I have spent a fortune and a lot of time over the last 6 years trying to find a solution for our cell phone system as we travel over the country in and out of cell phone coverage areas. We often "land" in between the cell towers for either no coverage or weak coverage that is pretty much useless other than for testing your patience (I get an F on those tests).
The first year we used our old Motorola Bag phone. Well, within a year most of the analog towers were being decommissioned and my bag phone was useless. From there I got digital cell phone from AT& T but the service was spotty across the nation.
Not to bore you with all the details I went through a booster (marginal success), two amplifiers (one complete bust and the other not always useful due to the large wire tether we had to deal with and the constant loss of signal due to bad coaxial cable connections.) . I often was close to being decapitated while my wife walked around trying to use the cell phone with a large bulky wire trailing behind her. Not to mention the physical leverage that these connectors had on the little tiny cell phone antenna connector, threating to break the connector (and it did at least twice).
Finally, I think I have the ideal solution for the cell phone system for our 40' Alfa motorhome. We just installed the Wilson Cellular wireless system. Using a high-quality outdoor antenna attached above the front windshield (on the passenger side) and a SOHO Wireless dual-band amplifier connected to a conical (omni-directional) indoor antenna, we can now walk the RV with cell phone in hand getting the signal boost of usually 2 bars from front to back of the RV (and a little boost outside too). We essentially have a cell phone repeater in our RV. The neat thing is that both Donna and I can talk at the same time and receive the same boost.
Although I haven't tried it, I understand it works well with a cellular wireless card in your laptop as well. No wires from your PC to get the boost are needed for browsing and retrieving email in marginal reception areas.
The only requirement is that you mount the indoor antenna a minimum of 20 feet from the outdoor antenna. We have it on the roof across from the refrigerator which is about 21 feet from the antenna, mounted in front of the passenger seat on the outside.
This new model amplifier also has a new feature useful for RV'ers. It has automatic gain control which means that as you travel down the road the amplifier adjusts it's input/output to avoid over-saturation problems as it passes nearby cell towers.
INSTALL
The installation was a bit of a pain, only because I wanted it flush against the ceiling of my RV. The RV ceiling is made from a carpet, a thin plywood, about 4" of foam, and then on top more thin layers. I drilled a 3/4" hole in the ceiling in the hallway and a couple more in the ceiling in the cabinet and spent about 2.5 hours trying to get the coaxial cable to snake through the foam into the cabinet above our Washing Machine. I used various "pokers" and hard wire to make room in the foam. It was a pain but I did it! I mounted the amplifier on the side of the cabinet and I used an existing electrical outlet in the cabinet above the Microwave to plug it in. I had to drill holes in the cabinets (inside) to thread the coaxial cable and the power plug through to get to the amplifier.
Purchasing the Wilson Cellular Wireless Repeater System.
I suspect you can get this system on the internet doing a search. We got ours from some people we met at a campground we stay every summer (http://www.8004RedRock.com) where they are work campers: Betsy and Dennis Shoemaker (http://www.BandDCellAntennas.com). They have a store in Yuma in the Winter. We've seen them every summer for the last three or four years. I helped them put together their web page too. They specialize in Cell Antenna systems for RV'ers. Since they are full-timers themselves, they have become acquainted with the cell phone needs of RVers. They are easy to work with. I get nothing from a recommended sale (other than adoring smiles and praises from Dennis and Betsy), but I'd recommend that you call them and tell them your specific requirement. Call them toll free at 877-495-3321. They are trustworthy and that's hard to find anywhere, on or off-line.
Satellite Phone
By the way, when we are just dead in the woods (so to speak) with no cellular service, we still have a backup system for the phone. We have the Motosat Internet antenna on the roof and use it with our PC (and a speaker and microphone) for incoming and outgoing phone calls over the internet. For about $4 per month, we use NetZero Voice for our service (that's 100 minutes, $02.9 per minute afterward). They give you an incoming phone number in any area code you wish. Of course there is a delay that you get use to due to the long distances associated with the Satellite, but it is acceptable quality otherwise.
