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How to Boost Cell Phone Signal in a Building

Reprinted with permission from the weBoost blog. We’ve all been there: you’re at home or in the office, and your cell phone signal is frustratingly weak. You might even have to go outside to make a call. Losing cell phone signal can disrupt both your personal and professional life. But don’t worry. In this article, we’ll reveal how to boost cell phone signal in a building. Here’s what you’ll learn: Some really effective (and easy) ways to boost cell signal in a building Why the design of your building and the materials it’s made from might be messing with your cell reception The best cell signal boosters to get that perfect signal strength So, let’s jump right in and figure out how you can boost cell phone signal in a building...
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THROWBACK THURSDAY: When I seriously considered putting up my own cell tower

2019 seems like a million years ago, doesn’t it? But in reality, I was sitting at the very same desk five years ago, banging away at my keyboard and trying to give you all some great content. (Full disclosure: it wasn’t the same keyboard. I tend to kill them about every other year.) Back in 2019 I was so tired of bad cell service at my house that I seriously considered putting up a cell tower. The first step was figuring out how to do it, and that’s what I talked about in this article. Spoiler alert For those who don’t choose to read the article, I never got past the planning stage. There were so many hurdles to jump over. If I’d started then, I probably would be working through the paperwork today. I concluded that the better thing...
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See you at the 2024 Miami International Boat Show!

Do you live in South Florida? Do you plan on visiting the area this week? If so, come and see the the latest in the boating world. The Miami International Boat Show and the Miami Yacht Show have joined forces to create the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show, the largest boat and yacht show in the world. It’s going on today through February 18, 2024. You’ll find it centered around the Miami Beach Convention Center and all around the Miami waterfront. You can discover everything from kayaks to superyachts! Signal Connect at the Miami International Boat Show Essa Alijelat No, we won’t be exhibiting in Miami. But we’ll have a presence on the show floor for sure. Our Signal Connect team, including Essa Alijelat, will be on...
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TV Guidance Counselor 10th Anniversary Special

I’m Ken Reid, a stand up comedian from Boston, MA and a life long television fan. I’ve been twice nominated as the Best Stand up in Boston and I have been featured on Comedy Central, NPR, Nerdist, and MSN. I own every issue of TV Guide. Each week a guest chooses an issue at random, picks their viewing choices from that week and the show is our discussion of the tough viewing choices of our past. We get into stories about growing up, people’s relationship with television, some cultural/media studies dissection and I spit out a lot of trivia. Note: The Ken Reid TV Guidance Counselor Podcast is rated PG-13 and may contain mild language. The post TV Guidance Counselor 10th Anniversary Special appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog...
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Can you use a CI+ card with DIRECTV or DISH?

This very question came across my desk a couple weeks ago. It’s not something most people would ask, at least not in those words. But at its heart, it’s something we’ve all wondered. So it seemed like a good choice for an article for this blog. Ready? Let’s go. What is conditional access? Once upon a time, every TV broadcast of every kind was completely open to anyone watching. The law was pretty clear in the 20th century: if you broadcast on the public airwaves, then anyone with a receiver had to be able to see and hear what you’re broadcasting. That doctrine took us all the way to the 1970s, to the dawn of the dominance of pay television. When HBO launched in 1972, it created a new model. Early cable TV systems were mostly...
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My thoughts about AI in 2024

About a year ago, I let ChatGPT write an article for this blog. It wasn’t a bad article, but I decided at that point that the AI bot wasn’t ready to quite replace me. Good thing, too. As far as I know, ChatGPT doesn’t need to make a mortgage payment, and I sure do. But that was a year ago. Has AI changed a lot since then? Answer: yes and no Obviously, there have been some massive improvements in AI in the last 12 months. A lot of that has been in the form of image generation. It’s now possible to generate AI images that are utterly, totally realistic. Not only that, it’s become routine to let AI create clip art for you, something that seems to have killed the already moribund clip art industry. (Moribund? Yeah kids, look it up.) AI...
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Podcast #565: A simple explanation of grounding

It’s the most important thing that you’re not doing. Learn what grounding is and why you should be doing it, in a simple and entertaining way. Shop Solid Signal - Signal Solutions including HDTV Antennas, DIRECTV and DISH Network satellite equipment and home entertainment supplies and accessories for all your grounding supplies, and call us at 888-233-7563 for personalized service. Listen to the podcast your way! Just choose one of the following: Option 1: Click on the image above to stream the podcast in your browser. If you use the YouTube player above, be sure to subscribe to get future videos delivered to you! Option 2: The Solid Signal Podcast is available on several podcast aggregators. Search for us, or tap on the links below...
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How can you get a component connection from your DIRECTV H26K receiver?

