Raising An IP-cam And A zBoost Antenna

Getting A Better View And Signal

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This is actually about two projects rolled into one:

1. elevating an IP-cam to a more useful height, and
2. installing a signal booster to hopefully add a few bars to my wife's 0, 1 or 2 bar iPhone.

It began with the latter. Both of our phones were with AT&T and we would consistently get a strong signal at our place in Joshua Tree because the AT&T tower is line-of-sight on a ridge across the valley. But AT&T bothers the heck out of me. They contribute heavily to right-wing politicians.

When her contract ended, we switched her iPhone service to Credo, who contributes to meaningful and humane causes. Suddenly the iPhone reception tanked. Credo connects through Sprint and the closest Sprint tower is much further away with a few hills in between.

I am, unfortunately, still with AT&T because Credo does not work with my Windows phone. I am waiting. If Credo does not start accepting the Windows phone by the end of my contract, then I will have to switch to a different phone and/or service.

In the mean time, we have purchased a zBoost ZB545 SOHO Dual Band Cell Phone Signal Booster. It gets good reviews. I have installed it. I hope I did it right. Though the hills are much higher then the zBoost antenna, I hope it is somehow able to bounce its reception over them and grab the signal (figuratively).

When we return in the fall, we will find out. It claims to strengthen the signal for any phone within 2500 feet of the box. Through my cameras, I no longer see our next door neighbor wandering around the neighborhood with her phone in hand, or maybe the cameras just didn't catch the movement. (I am 3000 mile away.)

So that was the first endeavor; to install the signal booster.

The need for the second is self-evident. Our fancy, powerful and relatively expensive Axis 214 PTZ IP-Cam was too low to do any real good. It could watch the pond for a low water situation, since a pump in the pond waters the trees, and it could catch local wildlife dropping by for a drink. That was the original purpose. But this camera, capable of zooming in on things over a mile away, was not seeing its full potential.

So I raised it up. It can still zoom to the pond, but also the road, our hill, our hillside staircase, our occasional waterfall, or the entire valley, even the AT&T tower.

Cool.