Social Feed

Stuart Sweet
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Pub Member / Supporter Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Solid Signal Blog
A couple of weeks ago, I ran an article about cell phone signal boosters. I run a lot of this sort of article, because after all this blog is affiliated with Solid Signal. We sell a lot of cell phone signal boosters. I happen to think that cell boosters are awesome and I don't understand why more people don't buy them. I do understand this though, based on some of the comments I get. People think that if they have Wi-Fi calling, they don't need a cell booster.

Who doesn't love Wi-Fi calling?


Wi-Fi calling is an option found on pretty much every Android and iPhone. It's available through pretty much every carrier. It's a great low-cost way to improve your voice service in the home or office. Wi-Fi calling uses your Wi-Fi network for voice traffic instead of using the cell network. It's a pretty neat trick.

Except, there's one problem


In order to use Wi-Fi calling, you need to be using Wi-Fi. Even if you have good Wi-Fi throughout the house, this doesn't really solve the problem. Or rather, it solves it for you but not for anyone else.

Wi-Fi calling uses your wireless network, of course. So anyone who uses Wi-Fi calling in your house needs to be connected to your Wi-Fi. This is obviously fine for you and your family. What about your friends? Do you let them connect to your Wi-Fi when they come over? What about relatives who come to visit? What about a repair person who needs to make a phone call in order to help you get what you needs?

The point here is that in order to use Wi-Fi calling, you're connecting people to your home network. Maybe these are people you trust, or maybe they're just going to be there for a little while. Either way, you're making them type a (hopefully long and confusing) list of letters and numbers in, just to connect so they can make a call. That doesn't sound very friendly or hospitable.

What about guest networks?


A lot of you tech-savvy folks probably have a guest network set up in your house so people can connect easily without a long password. A guest network also means that your other computers are more secure. It solves the problem of Wi-Fi calling somewhat, I guess. You still have to tell people to connect, although the issue of the password isn't there.

But ask yourself, how many people do you know who can properly set up a guest network? Chances are most people you know can't. So is Wi-Fi calling a good choice for them? Probably not.

Here's how you get rid of Wi-Fi calling headaches


I'll say it again. Wi-Fi calling is great if you know how to set it up and if you're already connected to home Wi-Fi. It's not a great solution for public spaces like stores, and it's not good for people who come to your home once or twice. It can be a lot of trouble, honestly.

If only there were a simple solution that just made the cell service in your house better.

Of course there is, and that's the point. A cell phone signal booster will provide clear calls and fast data without connecting to anyone's internet. If you have as little as one bar outside, then you'll have great coverage inside. You can generally install it yourself and it's a solution that doesn't have a monthly charge.

home-multiroom-1024x791.jpg


I'm telling ya, just get a cell booster. Unless you're willing to be forever beholden to giving people access to your Wi-Fi, just get a cell booster. You'll be happy you did. You'll find a great selection of the best ones when you shop at SolidSignal.com. If you're not sure which one is right for you, ask the experts! We have folks standing by who will help you figure out the right choice for spaces from 10 to 100,000 square feet. Call us at 888-233-7563 during East Coast business hours. If it's after hours, no problem! Fill out the form below. We'll get back to you, usually within one business day.


The post The problem with Wi-Fi Calling appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.

Continue reading...
4 Replies · 533 views
S
I would have concerns about broadcasting these microwave frequencies inside my house.
Stuart Sweet
The transmission level is far lower than a microwave. While microwave emitters are supposed to be shielded -- and they are, when they're made, there's no guarantee that your microwave as it stands today isn't putting out quite a bit of radiation.
S
The transmission level is far lower than a microwave. While microwave emitters are supposed to be shielded -- and they are, when they're made, there's no guarantee that your microwave as it stands today isn't putting out quite a bit of radiation.
I take it you mean microwave oven, which doesn't run 24/7.
navychop
Do these work with 5G and LTE? All cell providers? Improve signal enough for video streaming such as YT? Provide an Ethernet port for STBs to dl EPGs? (Hot spot)

How about a dish antenna to be aimed at the cell tower? Useless / unneeded? If a dish is an option to improve signal, is there s/w to aim it?

Obviously, I know naught about cell phone boosters.

But you DID convince me to add a guest network at my home.
Scott Greczkowski
Staff member HERE TO HELP YOU! Cutting Edge
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!

So let the game continue!

The last song was added by Bobby who posted...

One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters

CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!

Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game

Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.

Example:

Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow

Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio

Another example:

Ride the Lightning -- Metallica

Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne


Get it?


An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68658 Replies · 2680179 views
  • Like
Reactions: c-spand
dishstaller
I Wanna Talk About Me - Toby Keith
  • Like
Reactions: RaiderPower
Bobby
98.6 - Keith
harshness
I'm Easy - Keith Carridine
  • Like
Reactions: RaiderPower
gms49ers
It's Easy - Boston
RaiderPower
Take It Easy On Me - Little River Band
  • Like
Reactions: dishstaller
R
Last reply · posted in Computers and Gadgets
Lately my eight year old Dell laptop has been shutting off even when I have a full battery. I have had to keep it plugged up all the time to keep this from happening. Any idea what is causing this? I replaced the battery about three years ago.
2 Replies · 43 views
arlo
A recalibration might be needed. Even if it shows full, the individual cells may have become unbalaced. And the BMS chip in the battery reports false information to the pc.
Try this. Start it up in the bios/uefi and leave it there until the battery dies and it shuts off.
It might just keep running longer than in Windows. Or run for a short while and shut off.
If it's the first case. Probably just needs a balancing. If the latter, the pack might just be dead.
Not throwing stones but perhaps just a cheaply constructed battery with substandard cells. Could be.

