What is Digg?53 Comments
- doctechnical, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20And make sure you tape up any unused electrical outlets too, so the electrons don't leak out and run up your bill.
In other news, "Fire Bad". - doctechnical, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8The computer you're looking at RIGHT NOW produces lots and lots of those deadly Radio Waves. Don't believe me? Put an AM radio next to it. Listen to those cancer waves flow!
Rememver to wear that tinfoil hat shiny-side out to deflect the Evil Mind Control Rays(tm). - slut, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Verizon Wireless has an exclusive deal to do that in Washington DC. Possibly also New York City, although I don't think it's exclusive to them anymore.
- BufordT, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6We use this one at one of our offices that has poor signal indoors, it works great.
http://www.solidsignal.com/prod_display.asp?PROD=YX500-PCS&main_cat=07&CAT= - DarthTurducken, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Yeah I don't think God exists, but since noone exactly knows...
I got nothin - Zippo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7They should put these in subway tunnels, or at least the terminals. When I lived in Toronto, I always found it annoying that you were completely cut off from cell signals at the subway stations.
- madi-allen, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Don't ever purchase/use a 3-watt amplifier! You will kill everyone's service around you. I guarantee you will upset some of your neighbors. However, cellular repeaters/extenders (see Spotwave) are what you really need. Don't confuse yourself about an amp vs. a repeater. There are differences. A repeater will allow others to use it as well.
- cuzican, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7500 bucks for the wireless one so that you don't have to leave it connected to the base unit... yeah every1 will jump right on that deal.. buried for price..
- rolfeman02, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3damn internet....digg down
- thund3rstruck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Gadgets like these should not have to exist at all. When you pay for a service you expect that the service will operate as intended. Its complete ***** that you end up investing your money on 3rd party (or are they really 3rd party) gadgets to get what you've already paid for and are continuing to pay for!
God damn TMobile!
--off my soapbox now--- - CedEx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I think the TTC decided against in-tunnel cellular service out of fear that a cell phone could be used to detonate explosives on the subway.
Plus, it's not like you could hear anything in the tunnels anyway. The subway is so old and noisy, it'll drown out even the highest volume setting on the phone. - nepawoods, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2You're exposed to less radiation because the phone, which is generally right next to your head, doesn't need to put out as much radiation to connect through the amplifier.
"All signal is accounted for and exactly where we want it." ... There are technical people here - gibberish marketing language won't fly. You can't "keep all radiation inside the cast aluminum case" and have the thing work. No radiation = no signal. - bmobile, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@ themacx: um what? how does this make your phone not mobile? this actually lets me be MORE mobile in my house. instead of hovering near the window as if i was tethered by an invisible rope, i will now be able to freely move about my house without fear of dropped calls. finally, complete mobile freedom.
one downside of this product for me will be the end of dropped call credits. everytime i drop a call and then report the dropped call, Sprint gives me 50 cents back. it adds up over time and can really help the cost of the bill if you have enough dropped calls. - mortalfunk, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Putting a high powered amp in my house? I thought cell phones gave produced enough brain cancer as it is.
- JeremiahLBurns, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Okay, I can see how this would be attractive. The apartment I lived in was a complete dead zone for every carrier.
Still...this bothers me. Why? Because you're left two choices: Shell out a ***** of money on one item, or shell out a slightly smaller ***** of money and be tethered when it's supposed to be a MOBILE phone. - Eliminator, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Switch to Cingular and don't fall for a contract again.
- nepawoods, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2"we use a Motorola patent that keeps all radiation inside the cast aluminum case"
That would mean the thing is completely ineffective. The signal *is* radiation. - GTanaka, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1me neither. Dunno what's wrong.
- thestu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I had a cell phone with a company that had terrible reception, and then i got a new phone with the same company, and i didn't have that problem.
do different cell phones have different signal reception strengths or is it simply different reception devices? - ibeetle, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5I agree. That is why I am getting the Zen by Spotwave (http://www.spotwave.com/zen/) does the same thing for half the price.
I saw this thing at CES. It is pretty cool.
They have been making a commercial edition for a few years and I have seen it working in the real world and it is well worth the money. - dontbejack, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4U.S. Cellular has a deal in Chicago to provide cell phone service to their customers in the subway. Personally, I prefer to not listen to someone useless drabble on the train and I REALLY don't want to hear them yell it over the screeching of the metal wheels.
- jetta421, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I think Verizon should give me one of these units in exchange for the dropped calls. There really is no excuse for lack of service in a Metropolitan area like Minneapolis. Maybe the cost will come down on these units in the next few years.
