A Wi-Fi find
One of the best performing antennas for PCS cellular actually isn't a cellular antenna at all--it is a Wi-Fi grid antenna designed for 2400 MHz reception. Sold online by HyperLink Technologies, the HG2424G 24 dBi High Performance Die Cast Reflector Grid actually loses only a small amount of gain at the EVDO 1900 MHz frequency. Although there are similar grid antennas for Wi-Fi with similar specs sold by other vendors, I can vouch only for this model from personal experience. Don't assume that all antennas rated for 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi will also work for PCS—it is possible that competing products would perform similarly well--or not. Anecdotal reports on the ‘Net, however, do report success with other 2.4 GHz antennas.
I purchased the HG2424G after failing to get a usable cellular signal with other antennas. My location is surrounded by trees over 70 feet tall and blocked by a 200 foot hill, in addition to being a couple of miles outside Verizon's official coverage area for service.
By aiming this parabolic grid antenna into the forest, but precisely toward the tower I determined to be closest to my location, I managed to boost an unusable signal to an average of -92 dBm. In real world performance, this has translated to download speeds of about 1.2 mbps and upload speeds just under 300 kbps.
One of the best performing antennas for PCS cellular actually isn't a cellular antenna at all--it is a Wi-Fi grid antenna designed for 2400 MHz reception. Sold online by HyperLink Technologies, the HG2424G 24 dBi High Performance Die Cast Reflector Grid actually loses only a small amount of gain at the EVDO 1900 MHz frequency. Although there are similar grid antennas for Wi-Fi with similar specs sold by other vendors, I can vouch only for this model from personal experience. Don't assume that all antennas rated for 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi will also work for PCS—it is possible that competing products would perform similarly well--or not. Anecdotal reports on the ‘Net, however, do report success with other 2.4 GHz antennas.
I purchased the HG2424G after failing to get a usable cellular signal with other antennas. My location is surrounded by trees over 70 feet tall and blocked by a 200 foot hill, in addition to being a couple of miles outside Verizon's official coverage area for service.
By aiming this parabolic grid antenna into the forest, but precisely toward the tower I determined to be closest to my location, I managed to boost an unusable signal to an average of -92 dBm. In real world performance, this has translated to download speeds of about 1.2 mbps and upload speeds just under 300 kbps.