Wireless Extenders YX 500-Cel Cellular Phone Signal Booster

Other products by Wireless Extenders

Product Features

• Extends cellular coverage for single or multiple users in homes or offices--provides up to 2500 square feet of coverage
• Works with AT&T, Verizon and Alltel cellular wireless phones in the frequency range of 824-894 MHz
• Omni-directional signal antenna receives signals from multiple cell towers
• Antenna can be installed outdoors above the roofline or indoors in the attic or near a window
• Extends phone battery life--uses less power when signal is stronger

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5 x 2 x 7 inches ; 2.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Note: Gift-wrapping is not available for this item.
• ASIN: B000E14G7S
• Item model number: YX500-CEL
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #198 in Cell Phones & Service (See Bestsellers in Cell Phones & Service)

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  #2 in	Cell Phones & Service > Accessories > Data & Connectivity > Signal Boosters
  #2 in	Cell Phones & Service > Accessories > Data & Connectivity > Antennas

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description
Designed as a whole-house/office solution for improving your cellular phone signal, the Wireless Extenders YX500/PCS zBoost zP Wireless Booster can extend cellular coverage up to 2500 square feet. This YX500/CEL model works with all phones on the 800 MHz frequency, including compatibility with AT&T and Verizon. The package includes everything you need: amplifier base unit, power supply, base unit antenna, low-loss SATV coaxial cable (RG6), signal antenna and mounting hardware. The omni-directional signal antenna receives signals from multiple cell towers.

Improve your cell signal with the YX500/CEL--perfect for boosting the signal of AT&T and Verizon frequencies up to 2500 square feet.

Using a revolutionary, patent pending technology that protects the carrier network, the YX500/PCS improves indoor cell phone coverage by capturing and repeating the outside signal, bringing it into the building and enhancing it. This process creates a "Cell Zone" in your home or office. The Wireless Extenders zBoost system includes:

• Outdoor antenna (repeats the signal) can be installed outdoors above the roofline or indoors in the attic or near a window
• Coax cable (RG6- ultra low-loss, DBS satellite) connects from the outdoor antenna to the base unit
• Base unit: Sleekly designed, it amplifies the signal and provides oscillation detection/correction which protects the carrier network using patent-pending technology.
• Indoor antenna connects to the base unit to repeat the signal and create "Cell Zone"--no physical connection to the phone is needed.

Installation
Choosing the best location for installation of the Signal Antenna provides the best performance and the largest area of improved signal. Determine the location that provides the strongest signal using the signal strength indicator on your cell phone. For the best reception, find the location that provides the most bars of signal strength and locate the Signal Antenna at that location.

Specifications

• US Cellular 800/850 MHz band
  • Uplink: 824 - 849 MHz
  • Downlink: 869 - 894 MHz
• Network formats: CDMA, GSM, TDMA, AMPS, GPRS, EDGE, 1xRTT, EVDO, HSDPA
• Total Signal Gain: 60dB (adaptive)
• Output Power: less than 0.5 Watt EiRP (w/ included antenna)
• Unit weight: 1 pound
• Unit size: 5 x 7 x 2 inches
• Power input: 100-120 VAC 60 Hz
• Power output: 5VDC, 1.5A
• Signal antenna cable: Outdoor rated 75 ohm DBS satellite coaxial cable, Type-F male
• Base unit antenna: 50 ohm, TNC male

Note: If you need coverage for a Sprint or T-Mobile phone (800 MHz spectrum), check out the YX500/PCS or the dual-band YX510--which covers both the 800 MHz and 1900 MHz spectrums.

Will the Wi-Ex YX500-PCS or the YX500-CEL unit work with any wireless service?
The Wi-Ex YX500-PCS unit will work only in the PCS frequency range (1850 â€" 1990 MHz), and the Wi-Ex YX500-CEL will only work in the Cellular frequency range (824 â€" 896 MHz).

Cell phones from providers like Cricket, Metro PCS, Suncom, T-Mobile, and Sprint (excludes Nextel) normally work with our YX500-PCS model, and cell phones from providers like AT&T and Verizon will normally work with the YX500-CEL model. Most of the wireless phones in use today are in the PCS or the Cellular frequencies. Some wireless service providers are PCS only while others will operate in the Cellular and PCS frequencies. This varies from city to city. If your service provider shows both 800 and 1900 MHz the YX500-CEL will probably work. If your service provider shows only the 1900MHz, the YX500-PCS booster will work.