What you see above you is DIRECTV’s newest H26K Commercial Receiver. Business customers are snapping it up as fast as DIRECTV can put them out there, and residential customers tell us they want a version of it for their RVs and boats, too. Why? As the first new traditional receiver from DIRECTV in over a decade, it brings a load of advanced features. For example: Watch SD, HD, or 4K without a DVR Use the popular Genie Remote, infrared, IR blaster, or IP control – your choice Control is easy with the free DIRECTV app for tablets (Apple and Google) Rack mount easily with this available shelf which holds 8 receivers Easy connection with built-in Ethernet port DIRECTV’s most modern interface including full control of power saver mode Of...
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Can you measure satellite signal with a multimeter?

Folks, let’s get this out of the way right now. DIRECTV’s AIM meter isn’t cheap. Neither is the meter you use for DISH installs, the AI Turbo S2. But, if you really want to know what’s going on with your satellite signal, you’ll need one of those. I say this a lot, and yet I know there are a lot of handy folks who will want to measure using a multimeter because they have one. Other folks find inexpensive satellite meters online and want to use those instead. Both of those tricks are bad ideas and I’d like to take a moment to explain why. Why using a multimeter won’t work For those who are unfamiliar, a multimeter is a tool for measuring the amount of electricity on a line. Generally your typical multimeter will measure volts AC, volts...
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Should you be using a VPN when you’re in your RV?

I love to say it, and I’ve said it in several articles: In the 2020s, getting away from it all doesn’t mean being disconnected. RV life is more popular than ever, but the idea that you could take off and leave the world behind … that belongs more in the 1920s. Today it’s all about bringing the comforts of home with you. That why so many people outfit their RVs with satellite TV, cell phone signal boosters, and wireless internet. There are so many excellent options out there and you’ll really want to take advantage of them. I’ll tell you how at the bottom of this article, but for now let’s talk about internet access. How to get internet in your RV When you’re ready to connect (and of course you’re always ready to connect, there are...
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Buying a home? Here’s a way to save time and money

I’ve read over the years that buying a home is one of the most stressful things a person can do in their lifetime. It’s definitely the most expensive thing most people will ever do, and it’s full of confusing and time-consuming bits. There’s always that fear that you’ll forget something important, and it seems like you never quite finish dealing with different companies. The last thing you want to worry about when you’re buying a home is talking to one more company. That’s especially true when it comes to live TV and internet companies. Some of those companies — you know who you are — have the worst customer service scores of any company in the world. Trust me, you don’t want that hassle after you’ve spent a day with inspectors, loan...
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HANDS-ON REVIEW: Toner Signal Level Meter TSLM-AI1

It’s not often you see a new pro-grade signal meter out there. Personally, I’m always looking for a new, easier way to measure the things I measure on my test bench. For TV, I use a Televes spectrum analyzer that does an amazing job. But, it doesn’t do ATSC 3.0 and so I generally can’t report on the performance of that kind of device. That’s why I was excited to review this Toner Signal Level Meter model TSLM-AI1. It promises to bring a lot of capabilities that I didn’t have on the test bench before. To me, the most exciting one is the ability to measure ATSC 3.0 signals. Let’s see how this meter shapes up. Unboxing I’m always pleased to see a nice presentation box even when a product isn’t going to go to retail. The box is...
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Why does your marine satellite TV system need two power supplies?

If you owned or operated a yacht in 2023, one thing probably surprised you more than anything else. Like other folks, you probably stampeded to get a new satellite internet system as soon as they were available. And then, you quickly realized that it wasn’t going to replace your satellite TV system. Most marine satellite internet plans have data caps that are just too low to stream live TV. They’ll do fine for the occasional streamed movie, but if you plan on keeping the TV on a lot, they’re not very well suited. And that’s why a lot of yacht owners have either kept their live TV service or turned it back on. Once you have the equipment in place, the monthly fee really isn’t a big issue and it’s a reliable way of watching TV with no...
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A meter for everything at Solid Signal

It’s a fair bet to say that most folks won’t want this $16,000 spectrum analyzer, but we sell it at Solid Signal. That may be a little rich for your blood, but what about this: At the time I write this, a little satellite finder like this one will set you back somewhere around twelve bucks. It won’t do much with advanced satellite dishes like DIRECTV’s Slimline or DISH’s Hybrid dish, but it will get that round dish aimed for you pretty quick. And everything in between The point is, if you’re looking for a way to measure something, especially if it’s electrical or uses radio waves, you can find it at Solid Signal. Take it from me. I’m practically a measurement junkie, and I’ve said so before. I love to measure everything from...
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