Develop Bugs

External Antenna

WANT!
Anyone know where I can get one for cheap.
Doesn't even have to be branded to work with it, as long as it does.
Oh and question, under the camera mirror, which antenna is that? I'm thinking wifi, but I have no idea xD

I sure do! I live in a remote area, so an external antenna comes in VERY handy. I bought mine from this guy - -> http://cgi.ebay.com/13dBi-External-...id=p4634.c0.m14&_trkparms=|301:1|293:1|294:30 .
The antenna works great, went from 2 bars to 4 sometimes 5. And everything is included (Antenna,Adapter Cable). Great shipping too. I got mine in 3 days.
You plug the adapter into the plug under the camera mirror. That is for the phone. Not sure, but I think that encompasses the WiFi as well. No experience with that, I don't have WiFi out here. I have it placed on my metal air conditioner because I think it needs a magnetic ground plane.
**Edit**
I used it when I went into town the other day. Placed the antenna on top of my car. Loaded up WiFiFoFum and got close to 50 WiFi Signals. Detached the antenna and had same amount, so not sure if the antenna helps with WiFi or not. I think if you are not within 300 ft. of a WiFi signal, you're not going to get it anyway.

External Antenna

Anyone ever use one? If so, what do you think of this?
http://bestcelldist.com/htc_thunderbolt_antenna_combo_em_removal.html
Not interest in saving my brain, but in extending my 3G and 4G range.

I'm a little interested as well. For $50, it had better give great reception.

I heard my friend talk about this today. I hope it works.
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

I have used them from Wilson Electronics with great results...Don't know about these

Hold the (cell)phone - that one doesn't cover the LTE frequencies. Here's a nice indoor one that covers 700 MHz.
http://bestcelldist.com/htc_thunderbolt_all_bands_8db_panel_indoor.html
Sent from my ADR6400L using XDA Premium App

I would like to see how they are attached to the Thunderbolt. (It says direct connect). There is no illustration of the antenna connection to the phone.

rtompkins3 said:
I would like to see how they are attached to the Thunderbolt. (It says direct connect). There is no illustration of the antenna connection to the phone.
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I would think that it plus into that jack on the bottom back of the TBolt.
Looks to have a rubber plug in it now.

I thought that was covering a screw

Has anyone tried either of these or any other similar device? I recently moved and now my signal has gone to hell (I'm lucky if I get one bar), so I'm seriously considering one of these.
Any reviews/feedback?

rtompkins3 said:
I thought that was covering a screw
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Click to collapse
thats what ive heard.
i also would like to see how this thing connects..

Are we still unaware as to how this connects to the phone? All we've got is our USB port and our headphone jack... unless there's a secret antennae jack that I'm unaware of?

wgoeken said:
Are we still unaware as to how this connects to the phone? All we've got is our USB port and our headphone jack... unless there's a secret antennae jack that I'm unaware of?
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I know on the droid and several other phones, there are little Antenna diversity jacks so that you can plug in extended or high-gain antennas (usually underneath the battery covers). I have seen the metal connectors (but not in a standardized form) on the inside of the case that connect to the antenna leads inside the back cover. You could potentially solder some leads from those to a proper antenna connecter that you mount on the back of the phone or inside one of those rubber fitted screw-holes. Then you could plug in and unplug your external antenna. As far as standardized connectors for external antennas, I don't think the T-Bolt has one.

emailed that site. heres what they said:
The is a small plastic cover, about 1/4" in diameter, on the back
of the phone. You may remove, very carefully, with a needle, and
the antenna port will be exposed.
Notice, however, that we recommend using the ExtAntPro™ adapter
with the Thunderbolt, because of the very small antenna port. The
regular adapter, which comes with the antennas, falls off very
easily, although it does still work.
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Click to collapse
they seem to think that cover isnt hiding just a screw, even tho htc says its just a screw. i feel that htc rep might be wrong tho. i might just have to tear my cover off to figure it out once and for all.
edit: ok that htc person is stupid. ITS AN ANTENNA PORT FOR SURE. watch this vid:
http://youtu.be/zdPiT82gWKw?hd=1&t=2m48s pause at about 2:52. youll see its clearly an antenna port with contacts in the circuit board running from it.

