VX 8100 Cellular Internet + Wilson Antenna

[Tom Stefanac]

Quick question, has anyone been successful in loading NWS radar images via the phones built in browser?

I tried a few times with no luck. I event went so far as to create a webpage on my site for every radar site I use. The page would only display the radar image (latest.gif) and even those pages did not load the radar on my phone LOL. I then tried to resize the radar images to 10% of their original and they still would not load.

Anyone have any other ideas or successful means to use the phones mobile browser? It is not really an issue as the laptop is usually chained to my waist :lol: , but having radar on the phone without paying $5 for TWC's or My-Casts service would be nice.

Also, has anyone used the VX8100 with a Wilson antenna? I currently use mine with a 301103 mobile mag-mount. I have found that setting up the mobile antenna indoors atop a metal surface (ground) usually does not boost the antennas indoor performance. My signal drops by 1 full bar when connected! Now I have a hunch that the reason for the drop is because I live in a 1900 MHz coverage zone so it is probably line loss from the 10ft of cable.

I have not had a chance to test the antenna properly in traditional 1x 800 MHz service areas but I will say that my signal usually does go up by 1 bar or if not stays the same when I use the antenna for mobile purposes and my reception in parking garages is significantly improved. I have read numerous people reporting 2 bar leaps to be the norm but I have not had anything of the sort yet.

I got the antenna mainly to prevent drop outs when the pc is connected to the phone, will the antenna be good for this alone or should I buy a mobile amp? Obviously the amp is amazing but is it worth the money? I am usually always within service but brief 1 or 2 second dropouts have occurred to me in the past before I bought the antenna. Again I have not been able to test it properly but any advice or critiques would be great!

 

[Brad Emel]

Tom I am using this exact same setup you have. I've got the wilson mag mount antenna and the 8100. I've had amazing results with this antenna. It is mounted on top of my Xterra and provides me with much more gain. My 2 hour weekly trip on I-57 had about 4 spots were there was no signal. Now I'm able to use my phone the entire time without problems. I don't feel the need to buy an external amp for the phone.


I use the phone's WAP browser to check the radar and other storm stuff. I set my homepage to NOAA's WAP site specifically for cell phones. Here is the service information:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/cte.htm

This page has almost every product by the NWS. Mesoscale discussions, outlooks, local forecasts, watches, warnings, etc. I've found it very useful when chasing.

 

[Tom Stefanac]

Tom I am using this exact same setup you have. I've got the wilson mag mount antenna and the 8100. I've had amazing results with this antenna. It is mounted on top of my Xterra and provides me with much more gain. My 2 hour weekly trip on I-57 had about 4 spots were there was no signal. Now I'm able to use my phone the entire time without problems. I don't feel the need to buy an external amp for the phone[/b]

Awesome! I was worried it was overrated given my initial results but again that was 1900 mhz and not 800mhz, so I am extremely glad to hear it works like a charm for you!

I need to get some pictures of my chase vehicle for this year up but I use a 99 Intrepid, so I stick the antenna not dead center but a few inches closer to the windscreen, the dual band antenna takes the 'true' center spot.

Have you noticed any interference between the ham radio and the cell antenna? I am not sure how far apart your antennas are, I know mine should be 1/4 wave but I am lacking in roof space :lol: so 2-3 inches is all I can afford between the Wilson antenna and dual-bander. I did a test, had the girlfriend on the line when I keyed up on the 2m simplex freq.’s and did not notice anything, I did the same with the 70cm freq.’s and did not run into any problems. Granted I have not been able to search all the possible frequencies for problems, but are there any frequencies at all you have had problems with? Just so I can make note to stay away from them or disconnect the Wilson before I key up.

I use the phone's WAP browser to check the radar and other storm stuff. I set my homepage to NOAA's WAP site specifically for cell phones. Here is the service information:

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/cte.htm

This page has almost every product by the NWS. Mesoscale discussions, outlooks, local forecasts, watches, warnings, etc. I've found it very useful when chasing.[/b]

I feel like such an idiot LOL. Thanks!

 

[Brad Emel]

Have you noticed any interference between the ham radio and the cell antenna? I am not sure how far apart your antennas are, I know mine should be 1/4 wave but I am lacking in roof space :lol: so 2-3 inches is all I can afford between the Wilson antenna and dual-bander. I did a test, had the girlfriend on the line when I keyed up on the 2m simplex freq.’s and did not notice anything, I did the same with the 70cm freq.’s and did not run into any problems. Granted I have not been able to search all the possible frequencies for problems, but are there any frequencies at all you have had problems with? Just so I can make note to stay away from them or disconnect the Wilson before I key up.
I feel like such an idiot LOL. Thanks!
[/b]

I have my antennas mounted at least 2.5 feet from each other. 2 dual banders on the back hatch of my Xterra and wilson in the center of roof. I haven't noticed any problems with interference. My Kenwood TMG707A suffers from intermod during stormy weather but that was happening before the antenna came along.