Help me connect to civilization: best cellular antenna

[irishchick]

I would like to set up Pivo lessons at my home barn.

The trouble is, we are up on a hill surrounded by tall trees with patchy cellular reception and no access to even medium-speed internet (the provider serving the property doesn’t have high-speed cables in this area and it would be >$50K to get them installed).

I tried Starlink, but I cannot get enough clear sky in any location that would allow me to place the broadcast component close enough for my phone to pick it up in the arena.

I’d like to see what I can do with a cellular signal booster that I can point directly to the nearest tower. Unfortunately I will not be permitted to mount it on the roof of any of the buildings on the property. Unless I can talk to utility company into mounting it on the top of one of their poles, the highest I could likely get it is the top of a horse trailer and that would be about 100 yards away from where I would need to place my phone.

Is there anything that might have a chance of working in this situation?

[clanter]

@irishchick

Unfortunately I will not be permitted to mount it on the roof of any of the buildings on the property.

I assume that the property is a rental/leased?

A magnetic mount can be used for a Starlink antenna that is not a fixed mount does not require any drilling of holes into the roof.

that would be about 100 yards away from where I would need to place my phone.

a WiFi extender can easily reach 500 feet or more, we use one that provides us coverage on our and the neighboring property to monitor the coyotes interaction with the goats, we ae getting about 700 feet of open air range

[Simkie]

The cell signal you can get–is it 5G? If it’s not, even boosted is not real likely to be fast enough for what you’re looking to do.

[irishchick]

I board; our barn manager isn’t willing to allow it.

[irishchick]

My phone doesn’t typically get 5G there, but it also only has one or two bars at best. With a bigger antenna, would 5G be possible?

[Simkie]

@irishchick

My phone doesn’t typically get 5G there, but it also only has one or two bars at best. With a bigger antenna, would 5G be possible?

Probably not. If the towers near you don’t carry 5G, you’re not going to get 5G.

This isn’t any different than your wired connection. You can’t make it faster by making it “louder.” The bandwidth is the bandwidth.

[Mouse_amp_Bay]

If it’s not your property you are going to have a hard time fixing this.

Starlink is probably your best, with a ‘point to point’ system to shoot the signal to the arena. You’ll then need a modem/wifi set up internally to connect it all and make it happen. You’re talking a set up cost of $1K to $2K to get a provider in to do this, plus the monthly Starlink fee of $150 ish or so. Pricy!

Other alternative option is a MiFi. It is like wifi, but basically runs its own cellular based signal. I don’t know if that would work for you, but I know here in Canada our local libraries rent them. Maybe see if you can rent one to try and see if it can help??

[Simkie]

@Mouse_amp_Bay

Other alternative option is a MiFi. It is like wifi, but basically runs its own cellular based signal. I don’t know if that would work for you, but I know here in Canada our local libraries rent them. Maybe see if you can rent one to try and see if it can help??

How do you see this working if the cellular network that these things run on doesn’t have adequate coverage at this location?

The bandwidth has to come from somewhere. There’s got to BE a “pipe” to tap into, and it doesn’t sound like there is, at least not via traditional wired ISP or via cellular network.

@irishchick does anyone get 5G coverage at the barn? If another cell network has better data coverage in this area, you could either switch your cell over or pick up a new line with a hot spot.

[Mouse_amp_Bay]

I cannot explain how or why, I’m sorry … that is the extent of my tech knowledge!

All I can tell you is that my gamer little nephew brought one to my house (terrible signal!! Smart kid borrowed it from his local library) and was able to happily game away. I was impressed (by his ingenuity and tech knowledge). So I would suggest it is worth a potentially free trial!

[irishchick]

@Simkie

The bandwidth has to come from somewhere. There’s got to BE a “pipe” to tap into, and it doesn’t sound like there is, at least not via traditional wired ISP or via cellular network.

@irishchick does anyone get 5G coverage at the barn? If another cell network has better data coverage in this area, you could either switch your cell over or pick up a new line with a hot spot.

I’m not sure if anyone manages to connect to them at the barn, though I know there are 5G towers in the area. Hoping that if I improve my phone’s ability to connect, I might be able to reach one.

[Simkie]

@irishchick

I’m not sure if anyone manages to connect to them at the barn, though I know there are 5G towers in the area. Hoping that if I improve my phone’s ability to connect, I might be able to reach one.

I’d take some screenshots of the signal you can get at the barn (like uh info here at quickly scanned link from Google) and take that info into your local carrier store, along with whatever specs the pivo really needs, to see if what you want is possible on the network you have.

Asking around the barn to see if people with different carriers have better coverage is also worthwhile.

eta, the reason I suggest doing this legwork is it’s really very likely the answer is no, you can’t get the signal you need to do what you want. This isn’t even something I would personally pursue based on what you’ve shared, but crossing the ts and dotting the is before spending the bucks on something that’s pretty likely to disappoint seems prudent.

[poltroon]

You can also look around for other providers in your area - fixed wireless might be available and meet your needs, and possibly can be installed on a pole mount if your BO would allow that.

[Simkie]

@poltroon

You can also look around for other providers in your area - fixed wireless might be available and meet your needs, and possibly can be installed on a pole mount if your BO would allow that.

Totally. Also worth checking in again with whatever local traditional ISP is currently providing service (or can) because many of them comp more construction cost now, especially if they provide video (cable tv) services as well. Internet customers are more valuable now than they used to be, so they’re often more willing to spend $$$ to improve connectivity (so they can bill more for better bandwidth!)