 ( 1700 / 2100 ) and Band 12/13 (700mHz ) really shouldn't make a difference. Side note lower frequencies travel farther while higher frequencies are better for data speed. Lastly data speeds in rural areas tend to be limited by the connection speed available back at the cell site itself. Many rural sites do not have fiber connections at the tower they use microwave links for connectivity or some sort of dedicated connection like a T1. This is not as common as it used to be at rural cell sites but there are still plenty of them out there.
Thanks for the information. My nearest tower is very rural so I'm sure it does not have much of a connection. Which explains my good signal strength but slow download speed and really slow upload speed.
Hey man I tell what would we do without our moms. Here's a shout out to all the wonderful moms out there. Great video, I'm looking to buy the same Booster. Thanks
Excellent video as you worked though the challenges. As a 40 year RF engineer, my comments are posted to you but for others to help plan ahead. Your previous coax with 50 ohm N connector would have created an impedance mis-match to the RF Components in the booster. Majority of boosters are 50 ohm EXCEPT these recent consumer Weboost products. If you had needed more signal, 75 Ohm RG11 could be used to the roof. Wilson - Weboost truly supports you post sales as I found out last month after purchasing an RV65 for my camper. The Panel had been marketed in the past for the external antenna but is greatly outperformed by the 75 Ohm 4G Yagis offered by many vendors. The flat panel has a beam width of 120 degrees versus 45 of the yagi getting more signal pinpointed to the tower. Think of a similar wattage floodlight versus a spotlight. Like wise the 10 DB gain flat panel can perform better than the desktop inside the cabin if also 75 OHM. Adapters are available to changes fittings but with substantial loss.
Thanks for doing this review. I have been doing a little research myself to figure out which one to get for my cabin and I also want to use it for my RV. Since this one seemed to do the trick for you, I guess I just made my decision. ;) Keep the videos coming.
Yeah I believe we should've kept 3g active until 46 was fully available. I live in a rural area. I only get 1 bar of lte in 2024. I got a weboost home lite, coming tomorrow got that model because it was the cheapest. Hope for the best 😊
Excellent review. The old cable appears to be coax type RG-11 with type "N" type connector. This cable and connector is used for low signal loss in a high frequency environment. It is the standard for Radio Frequency cables in a professional installation. RG-6 cable with "F" fittings work, but the signal loss is much higher. I don't know what carrier you are using, but you might want to have a friend on a different carrier come to your cabin and see how much signal (more bars) they receive. On the West Coast, In all my years of work, I have noticed that Verizon is usually superior in signal strength to all the other carriers outside of town. I use AT&T and for the most part, they will have much less signal available out of town. Friends with Verizon always have more signal. Keep up the interesting videos. We don't have anything like this in California.
You could have used the old antenna with an adapter to go from N-connector to the antenna and same from cable to inside unit. RG-6 cable has more loss than the cable you installed. Some people say there is a lot of loss in the adaptors. Bull Hockey, not enough to where you can see it. I always use the bigger cable like LMR-400 on high frequency antennas. Do a comparison on the RG-6 to the LMR-400 online and see what I am saying.
That is correct. I'm a amateur radio operator and the cable you had installed on the previous unit was far superior it appeared to be lmr 400 or 600 with a N- type connection. I would buy an adapter and use the better cable. You will notice a big difference in the stability of the signal quality. But if it ain't broke don't fix it. Lol. Good video nice cabin. I'll be checking out your channel more often Dale.
Just in case people don't know about this option, there is a category of antenna/receiver/transmitter cable that is called "hardline" or "semi-rigid" cable. Good quality hardline is quite expensive but has even less signal loss than flexible coax cable. It IS a lot more difficult to work with than flexible cable but for some situations it can mean the difference between success and failure. For these kinds of situations, I would call it a last-resort kind of cable. By their nature, they are also typically more robust in adverse conditions than flexible cable.
Glad you have cell service again! Yep when I first seen the cable I knew that it was coax cable with an N connector on it. You mentioned that your kinda on a high hill/spot at the cabin, ever think about getting your Amateur Radio License? You can spend many a night in a warm cabin talking to people over the world! Just a thought, keep the video's coming!
@@NB88 If you are in the US go to www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio and www.arrl.org/getting-licensed If you are in Canada go to wp.rac.ca/how-to-begin/ We even have ham radio satelites and a radio station on the ISS! Keep in mind that ham radio works when all else fails.
Just a thought here, you should see if you can raise it up 10' higher and see what that does to your signal. The tree density changes significantly as you get higher, and the higher the better. or you could thin the trees a little in the direction. the RF is really easy to dampen with any obstructions, eliminate all that you can. Let me know if this helps.
I didn't know these existed ,sometimes I have to walk way down my lane way just to get 2 bars.This thing is great fell off the ladder broke my leg a couple years ago ,so I know what it's like for the need to stay connected.You mentioned Antena had to be pointed at the tower what if you don't know where towers are. I have a birthday coming I know what I'm asking my mom for.Thanks for the video Dale
In the description I mention a couple of apps that I used, one is OpenSignal which maps all of the cell towers around you so you can point the antena in the right direction. Or you might try your providers web site or google. Good luck, I hope you get one for your birthday! 😉
Moms are like that. They worry. My mom was the same. Good for you getting that fixed. We wont worry about you so much either. Keep sharing all that beauty too. Gorgeous view from the roof!
