Telecom Technologies USA LLC Clear Voice 1900 Cellular Repeater Review

Overall Rating

Fantastic signal boost in low reception area.
Great value - for $259 this product is $140 cheaper than most comparable specification competitors.
The signal strength monitor makes optimising the directional antenna's alignment very easy.
Can support up to 20 simultaneous callers.

Only supports 1900 MHz cell phones (T-Mobile, Sprint PCS, Virgin Mobile, Cingular Network (excluding old At&T areas) and Dobson Communications) - although 850 MHz and dual band models are available, or will be available soon.

As more and more people abandon their landlines in favour of a totally cellular solution for economy and convenience, the poor network coverage of large areas of the US has lead to a rapidly growing market in bi-directional cellular amplifiers, or cellular repeaters. I recently decided I wanted to kick my landline, but usually have far too poor cell signal at home to risk it. I first saw that cellular repeaters offered a realistic solution for me when a local cafe bought one to encourage local businessmen to leave their desks for their lunch hours, whilst not having to risk missing any calls, and since then I have been intensively exploring the market place looking for the best product.

I bought my Clear Voice 1900 cellular repeater three months ago after scouring the internet for the cheapest model I could find with several key features: I required an external directional antenna; at least a 50db signal gain; and a coverage area of 2,500 square feet. So far I am very pleased with it. I live in a semi-rural area, at least ten miles from the nearest cell tower; probably nearer twenty, and I usually get one or two bars of reception outdoors (on some drier days I sometimes get half or nothing), and nothing inside, so I really needed a good product.

When the package arrived it was very simple to put together, and it only took a few minutes to figure out how to set it up, even without looking at the manual. A complete novice to telephony could have no difficulty setting it up in no time. The trickiest part was finding the best location and alignment for the directional antenna - it's really worth playing with it for a while, as the signal strength monitor is incredibly helpful at this stage.

I should explain a little at this point about the three main reasons for poor cell reception - attenuation, obstruction and interference. My problem is primarily first (although the other two will always play some part) - The nearest cell tower is too far away, so the signal is very weak by the time it reaches me. In this case a setup like the Clear Voice 1900's is perfect, since there is little interference, the powerful amplifier provides good signal throughout the vicinity. I haven't yet tested the the repeater's performance at dealing with the other two types of interference, although I intend to, and when I do I will post another review or comment. However, simple physics implies that if your problem is obstruction then the cellular repeater will only be able to help if you do still receive some signal (one bar should be enough), in which case it should work identically to the attenuation case, and that if your problem is interference (usually in urban areas) then the signal boost you get will largely depend on how well you orientate your antenna (which is partly why the signal strength monitor is crucial), since the amplifier will amplify noise and signal alike.

With my completed set up I found that I now had four or five bars signal anywhere within about sixty to seventy feet of my repeater - covering the entire ground floor of my home - and three or four bars (easily enough not to have to worry about dropped calls etc.) upstairs. I even have a better signal outside! Thanks to this product, I now feel confident I can finally drop my landline altogether, and be reachable on one number all the time.

The only place you can buy Clear Voice products at the moment is here:

http://www.cellboosterstore.com

They provided me with an excellent service - if the repeater doesn't work for you, you can return it within 14 days for a complete refund. If you are in a similar situation to me, I highly recommend you check out their site.

Members' Comments onLKing's Review

• playboy2 on 10th Mar 2006

  Great review there. Sounds good as well. Emma.

• ivan1890 on 12th Mar 2006

  Hello L, Am I correct that you are based in the U.S.A? I guess that signal strength is a major problem in such a big country once you leave a major centre? We do not have such a major problem in the U.K. where I am based. But, we possibly have a much worse problem which we generally refer to as 'B.T.' B.T. is not a crippling disease (although some may so exaggerate ) but is in fact our national provider of telecomunications services here. As I have written a review on that organisation on this site I will not harp on again save to say that I chose to use a U.S.A. company Net2phone to provide me with both internet and telephone services. (Can you imagine that things are so bad here that I chose to route all my U.K. calls through the U.S.A?) Once everything is set up properly that company provide an excellent service (accessable in the U.K. via Ethnet) and bar very bad weather everything generally works fine. I wonder if you considered satellite? Mobile telephones all have their limitations and the biggest problem I find is bad earache after using them for any length of time. Radiation zapping? Sagem solved this problem years ago with hands free mobiles but their competitors appear to have chosen gimmicks over safety. Anyway, I am pleased that - like me - you solved your challenge. It's very good that us 'small guys' can find a product which enables us not to be herded by 'big brother.'

• LKing on 15th Mar 2006

  Hello Ivan. Sorry I took a while to get back to you. I actually spend a lot of time in both the UK and the US, and you are right, cellular coverage is much more of an issue in the US - this is due to the much lower population density; the fact that only 41% of the US population is urban, compared with 76% in the UK; and the number of different carriers in the US. Even so, my coverage in the UK is far from perfect, and I have been looking into buying a similar repeater for my basement at home (I need a 900 MHz model). I think that my solution is more convenient than a satellite solution - and as for earache, the cellular repeater significantly reduces the power your mobile needs to broadcast its signal - so reduces radiation emitted by the phone, and even improves its battery life!