internet booster

kdazz · Member

internet booster

Dicko1 · Senior Member

First thing I would want to know is....Is it legal to use in Australia? Many are not and big fines occur if you are caught using an illegal booster.

Mike Harding · Guru

Their website is full of fluff with little to no technical detail however they do say the device is "ACMA approved" which doesn't mean much but probably means it's legal.

Keep in mind, this thing is not magic it is just an amplifier and if there is no signal to amplify then it's useless.

Given that's it costs. $1900 dollars I'd want it to make me tea and toast in the morning.

I suggest an M2 Netgear Nighthawk modern with external antenna for about $400 instead.

PeterD · Guru

This device does not appear to be an on frequency signal booster signal like the Cel-Fi Go. It appears to be a similar device to the mobile internet devices we use like our dongles and my Nighthawk M2. There is no mention of it improving mobile phone range like the Cel-Fi Go does.

The device looks to me like there is a head with an antenna and a transceiver that goes up on a portable mast. A data cable goes down into the van where there is a Wi-Fi transceiver. You can achieve the same with a mobile modem like the Nighthawk M2 (or cheaper unit) that has provision for external antennas and an antenna system that will cost less than $700. If you do not feel competent to source the bits yourself then the i-Logic may be a reasonable alternate.

See the video in this link.

PeterD · Guru

This equipment is provided by a local company and not an evil bay supplier so I am satisfied by the reply I got from them late last night.

Hi Peter,
Thanks for your query.

Our hardware is locally sourced, so is ACMA approved and carries the RCM compliance mark.

If youd like to have a chat about the internet situation for your home and you are interested in organising an onsite test, wed be happy to help!

Have a lovely Easter weekend.

Cheers,

Giada Glavic

Sales and Support

ph: 03 8790 6000

m: 0416 055 844

gday@ilogic4gplus.com.au

kdazz · Member

Thanks to all for your input. Much appreciated.

KFT · Guru

The Cel Fi Go is on special for around $869 at Redfleet

Look here: https://www.redfleetsafety.com.au/shop/product/79953/cel-fi-go--portable-carry-case-cellular-mobile-signal-booster-kit-telstra-or-optus/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwjN-SBhCkARIsACsrBz61sOju2pxgMJu8za9HWFGey1WjFkaKFcMfABHZ9Q32Ok1M1E_6Kt8aAo-WEALw_wcB

CelFiGo is a mobile signal repeater

Mike Harding · Guru

KFT wrote:
The Cel Fi Go is on special for around $869 at Redfleet

He doesn't need one. Buy a Nighthawk (or similar) modem and use VoWiFi on your phone to make calls. The Cell Fi Go is now a dead product.

dabbler · Guru

CelFi isn't dead, they work perfectly and you don't need to know the ins and out if your device to make it operate (and let's face it, most people don't). Once you start adding antenna and a second SIM service the price of alternatives adds up. Horses for courses but I'm happier with my CelFi than I ever was with the many antenna serviced WiFi modems I've owned including the previous gen Nighthawk.

Brodie Allen · Guru

KFT wrote:iNSIG..
The Cel Fi Go is on special for around $869 at Redfleet

Look here: https://www.redfleetsafety.com.au/shop/product/79953/cel-fi-go--portable-carry-case-cellular-mobile-signal-booster-kit-telstra-or-optus/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwjN-SBhCkARIsACsrBz61sOju2pxgMJu8za9HWFGey1WjFkaKFcMfABHZ9Q32Ok1M1E_6Kt8aAo-WEALw_wcB

CelFiGo is a mobile signal repeater

That is the one to get and you can move it vehicle to vehicle. Fully complies. Mine is so good in the van that it works in the tug as we travel. You do need an outside antenna. Lots available el cheapy magnet mount from Jcar to a proper unit and antenna from WINSIG. Proper support and about $1200 the lot.

BTW, they have the best terrestrial tv antenna by a country mile. Talk to them. Cant do enough for you.

Chris61 · Senior Member

I have been looking around to see whats about

overlandexposure.com.au/how-to-get-internet-anywhere-in-australia-remote-internet-guide/

Celfi-Go
If you ask on any of the travelling Facebook pages, or pretty much anywhere, you will be advised to use the Celfi-Go repeater system. Dont Do it! I have one, and purchased one based on advice I received. This system is stuck in the 2000s and will not provide you the best services that you can get, and its BLOODY expensive.

gdayjr · Senior Member

Chris61 wrote:
I have been looking around to see whats about

overlandexposure.com.au/how-to-get-internet-anywhere-in-australia-remote-internet-guide/

Celfi-Go
If you ask on any of the travelling Facebook pages, or pretty much anywhere, you will be advised to use the Celfi-Go repeater system. Dont Do it! I have one, and purchased one based on advice I received. This system is stuck in the 2000s and will not provide you the best services that you can get, and its BLOODY expensive.

