Improving cell connection in outside city hut - options? (DIY-ish?) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / rf-microwave

author: TinkeringSteve
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2025, 02:00:54 pm
content: IDK whether this is right for this sub-forum, but it certainly is about RF and microwaves, though probably more on the commercial product side.I know someone who lives in a smaller place in Italy. There's also a little house a bit "in the mountains" as he described it, where in principle, he has a connection so that with his phone, he could do a video call, but it is no fun: frequent interruptions & restarting the call.Now that was him with his phone inside.At those frequencies, I guess every plank of wood in the way matters.Could it improve things if one were to mount some mobile router type thingy that accepts a SIM card & is available for a moderate price (like 50 bucks) outside? Though the ones I know have a battery, which would be more of a minus, given outside temperatures sometimes.What kind of options are there for that, commercial, more "pro" I guess are expensive. How about repurposing something consumer grade that's not weather-proof and simply put it in a $2 electrical junction box...Or are there directed antennas available, or could one (is allowed to) DIY them and connect to the input of... what type of available gear that is like a mobile router...?Though I guess transmitting in that range with a directed antenna might also go over safety limits, if the phones themselves are already bordering it.I'm not really familar with types of products available in that realm.

author: ftg
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2025, 04:07:26 pm
content: Some mobile routers might have connectors for external antennas. Many USB stick modems certainly do.There also outdoor rated mobile routers with directional antennas, like Mikrotik SXT LTE6, but with those you'd still need some wifirouter indoors.SXT LTE6:https://mikrotik.com/product/sxt_lte6_2023They have also other 4G/5G stuff.https://mikrotik.com/products/group/lte-5g-productsI'm certain there's also other options out there.But plenty of friends are happy with their Mikrotiks.

author: whollender
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2025, 05:11:05 pm
content: I've had good success in a similar situation with a cellular booster. Our house is just far enough from a cell tower that we can just barely get service outside, but with the cell booster we get very good performance.We have this one from SureCall:https://surecall.com/cell-signal-booster-for-apartments-condos-homes/fusion4home-yagi-whip/?searchid=157376&search_query=fusion4homeIt is significantly higher price than the $50 you mentioned, and I'm not sure about the legality in Italy vs the US, but it works very well for us.

author: TinkeringSteve
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2025, 10:24:15 pm
content: I wonder whether glass is a hindrance to those wavelengths or not. *If* there's a window in the correct direction, he cut tack an indoors router there with no extra fuss

author: edavid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2025, 11:10:59 pm
content: Quote from: TinkeringSteve on September 08, 2025, 10:24:15 pmHe can try that himself by taking his phone to the highest window with a view toward the nearest cell site.Can he make a video call if he stands outside the house?If his budget is so limited, have you looked into how much an additional line or prepaid SIM with enough data allowance for video calls would cost?

author: Psi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 08, 2025, 11:27:06 pm
content: Could try build a DIY passive relay. A really high gain direction antenna outside on the roof pointing at the cell tower with a short cable running inside to a small omni antenna inside. If you build it yourself it would be cheap, but it's impossible to tune RF stuff unless you have RF tools so getting it to work might be a bit of a short in the dark based on following online instructions for making antennas. Ya first have to know the frequency band it's using.Has the advantage of being cheap to build, so it it doesnt work you've mostly only wasted time. Most of the materials can be obtained for free. Cable that will work at the frequency with low loss is probably the hardest to find but should still be easy.Has anyone tried to do this for a 2-way cellphone link? my knowledge of it is for one way links. Im not sure what sort of range you would get from the omni before the phone TX back to tower would get a bit shit. Phone might need to be pretty close.There's plenty of cell phone signal boosters on aliexpress for like $50-$200 totally unlicensed and probably illegal but the results would be much better as they all have a 2way amplifier between the two antennas.