Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: John Higdon Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Help Needed With AT&T Portable Phone Message-ID: <11015@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 17 Aug 90 22:13:55 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Reply-To: John Higdon Organization: Green Hills and Cows Lines: 47 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 579, Message 2 of 9 "John T. Grieggs" writes: > I recently acquired an AT&T portable phone. > [Complaints about noise and signal quality.] > How can I boost the power of the phone? > Is there some modification I could make to the phone or the base > station to increase the signal strength? > Would a longer/better antenna on either the base station or the phone > itself help? If so, where would I get such a beast? It seems that about twice a year these questions come up. First, your cordless phone is not a cellular phone; it has some distinct and serious limitations. It is amazing how many people expect cordless phones to be perfect. Cordless phones fall under two sets of rules: Part 15, which covers the RF part of the phone; and Part 68, which addresses all the normal phone/network stuff. Any tampering with the transmitter in either the hand unit or the base will render the Part 15 certification null and void. This also applies to the antenna, however since the antennas are already optimized, tampering with them generally simply results in degraded performance. > What about the interference? Would more signal strength help punch > through this? Or, should I be looking at a line filter of some sort > for the computer itself? This isn't the answer you want, but sometimes an environment isn't suited for a cordless phone. While the Ministry of Information won't cut a hole in your roof and haul you away in a straight jacket for modifying your scanner (receiver), the FCC can sometimes get nasty about unauthorized modifications to devices that EMIT RF in normal operation. Cordless phones run at the limits prescribed; increasing anything on them is an FCC rule violation. BTW, 25-30 feet is about all you can expect from a cordless phone in an electrically hostile environment, such as the one I have here. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@bovine.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !