External antenna, which phone to get?

[hank]

I've been successful til this summer with an old Kyocera because analog signal reached my remote site. Now I get 10 seconds of 4-bar digital, then 30 seconds of no contact (repeated over four days). Verizon shut off all analog service, and lots of people in the N. Ca. mountains are having this problem.

What if any Treo will take an external antenna? I can probably get a signal with a cartop; if not I'll need a Yagi up on a pole.

The old Kyocera had a flimsy little socket that broke off the circuit board and had to be resoldered. I'm hoping some Treo model will take a better connection.

Any advice recommended. Please don't just refer me to the antenna websites though, I've tried asking them.

Looking for someone with personal experience using an external antenna -- what phone and how do you get it to work?

[aa6vh]

I use a cell phone repeater from Cell Phone Signal Boosters and Cell Phone Repeaters | Repeater Store

I have the VX510. It has an external antenna that then connects to the central module, and then retransmits the cell signal through a small internal antenna. No "physical" connection to the cell phone is necessary.

Works adequately. The secret though is to ensure there is an adequate cell phone signal where the antenna is mounted. If you can climb a ladder or something, and then use your cell phone successfully at the location where you plan on mounting your external antenna, then this gizmo will work great. If you cannot find a spot that can get a signal, then no device will work.

[hank]

Based on this:

Wilson Cellular Antennas, Amplifiers and External Antenna Adapter ...
... We highly recommend the palmOne Treo 650 ...
Wilson Cellular Antennas, Amplifiers and External Antenna Adapter Cables, Phone Adapter Cables Smartphones

I have their external car antenna already, used for the Kyocera -- and a 650 coming from Ebay; just got to get the different adapter now.

If I have any better luck with that weak signal I was getting, I'll post. Else, I'll try putting the antenna up in the highest tree around instead of on the car.

With a nice big ground rod next to the tree and a lightning arrester!