I have one of these at my lake house. It works. I get 0-1 bar without. Get 1-3 with it. Doesn’t sound like much but it’s better than none. The people at Wilson are great to work with too. Very helpful to help figure what works best. I upgraded my internal antenna as that small black one only worked in a few foot radius. The upgrade only gives me a few more feet. I have to be close to the internal ant. The flat wire is new to me and I’m going to check it out. My reception does vary with the weather though
Good news on the signal booster. I have an older wilson booster it is the soho 60 there was no service at my cabin at all now I have 3 to 5 bars of 4G lte most of the time I had to put up a 40 ft pole to get that much. Wilson boosters are the best in my opion. All the best.
little tip for some people with the 4g 3g jumping issue, type *#*#4636#*#* into your dialer and set your preferred to LTE only dont touch anything else and you'll be fine it is a bit of a scary screen at first but as long as you dont change other things its fine. PS not all phones allow you into those secret settings but most should
Turn your outside antena slightly side tonside and sometimes depending on where your tower is you can get a much stronger signal. Go to the App Store and get a speed test app and check it out. Outside antena direction can make a huge difference. Try it. Also if you get rid of that adapter that takes your cable thru doorways, makes a difference. The less connections the stronger the signal. Good Luck‼️👍👍 Vinny 🇺🇸
I'd like to borrow your mom please, at least for this coming Christmas!!! Kudos on a great install, the guts to get up on that roof, and for a GREAT review! I've subscribed and hit the bell!
Because signal we can't see with the naked eyes it's difficult to determine whether that thing really works at its optimum performance....however there is one thing i've learned a little about signal...where it is really minimal that is all you can get even if you have an amplifier it does help a little but not much....however if you are within range of signal although it is low there is help you can build your own less than $5 bucks...
I'm installing one for my parents this weekend, they live at the top of a mountain in Asheville NC. They can get 1 bar sometimes 2 bars LTE on the porch. So I hope this works. Thanks for the video, very informational.
I found a spot outside that got 2 bars LTE on my phone so I mounted the outdoor antenna there. Ran a coax cable inside to the booster and now they get the same 2 bars inside. Only draw back is range it only works within the living room where the antenna sits and the bedroom behind it. But it does work and they can set the phone up as a Hotspot to use their PC
This is the video I was looking for! We have a cabin in north central Wisconsin. Signal there is 1-2 bars on 3G at best. All we are looking for is a signal strong enough to check the weather forecast for hunting. We will be purchasing and installing one of these units soon!
Good video, I have been looking at the webbost for a while, and you and Billy Rioux have helped me decide this will work for my needs. Thanks for sharing your review. I will be gettting this unit for my offgrid camp.
The outside antenna and cable supplied with your old booster was actually of better quality that the stuff that was supplied with the new booster. You could have bought a small connector adapter for a few bucks to connect your original outdoor antenna to the booster and saved yourself a ton of trouble...and risk! But that's what you get when you don't really understand what you are messing with. Glad it is working for you though.
FYI...I have same booster on my cabin and it works great. Weboost also sells a 12vdc power cable for it. Since the unit is native 12vdc anyway I use their 12vdc cable...awesome! Thanks for the nice vid.
Type N connector. Given the frequency range in older 3g networks best guess is coax is LMR 400. The coax will not bend in a very tight radius as LMR 400 is very stiff and has a brittle core
I enjoyed this video. First thing, my home is maybe 5 miles from the Cabin Depot. I only heard about it myself just before Christmas, and have not had time to check it out. I was glad to see that you changed out the antenna for a couple of reasons. It is impossible to tell from the video, but one or both of those antennas may have contained electronics powered by the booster. It could be bad news if you connected up something which wasn't compatible. There could also be impedance differences between the systems which could at the very least, cause a loss of efficiency. The antenna change was definitely a good thing. I did not notice if you sealed up the connection at the antenna. If not, it would be a good idea to put something over it, even several layers of vinyl tape is better than nothing. You could likely find a heat shrinkable tubing with sealant inside for that size of cable since it is so widely used. One other thing, where you enter the building if you haven't put a drip loop, that is a good idea so that water running down the cable drips on the ground instead of following the cable into the cabin. You may have done that, it just was not on the video. If not just pull a foot of slack back from inside so that the cable has to run back uphill to the hole in the wall. I guess I have been long winded enough. I spent 30 years in the communications industry and get carried away sometimes. I could maybe answer questions if you had some, but you have everything under control and I would just be adding "noise" to this note. Thanks for taking the time to show your job. It looks like that booster will do the trick for you, and it appears to have enough amplification for your location! Great video!
I think if you could raise that antenna about 10 to 15 foot up you're going to get a lot better signal strength. Your to close to your tin roof. Attach a ground wire to the base of the mass. This will improve the ground wave
That's great u have service back again. I am also going to purchase a cell booster for my cabin. Seen some on Amazon for half the price of the weboost with pretty good reviews but still uneasy on buying cheap crap
Hello my friend glad to see yer new booster worked out well and glad you didn’t get a header for yer roof just remember it ain’t the fall that Hurts it’s the sudden stop at the bottom!!!!! lol glad to see yer doing well take care and stay safe 👍
Very informative thank you for the video your cabin looks amazing, I live in Alaska in a similar situation and I am considering purchasing one of these for myself.
while your unit is connected and operating... go on your roof and slowly tweak the direction your antenna is aiming, you may not have the antenna exactly aimed in the direction your cell tower is, thus the drop in 4G LTE to 3G its got a lock, but not a steady one
Thanks for the video, glad to hear this setup works well for ya. I had a similar situation with cell reception at my cabin, although I did not have as much luck with the booster (same company). I opted for a satellite instead and find the cell phone reception is so much stronger through WiFi than LTE. Plus perfect internet connection is a great addition. Thanks again for the excellent content your channel provides, keep the informative and entertaining videos coming.