I am using this exact same set up. Hard to fault it.

yobarr · Guru

gdayjr wrote:
Chris61 wrote:
I have been looking around to see whats about

overlandexposure.com.au/how-to-get-internet-anywhere-in-australia-remote-internet-guide/

Celfi-Go
If you ask on any of the travelling Facebook pages, or pretty much anywhere, you will be advised to use the Celfi-Go repeater system. Dont Do it! I have one, and purchased one based on advice I received. This system is stuck in the 2000s and will not provide you the best services that you can get, and its BLOODY expensive.
I am using this exact same set up. Hard to fault it.

X2

Mike Harding · Guru

The Cel-Fi Go is fine, it does what it was designed to do - act as a mobile phone relay station, however it was designed well before VoWiFi became commonplace and it now has little to no advantage over a quality celluar modem and a VoWiFi handset and it costs a lot more. Existing buyers should stay with it if they are happy with its performance but new buyers will be spending a lot more money for features they don't need.

Gundog · Guru

The downside on the Cel FiGo as I see is some phones dont have band 28 the 700mHz Frequency.

Travel in country areas the band 28 is the dominate band, as for omni verticle antennas it would be best to buy the one with heighest gain.

-- Edited by Gundog on Saturday 23rd of April 2022 02:48:31 PM

Chris61 · Senior Member

gdayjr wrote:
Chris61 wrote:
I have been looking around to see whats about

overlandexposure.com.au/how-to-get-internet-anywhere-in-australia-remote-internet-guide/

Celfi-Go
If you ask on any of the travelling Facebook pages, or pretty much anywhere, you will be advised to use the Celfi-Go repeater system. Dont Do it! I have one, and purchased one based on advice I received. This system is stuck in the 2000s and will not provide you the best services that you can get, and its BLOODY expensive.
I am using this exact same set up. Hard to fault it.

I am not recommending anything, but as my link says "If you ask on any of the travelling Facebook pages, or pretty much anywhere, you will be advised to use the Celfi-Go repeater system. Dont Do it!"

He said that is what people recommend, most of these people will be recommending what they have, but there is better out there

Gundog · Guru

Chris61 wrote:

overlandexposure.com.au/how-to-get-internet-anywhere-in-australia-remote-internet-guide/

I thought I had a good grasp antenna's etc but this article has filled in a number of voids in my knowelege base.
Cel Fi will bost the signal but not the data speed, Rvwifi is just a router wrapped in a box which needs a sim card, Nighthawks etc can help but base costs is reasonable sim card also required.
I think the majority of us travelling GN's would like to boost our receiption of our existing phones, which have sufficient data for our needs.

PeterD · Guru

Chris61 wrote:
I have been looking around to see whats about

overlandexposure.com.au/how-to-get-internet-anywhere-in-australia-remote-internet-guide/

That is an excellent article. It certainly demonstrates the superiority of a good mobile modem with a proper MIMO antenna. The mobile modem kits are also cheaper as well as having a superior performance.

However, if you are just wanting to stick with boosting your mobile phone operation and you are not worried with data performance, stick with your Cel-Fi devices.

vk6gmd · Member

I have a MiMo antenna with 2 cables to a nighthawk and a 400gb data plan. I have different mounting heights for the antenna unit and the extreme case is the tripod I use for my 20m yagi, it is up to 8m high plus some.

This has the advantage that one can adjust the antenna height and direction to the best possible signal when stationary and it is significantly better than a simple booster.

It becomes evident when one measures download speed, which becomes relevant when you have multiple devices competing for bandwidth.

Another point is that the boosters (as far as I know) are not yet working with 5G. The modems and the MiMo does, although coverage is limited at the moment.
I use this until I can get Starlink mobile, but that is still a bit away as it looks.

So this is another vote for the modem solution.

regards
Gmd

JG_TECH · Newbie

hmmm, nighthawk and mimo antennas. Its ok, but you have to understand that 6m high or 20m high or if you are super close to a tower with clear line of sight you drop it down to say 2, your coax cable is the same length and the signal loss through this cable is the same whether 20m high or 1m high. Now, Ive seen this signal loss and it affects the usable internet speeds - A great video to watch of real life application was just put up recently, worth watching.

www.youtube.com/watch

The biggest waste of money are the omni directional antennas. When you are travelling in remote areas often there is only one tower to choose from. Why bother scanning around for a signal that doesnt exist and if it does you have no way of controlling which frequency or signal it selects. Omni is easy as you put up and forget, however Db range is lower which more often than not resuts in lower speeds - limitations of Antenna design. I did see someone claiming 4X faster internet but at 50MBps thats a big call!!

regards John