Patience. Keep restarting it in bios/uefi until it won't fire up anymore.
Then plug the charger in and let it complete a full charge. And see what happens. If it's better.
Do the same thing one more time. Run it until it dies dead-dead. Then just let it charge, pc shut off.
When charged, it might be better. It might not be.

There are bench jigs that read the actual BMS and override it to let a tech manually monitor and charge the separate packs. They can also reset any "time bombs" in it that cause an otherwise good pack to show bad.
Maybe Santa will be good to me some year.

You might just need a new battery. Maybe the PC power management chip is going. A Dell common thing.
Leaving a laptop plugged in with a full battery is known to reduce the life. Asus for one recommends that you don't leave the charger plugged in all of the time even when shut down. And setting Windows to charge the battery to 85% instead of 100% increases life.
That's all I got.
dishstaller
That's all I got.
That was quite enough....I definitely learned something from your post. Thanks
TRG
TRG
Pub Member / Supporter
Last reply · posted in Computers and Gadgets
I set up a music server for my brother a few years ago. It's basically a small headless computer but it needs to have a DHCP IP address reserved for it in the router settings. This was easy to do in his DSL router. He's switching to Starlink now and I was wondering if these setting are easily accessible in the Starlink router. I'm pretty sure he will be getting the latest V5 router.
5 Replies · 282 views
b4pjoe
I set up a music server for my brother a few years ago. It's basically a small headless computer but it needs to have a DHCP IP address reserved for it in the router settings. This was easy to do in his DSL router. He's switching to Starlink now and I was wondering if these setting are easily accessible in the Starlink router. I'm pretty sure he will be getting the latest V5 router.
If you can't get into the router to reserve an IP address just don't use DHCP on the device that needs connected and assign it to a specific IP address in the network settings.
  • Like
Reactions: harshness
HipKat
I set up a music server for my brother a few years ago. It's basically a small headless computer but it needs to have a DHCP IP address reserved for it in the router settings. This was easy to do in his DSL router. He's switching to Starlink now and I was wondering if these setting are easily accessible in the Starlink router. I'm pretty sure he will be getting the latest V5 router.
They are not. Your best bet is to set up a third-party router, attached to the Starlink for your server, that you can get into, like a Linksys, etc
  • Like
Reactions: Foxbat
Foxbat
…it needs to have a DHCP IP address reserved for it in the router settings. This was easy to do in his DSL router. He's switching to Starlink now and I was wondering if these setting are easily accessible in the Starlink router. I'm pretty sure he will be getting the latest V5 router.
The Starlink V5 Install Kit I just got comes with the Mini Router. It is pretty limited in what it can do. For example, it can provide only one IP subnet at a time, no Guest Network, but it does support the pass-thru to a third-party Router. You can also split the Wi-Fi into separate 5 GHz & 2.4 GHz SSIDs to help some IoT devices that don't support 5 GHz bands to work.

The larger Starlink Router that still comes with the V4 Kit does support a Guest Network with separate IPv4 Subnet, but it's $120 from Starlink. And it still won't do DHCP Reservations.
harshness
If you can restrict the DHCP address space to assign addresses to one end of the subnet (i.e. x.x.x.50+), you can manually assign the IP address on pretty much any operating system. This is a default behavior on several popular routers. As the Router Mini only supports 235 devices, I expect that's already done.

Another option is to use a router that supports PoE to power the antenna. This article discusses that option (under PoE Power heading):

  • Like
Reactions: Foxbat
Foxbat
Now that I've had the v5 kit with the Mini Router, it's not as bad as I first thought. Yes, no DHCP reservations, but you can set up multiple SSIDs that have separate IPv4 subnets, and like the big brother, you can select from 192.168.x.0/24 or 10.x.0.0/16 (where "x" is 1-4).

You can also split a subnet and have different SSIDs for the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz channels to handle some IoT devices. I haven't discovered what subnet the 2nd NIC on the router assigns, I'm guessing it's the first subnet.
dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
2 Replies · 50 views
dishstaller
Sorry for posting the wrong link. Just corrected it.
dishstaller
Pub Member / Supporter Lifetime Supporter
Last reply · posted in The Chit Chat Club
Terrible tragedy. You would think that they would have safe guards in place that would prevent something like this from happening. I guess if you are going to ride in a passenger train it might be best to get a car near the rear.

2 Replies · 53 views
  • Sad
Reactions: Jimbo
Jimbo
Terrible tragedy. You would think that they would have safe guards in place that would prevent something like this from happening. I guess if you are going to ride in a passenger train it might be best to get a car near the rear.

They will have to look at the switching sections to determine WHY 2 trains were on the same track ... at the same time.
dishstaller
Thought this article might be of interest to some of you who might travel via train.