The one thing that I would do is eliminate that flexible like at the door. A small hole through the wall would be much better. Other then that great video.
Hey brother, thanks for the shout out. You do a great job of laying out the simplicity and ease of use of this product. I found it interesting though that your outside antenna is the inside antenna that came with my kit and your old outside dirrectional antenna is identical to the outside antenna that also came with my kit accept for the cable that comes out of the antenna which is standard coax cable. Either way, thanks for another great video.
Great! Awesome video and glad you got better signals. I am lucky, at my cabin I have full signal because the tower is only 1.3km (0.8 mile)away. Sorry my French is not to good... lol 😆. They are calling for a big snow storm in the middle of the week down here North East of N.-B. How about you? We already have 1 1/2foot of snow on the ground, I enjoy snowshoeing everyday and watching the birds feeding. Nothing like having peace of mind wright! Thanks for sharing and best regards-Yves
Merci mon ami...(hows my french? lol) You're lucky to have a tower so close. We got about a foot down and looks like we're getting the same mess this week. Enjoy the snow!
thanks for the review.. especially giving the DBm readings... as the "number of bars" doesn't really tell you all that much...DBm is what is really critical.
Your original cable and connector was more robust. Standard for oilfield SCADA installations etc. But the RG6 should work fine for your purposes. I would put a dab of dielectric grease in the connector though but not critical. Thanks for the video.
Happy New Year, Dale!! I love your channel and every time you post a new video I can't wait to see it. Thanks for the great review on the weboost and also for showing how to do the install! Take care and be safe!
I also installed the same system at my cabin, mine had the directional antenna, went from no service to three or four bars with LTE, doesnt drain the solar either so that's a plus.
Thank you kindly for your highly informative and excellent video/review as it is much appreciated. I've been considering buying and installing one of these where I live, and now I'm going to go ahead (thanks to you). Thanks again!...
Thanks for this video. I live off grid also. Have to get to me by boat only. I have the same issue woth no signal inside but one or 2 bars of 4glte outside. So this will work awesome for me.
thanks for the video we are living out in the country in New Brunswick me and my wife have cell phones and can't use them here go out on the deck on the yard stand in a certain spot might be able to send a text maybe have been thinking of a boost so thanks for your help will look in to getting one have a great day
I’m certainly not an expert on signals, however I understand that most phones have the option, usually under the cellular settings, to turn off LTE or turn it on.
Very nice - conscientious review - I have "ANNT LENT" version & the lights each have a tiny screw adjustment which is not well explained at least to me . lol, now we'll have to deal with 5G - Good Luck!
I'd be curious to know if WeBoost would work better with a better Yagi-style exterior antenna properly aimed and an in-line amplifier feeding a true 360 degree omnidirectional antenna indoors. WeBoost is overpriced IMO. EDIT: A commenter below confirmed that WeBoost works even better with proper antennas.
LMR 400 is the best cable.keep it in line.Just attach the unit to the LMR400. oh well to late.Keep the lmr in case you want a radio,like a CB.You will need to change the adapters to SO type connectors for that.Height is might.The higher up your antenna the better.at your location a 8 to 10 foot height increase will really be great! Peace Brother!
Awesome review, thank you for sharing. Just a quick suggestion with that coax cable. The connector up on the roof at the antenna, when you have a chance, try to get something over it to waterproof it. Even just some heat shrink tubing would be just fine. Those connectors take on water and rust out pretty quickly sometimes. I used to do a lot of satellite dish installs, and always tried to keep them water tight. Great video, and I am glad to see you have a good reliable option now in case of emergencies. Take care, and all the best :)
I have poor service sometimes at my place, which isn’t far from you as the crow fly’s!! My iPhone jumps back and forth between the closest couple cell towers and one gives me LTE one gives me 3G. I go into the settings on my iPhone and in cellular settings I click cellular data options then the enable LTE option then there’s options for off, voice & data and data only. See what yours is set on and try switching these up, works for me. I’m sure someone that’s a little better with the technology can explain what all the settings mean..
I am a Wilson dealer and installer just leave the directional antenna installed as it is the right one for what you need also it is more directional than the panel antenna. the antenna you are showing the video is for internal use with the amplifier the panel antenna that is being shown is less directional than the directional 3 g equivalent antenna.
Mine jumps from 4 to 3g because I'm between two towers. I'm almost in the middle, so I get good 4g on one side of the house, and 3g on the other end. My phone struggles to stay connected to either though. Basically the walls of the house block signal from either side.
Good morning, Thank you very much for doing this topic! I have been thinking about putting in a cell phone booster here at the cabin you kind of pushed me over the talk today now I'm really leaning that way. For the most part I have pretty good signal I run 4G here but it is spotty depending on the weather things like that sometimes I have very crappy cell phone believe it or not. I can always make a phone call I can always text that I never has seems to been the problem here at all. What I am thinking is I really like to do live streams here from the cabin. My audio is very good for the live stream sometimes the picture is a little bit fuzzy. My question for you if you know the answer hahaha do you think the cell phone booster would help with this fuzzy picture during live stream? Once again thank you very much I'm at the cabin enjoying your video this morning we got almost two feet of snow out in the driveway that I need to take care of today. I wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and I hope you're having a great day! Tom Tom
Thanks for the review. I'm considering the model that's one up from this one with the directional antenna as an internet cellular backup for my stock market trading station. Sometimes my internet goes out and I need to get back on quickly if I'm in a position. There could be thousands of dollars on the line, so I need something reliable and we have subpar cell coverage here. Love the tee shirt!
