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-- Minstrel S Antenna (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=10235)

I have a Prism with a YadaYada modem. I have become a confirmed "wireless warrior" in the two weeks I have used this combination. With Afterburner 3.0 and Palmscape, web access is fast and highly efficient when it works. The only downside at present is the spotty coverage in the Bay area. I do not have web access on demand which is the essential difference between a high tech toy and a useful and reliable tool.

A better antenna might really make a difference at this point in time. If anyone can identify the Radio Shack and Best Buy model numbers, it could advance the state of the art for the rest of us early adopters.

Thanks.

Afterburner and Minstrel

I can't get Afterburner to work with the Minstrel. It gives a ser lib not open error. What gives?

While we are talking about the Minstrel, why is it that when I do a soft reset, and the screen goes to the Minstrel connection screen, I get a fatal exception? I can only get around this by pressing on the apps button while it's still at the prefs screen before going to the Minstrel screen. Please help!

Radio Shack Antenna for Minstrel

I went to my local Radio Shack and bought a PCS Phone Replacement Antenna for Samsung 1000 and 1900 series phones (RS part # 17-209). This screws into the Minstrel modem and produces improved reception. I went to the Minstrel screen and checked RSSI with one antenna and then the other and could see a consistent slight improvement with the longer replacement antenna.

More significantly, I could access servers reliably with the longer antenna when I was having trouble connecting using the standard antenna. It cost me $9.99 and I feel it is a bargain if it improves access. As someone else observed, this replacement antenna cannot be retracted, so I will carry it in my mobile office case along with a spare stylus as it is about the same size.

For the record the Radio shack Nokia 232/239 (Radio Shack #17-205) seems to fit, although it is harder to screw in / remove as it is recessed. You may want to look at it before you pick one up (I got one anyway since it was the only one in stock at my local Radio Shack) Cell Antenna's seem to be on sale.. Mine was priced $9.99 but I was only charged $4.97!

I'm going to try to get to Best Buy tonight before work.
I'll look for the stick on antenna booster and post all related info after 8 p.m. CST.
I'm posting this from my Prism & YY modem. This is too cool!

Rick

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Rick

www.visorsolutions.com

I saw an infomercial about the antenna booster adfleisher was taking about. Here's the web-site http://www.makeyourcellphonesafe.com/index2.htm

Just ordered a "Booster" from the same site since nearest Bay area Best Buy doesn't stock them.
Local Sprint PCS store gave me a Samsung 3500 antenna for free. I think he wanted it back once he saw me installing it on my modem.

I've been reworking my Rhodiana case to take my YY Platinum combo. So far I am sporting it on my hip, although it's not pretty. I'll be shopping for supplies today to complete the job properly and pleading with my wife for her sewing skills.

I'd told YY I was sending my modem back, then read here about the use of foil and got my first "at home" signal, the only excuse I needed to keep my new toy.

Thanks for all your help.

Troy

well guys i tried the foil trick, it worked!. i orgininally tried different web sights to find an antennna earlier.no luck. im curious to see when somebody gets one of those antennas advertised on t.v... i thought about that.. humm.i had also called omnisky, had a new modem shipped out,i could connect in santa monica(work), but not home.(whittier area). i was told by omnisky that att was the best carrier they have, so live with it. well ill be glad to see if the other antenna booster works. thanks for the post guys!

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Richard

I found a website that sells the same thing for less. It doesn't include the radiation blocker like the deal on TV. The URL is:

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/priceit...boosforcel.html

I haven't found one in a Best Buy yet, but I have 2 more to check out.

Rick

__________________
Rick

www.visorsolutions.com

I've been experimenting with some alternatives to the "foil" trick. So far I've had OK success with an old (partly dismantled) cordless phone base station antenna (same kind as on a boom box).. I removed the lower thicker parts till I got to a thinner section of the antenna that would eaisly fit into the minstrel without forcing it. The antenna now fits enough (but would fall out if turned upside down). This modified antenna seems to work about as well as the foil and is not as fragile as foil and not likely to flake off into the modem (like the foil can). I just need to find some kind of way of adding a threaded end to the bottom. I seem to get the best reception if I DON'T extend the antenna all the way. (I still plan on trying out a Samsung 1000/1900 antenna and/or one of those "cheesy" internal foil patch antenna boosters. (My prism looks like a 70's transistor radio now). The think the "ultimate" solution would be to get the cell phone company to build an antenna closer!

I've also noticed my "best" connect times seem to be later at night.

