[Elecraft] Cell Phone Antenna Enhancement?

[Fred (FL)]

I know this is way off target - but I figure there
may be cell phone RF antenna experts lurking in this
forum.

We live summers on the U.S./Canadian border on
the St. Lawrence River.  Cingular's ROGERS Canadian
Tower is somewhere due north of us here.  And our
cell phone - has trouble getting a strong enough
US signal from lessor towers on our US side.  So
we often get roaming connections with ROGERS tower
on Canadian side.  Often happens on incoming cell
calls too!

I'm wondering if one couldn't make up some sort
of antenna-enhancer on our cell phone, to beef
up the cell signal that the phone hears?  There is
no external antenna jack on our Sony Erikson cell
phone - but it does have a 1 inch handle type
shape on top of the phone, where I suspect the
cell phone's antenna is.

I thot of experimenting with a toroid several turn
winding L, on that phone bracket - and maybe
leaving a 12" "antenna" dangling out in the
breeze.  Does this sound promising?  What is
the 1/4 wavelength, of US cell phones?  I'm thinking
of experimenting with an "egg beater" type of
toroidal antenna.

73, de Fred, N3CSY, US/CA border 


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