Better get a 'MoM' tat. She dropped some serious $$$. Moms are the best. As it was bought in Canada, will it work on US neworks? Timely as I was starting to look for one of these. I have the same issue, dropped calls, 1 bar or no service. Appreciate you videos.
A couple months ago my phone stopped working inside my house, I have to go outside now. Maybe a tech change at the towers? But I can stream video no problem? So what the heck? Doesn't make sense to me.
We have a cabin in the mountains of SE Tennessee, the nearest cell tower is over 12 miles away and not clear line of sight. We had terrible cell coverage and decided to install a cell phone booster which is a Wilson DB Pro 4G, currently known as Weboost. The system we installed is similar to yours, with a couple of exceptions, both the indoor and outdoor antennas are directional not omni directional which came with your booster kit. The results that we had were not as favorable as yours we did improve to 2 bars, sometimes 3 with periods of 3G signal strength but that was very inconsistent and unless we stood close to the indoor antenna, we would still drop some calls which was annoying. Tiring of the inconsistent signal strength and the uncertainty of calls dropping, I did further investigation into ways of modifying the set up for improved signal strength. Abiding by FCC regulations, it is my understanding when you purchase these "kits" and not individual components, they have to supply you with the omni directional antennas and RG6 cable that you have. That was changed from when we purchased ours that came with the directional antenna, but the RG6 cable still applied. I was running 70 feet of RG6 cable to my -8dbi outdoor antenna which at 800 MHz has .83 dbi drop and at 1900 MHz, has 1.35 dbi drop. Unfortunately my carrier, Verizon operates on both of the frequencies. Doing the math you can see the dbi loss of this cable was basically nullifying the gain from the antenna. Realizing this shortcoming, I purchased an aftermarket Log Periodic Directional -15 dbi outdoor Yagi antenna and purchased 70 feet of RG11 cable which has half of the dbi loss of RG6, installed this replacing the "kitted" antenna and cable. Once I had the antenna pointed in the proper direction, it was time for the moment of truth, I energized the system and I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at my phone, I was now at 4-5 bars with LTE signal strength! Checking the SIM status on my phone, I was going between -90 to -96 dbm which was ranging from excellent to good signal strength and I could not be happier with the $175.00 I invested on upgrading the antenna, cable and connectors. Additionally, we use a Verizon Mifi for internet use on our laptops or when we have guests come to our cabin. We position that close to our indoor antenna and gives very good hotspot signal, I am able to work on my laptop doing estimates, writing CNC programs and design work as I own a business several states away, the ability be able to e-mail such things is integral while being at the cabin. Hope this helps with future modifications if needed to booster systems.
I would say wait
What brand of aftermarket antenna did you buy? Im looking to getting the Weboost but want to go your route of upgrading it. Im worried about combatabilty and some antennas not working.
You could have just gotten a Verizon femtocell that connects to the home internet via ethernet cable
@@aab434 if Internet was available I’m sure that’s the route they’d have went
As someone who worked 35 years in radio communications, I think you did an excellent presentation. 👍
Thank you sir. I appreciate that.
Yea... I would have gone up and replaced it, in the snow telling myself I'm a fool the whole time!
I just can't resist trying new tec!
I am a Prepaid Wireless Sales Rep for Straight Talk and I get many customers who have poor service out in the country of Upstate New York. I will be telling them about this product, Thank you for posting it.
12 years in the wireless industry. A couple of things you should know. BTW Network Signal Info is an awesome app. Also look into LTE Discovery. It will give you frequency info about the tower you are connected to and aid in geo-locating towers.
1st. Phone calculate bars based on a formula that is different for every manufacturer. For example the same -100dBm signal on a Iphone 8 may show 4 bars while on a Google Pixel 3 it may only show 2. The devices may perform identically in term of most things besides data throughput ( Snapdragon processors have integrated modems and are just plain faster than the seperate processor and modem configs used by apple in terms of raw network performance ). They will however seem to indicate different signal strengths if you just look at the "bars"
2nd. The algorithm that the phone uses to display bars is different for 3G and 4G networks. LTE needs less in terms of signal to work appropriately than does 3G-HSPA ( TMobile/At&T ) or 3G-EVDO (Verizon / Sprint ). -100dBm 3G will be significantly less stable than -100dBm LTE. The FCC also permits slightly higher TX power on the cell site's 3G bands than on LTE. Honestly have no idea why and I trained employees on the network equipment.
3rd. The bands may make some difference but inside a house at close range the difference in penetration between Band 4 ( 1700 / 2100 ) and Band 12/13 (700mHz ) really shouldn't make a difference. Side note lower frequencies travel farther while higher frequencies are better for data speed.
Lastly data speeds in rural areas tend to be limited by the connection speed available back at the cell site itself. Many rural sites do not have fiber connections at the tower they use microwave links for connectivity or some sort of dedicated connection like a T1. This is not as common as it used to be at rural cell sites but there are still plenty of them out there.
Thanks for the information. My nearest tower is very rural so I'm sure it does not have much of a connection. Which explains my good signal strength but slow download speed and really slow upload speed.
