Mobile Phone Signal

[DrP]

Now - I know how daft this must sound, but I HAVE experienced this for a few years now so here goes:

 

 

At work, we get a very poor mobile phone signal (out in the country). The best (and often the only) way to get a text message to send from my office is to go right to the corner of the office (Where the toilet is) and hold the phone up high. Fair enough. - Now - some days the signal gets weaker and doesn't register on the phone at all, even when held high in the far corner of the office. On days like this, I find that I can usually get a message to send if I A)-hold the phone up close to an electrical conduit, or if that fails B) I hold the phone next to a tap of running water!

 

Now - The tap with running water works 90% of the time - even when all else fails! I can't really explain it, except to ask whether or not this column of running water will act as an amplifier for the signal or not? (similar with the electrical conduit - does this act as an antennae or something?) I don't know why I tried this originally - I just thought it might just possibly amplify the signal or something - and low and behold it works nearly every time.

 

 

 

PS - I am ready to belive that this is just co-incidence, but it happens a bit too often for me not to ask the question.

[Sayonara]

The signal dissolves in the water and travels through the pipes to the municipal water treatment plant, where it is closer to the network.

[YT2095]

since phones only have a single radiating element and no real ground plane (as required by even the most basic Dipoles) they employ an ATU/Matcher to get a good SWR.

this however is Far from ideal, by using large earthed (or even large conductive material such as a car) it can act as a ground plane and thus alter the emitted RF pattern.

[DrP]

The signal dissolves in the water and travels through the pipes to the municipal water treatment plant, where it is closer to the network.

 

 

hahaha... I know it sounds daft, but this is an observation, not a speculation.

 

 

since phones only have a single radiating element and no real ground plane (as required by even the most basic Dipoles) they employ an ATU/Matcher to get a good SWR.

 

not sure what your talking about here..

 

this however is Far from ideal, by using large earthed (or even large conductive material such as a car) it can act as a ground plane and thus alter the emitted RF pattern.

 

So would the body of water in the pipes and the metal pipes themselves do this then do you reckon?

[big314mp]

Probably the metal (I'm guessing copper) pipes that run into the ground. The electrical conduit itself is probably grounded through the building.

 

And thinking about this has led to another question for YT...if one were in a steel frame building, would your reception be improved (using DrP's logic/experience) or worsened (via a faraday cage like effect)?

[YT2095]

a Ground plane can be Any body of conductive matter equal to or greater than the radiating element in terms of impedance.

not to be confused with an Electrical Ground, a ground plane can be "floating" in terms of voltage to Earth.

 

what it does is affect the RF pattern (radiation) given off by the antenna, shaping it`s geometry if you like.

 

the Faraday effect can affect this too, although it can (where the holes are large enough) also function as a Lens of sorts, making reception better (bd gain) although this is at a sacrafice of omni-directionality and tends to give a narrow but good capture angle.

this is only Half the story though, the Antennas configuration plays the other half of it.