Aircard (July 2008)

It is amazing, the things we take for granted. Being a city-girl, I just assumed there would be no trouble getting a high-speed connection for my computer (so that I would be able to continue working from my home office as a Graphic Designer).

But such is not the case...

• the cable companies don't have lines out here (and don't want to put one in just so I can have a cable modem)
• the local telephone company doesn't even have DSL out here
• satellite service is designed for cheaply downloading from their service... uploading is a MUCH more expensive proposition.

I thought I was going to be stuck using dial-up or rent an office in the city. Until... I was speaking to a customer representative of one of the satellite service companies and he said the most unusual thing: "I'm not just here to sell you something, I'm here to help solve your problems. Have you considered using an aircard?" (The unusual part, if you didn't catch it, was "not just here to sell you something".)

So I looked into aircards. Basically, an aircard is a cell phone that is dedicated to data only, not voice. It lets your laptop be 'wireless' wherever you go... so long as there is a cell phone tower to connect through. The cost for the service was only $5 more a month than my old cable modem had been and the speed, while slower than a cable modem when no one else is sharing it, would be just about what I was used to. So, I am able to keep working from my home office.

Cell Antenna (July 2008)

The next hurdle was getting a strong enough signal inside of the house. We knew when we purchased PlayHaven West that we had a pretty good signal from Sprint outside. And when we switched our cell phone service to T-mobile, it was partly because the signal is good at PlayHaven West as well.

We had not used a land-line for several years and intended to continue using our cell phones as our primary phone service.

The trouble arose when we purchased the house at PlayHaven East, because it has a radiant barrier on all the walls and it has a metal roof. So the cell signal inside was almost non-existant in all but the 2nd floor, south bedroom.

Every problem is an opportunity... so I researched boosting signal strength and the hubby found out about cell antennas (put an antenna on the roof, run a cable inside the house and amplify the signal inside the walls/roof).

I was nervous about bringing the signal inside the house, but then I discovered that "The harder your phone has to work to get reception, the more radiation it emits." Read more: http://www.oprah.com/health/Dr-Oz-Explains-Cell-Phone-Dangers-and-How-to-Avoid-Them#ixzz1dQ15HPKZ or (click here for the link to the article as a PDF).

So, it is actually better for us to use the cell antenna from a health point of view (in addition to the other suggestions).

I purchased our cell antenna from CellAntenna.com. The representative was amazingly helpful when it came to figuring out which model we needed for our situation. They even let us try different interior antennas (at their shipping expense) to figure out what worked best here. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY!

**Update: October 2011**

We stopped getting the great signal strength we had been used to about six months ago. And I finally called the customer service about it.

First, they told me that the nothing last forever and two years was not an unusual lifetime. OK, not what I want to year, but good to know.

They had me first check the power adapter to see if it had gone bad... nope, not the problem. Then we checked the cable from the exterior antenna to see if it had a short... nope, not the problem.

Then we sent the amplifier (the only other thing that could go bad) back to them at their expense so they could test it... yep, that's the problem. It no longer worked.

We had to purchase a new amplifier. Fortunately, I always ask about refurbished equipment because you can often get a perfectly good item at a reduced price (something that has been fixed or simply scratched, etc. that works fine). They had one and we saved $80 by getting it that one.

The signal is back to where it was before. It's not great everywhere in the house, but you learn to make due with what you need to.

STILL, I highly recommend CellAnnenna.com.