@@NB88 The upload is normally the giveaway. Sub 2mb up is almost guaranteed a microwave link.
Hey man I tell what would we do without our moms. Here's a shout out to all the wonderful moms out there. Great video, I'm looking to buy the same Booster. Thanks
Excellent video as you worked though the challenges.
As a 40 year RF engineer, my comments are posted to you but for others to help plan ahead.
Your previous coax with 50 ohm N connector would have created an impedance mis-match to the RF Components in the booster.
Majority of boosters are 50 ohm EXCEPT these recent consumer Weboost products.
If you had needed more signal, 75 Ohm RG11 could be used to the roof.
Wilson - Weboost truly supports you post sales as I found out last month after purchasing an RV65 for my camper.
The Panel had been marketed in the past for the external antenna but is greatly outperformed by the 75 Ohm 4G Yagis offered by many vendors.
The flat panel has a beam width of 120 degrees versus 45 of the yagi getting more signal pinpointed to the tower.
Think of a similar wattage floodlight versus a spotlight.
Like wise the 10 DB gain flat panel can perform better than the desktop inside the cabin if also 75 OHM.
Adapters are available to changes fittings but with substantial loss.
Hiya :) Cool any recommend places to purchase the components you mentioned in this post? :)
Thanks for doing this review. I have been doing a little research myself to figure out which one to get for my cabin and I also want to use it for my RV. Since this one seemed to do the trick for you, I guess I just made my decision. ;) Keep the videos coming.
Glad it helped. 👍
For RV it's practically same thing and works very well but honestly it only gives you about 2 to 3 bars more
@@meyaenyo2593 Only? 2-3 bars can be HUGE!
No matter how old you are your Mom will always worry about you....Great presentation , I have been contemplating buying this for my cabin...sold
Yeah I believe we should've kept 3g active until 46 was fully available. I live in a rural area. I only get 1 bar of lte in 2024. I got a weboost home lite, coming tomorrow got that model because it was the cheapest. Hope for the best 😊
Excellent review. The old cable appears to be coax type RG-11 with type "N" type connector. This cable and connector is used for low signal loss in a high frequency environment. It is the standard for Radio Frequency cables in a professional installation. RG-6 cable with "F" fittings work, but the signal loss is much higher. I don't know what carrier you are using, but you might want to have a friend on a different carrier come to your cabin and see how much signal (more bars) they receive. On the West Coast, In all my years of work, I have noticed that Verizon is usually superior in signal strength to all the other carriers outside of town. I use AT&T and for the most part, they will have much less signal available out of town. Friends with Verizon always have more signal. Keep up the interesting videos. We don't have anything like this in California.
Thanks for the information, I appreciate it!
What a blessing to have your Mother present you with the gift of clear communication.That's love right there.
On iPhone you can access the field test mode (to see signal strength) by dialing "star 3001 pound 12345 pound star send"
You could have used the old antenna with an adapter to go from N-connector to the antenna and same from cable to inside unit. RG-6 cable has more loss than the cable you installed. Some people say there is a lot of loss in the adaptors. Bull Hockey, not enough to where you can see it. I always use the bigger cable like LMR-400 on high frequency antennas. Do a comparison on the RG-6 to the LMR-400 online and see what I am saying.
That is correct. I'm a amateur radio operator and the cable you had installed on the previous unit was far superior it appeared to be lmr 400 or 600 with a N- type connection. I would buy an adapter and use the better cable. You will notice a big difference in the stability of the signal quality. But if it ain't broke don't fix it. Lol. Good video nice cabin. I'll be checking out your channel more often Dale.
Just in case people don't know about this option, there is a category of antenna/receiver/transmitter cable that is called "hardline" or "semi-rigid" cable. Good quality hardline is quite expensive but has even less signal loss than flexible coax cable. It IS a lot more difficult to work with than flexible cable but for some situations it can mean the difference between success and failure. For these kinds of situations, I would call it a last-resort kind of cable. By their nature, they are also typically more robust in adverse conditions than flexible cable.
Thanks for your feedback. 👍
Glad you have cell service again! Yep when I first seen the cable I knew that it was coax cable with an N connector on it. You mentioned that your kinda on a high hill/spot at the cabin, ever think about getting your Amateur Radio License? You can spend many a night in a warm cabin talking to people over the world! Just a thought, keep the video's coming!
No I never thought of it really. I guess I didn't know it was a thing these days.
@@NB88 If you are in the US go to www.arrl.org/what-is-ham-radio and www.arrl.org/getting-licensed If you are in Canada go to wp.rac.ca/how-to-begin/ We even have ham radio satelites and a radio station on the ISS! Keep in mind that ham radio works when all else fails.
Just a thought here, you should see if you can raise it up 10' higher and see what that does to your signal. The tree density changes significantly as you get higher, and the higher the better. or you could thin the trees a little in the direction. the RF is really easy to dampen with any obstructions, eliminate all that you can. Let me know if this helps.
Thanks. I might try to get it up in the air a little higher this summer.
I didn't know these existed ,sometimes I have to walk way down my lane way just to get 2 bars.This thing is great fell off the ladder broke my leg a couple years ago ,so I know what it's like for the need to stay connected.You mentioned Antena had to be pointed at the tower what if you don't know where towers are. I have a birthday coming I know what I'm asking my mom for.Thanks for the video Dale
In the description I mention a couple of apps that I used, one is OpenSignal which maps all of the cell towers around you so you can point the antena in the right direction. Or you might try your providers web site or google. Good luck, I hope you get one for your birthday! 😉
Moms are like that. They worry. My mom was the same. Good for you getting that fixed. We wont worry about you so much either. Keep sharing all that beauty too. Gorgeous view from the roof!
