Twas a busy week for mods on the 16DB

[whoofit]

[p]Table up! Table down. Table up!

No pics until I ditch the plywood top though....heh heh heh[/p][p]
[/p][p]Fantastic fan in, charging shelf in, all mods complete minus the soap dispenser.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I'm done with my list. Maybe erect an antenna farm next? Mount the Icom IC-7000? That'll drain that battery nicely...[/p]

[charliem]

[p]Table up! Table down. Table up!

No pics until I ditch the plywood top though....heh heh heh[/p][p]
[/p][p]Fantastic fan in, charging shelf in, all mods complete minus the soap dispenser.[/p][p]
[/p][p]I'm done with my list. Maybe erect an antenna farm next? Mount the Icom IC-7000? That'll drain that battery nicely...[/p]

[font size="3"]Hey Whoofit[/font],

[font size="3"]Looking forward to the pix to see how you solved the table issue. While thinking on the antenna farm, consider these:

If you plan satellite [/font][font size="3"]Serius/XM the antenna needs to be on the roof.
If you plan cell phones inside you might consider a booster with roof mounted antenna. It really helps.
Watch out for strong RF fields. On my last camper my 2M HT affected the converter. On the CL the same HT turns off the fridge. Warm beer and melted ice cream     Haven't tried an external V/UHF antenna. No clue on HF fields.

73,
[/font][font size="3"]
[/font]

[whoofit]

[p]Charlie how's that Wilson Sleek working out for you. 20-25 db's? Less? Are you using the stock antenna?

Mounting a spare tire carrier on the bumper tomorrow. It'll give me some mast options.[/p][p]
[/p][p]In case anyone is wondering, removing the 13" spare from under the 16DB shaves 18lbs from the tongue and placing it on the bumper shaves another 12 for a total of 30. This using a 440lb rated precise bathroom scale.[/p]

[charliem]

[quote timestamp="1429224183" source="/post/9455/thread" author="@whoofit"][p]Charlie how's that Wilson Sleek working out for you. 20-25 db's? Less? Are you using the stock antenna?

[/p][/quote][font size="3"]Yes, I'm using the AT&T version of the Wilson Sleek with the stock ~4"  quarter wave antenna mounted on the roof. It has a mag mount base so I glued a large galvanized washer to the roof and there she sits. Ran the cable in through the amber clearance light and down through a cabinet. Typically adds 1-2 bars (dots) to the iPhone, which yields a very noticeable increase in data speed. Unfortunately it won't invent signal where none is available. Can't say about 20-25 dB 'cause cellphone bars are like S-Units: totally uncalibrated.
[/font]

[daplumbr]

Truly daunting drift on this thread, but it's Whoofit's fault   

If you're interested in an accurate appraisal of signal strength on your iPhone, dial

*3001#12345#* 

That will get you the real time signal strength expressed in fractions of a milliwatt on a log scale where -50dBm is awesome and -100dBm is marginally useful.  

[dh50]

[quote source="/post/9311/thread" timestamp="1428980317" author="@whoofit"][p] I tried my darndest but the long span of rectangle tubing was overruled The Boss Lady. So Quasimodo will slip back submissively into his chamber and will not be allowed to reappear until the yoke is firmly embedded into his shoulders..... [/p][p]
[/p][p]She says 'Well you got that surge thingy and the gauges. I want it to tip down! I don't want to see any more Aluminum there!"[/p][p]
[/p][p]I thought "Well, hun, you picked the wrong brand then." But said "yes dear..."[/p][/quote]FUNNY mental picture that gave us a good laugh today.  Thanks, Quasimo....uh, er, WHOOFIT!  

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/9463/thread" author="@sandroad" timestamp="1429228126"]Truly daunting drift on this thread, but it's Whoofit's fault   

If you're interested in an accurate appraisal of signal strength on your iPhone, dial

*3001#12345#* 

That will get you the real time signal strength expressed in fractions of a milliwatt on a log scale where -50dBm is awesome and -100dBm is marginally useful.  


[/quote][font size="3"]OK. I dialed and got a bunch of listings with no data. Tried looking at GSM since I'm on ATT, but no data. Guidance ? [/font]

[font size="3"]Update: Just noticed -87 in place of the signal strength dots. This must be -87dBm? That with 4 out of 5 dots (bars). Hmmm. Just got -82.
[/font]

[daplumbr]

Yup, those numbers are the data. It's expressed in fractions of a milliwatt, with 0dBm being 1. Your -82 to -87 is an ok signal for voice and data. It's real time so it varies even while you look at it. Just hit the home button to exit.

[charliem]

[font size="3"]Thanks, Merlin.

Being a EE RF Comm engineer I understand and love dBs and dBms. Lots better than 4 or 5 dots  8-| .
[/font]

[solds88]

[p]Charlie,[/p][p]
[/p][p]Do you still remember how to use a Smith Chart  [/p]

[whoofit]

Android users can access this data in Settings or using an app.

Am considering this 4G booster on sale for $280:  http://www.radioshack.com/wilson-mobile-460108-4g-5-band-signal-booster/1710607.html#.VTDkOqN0y74  Not sure I will renew our 4 line Verizon contract next month. Don't want to lock in to their network with this purchase hence the 5 band.

Thread drifts are where the real meat is....

[charliem]

[font size="3"]James,

Maybe, to the extent I ever did. I could use it for transmission line problems, moving from load to source along the line, but I never really mastered the complex impedance matching capabilities. I may still have some old blank charts along with my orange or green K&E log-log and log-linear graph paper. I also still have several sliderules and my India ink mechanical drawing tools, and several triangular scales. Don't you just love today's computers?   8-) 

Is this thread drifting??
[/font]

[daplumbr]

Whoofit, There's a lot to buying a cell booster now. I'd recommend spending some time drifting around the website of www.3gstore.com before you make a decision. Frequency bands, carriers, antennas, wiring, use, location, etc.-----Get some advice from the pros. I've lost a few dB of signal strength just within my brain trying to figure it all out. 

[whoofit]

[quote source="/post/9496/thread" timestamp="1429268829" author="@sandroad"]Whoofit, There's a lot to buying a cell booster now. I'd recommend spending some time drifting around the website of www.3gstore.com before you make a decision. Frequency bands, carriers, antennas, wiring, use, location, etc.-----Get some advice from the pros. I've lost a few dB of signal strength just within my brain trying to figure it all out. [/quote][p]Merlin, have you made a decision on one yet? [/p][p]
[/p][p]I was already planning to improve the antenna on this one. OK, it is really just another chance to tool around with another antenna build. The lossy cable would need to go too. [/p][p]
[/p][p]Are you leaning toward some device presently?
[/p]

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/9493/thread" author="@whoofit" timestamp="1429267791"]Android users can access this data in Settings or using an app.

Am considering this 4G booster on sale for $280:  http://www.radioshack.com/wilson-mobile-460108-4g-5-band-signal-booster/1710607.html#.VTDkOqN0y74  Not sure I will renew our 4 line Verizon contract next month. Don't want to lock in to their network with this purchase hence the 5 band.

Thread drifts are where the real meat is.... [/quote][font size="3"]Interesting that RS is cheaper than Amazon. Device looks interesting. It would eliminate having to put the phone in the Sleek cradle. That's not usually a problem for us since we mainly use the Sleek/iPhone as a WiFi hotspot for computers and iPads
[/font]