Product Description
Works with Cingular, Verizon and Alltel cellular wireless phones in the frequency range of 824 - 894 MHz.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

126 of 129 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Verizon: Works great in Colorado!, September 25, 2006

By	L. Arthur (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Yes, this item works well. But yes, it takes some RF and electronics knowledge to make it work right. For me, I have verizon cell phones operating in the 800MHZ cell band in my area. In my house we had zero to 1 bar and could make calls but they were frequently dropped or cut in and out. We could walk down the block and the signal was better. Our house sits in a depression and most of the cell signal was going over the top of our house.

To really make this thing work well I would recommend the following tips:
1) Get cell phone for which you know how to enable DEBUG mode and get an actual NUMBER for the signal strength it is receiving.
2) Go ahead and purchase the optional YAGI directional antenna for this unit.
3) Buy an approximately 4 x 8 ft. piece of radiant barrier ( a type of insulation available at home depot made of aluminum).
4) Mount YAGI antenna in rafters of house or outside on roof.
5) Mount cell extender about 3 feet from the floor in the top living level of your house in a center location of the house.
6) Place radiant barrier in attick directly between the 2 antennas. This will help improve the signal separation a lot and will make this thing work.
7) Power up cell extender. If when you power it up you get ANY flashing amber lights, then your signal isolation between the two antennas isn't good enough and you must do something about it (move antennas, get YAGI with higher gain, etc.) If you get no amber lights on startup then the device is operating at max or almost max amplification and power output (only 1/2 watt but plenty for a single house).

We now have 3-5 bars all over our house, deck, porch, and even garage! Calls are clear and there is no breaking up or dropping of calls.

We have 2700 sq ft. house with 2 stories plus a basement. I am using a 10dbi antenna from some guys out of New York I found on the internet. I paid $99 for this antenna because they told me it was a 17dbi antenna, but they lied. However, it works and I am happy with what works...

Running continously for 2 months now without a single glitch. Zero maintenance when installed correctly.

There are 2 different models for the 800MHZ and 1900MHZ cell bands. BE SURE TO BUY THE CORRECT ONE FOR THE PHONE CARRIER YOU HAVE.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It works, but you must be willing to live with its limitations, January 6, 2007

By	OC Resident (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I reluctantly bought this product after all but giving up on trying to use my cell phone at my house. I would typically get anywhere from no reception to 2 bars at best, and I typically could not hold a call for more than a minute before I got dropped. I was using Verizon 800mhz service.

I knew it had a good chance of it working because I do get very good reception in my attic, so I figured I could place the antenna in the attic and then transfer a strong signal to the rest of the house.

It took me half a day to play with various locations for the antenna and base unit, but I finally got to the point where I could count on at least 3 bars almost anywhere in the house, and even five bars in my kitchen. I have not dropped a call yet since I purchased this.

The down side to this unit is the need to drape a cable from the attic to my bedroom, almost 20 feet away. I did not want to get into lifting up the carpet and trying to hide it, so I just have it running along the baseboards and across the stair case. It looks pretty ugly and it creates a serious tripping hazard. I will eventually have to figure out a way to better hide the cable. It became clear that to get the best reception, the base unit needed to be as far away from the antenna as possible, which forced me to have an exposed cable visible across three different rooms in the house. If you are not willing or able to do this, you may not get the best results from the unit.

All in all, I'm happy that I purchased the unit because I count on my cell phone heavily for business use, and without this unit I was completely unable to count on my cell phone and did not even want to give out my number. It is not for everyone, but if you have a strong signal somewhere in the house and can deal with the cabling issues, it can definitely make a big difference.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you have a Cingular phone, buy this!, August 4, 2006

By	Jonathan Bernstein (CA) - See all my reviews

I was a bit hesitant to order the Wireless Extenders Cell Phone Booster, thinking that too many products like it were useless gadgets, but I have just moved to a hilly area of Los Angeles County and reception here -- for all services -- tends to be in the "two bar" range. So, I took the risk, and I am DELIGHTED with the results. My home/office is in the center of the boosted zone created by the device, and my signal here is 4 or 5 bars on my Blackberry. The other phones (three different models) my family has are also boosted within the covered zone. We have a long ranch-style house and I'm considering getting a second booster, because the zone doesn't cover all of our 2,600 sq ft property. But since the primary reason I got it was my dependence on my Blackberry for work purposes, and because the zone covers our heavy traffic areas (living room, kitchen) as well, we're in good shape. No question it's worth the money. Was easy to install.