Video Contest Entry
As Peredroid mentioned - being around a lake was a huge learning experience of just how the beam gets to you.
When the Crew calls, and it's a cabin tour up North, cell towers & beam coverage become clear.
4 of us with different carriers is a guaranteed way to get the facts.
1- has Verizon,
I had AT&T at the time. Currently Verizon.
Soon as the route changed due West from the main Northbound freeway,
within less than 1/8 mile, my iPhone w/AT&T is dead service.
Surprisingly narrow beam focused down the freeway.
Verizon is still going for #1 guy.
Get to the cabin, best I can do is wait for a delayed text message or missed call message if left on the dash, if the wind is going that way.
#1 guy w/Verizon can call if he gets out on the upper deck facing So. out to the lake.
Lake is 10 ft from cabin.
But the cabin sits at bottom of hill/almost bluff like.
Maybe 30ft down in elevation from road, to edge of lake shore.
Get out on the pontoon, and head to friends across the lake, due South.
Perfect 4 bar reception - WTH?
Then tower search begins.
Sure enough, the tower is NNW of the cabin, 25-30 miles.
Fires a beam straight as an arrow SO. at the cabin, but skips across wooded hilltop,
high over top of cabin, straight at the shoreline across the lake.
Go to middle of lake,
signal fades as you're getting under the beam path.
One idea is a downhill flying saucer mounted 60ft high near cabin, reflecting beam at cabin.
Some minor experiments on the ground show 1 bar gain.
As for 4GLT on Verizon & live just North of Twincities, I never see the icon lit up.
As for cost - I find it's quite high for a shared family plan that was recently bumped to 8GB
FOR the same cost as 4GB. Still about $100 each.
Traveling,
here is where is will shred your service to Zero.
Be tornado storm tracking to escape Oklahoma back to South Dakota.
Using Google mapping, and weather radar & still get caught in rough edge of it 500 miles later.
So one has to be clever switching off to airplane mode & back on when needed.
I was brutally bitched out when I got Hm & burned up entire month of service w/i hours.
Cheers.