Conducting Survey Prior to Installing a Building Cell Signal Booster
Jul 05, 2018
Before any building cell phone signal booster is installed, a thorough building survey must be conducted. This involves measuring cellular bands and frequency from outside the building, locating the nearest cell towers, and checking potential problem areas by walking from room to room. At the same time clients will be asked about their concerns and any questions they have, will be answered.
With the details of the building survey in hand, including the building layout and floor plans, a certified signal boosting technician will calculate the options available. This includes potential signal coverage, the most appropriate signal boosting equipment for that particular scenario, dB gain and loss, cable runs and accessories. This information will be shared with the client and a discussion will be held about products, coverage expectations, and costing. Once the client is on-board with the plan and a deposit has been received, a date is determined for the installation of the cell phone signal booster system.
Why is a building survey required prior to installation?
In order to start a dialogue about various cell phone signal boosters and installation solutions, a building survey is carried out to give the customer a proper representation of their current signal coverage, plus any other problems that may exist. Basically, a building survey is the preparatory work required prior to the installation of a cellular phone amplifier system.
Using a signal meter, the building survey will accurately determine where the strongest cell signal is coming from, and show where the donor antenna should be installed. The building survey also checks out inside areas of a building to determine where the weakest and strongest signals might be, thus determining the most appropriate installation locations for indoor antennas. From this building survey, the installer will be able to work out the minimum amount of coaxial cable required and related accessories or peripherals like filters and splitters, that may be needed.
If a strong cellular signal is available, the donor antenna will be placed at the point of the strongest signal, which is typically above the roofline. Knowing where the home's occupants typically use their cell phones can help determine where cellular phone amplifier kit components like antennas and cables should be installed. If a large amount of cable will be required, it could well degrade the strength of the cellular signal, thus affecting the performance of the booster kit so a more powerful one may be required. All the above are the objectives of a building survey. To learn more, read our guide on performing site survey.
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5 comments
I’ve read a number of signalbooster.com’s articles on signal boosters and installation. Whenever there’s talk of a building cell booster, there’s always talk of doing a site survey to see where the best place is to set up the booster and accessories like antennas or extra antennas. My question is where do you get a signal meter from? I’d like one to test the signal in my home, but I don’t want to buy it.
If cell phone boosters are so great, why do you need to do a site survey? Shouldn’t you be able to just put one in your home and they’ll do everything for you? This sounds like too much work to me. They can’t be that good if you have to do the prep work described.
“What’s the difference between a cell phone booster for the home and a building cell signal booster. What makes a signal booster a professional signal booster and what do the terms commercial cell phone booster and industrial cell phone booster mean compared to ones for the home?” I used to ask the same questions and found the answers right here at signalbooster.com. The differences lie in power. Keep in mind that all cell phone boosters (interiors for home and buildings and exterior for motor vehicles) do the same thing—they take existing cell phone signals and strengthen them so people get the voice quality and data speed they expect from their cell phones. Normally, cell phone signals get weakened when they’re transmitted from a cell phone tower to a phone, which is why you have dropped calls and other problems like slow download speeds. Thus, a cell phone booster helps in these situations, whether it’s in the home or at an office or factory. HOWEVER, the power needed for an office, factory, etc. is much greater than that in a home. That means the cell phone boosters must be more powerful. Therefore, these bigger models are called commercial cell phone boosters and industrial cell phone boosters. They do more, but require more power. They also require professional installation because the added power means you must make sure you’re FCC compliant (home cell phone boosters are already cleared with the FCC because of their smaller power output). A business also will want a professional installation because a pro installer surveys the site to make sure they know the area’s needs and where the cell phone signals are weakest.
What’s the difference between a cell phone booster for the home and a building cell signal booster. What makes a signal booster a professional signal booster and what do the terms commercial cell phone booster and industrial cell phone booster mean compared to ones for the home?
Chances are you’ve heard the saying, measure twice cut once. That’s the same strategy when you’re having a cell phone signal booster installed. Whether it’s a cell phone signal booster for home, a commercial cell phone booster, or an industrial cell phone booster, you want the equipment to do its job at 100% efficiency—boosting the existing cell phone signal so your call quality is excellent, you don’t have dropped calls, and your data speed is fast, fast, fast. Part of any good cell phone booster installation service is a pre-installation survey, so you know where to put the equipment and what type of equipment will work best for you. Not having a survey is like buying a car without test-driving it. It’s just a bad move for an important decision.