About the Smooth Talker line of cell phone signal booster
Smoothalker cell phone signal boosters are the first and original 3-watt boosters that were FCC certified to be used with digital cellular telephones in North America (and to our knowledge, anywhere in the world). They are commonly referred to as cell phone amplifiers, amps, amp, boosteramps, repeater, extender, range booster, antenna booster, 3-watt power module, signal enhancer, etc. We normally refer to them as cell phone boosters.
Smoothtalker boosters are designed to be directly connected to the cell phone and Smoothtalker wireless repeaters are designed to be used with cellphones that do not have antenna jacks on them. Both the cell phone booster and cell phone wireless repeater are designed to be connected directly to the wireless mobile telephone, PDA or aircard either by a direct connect antenna adapter cable or capacitive or passive type antenna adapter connector cable for cell phones that do not have antenna jacks on them. We make cell phone boosters that are compatible with all of the digital modulations that exist including CDMA, TDMA, GSM850, GPRS, EDGE, GSM1900, PCS 1X EVDO, EV-DO, WCDMA, NEXTEL and IDen. Smoothtalker signal booster products are single band devices that are designed for the most power and maximum efficiency when extending signal range. Dual band boosters and repeaters are almost never required or useful and often impede signal range and receive sensitivity. To learn more about this subject click this link: Single-band booster versus Dual-band booster.
Smoothtalker cell phone boosters are the most powerful cell phone amplifiers in existence, without exception. Our line of cell phone booster is designed to deliver the power that we advertise when it is connected to the cell phone. Smoothtalker boosters will improve bad cellphone signal and cellular range better than any other radio frequency amplifier, booster or repeater available on the market today.
Smoothtalker cell signal boosters and repeaters are not designed to be used as a wireless repeater to cover large areas without physical connection to the mobile cellular phone. Our 3 watt and 2 watt boosters can be used in a building, home, remote cabin, cottage or office but they must be connected to the cellphone. Wireless repeaters for use in fixed structures like a building or home are tricky and require knowledge about the signal levels and attenuation between outside and inside etc. Wireless repeaters should be installed by a qualified technician. If one purchases a home repeater "for do it yourself" installation, then it will be a matter of good luck if it works correctly or bad luck if it does not. If one purchases a wireless repeater for use in a vehicle; car, truck, rv, boat or mobile trailer or 5th wheel, that person will be disappointed. Wireless vehicle repeaters do not improve signal in remote areas and the laws of physics govern this. These are the reasons that we do not manufacture nor sell wireless building or vehicle repeaters. For more information on this subject read this: differences between boosters and repeaters.
We do not use tricks and hard to understand terms like "radiated power", "effective radiated power" or "including antenna gain" to fool the public into believing that they are getting a 3-watt booster when they are not.
Not too long ago, the only digital cell phone boosters that were available were Smoothtalkers so when one purchased a 3-watt booster it was inevitably a Smoothtalker cell phone signal booster and the purchaser got a real booster that performed as it should.
In the last few years more and more devices have emerged on the market that claim to be cell phone boosters, Advertised cell phone boosters range from useless sticky tin foil to powered amps and repeaters that claim 3-watts of power. Beware, most of these powered booster/repeaters are not what they are advertised to be nor do they perform or increase cell signal range as claimed. Almost all of these booster amplifier devices will improve cell phone performance somewhat because any power increase is usually better than the power of a low power cell phone, even an external antenna without any kind of booster will improve cellphone range. This is what re-sellers of inferior low power boosters rely on to fool the public.
The clear offenders are easy to identify because every cell phone amp must have an FCC (Federal Communications Commission) ID# and compliance certificate. The FCC certificate states the maximum output power and frequency of the boosteramp.
Boosters by the name of JD-teck, Signal Reach, Cypher, Shakespeare and Intelligain all have FCC certificates that show power ratings of less than 1.4 watts of output power, however, they are all advertised as 3-watt amplifiers or 3-watt cell phone boosters. If you have one of these devices (you can find the FCC id# on the back of the booster). If you are looking at purchasing one and you want to read what the booster's FCC rating is click this link to the FCC web-site, enter the FCC id into the appropriate area on the FCC web-site and when the information displays choose "display grant". If you don't have the FCC id# for the device contact the seller and ask for it.
Some brand names like Boston Amplifier, and Power-tec do not even have FCC type approval or certificates and are not legal for sale in America, however they will be sold by unscrupulous re-sellers until the FCC enforcement division catches up with the re-sellers and unsuspecting users of these boosters.
Other brand names like Digital Antenna have boosters that are FCC type approved for stationary use only but they advertise, market and sell them as mobile boosters. The Digital Antenna DA4000 model's FCC certificate # PZODA4000 states that the booster antenna must be separated by 6 meters (about 19 feet) from the nearest person. This cannot be accomplished in a car or, truck etc. and is clearly a violation of FCC rules that exist to protect people from microwave exposure. The Digital Antenna "powermax" wireless repeaters are listed as 3-watts on the Digital Antenna and Cellantenna web-sites and the product user manual but the FCC certificate # ZODA4000SBR states 1.8 watts maximum.
Wilson brand boosters and repeaters have several models of amplifiers and some are rated at 3-watts and some are not, however, they or their re-sellers claim that all of these devices are 3-watts when they certainly are not. In the case of the latest Wilson model wireless repeater advertised for use in home and vehicle, the certificate for FCC ID# PWO8012SM , states 1.23 watts maximum. The Wilson user manual for this device states "Linear Output Power 30 dBm" which equals 1 watt, but the same user manual for this repeater states "Maximum Output Power 3 watts (Cell Site Controlled)". Firstly, the cell site does not control the amplifier, the cell site controls the phone's output power. Secondly, this model series of Wilson repeater which is advertised as a 3-watt repeater by all who re-sell this amplifier/repeater is not a 3 watt device. This information is mis-leading and untrue. This repeater is 1 watt not 3 watt capable.
Unscrupulous manufacturers, re-sellers and marketers are not new to the world nor to our field of products and it is a buyer beware world, however, it is especially important to have some means of verifying information about radio frequency cellular booster/amplifiers and repeaters because they are reasonably expensive and unlike other devices, one cannot see, feel, smell, touch or generally assess anything about this type of electronic device until it's too late and you are in the middle of nowhere when it fails.
We, here at Smoothtalker, have been watching this unfortunate occurrence for the last few years and we have been patiently waiting and hoping that this practice would stop, however, it is becoming more prevalent with almost every new booster repeater device that is showing up on the market. We are displeased by this and have finally decided to give people some information on how to assess the claims made by marketers and re-sellers in our industry.
For any questions about Smooth talker cell phone signal boosters or any other brands, please contact us and we will give you factual truthful information about all of our products and straight answers on other products. |
