Perry wrote:

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Hi All

I would like to buy some form of booster, I can get 3G outside the van with a poor signal but nothing inside unless I put the phone up in the vent, not that easy getting my head in there as well. Anyone know of a good system to boost signal.

Cheers.Perry

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 Hi Perry....Cel-fi Go is the go! Expensive,but I get good coverage even when there are no bars on my phone,and absolutely no signal until the booster is turned on.Cheers

Here's a useful link.  I find that Whistle out is a good and unbiased source of general information on Australia mobile issues...

https://www.whistleout.com.au/MobilePhones/Guides/telstra-blue-tick-best-phones-for-the-bush

or this one from Telstra on extenders

https://www.telstra.com.au/coverage-networks/network-coverage-extension-devices

Edit .. I forgot to mention that a year or so ago when I was looking for a new phone & service provider (eventually chose Boost on price & coverage) I got into the frequency bands used by each of the networks across the nation and most importantly the frequencies supported by particular AU releases of phone brands & models.  Quite a complex arena but worth the effort.  The Blue tic & Optus equivalent take the hard work out of much of it I suppose.

We have an unlocked Telstra blue tic phone as well as an iPhone10 but haven't carried out any comparative tests or checks.   If the iPhone doesn't have coverage, I can change the data rich sim (plan) into the Blue tic phone & hopefully, away we go.

Interesting to note that the race for country coverage has quickened up a bit with Optus belatedly scrambling to provide access in some country areas that Telstra bypassed in the past.  It pays to get the most recent coverage maps if phone coverage is really that important to you.

-- Edited by Cupie on Thursday 30th of July 2020 10:22:22 AM

Ditto 90cm mobile phone aerial on top of my Winegard TV aerial connected to a Blue Tick phone with aerial socket, also have a Telstra Modem with aerial socket.

Mate puts his Modem on top of a 21ft pole ( 2 sections carried under van when not in use) for data and can use Viper? for calls as well.

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:

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The Blue Tick phones do not have a booster, they do have a slightly better antennae than some other 'phones. "Blue Tick" is simply a Telstra advertising term.
An high mounted external antennae will give a better reception, particularly if your 'phone can accept a 'plug-in' version. Otherwise a patch antennae may help. Again, these are not "boosters", just better antennae.
The Cel-fi Go is the only legal booster as far as I am aware. $1000+
Cheers,Peter

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 Yes,when I was researching boosters I found some that were waaay stronger than the Cel-fi Go that I ended up with,but I was also told that they were illegal,and somehow limited service to other phones in the immediate area? Mine cost $2000 with extra aerials and another repeater(?) for better reception in the van.My aerial is a fold- down model,and is over 4 metres above ground level,on top of my car's canopy.Works well. Cheers

Mike Harding wrote:

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Mobile cell boosters are sold cheaply on e-bay but they are not approved for use in Australia. Do not buy one. The ACMA *will* track you down quickly and they *will* confiscate all your phone equipment and may well prosecute too. There are extremely sound technical reasons why such unapproved boosters should not be used.

Blue Tick phones? Yeah, maybe, perhaps.... Last I heard it had to be the same bloke in Telstra's labs who did the Blue Tick test because the body reactance of other individuals gave different results, which is predictable.

A trick which usually works in poor signal areas is to put the phone on hands-free and prop it up vertically on a table and make calls without touching the handset - apart from dialling of course.

An advertiser at the top of this page sells phone boosters also I think Telstra and Optus sell one but they are all expensive and will end up around $1k.

Finding a handset with provision for an external antenna is all but impossible it seems these days, sadly.

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 Yep...  I got exactly the same advice contained in paras 1 & 2 when I dug into the subject a couple of years ago.

BTW, I had a great deal of interaction with the old & highly regarded Telstra Lab many years ago and what a stirling group of people they were.  I think that they were headed up by (I think) a Dr.Wragge?  Their brief was to look out for a minimum of 10 years.  Bloody hell who could predict Telecommunications developments 10 years out? The regular internal lectures that they gave were outstanding & laid a platform for the company's strategic, marketing etc directions.