I have bad phone reception at home and was thinking of trying a mobile phone repeater kit like this
Obviously I have to ensure both my telco and handset support the band used, but I was wondering if anyone has any practical experience using them? Do they make much of a difference? Any downsides?
Thanks
Straight from ACMA's website:
http://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/mobile-phone-repeaters-information-for-consumers
Can I operate a mobile phone repeater?
You can only operate a mobile phone repeater if you have been authorised by a carrier.
A person must not operate or possess (for the purpose of operation) a radiocommunications device, unless that person is authorised under either a spectrum, apparatus or class licence.
A mobile phone repeater operates within apparatus or spectrum licensed radiofrequency bands-licensed to mobile phone carriers. As such, to operate this device, you will require carrier permission under a third party arrangement.
It is illegal to operate a repeater without carrier permission because this device has the capacity to cause substantial interference to the mobile network. This can occur because the device is not coordinated with other radiocommunications infrastructure in the mobile network.
It is an offence under the Radiocommunications Act 1992 (the Act) to operate an unlicensed radiocommunications device, or possess this device for the purpose of operation. A person found guilty of this offence may be imprisoned for two years for each offence. A body corporate may receive a penalty of up to $270,000 (1,500 penalty units) per offence (sections 46 and 47 of the Act). Other penalties may apply, such as the interference offence provisions at Part 4.2 of the Act.
If you see a 4WD with lots of antennas sticking up from the roof coming up your driveway, RUN!
4 short antennas on car in a sort of square shape….called a doppler array can track illegal transmitters very smartly.
These Inspectors from ACMA are very good at tracking illegal stuff
this is what an ACMA van looks like. I'm sure once they've triangulated an approximate location they'd just move to handheld yagi.
When I was negotiating company phone contract, Voda (who didn't have coverage on all my sites) suggested to use one of these. http://www.cel-fi.com.au/
They're pretty expensive for home.
Kogan sell the authorised Telstra and Optus ones here. I believe they lodge a application on your behalf.
https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/nextivity-cel-fi-3g-repeater-bo…
https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/nextivity-optus-cel-fi-3g-smart…
The ad on eBay also calls it an amplifier. I wonder if it's the same thing or just a keyword used by the seller?
its only illegal if you get caught, get bikies to guard it for you
Same as everybody else has already posted: only legal/approved ones come from Cel-Fi/Powertec, big penalties if you get caught using the other ones, etc.
I've personally seen inside a few of the online "specials" now, and 75% (3/4) have had the wrong chipsets & are for the wrong frequencies here in Australia, regardless of what the online posting said.
Definitely not worth your time or money. Particularly not if/when you get caught. The ACMA is pretty hot on these products.
On the other hand, the Cel-Fi units work really well. Simple to operate if you've already got some kind of signal somewhere in your house (3 bars in the corner bedroom, or in the laundry). If you're struggling to get one bar anywhere inside, you'll probably need a roof-top antenna+cabling too. Yes, they're expensive, but that's what having the only approved products will do for you!
Have you used one? I have a user who used to have to stand at the back wall on a chair to get Telstra, and now needs to walk in the middle of the street to get Optus.. She's in a shadow with a tower just back from the escarpment she lives on, but line-of-sight to the other tower at the bottom is blocked by having her house in a sort of depression.
I sell the Cel-Fi units at work, so take all my comments with a grain of salt! I've had customers across Australia use them; both with and without external antennas.
It really depends on how much signal your customer already has. Most of the ones I've been involved with have been remote jobs, where the tower is a long way away. In that case, it's relatively easy to pick the closest tower, then work out the appropriate antenna to suit. For your customer, you might find she has more signal strength from a tower further away, but with less obstructions in the way.
The window unit needs to go somewhere with decent signal (1-2 bars on the unit, 2-3 on your phone), so do a quick site survey first. Wander around with her Optus mobile and try to locate the strongest signal. If it's an Android phone, there's a decent signal strength meter in the system software. iOS? Field Test mode might give you enough to go on.
Hopefully you'll find a point somewhere near a power-point that has a couple of bars of signal. That's where your window unit goes. Then you take the coverage unit and plug it into a few different power-points around the house until you get the highest number on the front. Then that becomes your new home micro-tower.
If you've got no signal at all, then it's time to do the same on the roof, providing you take all the appropriate safety measures. You're going to try and find some kind of signal up there, and then you'll use an external antenna plus cabling to plug into the Cel-Fi window unit. If you can't be sure which tower is providing the strongest signal, you might want to use an omni-directional antenna. Otherwise, you'll use a yagi/directional antenna.
It's an expensive solution, but if they can't live with WiFi or landline phones at home as the only way to communicate, then it's the only option. Happy hunting!
Just fyi, if you get caught using this, you'll be in a world of hurt from ACMA.
I think what you should be looking for is a phone that has the ability to plug in an external antenna, and an antenna system suitable (just like in a car)