I have one of these at my lake house. It works. I get 0-1 bar without. Get 1-3 with it. Doesn’t sound like much but it’s better than none. The people at Wilson are great to work with too. Very helpful to help figure what works best. I upgraded my internal antenna as that small black one only worked in a few foot radius. The upgrade only gives me a few more feet. I have to be close to the internal ant. The flat wire is new to me and I’m going to check it out. My reception does vary with the weather though
Good news on the signal booster. I have an older wilson booster it is the soho 60 there was no service at my cabin at all now I have 3 to 5 bars of 4G lte most of the time I had to put up a 40 ft pole to get that much. Wilson boosters are the best in my opion. All the best.
little tip for some people with the 4g 3g jumping issue, type *#*#4636#*#* into your dialer and set your preferred to LTE only dont touch anything else and you'll be fine it is a bit of a scary screen at first but as long as you dont change other things its fine. PS not all phones allow you into those secret settings but most should
Turn your outside antena slightly side tonside and sometimes depending on where your tower is you can get a much stronger signal. Go to the App Store and get a speed test app and check it out. Outside antena direction can make a huge difference. Try it. Also if you get rid of that adapter that takes your cable thru doorways, makes a difference. The less connections the stronger the signal. Good Luck‼️👍👍 Vinny 🇺🇸
Thanks NB always good to hear from you
Just a note, the cable from your old booster is LMR-400 - 50 Ohm with type N male connectors on it, since you asked. :)
Thank you! 👍
I'd like to borrow your mom please, at least for this coming Christmas!!!
Kudos on a great install, the guts to get up on that roof, and for a GREAT review!
I've subscribed and hit the bell!
Glad to hear things went well and got it installed without a problem! I'm sure your family is too. 😉
Because signal we can't see with the naked eyes it's difficult to determine whether that thing really works at its optimum performance....however there is one thing i've learned a little about signal...where it is really minimal that is all you can get even if you have an amplifier it does help a little but not much....however if you are within range of signal although it is low there is help you can build your own less than $5 bucks...
I'm installing one for my parents this weekend, they live at the top of a mountain in Asheville NC. They can get 1 bar sometimes 2 bars LTE on the porch. So I hope this works. Thanks for the video, very informational.
CANT WAIT TO HEAR... same situation here
Did it work??
I found a spot outside that got 2 bars LTE on my phone so I mounted the outdoor antenna there. Ran a coax cable inside to the booster and now they get the same 2 bars inside. Only draw back is range it only works within the living room where the antenna sits and the bedroom behind it. But it does work and they can set the phone up as a Hotspot to use their PC
This is the video I was looking for! We have a cabin in north central Wisconsin. Signal there is 1-2 bars on 3G at best. All we are looking for is a signal strong enough to check the weather forecast for hunting. We will be purchasing and installing one of these units soon!
Good video, I have been looking at the webbost for a while, and you and Billy Rioux have helped me decide this will work for my needs. Thanks for sharing your review. I will be gettting this unit for my offgrid camp.
The outside antenna and cable supplied with your old booster was actually of better quality that the stuff that was supplied with the new booster. You could have bought a small connector adapter for a few bucks to connect your original outdoor antenna to the booster and saved yourself a ton of trouble...and risk! But that's what you get when you don't really understand what you are messing with. Glad it is working for you though.
I like to put heat shrink over the connections once they are tightened. Just need to remember to slip it over one side before screwing them together.
I use one in my truck and at the off-grid cabin, weBoost rocks!! BTW - nice cabin. Hope your winter is going good!
I was going to ask if your first call was to your Mom to thank her for a useful Christmas present! So much better than a reindeer pullover sweater!
FYI...I have same booster on my cabin and it works great. Weboost also sells a 12vdc power cable for it. Since the unit is native 12vdc anyway I use their 12vdc cable...awesome! Thanks for the nice vid.
The old coax cable has an N type connector, common stuff with commercial radio systems.
Type N connector. Given the frequency range in older 3g networks best guess is coax is LMR 400. The coax will not bend in a very tight radius as LMR 400 is very stiff and has a brittle core
Thank you very much, Jazakallah Khair. Currently setting this up for my father.
I enjoyed this video. First thing, my home is maybe 5 miles from the Cabin Depot. I only heard about it myself just before Christmas, and have not had time to check it out. I was glad to see that you changed out the antenna for a couple of reasons. It is impossible to tell from the video, but one or both of those antennas may have contained electronics powered by the booster. It could be bad news if you connected up something which wasn't compatible. There could also be impedance differences between the systems which could at the very least, cause a loss of efficiency. The antenna change was definitely a good thing. I did not notice if you sealed up the connection at the antenna. If not, it would be a good idea to put something over it, even several layers of vinyl tape is better than nothing. You could likely find a heat shrinkable tubing with sealant inside for that size of cable since it is so widely used. One other thing, where you enter the building if you haven't put a drip loop, that is a good idea so that water running down the cable drips on the ground instead of following the cable into the cabin. You may have done that, it just was not on the video. If not just pull a foot of slack back from inside so that the cable has to run back uphill to the hole in the wall. I guess I have been long winded enough. I spent 30 years in the communications industry and get carried away sometimes. I could maybe answer questions if you had some, but you have everything under control and I would just be adding "noise" to this note. Thanks for taking the time to show your job. It looks like that booster will do the trick for you, and it appears to have enough amplification for your location! Great video!
