Telstra next G use in the bush

Gday


While commenting about the use of the Telstra next G system on another thread it occured to me that I have realised some things about the system that others may have not found out as yet, and putting the information here might be of use to them.

One thing is that in some of the areas I have been to there is actually limited access to the system, but because when you look at your phone you dont see any reception bars on it you think that you are out of range so you dont worry about it, I was in one such area and comment to a mate that I did not have any phone reception, as he is the enquiring type he had previously looked into how the system worked and he explained to me that in the fringe areas the signal is beamed randomly until it is picked up and is in use by someone, if you sit and wait and watch the phone every now and then suddenly the reception bars will appear and you can make a connection. ( I dont know if I have explained this exactly right maybe someone else may have some more accurate information) but you get the idea.

Anyway I did as he suggested and moved to a higher point of the area, and yes he was right I did manage to get a signal and once connected it was usable, but like he said it comes and goes so you have to be a little patient.

Since this I realised that there are many spots that are fringe areas and you can do a few things to help you get reception, the most obvious one is to get a next g antenna, the same as you mount on your car, and have it so that you can attach it to an extendable pole, tent poles are good for this, and then have a patch lead that goes from the antenna lead plug and then to the antenna recepticle on the phone, I have found the standard type "broomstick" antenna better for this, and I have also tried what is called a "Yagi" which is a directional antenna but you have to know in which direction to point it and it has to be more precise, with the broomstick one you really just need to get it up as high as you can.

What I do now is spend a short time investigating the areas I go to to see where I can get phone signals and have one or two spots in most of the places I go to that I can both phone and internet access, this is good as it is another way you can get in touch with help if there is a problem, even if it means you have to walk to that point to get a call out if you have a breakdown etc.

If you look also at your phone account it will tell you where the signal was from, once while I was at Youanmi I managed to find a spot where I could use the phone, but it was really hit and miss, it wasnt until later when looking at the account that I had managed to pick up Sandstone, which was somewhere around 80/100 kms north east from there, so the spot must have been a bit higher than the rest of the area (although it didnt appear to be) or just in direct line with the repeater I dont know, but it was a spot you could go to to try and get through, so I have put it in the memory bank for next time.

The obvious thing to do is to camp at these spots and just monitor the reception, its good to know you can get a call in to home while away it keeps the rellies happy and its another means of contact if you need help at any stage.


Cheers


stayyerAU

Hi,

I am actually involved in the RF industry (sort off....I'm a Broadcast Engineer by trade), so I will try and make this laymans terms....

There is no actual deliberate beaming of the signal, but what happens is the distance the signal goes is affected by a number of things.... mostly atmospheric, but also solar, and of course the types of transmitter used and antennas at the base station end.
the variables here are the conditions, and just like the old AM radio days the signal fades in and out, and on the extreme fringe, sometimes you are in the zone, sometimes not......
Now the base stations are setup so the signal they transmit and receive overlaps, so as to provide continuous coverage as you move from one "cell" to the next.
If you find yourself on the fringe of an isolated cell, and the signal is weak, it will drop in and out.......... if you are on the "overlap" of 2 or more cells, you may find yourself lucky enough to lock into another adjacent one that is stronger that the current one you are on.
The receivers used here are very smart, and they sample and select the best signal, even if the cell is further away.
They do this Sampling constantly..... its called Polling and you will hear your phone do it occasionally on other electronic devices as it interferes with them as it checks for signals to lock onto.
The limitation however is with the protocol and encryption used the limiting factor is the time it takes for the signal to cover a predetermined distance......
With Digital signals the max distance that the encoded signal can be decoded, and handshake'd in the time it takes to provide a constant stream of communication is in the range of around 30 km's with a maximum of around 70 km's with some algorithms.
So even in some cases you may climb a mountain and be able to see the adjacent mountain that has the Base station on it, you cannot get signal lock......
On mobile phones the signal strength meter is programmed to show no signal, even though the signal might be 90%, but the distance to great.
This is the main disadvantage over the old analogue systems, where if you could get a signal....any signal, you could communicate even in the case of mobile phones the sound was scratchy......

If you are within the distance criteria of the digital process though, and you signal is weak.... an external antenna will make a huge difference and give you service where you would not get it with the standard internal antenna.

interesting read Harb . Have been wanting to use an external arial but do not have an external jack on my telsta samsung phone. It has a stumpy arial ,could i attach it onto that or is there some other means? thanks,johnf

John, if it has the stumpy anntena it most likely has a patch lead port.
look for a little round circle an inch below the stubby and pry this out.

Hi Steve,yes you are correct. have prised the tab out to expose a philips head screw. Does the patch lead screw into that screw-hole? john

Hi John,
I think you have the wrong plug. dirrectly below the anntenna, the bigger plug. undernieth you'll see where the patch lead pushes over the protruding jack

Becareful with some of the little Samsungs when using patch leads.
I bought a Samsung A4110, patch lead and external antenna all from a Telstra dealer. After plugging in the patch lead the phone would no longer work without the antenna. I took it back to the dealer who would not replace it as "I used an after market antenna" even though THEY sold it to me

Make yourself a "Yagi" aerial, you do need a patch lead to suit your phone but these do work if you can get yourself to a hill top.

Cheers
Peter

You can actually buy yourself a Yagi for them if you like...
One of the blokes that works for me lives just on the fringe and brought one through a telstra shop....... bumped his signal up from barely 1 bar to over 3/4 scale........ locked solid now

Agree Harb,
But a whole bag full of $$$$$'s less if you make one.....

Cheers
Peter

Hi John
Some Samsungs don't have a port.
You may need to buy a patch lead with an induction loop that slips over & around the stumpy antenna.
Cheers

Glenn

Hi, What is a Yagi ?
Cheers Greg.

Hi Greg,
This gives you an idea.
http://radio.meteor.free.fr/us/yagi_fm.html

This is the one I built, works a treat with my Telstra Country Phone.

G'day Stayer Au.


Yes even with the current Next G,which i myself use,have noticed the same thing happening.Best chance for reception is almost always within range of a tower or the highest point of elevation.But what the hell,with 40 thousand satellites orbiting the earth,you would think that they would have given us cheaper or affordable digital satellite phone sets by now.Alright so you cant ring from inside a cave or whilst undercover,but where talking receiving reception between trees as in the bush,or out in the open hillside desert plains,basically no matter where your standing on earth,as long as you have clear access to the sky, you will get phone reception.




Cheers kon61