Cingular Go Phone: Spotwave z1900 Wireless Cell Phone Signal Booster Review

The online reviews, as well as the people I know in the cell phone business, all pointed to Wilson Electronics as the best vendor for this type of solution. I should have listened, but no, I wanted to save a couple of hundred bucks. Turns out this thing doesn't do anywhere near what you might expect.

There's two parts to this set-up: as 'access' box that picks up the cell tower signal (put it where the best signal is) attached by coax to a `broadcasting/repeater' unit from which your cell phone gets a signal (put it where you want signal improvement).

The repeater unit, despite any statements found to the contrary, seems UNI-directional, requires line-of-sight and is incredibly weak. I installed carefully according to directions - with the access unit high in my attic pointing directly into a 5 bar (out of 5) signal. The repeater unit now feeds my phone a signal that hovers about 4 bars at a distance of 4 feet.

Granted that IS a distinct improvement - over the pre-installation 1-2 bars, a signal so weak that my calls were often unintelligible or dropping. But any reasonable consumer would expect, at 4 feet, a signal at least as strong as what the access box is picking up.

If I actually bring the phone right to the repeater unit, the phone will `catch' and hold 5 bars for a short while (at 3 feet), then eventually drifts back to 4 bars. The user's manual actually says NOT to have the cell phone less than 3 feet from the repeater unit, but the truth is that's just about how close you have to be to get any respectable signal improvement at all.

The signal degrades with distance and by 7-8 feet, there's no improvement in signal whatsoever. Directly on the other side of my drywall in the next room, there's no improvement beyond 2 feet. Turning the corner out of the room where the repeater unit is mounted results in zero improvement.

I found two online reviews with virtually identical complaints about near-worthless signal improvement, one at eOpinions and the other at Treonauts. I erroneously ignored those complaints when I bought the thing, instead relying on a number of glowing, positive reviews generated by several media outlets and by a number of professional online reviewers. My bad.

The likely culprit here is the gizmo's 'adaptive technology' - which means it cranks the gain (signal) down substantially whenever it thinks there's the least chance it will generate any oscillation (looping/feedback) that will impact the cell tower's performance. Competing products do not build in such a feature. My weak signal is probably evidence that the manufacturer is a whole lot more concerned about the remote chance that the cell phone company will be peeved or inconvenienced ... than if I actually get the product and service I paid them for.

Another distinct possibility is that earlier production units - and/or the units sent out to reviewers - included a more powerful repeater unit.

That, of course, would lead to glowing reviews early on.

The access unit is nothing less than persnickety. The installation instructions call for a minimum of 10 feet of distance between the two units to avoid any `internal' feedback/looping on its own signal. Ifthe device suspects such looping, it compensates by automatically cutting down it's own gain/signal. The maximum separation, determined by the length of the coax, is 35 feet.I put the two units about 20 feet apart. The access unit has a blue/red light on it that indicates device status/performance, if the units are placed correctly and/or functioning properly. The light (by going solid blue) confirmed "far enough apart.' Then, AFTER I had permanently mounted the units, the light started blinking blue, which means `not far enough apart' (and that the signal was being reduced). Remounting the access unit in a new position, changed by about 1 inch, set the light back to "far enough apart.' When I was remounting, I first checked another position about two inches in another direction and the light turned blinking red, which means it has temporarily shut itself down due to looping/feedback. Before I did the first mounting, I saw nothing but a solid blue light in the entire immediate area.

And while we're at it, the blue/red light that indicates current device status should have been engineered into the REPEATER unit, not the access unit - which is usually going to be installed high up and/or out of the way, where the user is never going to be able to see it. The way it is, I'll have to tromp up to the attic every time I drop a bar or two to see if this thing's still working right. Good thing I didn't go with installing the access unit up at the top of my chimney.

I'm going to try to learn to live with having adequate reception in just one room - which is all I am going to get outa this gizmo. (The product literature promises improvement over 2,500 sq. ft.; I was looking for some improvement over about 1,200 sq. ft.) If I'm lucky, my next phone upgrade will improve my situation somewhat. But my advice to you is to try a Wilson Electronics solution - and take a pass on this pile of plastic.

Really it's a moot point, since it looks like this thing is going out of production anyway. What a surprise.

To be fair, $159 is a good price for what you're getting here ... as compared to what competitors charge for similar devices.

Be sure this thing works with your phone. It broadcasts only the 1900Mhz frequency, which is what T-Mobile and AT&T/Cingular uses in most areas.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Spotwave z1900 Wireless Cell Phone Signal Booster

Product Description:
The Z1900 is a high-performance indoor wireless coverage system designed to boost signal and ensure reliable coverage for cell phones, PDAs and 3G laptop air cards.Geared for homes and small offices up to 2,500 sq ft. the Z1900 is Spotwave's most cost-effective solution for the wireless subscriber at home, providing support for all wireless voice and data services being delivered in the PCS (1900 MHz) band.