- nepawoods, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yeah, I'm waiting for a way to hook an antenna to my Sony Ericsson z520a. There must be a mod ... there's a site that sells an adapter for the z500a (my previous phone - OS locked up more often than windows) that required you drill a small hole behind the battery case to get to some hidden port.
- doctechnical, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1There seem to be a good number of people who have no fsking idea what "radiation" is, or the difference between ionizing and non-ionizing radiation. A junior-high physics book could provide many clues. Hint: A lightbulb gives off light. This is radiation. As I type this, I, myself, right this MINUTE am giving off radiation in the form of heat. Radio waves are also a form of radiation
"The only way to make the radiation go away with the "patent" signalwide mentioned is to put a converter in that aluminum case, then transmit it in another way that doesn't cause radiation."
What is that "other way" to speak of? Sub-etha signaling device? Subspace radio? Psychic waves? I'm going to go way out on a limb here and guess it uses a radio transmitter to send information to the cell tower. That's radiation. And if it can't get out of the phone's case, the phone is useless, as previously mentioned.
Cell Phone + Faraday Cage == Paperweight
"Patients complained of severe headaches and pain directly unrelated to their disease. Some hospital machinery didn't work. Guess what the problem was?"
Bad science? Again, I go out on a limb... I'm betting if they disconnected the antenna but told no one it was not functional you'd still see these "problems". People are like that. - nepawoods, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2You may actually be exposed to less radiation with one of these, as your phone doesn't have to put out as powerful a signal to connect.
- DDRRE, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1signalwide:
"we use a Motorola patent that keeps all radiation inside the cast aluminum case"
nepawoods:
"That would mean the thing is completely ineffective. The signal *is* radiation."
@nepawoods:
Exactly! The phone picks up the (CDMA/TDMA/etc.) signal and converts it to data/voice. That signal contains radiation. The only way to make the radiation go away with the "patent" signalwide mentioned is to put a converter in that aluminum case, then transmit it in another way that doesn't cause radiation. And that means that the phone has to be modified to support that signal, and that means it can't recieve any other signal.
Anyway, *****.
And something else I wanted to say: many replies were buried because they talked about the health risk of using these devices, as in "spreading your house with cancer" and replies saying it is a great invention were dugg. wtf?
In Israel a hospital had a hidden cellular antenna on top of it. People coming to the hospital praised the cellular signal strength. Patients complained of severe headaches and pain directly unrelated to their disease. Some hospital machinery didn't work. Guess what the problem was? - Charlotte_Web, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It costs between $230 - 500, and it's something that you have to install in a stationary location (i.e., your home). It may be cheaper just to get a landline.
- alucardx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1indeed, in my apartment complex and the surrounding areas, its next to impossible to get a CDMA (verizon) signal. they just put in a GSM tower around the corner and my work phone (cingular) gets full coverage anywhere in my apartment.. too bad i got that $180 contract cancelation fee to deal with. so whats cheaper, pay a cancelation fee and start with Cingular or buy one of these.
also, if you have a cell phone with an internal anntenna you can't use the cheaper signal booster methods because there's no hookup for those little cables. I have a samsung a950 and it has an internal antenna. meaning, i'd have to buy one of those $500 wireless signal boosters. - rolfeman02, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1RTFA and look at the pictures
- armyturtle, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1A lot of cell drops are not even related to "lack of" signal. Ever see your signal level go from full bar to absolutely nothing only to go back to full bar all while standing in the same place?
There are many scenarios which can cause you to drop a call, but here are a few besides *weak signal*
-Incorrect RF parameters entered into the sector you're serving off of; to include:
1. Bad cell neighbor list
2. Hand over thresh holds incorrect (at what signal level to pass you on to another cell).
3. Not enough resources on the cell you are trying to hand "IN" to
4. Bad cell equipment (to include cell site antenna) or cell site problems (not your fault, but nothing you can do about it, as there is no way for you to be certain whether it is where you're standing at the moment or an actual cell site problem).
5. Interference issues - other cell companies, tv & radio stations, consumer or business grade electronics that transmit as well; doesn't have to be in the same exact frequency range - INTERMODS are generated many times when you combine two or more frequencies (as many transmissions do) they mix to create new unintended frequencies; these are utterly unpredictable and can be either in your transmit/receive band or they may be out of it, but in another "person who's trying to transmits' " band.
6. Oh and my favorite - people with repeaters/BDA (bi-directional amplifiers) that extend the frequencies beyond their intended range sometimes - with the iDEN (nextel) network this is a biggie because they use FREQUENCY DIVISION for splitting up the cells, and it can wreak absolute havoc on a network when a BDA is set up in the wrong place.
