Customer Reviews

Wilson Electronics 301103 Dual Band (800/1900 MHz) Magnet Mount Antenna with FME Female Connector and 10-Foot RG174 Coax Cable

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I live and camp in the western U.S. and have found this antenna to be very effective. It works either while driving down the road or while stationary, and it's not too difficult to attach it to your roof while in motion, unless it freaks out your cat when you open the window, but that's another issue.

I've tried it on three phones, two Motorolas and an LG, and in all cases it usually brings the signal up by two bars. In areas with no signal, sometimes it allows weak analog service and sometimes it won't. Having this antenna has meant the difference between analog and digital service, or between no service and analog. Even if you are getting four or five bars, when you use this it seems that your calls will get dropped less often, or never.

There are a few limitations:

1. Your cell phone must accept an external antenna. Look for a hole near the base of the phone's antenna, which is often covered with a rubber plug.

2. Many phones require an adapter to be used with this product. You will have to check with Wilson Electronics to see if this is the case. If it is, they cost about $10. Your cell phone store may also carry them.

3. This thing works because it is attached to the roof of a vehicle. You can't carry it up on a hill and hold it in your hand - you have to be in the car. I have heard of people attaching it to an old-fashioned pie tin that is attached to some PVC pipe to get it six feet higher, but personally I haven't tried this.

4. The cable between the antenna/car and your phone isn't very long, so plan on sitting in the car to use this.

Overall, I am very pleased with this because it lets me check my e-mail while camping, which means I can play hooky from my job and not get caught.

I just got this today. It's advertised as an antenna for the car but I'm using it at home. I'm about 100 yards out of a cell reception area (I use Verizon and I have the LG Dare). After reading a positive review elsewhere, I decided to try this, knowing there was a good possibiity it might not work. I've tested it with 2 calls so far, walking around, and it been very good. No drops in signal or sound. Now, I just need to a better solution than a baking sheet to attach the antenna to. Will post an update in a week.

If you are using the Wilson Electronics 815226 Sleek Cell Phone Signal Cradle Booster for All Cell Phones with Mini Magnet Mount Antenna - For Single User and want an additional boost to your signal, this is not the right antenna for you. Instead, according to Wilson tech support, you need to buy the Wilson Electronics 301125 Dual Band (800-1900 MHz) Magnet Mount Antenna with SMA Male Connector and 10-Foot RG174 Coax Cable.

this antenna is amazing! Before I got this antenna (and the little adaptor) I had a very unreliable cell phone. I have a blackjack 2 and AT&T. Out here in the sticks, my phone would drop most calls, or half the conversations. I'd have to walk outside half a block up a small hill to get static filled service near my house. I mounted this antenna on the house roof and ran the wire down into the window in my computer room. Now I have 3 steady bars and perfect cell service.

To use this antenna, you have to have a cell phone with a plug for an external antenna. On my blackjack2, this means I have to pull off the battery cover to reveal the external antenna plug. I have to hold the battery in with tape (the cover is off), plug in my adaptor, and plug the adaptor wire into the antenna.

I prefer to buy locally and found both the antenna and the adaptor at a large truck stop on the interstate.

I bought this to accompany my Wilson Sleek. An FME to SMA adapter is required (I bought the 90 degree version) to work with the Sleek :-( This sticks to my car roof great at highway speeds, and along with the Sleek keeps my calls rock solid. I mean, I haven't been anywhere in Virginia where I couldn't get a cell signal.

A note of caution, this is so powerful, use only in rural areas. I found this antenna, along with the Sleek, to hit so many cell towers when in metropolitan areas that it hurt my coverage. Therefore, I just unplug the Sleek when in good coverage areas and have no issues.

If you buy the Sleek, this is the must have accessory! But don't forget the SMA adapter costs extra.

I use a data card in my laptop for mobile Internet access in my company work van, and before I used this antenna I used to be knocked offline constantly, even in metropolitan areas. It was hard to get any work done.

Before I had this antenna I had to repeatedly reboot both my data card and it's software, which was a real pain when I was trying to access our company network and complete work in a timely manner. Now I am hardly ever knocked offline, even in exurban and rural areas! What a difference. With the purchase of an adapter for my cellphone, I can even use the antenna to boost my cellphone signal in remote areas, as long as the antenna is attached to my vehicle; the sheet steel that the magnet attaches to provides a ground plane necessary for the antenna to work.

The difference is astounding! A must-have accessory for mobile Internet users, or for those who can't get good cellphone reception where they travel.

In rural NM the cell towers are few and far between. Our nearest is about 6 miles away behind two big mountains. The next nearest is ten miles away and behind low hills. No signal in the house for the old LG VX8300. The yard offers one bar sometimes two (refracted or reflected or magical signal). Directional antenna did not work. Land line nortoriously noisy.

A nice tech at Wilson talked the problem over and the 12" was a cheap tactic. Now I sit indoors in comfort with one bar (sometimes two) with the antenna glommed onto a one foot piece of steel 2x6 (leftover house construction material providing the necessary ground plain). The ten foot coax cable gives me a little freedom of movement. Also, the phone does not have to be constantly charging as it searches for signal. Maybe now I will invest in a newer phone. But first, a more attractive ground plain to match the living room decor, or a steel army helmet to carry the antenna with me, or perhaps a repeater (big bucks!).

The antenna works great. I bought it for my USB Internet Access card. The aircard barely has a useable signal inside the house with only it's built in antenna. The antenna has a ten foot cable which lets it sit at the corner of the front porch. I have a steady 3 or 4 bar signal most of the time with the antenna.

The only complaint is that nearly every cellular device; aircards and phones, need a unique adapter cable to work with the antenna. This is not the fault of the antenna maker or seller. It is due to a lack of standardization in the cellular industry. This vendor does sell most of the adapter cables for [...] but their info does not make it obvious that you need one or easy to figure out which one.

There is an exhaustive list of the adapters, searchable by device manufacturer and model numbers at the antenna makers site at [...]

Good Luck

This antenna is mightier than it appears. I needed to install the antenna in my attic due to wind issues. I tested a grid and yagi but, this little Wilson picks up as strong of a signal as the others, and it costs a lot less!

I bought this as a bundle with the Wilson Electronics Sleek Cell Phone Signal Cradle Booster. The correct one is 301125 which is listed on Amazon as "Wilson Electronics Dual Band - 800-1900 MHz Magnet Mount Antenna with SMA Male Connector and 10-Foot RG174 Coax Cable".