gohamstergo said:
emailed that site. heres what they said:
they seem to think that cover isnt hiding just a screw, even tho htc says its just a screw. i feel that htc rep might be wrong tho. i might just have to tear my cover off to figure it out once and for all.
edit: ok that htc person is stupid. ITS AN ANTENNA PORT FOR SURE. watch this vid:
http://youtu.be/zdPiT82gWKw?hd=1&t=2m48s pause at about 2:52. youll see its clearly an antenna port with contacts in the circuit board running from it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, I second that. I had these antennas for a couple years. I never found the antenna connection on the last couple phones I had, so I never even cared to pull the rubber plug, but it is indeed the antenna plug, these antennas work great, special during long drives, or for when I visit relatives who live in the woods, with a very weak signal. Thanks!

nope not covering a screw i double checked

I would never hook up an external antenna to a phone again. I did it once with my old Samsung Epix, and while it improved the signal when I disconnected the antenna I lost all service, so my phone was basically useless after connecting it.

What about a signal repeater, my office uses them and they work great! our corp office is outside of town so weak signal. Get to work and go inside you get full bars - kinda weird when you notice it. They are place on windows on every floor look just like the external antenna but only have a power cord coming off it.

avatar120 said:
What about a signal repeater, my office uses them and they work great! our corp office is outside of town so weak signal. Get to work and go inside you get full bars - kinda weird when you notice it. They are place on windows on every floor look just like the external antenna but only have a power cord coming off it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We have one of these at my work as well. Great signal outside, but not so much in the basement of the building. As soon as we moved into that building, getting one of these installed was a top priority of mine. It made a HUGE difference, although mostly for non-VZW!

external antenna
Search U.FL on wikipedia
That appears to be the connector under the rubber plug on a thunderbolt.
I cant find any that just go straight except ipx connectors at rfconnector.com
Does connecting an external antenna affect the internal one at all?

LAMPEY said:
Search U.FL on wikipedia
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The TB jack is not a Hirose U.FL. It looks more like a MS-156.

A temporary fix for low signal and slow data speeds!

Hey guys, just got my DInc2 Monday and found that the signal strength was no better than the Eris I had before it. The problem with the eris was that there was nowhere to connect an external antenna. After messing around with my new DInc2, and reading this forum, I found that by using the antenna that I bought for my eris: http://www.amazon.com/Wilson-Electronics-Trucker-Mirror-Antenna/dp/B001DTZ25A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323615483&sr=8-1
and the passive antenna adapter
http://3gstore.com/product/1691_passive_antenna_adapter.html
that I never could get to work to boost my eris' signal, I was able to DRAMATICALLY increase my signal and data speeds!!!
I have the antenna pointed in the general area of my closest tower.
I cut the end off the adapter, and stripped the wire. I then slid the wire into the antenna contact on the PHONE SIDE...not the cover. I went from 2 bars of signal and an average of -95dbi without the antenna, to a STEADY 3 bars and an average of -86dbi with the antenna. The back cover has to be off for this to work, so it's only a fix if you are at home, or somewhere stable where you can just connect it and set the phone on a table somewhere.
If anybody knows where I can pick up some kind of small alligator clip or ANYTHING that would allow me to more permanently attach the antenna while I'm at home, I'd love to hear it. I think if I had a better connection between the phone and the antenna, the signal would be that much better.
Here are the speedtests I took this morning. The first three are without the antenna, and the 2nd three are with the antenna

Antenna fix
You could get a spare back and drill into the area where the connections are and solder the wire to the contacts on the back.
Try it with the stock antenna intact. If the signal is not better, interupt the trace of copper for the stock antenna.
Enjoy...

Poking around in the back of my phone, I pulled off a tiny rubber cover located just above the SD card slot. Just underneath is what appears to be an antenna port. I have a Wilson antenna that I used with an old flip phone from back in the day, but the adapter I had did not fit. I ordered this one off of E-bay: Wilson 359909 Antenna Adapter LG, Motorola, Samsung,HTC (160641678739) - even though it did not explicitly state it would work on the Dinc2. In the meantime I spliced off the end of the adapter I already had and put the exposed wire in the antenna port. I noted an immediate increase of signal strength of -5dbm. Unfortunately, the ebay adapter arrived and it also does not fit. I think if we could find the right size adapter, we could drilll a hole in the back of the cover and it should seat nicely. Anyone have any thoughts?

I see that port. I didn't get any signal at all when I put my wire into it though. Anybody know what this port is for if not for an antenna? I find it hard to believe that nobody has noticed this before.

I find it hard to believe that nobody has noticed this before.
I agree. Maybe wishful thinking got the best of me!

