Ken and Jan's Arctic Fox Tales: One Bar into Five

This is an update on the cell booster and network access using the iPhone as a hot spot. Even with the booster antenna inside the trailer we are getting improved cellular signal. We are roaming on various Canadian cell providers using the Verizon International Travel plan. Sitting in the overflow parking area of the Atlas Coal Mine we got one to two bars showing on our phones without the booster. With the booster on we are getting 4-5 bars.

As anticipated our location at Salem Acres Bible Camp is on the very edge of cell reception. Without boost we get a very poor signal to '"No Service' on our iPhones. Ken's iPhone is now in permanent 'field test' mode and displays signal strength in db instead of using the familiar bars. Once we arrived we were able to mount the external booster antenna on top of the trailer (more on that below). We often boost a -125 db signal (very poor) to -90 db, or even better. The band width available from the cell system in the area is still limited but we have achieved almost 7 Mb/sec download performance. We have been enjoying regular FaceTime and Skype video calls with the LaBontes, Falls and Vern with the boosted signal. Put in your requests for a video tour of the trailer and camp site. With the iPhone providing WiFi we can stay connected some distance outside the trailer.

We don't feel completely connected but the booster with the iPhone hot spot has turned very slow intermittent access into stable internet access for our devices. Read on for the update on the 'ground plane' and antenna installation on top of the trailer.

In an earlier post a cast iron frying pan was used to provide a temporary ground plane for testing the cell booster. The ground plane has to be metal so that it can reflect radio waves. It also has to be a ferrous metal since the antenna has a magnetic base to hold it in place. We found it hard to get beyond kitchenware as a solution but found most kitchenware to be either aluminum or stainless steel. Neither work with the magnetized antenna base. After rummaging in the local kitchenware store we finally found a plain steel pan that was about the right size - a Paella pan imported from Spain! It seems that being a laggard in material technology and manufacturing is sometimes a good thing.

Paella Pan Imported from Spain

We drilled out the rivets that fastened the red handles and filled the holes with stainless hardware. The now re-purposed paella pan was given a coat of white paint. High strength 3M adhesive tape was used to adhere a scrap block of birch plywood into the pan. Broom stick hangers, with a strong spring loaded grip, were found at Home Depot and screwed to the mounting block. Ta-da!