Completing our update on strategies for augmenting cellular coverage, let’s return to repeaters and a hands-on review of an interesting product from JDTECK.
OK, we’ve got femtocells, and we’re going to have mobile/mobile convergence. But there’s a relatively simple, relatively inexpensive, and quite effective solution to the in-building cellular coverage problem that many people continue to overlook: the repeater. This device pretty much does what the name implies – it’s an intelligent two-way over-the-air amplifier that, once set up (and that only takes a second other than with respect to a few installation and aesthetics-related issues to which I will return below), is transparent in operation. You just, like magic, get more bars, and everything just works.
I’m a huge fan of the repeater strategy, especially in smaller venues, for just that reason, but also because there are many multi-band, carrier-independent models available (addressing one of my concerns about femtocells), that require no connection to one’s broadband or any other network (addressing another), have no recurring fees or additional costs (one more there), no management or operational overhead (um, you get the point), and because end-users can solve their own problems without involving a carrier or undo effort or expense. And, yes, repeaters are indeed legal even though it seems that one should be required to consult the FCC or a given carrier to get on the air. One does not.
I’ve tested a number of repeaters previously, but the folks at JDTECK were kind enough to loan me one of their popular products for review, the dual-band (800/1900 MHz.) JD-55PR. This product is small and very well-constructed, feeling hefty and rugged. It’s dual-band and carrier-independent. It’s got a small integrated indoor antenna, and a connector for a length of coax leading to an outdoor antenna. There are a set of DIP switches for separate uplink and downlink attenuation, which may be required if there’s not enough distance between the indoor and outdoor antennas. Setup is very easy, but see note #2 below.
And now the results: my trusty Samsung Fascinate (on Verizon) usually has only one bar at most at my house, and sometimes no bars at all. With the repeater on, and, again, no other changes to anything, I got three to the maximum of four bars everywhere, although sometimes only two bars in the basement. No matter – the repeater easily transformed marginal service into landline-replacing reliability. And with no recurring monthly or other fees – literally, set it and forget it.
Two things, though. While a wide variety of external antennas are available, you’re going to get the best results if that antenna in whatever form really is mounted outdoors. The tech support folks at JDTECK were provided me with the coordinates of my nearest Verizon cell, which is a surprising 16 miles due east. But with proper mounting and alignment, the results were as noted above – just great. I didn’t need to adjust attenuation at all.
The second, to which I alluded above, is that one needs to do some kind of aesthetically-pleasing installation, especially if one’s significant other, like mine, has a thing about exposed wiring. So that length of coax may require professional installation to properly address this requirement, and the associated expense needs to be figured into the total cost of ownership. Apart from that, JDTECK’s solution is a breeze, and it’s hard to be displeased with the overall result.
JDTECK has a really broad range of products, including a line of booster amplifiers, and you should check out their Web site for more information. They are particularly proud of their technical support, and I indeed found them knowledgeable and very helpful. But you may not need them; almost everyone should be able to figure out what’s going on here without too much trouble.
As the results of my testing of JDTECK’s product implies, repeaters are here to stay, and they’re an excellent solution to especially small-scale cellular coverage problems that end-users can manage all by themselves. And, even with progress in cellular buildouts and convergence, and maybe even femtocells in some cases, repeaters will continue to be the solution of choice in a large number of settings for many years to come.
