Internet coverage out bush

[The geezer]

Well I have talked the better half ( the missus) into coming out on the next detecting trip. However I need to maintain some internet coverage so she can stay happy. Any ideas appreciated?

 

[Balmain Bob]

Where do you intend going and which carrier are you with?
Check their coverage maps to see if there is going to be reception

I use an unlocked Telstra 4gx MF910Z wifi modem and it works great. When in WA I use the boost sim (Telstra Network) and home here in Hill End I insert the amaysim sim (optus network)

 

[grumpygold]

i use the telstra 4gx modem as well, have it always connected to a yagi antenna from ebay $29, never had any problems since :Y:

 

[Nightjar]

Geezer,
Forget about Optus in the West goldfields towns, by the time you reach the Welcome sign (5km's out of town) you lose reception.
Yagi aerial and Telstra we get reception up to 70ms. (Remember Telstra quotes 95% coverage, that actually means 95% of populated areas. )
With the recovery of gold old & new mines will re-open and they usually have a tower you can tap into.
Made my own Yagi, works a treat details below;

https://www.prospectingaustralia.com/forum/doc/member-docs/1414/1546732895_yagiantennafabrication.pdf

 

[Jaros]

Will make it -thanks Nightjar. Got all the gear here.

 

[Jaros]

Oh bugger, my Huawei P9 LTE doesn't have an external aerial connection.

 

[Ded Driver]

Oh bugger, my Huawei P9 LTE doesn't have an external aerial connection.

Jaros, check inside the case, but beware.
I previously had a Samsung Galaxy S4 that had the internal socket, but when I researched it online, Samsung stated that it was for factory purposes & plugging an aerial in could trigger a 'factory reset to default & clear all data'
Other people had commented that they had tried it with no issues (by drilling a hole in the case for the lead)
I went the safe path & didn't use it. I bought a Strike universal inductive cradle instead.

 

[Jaros]

I had an inductive cradle once before-long time ago now. Give it a go again.

 

[Ded Driver]

I still use my universal inductive cradle. It was very good on the S4/S5, but I now have a Kogan Agora 8+ which is larger & is a bit too large for the cradle, but it still brings reception up around 1 bar, which means I can still use the phone on the fringe.
I need to find out where the aerial wire/bar is in the Kogan is (or if its a full perimeter) before trying to get a better matched cradle

 

[Jaros]

I bought my wife an Agora 8+ but she wanted all her stuff transferred over from her iphone4 to this phone and it never worked too well after. I had a computer/tel tech do it but never any good. It chewed up power , meaning we had to charge it every day. My Huawei P9lte is fantastic on power 4-5 days per charge but then again I don't use it as much.

 

[Jaros]

I have bought her a new Huawei Nova 3E--Lot better than mine.

 

[The geezer]

I am up the Palmer river area around Maytown area ,definetly no mobile coverage within a couple of hours drive . I have seen a few pigeons And I heard they were used in the past.

 

[Jaros]

I hope you have a sat phone in case of emergencies. :|

 

[Mr Magoo]

I am up the Palmer river area around Maytown area ,definetly no mobile coverage within a couple of hours drive . I have seen a few pigeons And I heard they were used in the past.

Sometimes around these northern remote communities you can only get reception (Telstra and possibly Aldi networks) just outside the council buildings (or it could be the supermarket can't work it out as the buildings are often close to each other). Not sure why and doesn't help in an emergency but if you want to contact someone else in the big wide world, it's worth a try. :Y:
Have surprisingly had phone reception on Chilli beach, admittedly on the old CDMA network.

 

[Gregupnorth]

The best person to get advice from would be Simmo. He works in the communication industry and as you know gets out and about in the Maytown area. Give us a ring if you need his number
Cheers ?

 

[Nightjar]

Further to my post #4, was going through my shed and found the Yagi template I made up to accurately drill the 25mm PVC. You can see in the pic the original notes.
Also the three lengths of SS pipe in pic are used to lock the PVC in place when drilling.
The "Driven" tube is where the two wires connect running to aerial port of your mobile.
This was made up with two sections of tube held together with length of wooden dowel, a fibre washer in between to keep to two sections from contacting.
With mine I drilled and tapped the tube to connect the wires with threaded bolts, they could be soldered if preferred.
*note: This is a "directional antenna" so you need to know the co-ordinates of telephone repeater stations in your area. Available on line. You then point the antenna towards the station to recieve signal. Many minesites have their own so you can also use them. In our case we use the Thunderbox mine near Leinster.

Now I have no further use for this jig, if anyone is interested in a rewarding project it is for sale;
$50.00 + P&H, or of course pick up if in Perth region.

 

[Ded Driver]

I bought my wife an Agora 8+ but she wanted all her stuff transferred over from her iphone4 to this phone and it never worked too well after. I had a computer/tel tech do it but never any good. It chewed up power , meaning we had to charge it every day. My Huawei P9lte is fantastic on power 4-5 days per charge but then again I don't use it as much.

My current phone is an Agora 8+ and i really like it. For the price they are a good phone. The 2 main weaknesses are 1: the battery, but I plug mine into the charger every night anyway, & 2; the camera is very average & not good at all in low light, but I have a proper camera anyway.
In the end you get what you pay for, & I cant justify paying upwards of $1000 for a phone.

 

[grubstake]

https://www.teslarati.com/elon-musk-starlink-199-hardware-limited-offer-au-nz/

 

[Ben Mag]

Do you still need to be with telsra to get phone/internet service? What do people use to have internet access when camping in the goldfields, particularly WA?

 

[grubstake]

Starlink, I reckon.