PopSci 5-Minute Project: The Coffee Can Cellphone Booster

[ahtmly2k]

*i meant port

[ahtmly2k]

nice vdo, but what if my phone doesn't have a connector for external antennas..? -Blackberry 9700

[daltongangdriver]

Sounds cool...I just got the new "SAMSUNG GALAXY S2" I'm in a low signal area. Will this work on my Galaxy? I'm going on a little parts run to Radio Shack tomorrow, I hope they have the plug in I need...Oh Lord, please don't let me fry my new phone!!! I love this phone!! I would love any insights from anyone...Find me on YouTube: DALTONGANGDRIVER Thanks for the lesson!! Awesome & simple!!

[3cho911]

i can now add that to a tripod and i can use my cell phone in the woods

[54mmstock]

i think the antenna u made, is the same as the theory of the half wavelength dipole antenna., but wait, i think the impedance of the transmission line or the wire, is not match into the impedance of the improvise dipole antenna., and it is considered also the length of the improvise antenna., that's why, it should be computed, to be more enhance. nice!!

[eae1z3]

alcoholic hands

[fbombv1]

After I found this cool trick I'm having trouble fighting a phone with an RF port! lol

[emmanuelmd345]

danm u shake worse then michael j fox

[SanderP67]

Perhaps useful back in '07. I haven't seen external antenna connectors on new phones in years. The 1900MHz spec of the antenna seems a bit specific for just one carrier but no mention is made about that. My frequency memory is a bit rusty but I'm pretty sure my phone is a quad band GSM phone which suggests there are, well, 4 bands. Not sure 1900 is one of them.

Now if only we could get these antenna connectors back on our phones.

[vvhoopie]

It's like a cell phone, but with the limitations of a house phone. Brilliant!

[artemis12061966]

Very cool.

[manni7788]

do u hv any signal booster which is not directly connect with the cell phone.

[stinkyhamster111]

iphone?

[kevlardude]

I have the HTC Touch Pro 2. Where can I attach that if the phone doesn't have an external antenna port?

[JunmaiShu]

Not very practical. You may as well just lug one of those oldschool cell phones around with you instead of this potato gun. But interesting non-the-less.

[lavoisier8]

Can I use  indoor antenna to hook it up with my cell phone (with a proper connector) ? Thanks.

[IIEL3CTRiicKx]

For people who say they don't have the little hole.

You pretty much have to have it, 99% likely you just dont know where it is.

The funny thing is, on my phone its located UNDER the battery..

Pretty pointless huh :P

[mariocarl]

Does any one know what time off parts make up the antenna side? the site that they direct you to get the "pigtail" do no support blackberry or RIM phones. I know I need an FME male to what, then the antenna part where the copper wire is soldered to. what is that called? I can't seem to find anything similar searching antenna connector. help!

[blogragnar]

Hey, I recently discovered this great offer to earn money with simply useing your Cellphone:

bit . ly / mobilep

[regesman7]

J-B Weld would work better

[tsunayoshi987]

this is one of the best cell phone boosters it works unlike the sticker cell phone boosters

[castillowarrior]

man he has super shaky hands great video

[fabrivassa]

at 2:10 the coffee can magically turns from blue to green

[talkingalwayz]

good eye lol

[tzaqxxx]

k750i has tha trick

[silentDMX]

i love how their knives cut perfect circles just by stabing it in xD lol

[russiannuke]

not a knife, he used a reamer.

[Nightbird]

@russiannuke

Mmmm reamer... =P

[ph7ryan]

2:56 ... shaky hand much...haha

[seruppadi]

it's not shaky, he's doing it deliberately. Because when you solder you try to drip off the melted soldering fuse stuck to your iron and kind spread it evenly.

[ph7ryan]

actuallly when you solder, you should not even touch the solder with the iron...you are supposed to heat the wire up, and touch the solder to the wire, and the solder will melt and the flux will help the solder find its way deep into the threads of the joint...if you touch the solder with the iron you will melt the flux, and and just have a weak coat of solder on the joint...