I just hope there's something to this!

I shoulda thought more before posting. There is no doubt in my mind that I got a signal increase with the external antenna as compared to the last signal reading prior to taking off the cover (and having no signal at all).
Question is - could I have inadvertently touched something else in addition to that port?
At work till tomorrow afternoon and will retest then.

It IS an antenna port
I have attached pictures of the "setup", and a screen shot displaying my dbm's with the cover off and the antenna attached. Cover on signal status was -96 dBm and with the antenna attached it was -87 dBm.
Hopefully this will get someone a lot smarter than me interested in figuring out what kind of adapter would work on this port.
Thanks in advance for any and all feedback!
View attachment IMG_20111215_105537.bmp View attachment 2011-12-15_11-06-09_540.bmp View attachment 2011-12-15_11-07-26_527.bmp View attachment screenshot-1323982757531.bmp

Umm i get 2meg download speed with no app and the back on. Remember the phones internal antennal is actually the back door of the phone. Did you do those first speed tests with the back on? Try flashing a new radio. The newest one ending in .1111 is great!
Sent from my Incredible 2 using XDA App

Thanks for the advice! I flashed the .1111 radio a couple days ago and have noticed that the dead spots on my 1.5 hour drive to work have gotten shorter and my average dl speeds have increased from an average of .5 Mbps to about 1.2 Mbps
My hope is that with the right adapter, I could plug in an external antenna (pictured in my previous post) and cause those dead spots to disappear all together.
By taking the back cover off and plugging the bare wire of the adapter into the port directly above the SIM card slot, I get better reception than I had with the back cover on. Problem is, it's a very precarious connection. I think if I could find an adapter that actually fit in that port, I could drill a hole in the back of the cover and plug and unplug as needed.

Verizon Extender any place to get one cheap

Hey guys I was wondering if anyone here knows where to get a cheap cellphone signal extender. i just got the GS3 and the signal is horrid. i knew my house is in a weak signal area but at least i was able to send texts and make calls. I am missing calls and unable to send texts on our 2 S3's. I see on their website it is sold for a lot of money ( at least for me) and i need to know what my options are.
any insight would be greatly appreciated.
thanks guys

My girlfriend found one for me on craigslist for like $50. Only problem is its the 3g version so I can't pull 4g from it so it just collects dust for now.
Sent from my ThunderBolt using Tapatalk 2

thanks bro. i don't care about 3g or 4g i have a wifi router. i am only interested in cellphone signals in my home.i am smack dab between 3 towers. i have to walk outside to make or receive calls.

OK guys i bought a zboost cellphone signal extender. and it really works as described kinda. i screwed up and bought the metro version with a cheap indoor antenna that sticks to a window indoors instead of the one with the outdoor antenna.it is saying it works up to 1500 SQ FT. but i only get a really good signal like in a 6 ft radius of the base station. I wonder if i could hook it up to an old tv antenna that is up on my roof. it has the same type of connection. like a cable tv connection. anyone try this? i just don't want to burn the damn thing out.

Somebody should patent/make my idea!!!

Wouldn't it be cool if our wall and car chargers could also be signal boosters for wifi and gsm? If you were at work or home with a spotty signal, you could plug up your phone and add a 4'+ antenna while charging it!!! :good:
And that's it for my random idea for the day.

notime2d8 said:
Wouldn't it be cool if our wall and car chargers could also be signal boosters for wifi and gsm? If you were at work or home with a spotty signal, you could plug up your phone and add a 4'+ antenna while charging it!!! :good:
And that's it for my random idea for the day.
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Click to collapse
great idea - i would purchase one, would be great for people who travel into places where reception is poor.
Would also be great to implement the similar technology that uses the wired system as an antenna...

Good idea.
However I believe the signal boosting hardware is readily available for purchase. However the combination with a charger is not.
Pretty sure it would still cost quite a bit since you'd be looking at an amplifier for the booster that would require different circuitry alrogether than the charger. But could still be implemented using an SMPS.
Why not create a Kickstarter campaign?

Almost all smartphone and every older phone have a external antenna plug...
Sent from my GT-S6500 using xda app-developers app

http://m.cnet.com/news/windows-that-double-as-cell-signal-boosters-yes-please/57585614
tl;dr Ericsson has made windows that have signal boosters built in. I'm sure it's a small step from there to putting such signal boosters in walls. 5 bar 4G in the subway!