Thanks for the info. Yes, I did seal up those connections, don't want any water getting in them.
That is LMR-400 really good coax with type-n connectors it's good for amatuer radio if you ever get into that. It's a fun hobby
How much did you pay for it
@@williamunderwood5440 the lmr 400 is about $1 =ft, the hobby 15 for the ticket amd appt more for radios
Good job to your Mom !! Awesome Christmas present ! Ive always wondered how those worked, thank you for the review.
it dropping to 3g is probably due too moisture and clouds in the air. One thing you could do to fix this is to buy a beefier antennae.
I think if you could raise that antenna about 10 to 15 foot up you're going to get a lot better signal strength. Your to close to your tin roof. Attach a ground wire to the base of the mass. This will improve the ground wave
I thought about putting it up higher but so far it's working good.
The thicker cable is LMR400, 50 ohm, lower loss transmission line
That's great u have service back again. I am also going to purchase a cell booster for my cabin. Seen some on Amazon for half the price of the weboost with pretty good reviews but still uneasy on buying cheap crap
Hello my friend glad to see yer new booster worked out well and glad you didn’t get a header for yer roof just remember it ain’t the fall that Hurts it’s the sudden stop at the bottom!!!!! lol glad to see yer doing well take care and stay safe 👍
haha...so true! Thanks for stopping by my friend.
The Cabin Depot is a great off grid store....They are growing their product line monthly....
I have the same signal issues at my 2nd home in a very rural area. Gonna give this a try.
just got mine today got a cabin in the hills of wva got some signal now cant wait to install it an see my results
Very informative thank you for the video your cabin looks amazing, I live in Alaska in a similar situation and I am considering purchasing one of these for myself.
Good deal.Glad you have cell service again.Good video.
while your unit is connected and operating... go on your roof and slowly tweak the direction your antenna is aiming, you may not have the antenna exactly aimed in the direction your cell tower is, thus the drop in 4G LTE to 3G its got a lock, but not a steady one
Thanks for the video, glad to hear this setup works well for ya. I had a similar situation with cell reception at my cabin, although I did not have as much luck with the booster (same company). I opted for a satellite instead and find the cell phone reception is so much stronger through WiFi than LTE. Plus perfect internet connection is a great addition.
Thanks again for the excellent content your channel provides, keep the informative and entertaining videos coming.
Good Video. Thanks for posting. I believe the old yagi antenna coax was probably LM-400, 50 ohm with "N" connector.
nice to see this video ... really enjoyed it.... yes, there was a reason why mom presented that booster.
The one thing that I would do is eliminate that flexible like at the door. A small hole through the wall would be much better. Other then that great video.
Hey brother, thanks for the shout out. You do a great job of laying out the simplicity and ease of use of this product. I found it interesting though that your outside antenna is the inside antenna that came with my kit and your old outside dirrectional antenna is identical to the outside antenna that also came with my kit accept for the cable that comes out of the antenna which is standard coax cable. Either way, thanks for another great video.
Great! Awesome video and glad you got better signals. I am lucky, at my cabin I have full signal because the tower is only 1.3km (0.8 mile)away. Sorry my French is not to good... lol 😆. They are calling for a big snow storm in the middle of the week down here North East of N.-B. How about you? We already have 1 1/2foot of snow on the ground, I enjoy snowshoeing everyday and watching the birds feeding. Nothing like having peace of mind wright! Thanks for sharing and best regards-Yves
Merci mon ami...(hows my french? lol) You're lucky to have a tower so close. We got about a foot down and looks like we're getting the same mess this week. Enjoy the snow!
Awesome! Nice gift!
thanks for the review.. especially giving the DBm readings... as the "number of bars" doesn't really tell you all that much...DBm is what is really critical.
Your original cable and connector was more robust. Standard for oilfield SCADA installations etc. But the RG6 should work fine for your purposes. I would put a dab of dielectric grease in the connector though but not critical. Thanks for the video.
Happy New Year, Dale!! I love your channel and every time you post a new video I can't wait to see it. Thanks for the great review on the weboost and also for showing how to do the install! Take care and be safe!
Awesome video! This is one of the best cabin channels on TH-cam. Thank you!
Thank you. I appreciate that!
I also installed the same system at my cabin, mine had the directional antenna, went from no service to three or four bars with LTE, doesnt drain the solar either so that's a plus.
Can you then connect to the internet?
I like this guys hustle
Thank you kindly for your highly informative and excellent video/review as it is much appreciated. I've been considering buying and installing one of these where I live, and now I'm going to go ahead (thanks to you). Thanks again!...
I hope it works out for you. Its been working great for me. Using it right now. 👍
We have the situation as you with our camper.. Its in the middle of the woods.. Been looking for info on these. Thanks alot..
Thanks for this video. I live off grid also. Have to get to me by boat only. I have the same issue woth no signal inside but one or 2 bars of 4glte outside. So this will work awesome for me.
Great video my friend!! I need o get me one of those!!!! I get on bar at the cabin. Thanks for sharing and glad you are ok! 7 hours is a long time.
the old cable type is LMR cable may be 300 or 400 ..and literally the old LPDA antenna is much times better than an PATCH PANEL ANTENNA ...
thanks for the video we are living out in the country in New Brunswick me and my wife have cell phones and can't use them here go out on the deck on the yard stand in a certain spot might be able to send a text maybe have been thinking of a boost so thanks for your help will look in to getting one have a great day
I’m certainly not an expert on signals, however I understand that most phones have the option, usually under the cellular settings, to turn off LTE or turn it on.