[101zyx]

My phone doesnt work inside. If I could get a antenna out side I wouldnt have to go out side to use my phone. my side kick nor my nokia 5300 have plugs for an antenna :(

[fordmoparguy]

sure it does

[t0nito]

Almost none of today's cell phones has an external antenna connector, I've owned at least 10 different cell phones in the last 10 years and only a really old motorola and a nokia 5110 had the connector, now I have a samsung z300 and a nokia 6280 and none of them have such connector.

[LookItsRiceCake]

Check for a rubber plug. Lots have tiny ass MMCX and other stupid connectors on the back hidden.

Not great for a hacking standpoint, but they're there.

[fordmoparguy]

ive got one on my razr

[arjunus]

It is also good for hypersensitive people to use.

Place the antenna pointed outside.

And you wile have less microwaves inside your house.

[54spiritedwill54]

Yeah, it's amazing how satisfying it is to destroy stuff with heavy equipment. The best I've seen done was a car. Lots of pieces.

[tngu77]

Can't you just use a Pringles can instead of the two cans shown in the video?

[tsunayoshi987]

or 2

[DjGrillo85]

La punta del saldatore deve rimanere a contatto sul metallo per scaldare la superficie ed ottenere una corretta saldatura, non come nel video che risulterà una saldatura a freddo ovvero lo stagno si fonderà, ma non aderirà al metallo, perchè freddo. Ciao

[f00kumofo123]

LAst part is to buy pajama and a feather hat, wire that thing to yout hat and walk shopping.

[wlmarvin]

gotta give it an attempt

[DbzFanAlways]

what if your cofee can is still full???

[pfkninenines]

Empty it out..Duh.

[xForeverMinex]

i think a better conection between those two cans could be with hot glue.

[schweinbauer]

OK, So I built the danged thang. Now I get to 03:50 mins into the video where Mike shows where I'm supossed to stick the antenna bit into my phone.

Eh-Oh! My Nokia N96 no have no antenna connection. My NOKIA E50 no have one ither, nor do my 6230. Oh! But wait! I still have my 6310i! Yes it have one connection, but no... I bought the new phone because the old phone no work no more.

Oh well, nice video, little practical value.

[buntertunter]

di u watch the last of the video

[alchemyx]

There is probably another way to connect antenna because it would be plain stupid for Nokia not giving that connector for pseudo-buissness E50. Probably trough pop port.

[pfkninenines]

Try checking around the battery..Nearly every phone (probably not an iPhone) has one.

[phiphers]

@schweinbauer you get the whole phone in the cans

[glitcheddonut]

@schweinbauer how did you order the thing for your phone if it cant connect?

[MegaAnarcist]

@schweinbauer many nokia phones don't have antenna connections :(

[animelover9510]

you'll look like a duh-duh-duh holding that for better recpetion

[TallicaTim]

de da de u fuckin de da de!!

[MuhsinTheMomin]

is is not soul-der, not sod-der, ps i would just buy a better phone.

[stephenunderthered]

how about you quit being a douche bag and criticizing. homobo

[snipewa4]

your a dumbass, don't matter what phone you have the reception in some area's is bad no matter what....fuckin hammer

[edwy2001]

would it have not been easier to assemble the antenna before soldering the two tins together.........

[TheDeadGentleman]

That dude switched cans, anyone noticed?

[DougQuixote]

I can see what the theory is, but it seems so impractical. Wouldnt it be much cooler to make a special cable that if you attach it to most around-the-place metal objects it acts as an antenna? "Hey, no service, I'll just plug onto this stop sign... you there? Great!! Thats heaps better". I'd so rather be attached to a stop sign than carry that monstrosity around

[kinsler33]

That soldering iron didn't solder those two big cans together: someone improved the connection. He'd have needed a good deal more heat and better flux, or they'd fall apart. They also didn't give the length of the copper wire antenna, which is fairly critical, and the location of the hole was a bit hazy--97mm from which end, was it? And some cell phones are 800 MHz, not 1900 MHz. Outside of that, it was swell.

[ShannyEire]

Good idea like. pity the yank fella who was showing us was a knonb end lol

[shadowmirage2]

no this would be good if you went to like a hotel or camping/hiking or something like that not for everyday use unless u install it in your window lol

[hotcakesgallery]

or you could spend the $50 on parts and an hour of your time and buy a better phone :)

[1yK3Y4]

except won't you look like an idiot carrying around two metal food containers that are soldered together?