-Eric

I couldn't find the foil antenna booster around here. The Best Buys don't carry them. I went to radio shack and bought an antenna for a Nokia (75-205 I think). It was marked $9.99 but rang up for $4.??. Sweet. It works much better than the original antenna, but as someone else mentioned, it has to stay fully extended. I am going to try to find a T6 torx driver to dismantle the modem and see if I can remove some plastic to see if it will retract. Should work if a board is not in the way. I'll let everyone know how it goes when I get to it.

Rick

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Rick

www.visorsolutions.com

So far my "hacked" cordless phone antenna (not extended) seems to work the best, actually better than tin-foil and better looking too. I plan on trying to locate a "real" higher gain cell phone antenna this Thursday. There is a store that sells cell phone accessories and I am going to try them out. They carry all those odd things like pens that buzz when you get a call and such, so maybe I may have some luck.

Has anyone seen those cell phone antenna extenders (for auto's I think) at Radio Shack, they come with a gizmo that fits over your cellphone's existing antenna, has a length of wire to run to your "external" antenna.. Anyone try it out? the benefit seems you don't need to unscrew or remove your existing antenna,.

see:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.a...7D0AAA2E149DD50

I went to Spring and got a Samsung 3500 antenna. They gave it to me. It did not give any better reception than the stub antenna. I went to the Minstrel status page and watched the -db level change variably. The level was the same as the stub.

Everyone should know that it is very difficult to determine the quality of our equipment because the weak link in all of this is the system. The CDPD system is very finicky. Some days it is full strength and others it is marginal.

Just watch the levels change from day to day when getting on in the same location, and notice how the servers will connect well some days and not so good others. I am convinced that the system is the bottleneck not the modem or antenna.

__________________
Jeff Schaffer
[email protected]

In my case it's definitely either the antenna, proximity to the cell tower or interference by objects/metal (or a combination of those things). I can sit here (in the exact same location) and swap them around, I get jack diddly on the original stub (I think I actually got it to lock once for two seconds), the replacement cell phone antenna's occasionally will get (and hold a lock) (so long as I don't move a muscle), but the busted telescoping cordless phone antenna ALWAYS gets a lock and will hold it reasonably well. (i.e. I can actually move enough to start blazer or palmscape and not loose the connection). It's very possible I have some kind of a defective unit. I plan on calling YADAYADA to see how far that gets me. I can repeat the results every time. The only time the stub worked and I got a strong steady connection (all green bar) was at my office, so I know it does somewhat actually work.

I've been experimenting with a 5 1/4" piece of wire. Seems to work very well. Anything longer seems to have problems. Apparently the thinner the antenna the better. I took apart one of my replacement cell phone antennas to see how it was constructed. It's pretty much just a piece of wire (as expected). I plan on replacing the 3" braided wire on my replacement cell phone antenna with a 5 1/4" one. To protect the new wire, I'm going to put a section of shrink wrap tubing over it. I'm also going to reuse the threaded connector that came with the original replacement antenna.

Antenna

Hey, i know these posts are kinda old, but im still going give in my 2 cents worth of info.

I was looking around for the replacement antenna for the Samsung SCH-3500, but no one carried it. So, i saw the guy pull out little bags of antenna's and i was trying to see if they would fit. I asked to try the Samsung 1000 phone antenna, worked like a charm. Also, im flying down to Charleston, SC...maybe i could connect tin foil to the side of the plane! Then i would get great reception.

Can you get reception in a plane thats in the air? Havent tried yet, but sounds like it wont work.

-Dave

It probably won't since CDPD service extends only a couple of hundred feet upwards. Also, isn't it against airline regulations to use technology that transmits/recives data while in the air, such as cell phones and wireless modems (unless of course you use their on-board phone).

Re: Afterburner and Minstrel and the Samsung Antenna

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ronskidude
I can't get Afterburner to work with the Minstrel. It gives a ser lib not open error. What gives?

While we are talking about the Minstrel, why is it that when I do a soft reset, and the screen goes to the Minstrel connection screen, I get a fatal exception? I can only get around this by pressing on the apps button while it's still at the prefs screen before going to the Minstrel screen. Please help!

---

I found over time I had to modify the Samsung antenna (my original antenna was for the Samsung 1000 btw..), I had to clip off the actual factory antenna part and replace it with a 6.5 inch section of aluminum rod (from a cheap BBQ skewer set).. The dinky factory antenna didn't really improve the reception at all, I only used the threaded part (bottom) of the SCH-1000 antenna. Using my BBQ skewer antenna (top part) I was able to improve reception by an average of 2x. Of course if you are very close to the cell tower it will not make much of a difference (can make it worse if you are really close).. Where I lived at the time, I was VERY FAR AWAY from the nearest cell tower and it made the difference of getting a connection or not.

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