7. Opps, almost forgot one - People with cell jammers. These are a great way to have cheap entertainment at the expense of an unsuspecting victim and can create hours of entertainment with the simple flick of a switch. Next time you suddenly have crappy/little signal, look around and see if someone is starring & smiling at you. :) - kualla, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1MAKE YOUR OWN ANTENNA -- INCREASE SIGNAL & CHEAPLY
http://www.instructables.com/id/ECKSXUSERKEP28729D/?ALLSTEPS
As far as how "professional" that antennas design is, I'm not sure. I will be trying it out once I get an antenna adapter/pigtail for my cell phone.
Funny thing is, I think it was just a few days ago that the link was posted on digg - Burritovision, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Cell phones use DNA injuring radiation. cut them.
- Zippo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@CedEx
If anything, you could send text messages. I can't count the number of times I sent text messages and had to wait till the train surfaced for a brief moment before I got my reply... and couldn't reply back because the train had gone underground again. - catbeller, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Um. How about a system where you jack your phone to a dock-unit outside your dead zone, and a wire line runs from the dock-unit to a handset in the house? Would this not be enormously cheaper? Of course, the phone would have to have remote-access capability via the wire. Is such functionality built into the phone? Should phones have such capability?
- yujie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I dont see it for my SE k750i
- kirigoe, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1on a trip to california this summer i was reminded of how spoiled scandinavians are with our 2G GSM network, you can get service far out in the forest our out on the sea far from larger towns. our old analogue system NMT450 is still partially in service in sweden and can be used practically anywhere in the country, even up north where you might be 100 miles or more from the nearest town.
- jtown, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Sounds like you're talking about analog amps. Oh, that could be read two ways and works both ways. AMPS and amps. Does anyone still use analog (AMPS) phones? I remember back when it was still in use, the smart thing to do for an "emergency phone" in the car was to get one of those 3 watt bag phones because you had a much better chance of getting a signal than you would with the lower power handsets. But AMPS was getting phased out in the last millenium.
- jtown, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Of course different phones get different levels of reception. That's a no-brainer even without direct testing. They use different antennas, different receivers, different materials in the case, etc. I recently switched to T-mobile and wasn't offered any kind of incentive to use my old (unlocked, compatible) phone so I took a Samsung T509. Pretty little phone but I don't like it. The reception is terrible. 1-2 bars out of 6 in a location where my old Sony S710a gets 2-3 bars out of 5. (Using the same SIM, phone sitting on the same spot on the desk.) And that's just the reception. It's got other problems.
- agentbad, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Ok someone has to have the knowledge to make one of these at home. 250-500 dollars can buy you a hell of a lot more than just a repeater. How many wireless internet repeaters would that buy?
- mbthompson, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2^ lol!
- signalwide, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Hello all. It's Ian from SignalWide. Couple responses to comments above. Re: radiation, we use a Motorola patent that keeps all radiation inside the cast aluminum case. 100% clean. It actually makes your phone cleaner since your phone will not have to work as hard to find signal. Also our amps don't mess with anyone else's signal, in fact we're invisible to the tower because we work off what the handset needs.
- Grimdotdotdot, on 10/12/2007, -4/+3How much?!?
- NightRush, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2This sorta thing isnt needed in my area. Could be useful for those in rural areas i suppose..
- drmonkey, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1I found a nice site that list's phone codes for most brands
http://mobile.box.sk/
But I can’t seem to get the menu up on my phone, it's a nokia 6610 and none of the listed codes work for it. Anyone else got this model working? - signalwide, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0"You may actually be exposed to less radiation with one of these, as your phone doesn't have to put out as powerful a signal to connect."
You just understood it in the post before. What happened? The Moto patent just makes sure we don't leak radiation. All signal is accounted for and exactly where we want it. - astrotrain, on 10/12/2007, -6/+3And a amp here... and there, and over there... wow now I can get any signal, and I am exposing my family to radio waves and they will have cancer in about 20 years...
And it's five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we're all gonna die.
- Country Joe & the Fish - themacx, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1and how to make a mobile NOT mobile.... sooo stupid and useless.
- cuoops, on 10/12/2007, -7/+2Go here for cell phone test modes to see your real signal strength.
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how20/FieldTestModes.pdf
http://www.digg.com/hardware/Real_Signal_Strength_Cell_Phone_Test_Modes - tjanson, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1Yeah, seriously! I don't think that regular cellphones cause cancer, but since no one exactly knows... Probably not really a good idea to boost your mobile. I like those hacks, though, but I wouldn't use it day to day. Or at least use a headset, a wired one if you're afraid of Bluetooth too...
- rmjb, on 10/12/2007, -10/+4So the probably harmful radiation can now be all over my house? Great!
- rmjb -
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