So I noticed there is an AT&T tower that's 70ft high and 2 min from my house, nothing blocking it's view in any way. I get 1-3 bars of 3G?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
There's a tower 2 min walk from my house!
- Thread starter Loves2spoon
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
If you're too close to the tower, you wont be getting a signal from it... Signals go out, not down
2 mins walk = 700 feet from the mast. That 'should' be OK.
Each site is different and the transmitter density has a great deal to do with antennae tilt and power output.
The two biggest causes of poor signal in obvious signal locations are.
No dominant server.
A zone in between 2 or more masts where the phone cannot decide which of the masts to be served from. The constant jumping causes signal loss (how's your battery drain?)
Sector division
i.e. you are directly between one of the 3 (sometimes 4) sectors of a mast. Imagine looking at a 'Nuclear' warning sign - that's how the mast blows out signal. Each sector on a larger mast has two masts pointing out to fill that entire sector - this creates a 'blind' spot between the sectors if you are close. Imagine Mercedes 3 pointed star logo... The further from the cell the signal converges but close up you are in one of those point.
Each site is different and the transmitter density has a great deal to do with antennae tilt and power output.
The two biggest causes of poor signal in obvious signal locations are.
No dominant server.
A zone in between 2 or more masts where the phone cannot decide which of the masts to be served from. The constant jumping causes signal loss (how's your battery drain?)
Sector division
i.e. you are directly between one of the 3 (sometimes 4) sectors of a mast. Imagine looking at a 'Nuclear' warning sign - that's how the mast blows out signal. Each sector on a larger mast has two masts pointing out to fill that entire sector - this creates a 'blind' spot between the sectors if you are close. Imagine Mercedes 3 pointed star logo... The further from the cell the signal converges but close up you are in one of those point.
That's a pretty brisk walk if you ask me.
Let's say you take a step almost every second, 65 steps in a minute, and cover approximately a yard [3 feet] per step. You will cover, approximately, 390 feet in 2 minutes.
Yeah, it would realistically be about 1/2 to 3/4 a yard per step. That would be from 195 to 290-ish feet. Meaning, you're right underneath the tower.