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SPECIAL REPORTS
Cell phone boosters can help get signal virtually anywhere
HUNTINGTON -- Cell phone users who are concerned about coverage whether they're traveling around the country or staying at home might want to consider purchasing a cell phone booster.
The device increases the cell phone's internal antenna wattage from one-half to three watts. The increased wattage makes it possible for a cell phone signal virtually anywhere in North America.
Michael Evans, assistant manager of Radio Shack in Logan, W.Va., said its supply of boosters has been selling out continually for the past six months. Feeding much of the demand are coal miners working in and around Logan who find it difficult to get a signal in the Buffalo Creek mine sites, Evans said. The store sells about five boosters a day, he said.
"We've had customers tell us they get signals while traveling in Canada and Mexico," Evans said. "The coal miners here work in the middle of nowhere so they need to have a cell signal whereever they go. These boosters give them the ability to make calls anywhere."
The store's top-selling mobile boosters, intended for use in a vehicle, are made by Wilson Electronics, out of California. A hardwired booster starts at $249.99 and the top-of-the-line wireless model costs $499.99. The main difference, Evans said, between Wilson's models are the number of phones that can work off the same booster. While the cheapest model can boost one phone's signal, the most expensive model can boost up to six phones.
Other products, made by Dyna-Boost and EZ Boost, are designed specifically to boost cell phone and Wi-Fi signals within the home. They cost anywhere from $299.99 to $399.99 and provide an increased signal for 2,500 square feet.
Evans suggests, however, purchasing a mobile wireless cell booster would be more beneficial than a home booster because it can be used both in a vehicle and at home. The only drawback is that the wireless models only boost the signal of cells phone no more than 15 feet from the router.