I hope you added surge protection lightening hit near by my home and it still lit up but it wouldn't pull in signal anymore.
Very nice - conscientious review - I have "ANNT LENT" version & the lights each have a tiny screw adjustment which is not well explained at least to me . lol, now we'll have to deal with 5G - Good Luck!
Remember it worked for you? Better thank mom! Lol great gift and great info. Thanks
That was an excellent review. Thanks for taking the time.
I'd be curious to know if WeBoost would work better with a better Yagi-style exterior antenna properly aimed and an in-line amplifier feeding a true 360 degree omnidirectional antenna indoors. WeBoost is overpriced IMO.
EDIT: A commenter below confirmed that WeBoost works even better with proper antennas.
LMR 400 is the best cable.keep it in line.Just attach the unit to the LMR400. oh well to late.Keep the lmr in case you want a radio,like a CB.You will need to change the adapters to SO type connectors for that.Height is might.The higher up your antenna the better.at your location a 8 to 10 foot height increase will really be great! Peace Brother!
Awesome review, thank you for sharing. Just a quick suggestion with that coax cable. The connector up on the roof at the antenna, when you have a chance, try to get something over it to waterproof it. Even just some heat shrink tubing would be just fine. Those connectors take on water and rust out pretty quickly sometimes. I used to do a lot of satellite dish installs, and always tried to keep them water tight. Great video, and I am glad to see you have a good reliable option now in case of emergencies. Take care, and all the best :)
Roger that, I sealed up those connections.
great comment Colin
I have poor service sometimes at my place, which isn’t far from you as the crow fly’s!! My iPhone jumps back and forth between the closest couple cell towers and one gives me LTE one gives me 3G. I go into the settings on my iPhone and in cellular settings I click cellular data options then the enable LTE option then there’s options for off, voice & data and data only. See what yours is set on and try switching these up, works for me. I’m sure someone that’s a little better with the technology can explain what all the settings mean..
The thick RG400 or Wilson 400 cable should be a better cable for the signal.
awesome! glad you were able to get it installed.
Happy you are much safer now.
I am a Wilson dealer and installer just leave the directional antenna installed as it is the right one for what you need also it is more directional than the panel antenna. the antenna you are showing the video is for internal use with the amplifier the panel antenna that is being shown is less directional than the directional 3 g equivalent antenna.
the cable looks like lmr400 which is higher quality than RG6
I like the knotty pine strips for your walls where did you get em ?
Thanks for the indepth review
You might want to get the adaptors and go back using the lmr400 with n connectors (old black cable) that should give a better signal than rg6
Mine jumps from 4 to 3g because I'm between two towers. I'm almost in the middle, so I get good 4g on one side of the house, and 3g on the other end. My phone struggles to stay connected to either though. Basically the walls of the house block signal from either side.
Good morning, Thank you very much for doing this topic! I have been thinking about putting in a cell phone booster here at the cabin you kind of pushed me over the talk today now I'm really leaning that way. For the most part I have pretty good signal I run 4G here but it is spotty depending on the weather things like that sometimes I have very crappy cell phone believe it or not. I can always make a phone call I can always text that I never has seems to been the problem here at all.
What I am thinking is I really like to do live streams here from the cabin. My audio is very good for the live stream sometimes the picture is a little bit fuzzy.
My question for you if you know the answer hahaha do you think the cell phone booster would help with this fuzzy picture during live stream?
Once again thank you very much I'm at the cabin enjoying your video this morning we got almost two feet of snow out in the driveway that I need to take care of today.
I wish you and your family a very merry Christmas and I hope you're having a great day!
Tom
Tom
Can you here me now? Lol that is the perfect gift happy new year NB88 thanks for sharing
That Yagi antenna might even be better, more directional. Would have to test it.
The old one is a N Connector lower loss at the Cell Phone Frequencies.
Thanks for the review. I'm considering the model that's one up from this one with the directional antenna as an internet cellular backup for my stock market trading station. Sometimes my internet goes out and I need to get back on quickly if I'm in a position. There could be thousands of dollars on the line, so I need something reliable and we have subpar cell coverage here. Love the tee shirt!
Thanks. All I can say is that this thing has been working great for me so far!
Thanks. It was nice to see a video from a fellow Maine-ah!
Good for Mom!!! I'll look into this for my cabin. I would be curious to know how far outside the cabin it reaches.
Unfortunately, it doesn't. It's only meant for inside. Maybe one of the more powerful models.
Could be the difference between 3 an 4 g... I would have waited. An enjoyed that in the spring.
That coaxial is Rg-11 actually has better specs than Rg-6 but no biggie. Nice hat BTW :)
Better get a 'MoM' tat. She dropped some serious $$$. Moms are the best. As it was bought in Canada, will it work on US neworks?
Timely as I was starting to look for one of these. I have the same issue, dropped calls, 1 bar or no service. Appreciate you videos.
Yes, US and Canadian carriers are the same. You can use your phone anywhere in north america.
Really insightful, and well covered, so thank you! Good Video.
A couple months ago my phone stopped working inside my house, I have to go outside now. Maybe a tech change at the towers? But I can stream video no problem? So what the heck? Doesn't make sense to me.