[panicattheaim]

lol i used a little bit diff connecting wire and hooked it to my computer, facing my neighboors house, lol FREE INTERNET! i get hight speed, like 5 bars, it works great

[rockyfork]

This is the cantenna without the fancy tripod. The same concept is great for wi-fi. I might do all that for a internet connection.I had to get away from that" can u hear me now company" cause I trashed so many of their phones just due to that reason. Its sorta cool looking at a cell phone that gets ran over by heavy equiptment.

[katanaking007]

Yeah, it's amazing how satisfying it is to destroy stuff with heavy equipment. The best I've seen done was a car. Lots of pieces.

[SarahJaneUK07]

So when I am out and about and having problems with reception - whereabouts should I keep this?

[derek9998]

be my friend

[cyanosis111]

looks like u can make a good bong out of it too

[bluntrageous]

A bong with good reception

[marjamada]

Well, it LOOKS good enough to hide in your house with, but it's not exactly decorative. If the problem is reception INside the house, why not make an antenna for an outside wall? And if you're aiming the opening of the can towards a tower, why not just use one can? The video doesn't say what the antenna is. If it's the copper wire, why use a can?

[jrtman]

I believe the idea behind it is that the can collects more of the signal because of the increased area and then directs that signal towards the antenna (copper wire).

[katanaking007]

It works like a crude satellite dish.

[forfuccsake]

Get a real hobby

[PrivateWalter]

for bluesand68: this thing was actually adapted from something people do for their laptops so i would bet that if you looked online you would find something for making one on a laptop

[enginedave]

I'm assuming that's an SO-239 connector?  How long is the radiating length of copper wire? Looks about an inch.

[sneakerset]

On second thought,who needs a cell phone anyway? Just tie a string between the cans!

[LeeJack3939]

Hmmmm...how about making a phone call from the house? Or walking a block closer to a cell? For Christ's sake...what's the fucking point unless you're living in your parent's basement???

[bluesand68]

Its a good f** point if you live in a motor home and the single drops off

[dbltlk44]

Ehhh...ok.

Here's a real-life scenerio: friend of mine can afford either afford a house phone or a cell phone, so opted for the cell. HER house ( not her parents' basement) is on the edge of the nearest cell tower's range,so reception is sketchy at best. Something like this would most likely help out in a situation like this.

[bluesand68]

interesting ...could the idea be adapted to increase the receiving ability of a AIR CARD for a laptop ?.

[afrockingirl]

cool but so much work lol...

[nemock]

Ok, that was very cool. Now....where do I find the pigtail for the BB 8100?

[mredyhcapamab]

OK, if you have to buy the soldering iron and other stuff, why not just buy a cellphone booster?

[sneakerset]

Yes,Beech, a "coat hangar" yagi works just fine.And no soldering needed.Spectrum analyzer tests that I've done confirmed db gain equal to or better than a cantenna.Too bad it took 10 minutes to build!NLOL

[Genoc1der]

Dubba U Dubba U Dubba U DOT lost DOT eu/5de93

[BeechSundowner]

Wouldn't a "coat hangar" work with the proper connector? LOL

[Jay12341235]

the blue can changed to grean!

[sneakerset]

mazower..How right you are!Post production error,no doubt.Good call!

[sneakerset]

gh1000..excellent point..and the lenght is determined by the cell repeater freq.Not all systems run at 1900mhz.the antenna probe is kinda critical in all wave guides(cantennas).That was a good observation.

[garbohunter1000]

What little I know about antennas suggests that you skipped (did I miss something??)the most important information - the length of that little piece of wire you soldered on....

[mcsmax786]

i dont think anyone would wanna go out into the public wid 2 massive cans soldered together!! u would look stupid!

[goclick]

That intro is so long someone should be slapped

[mcsmax786]

lol

[pvidrummer]

How many bars does thise thing give you?(average)

[mazower]

why did switch from the blue can to the green can?

[team222badbrad]

Sorry it won't work with my iPhone

[fudgesicle555]

this is so damn useless ive seen much better ways to increase reception

[m4cklove]

i have a 1900mhz phone and i cant get reception with my cect p168 can you please help me improve my phone signal downstairs in my room...using something free would be greatly appreciated

[yahonza]

Also, EVERY phone has an antenna plug? Nuu Uhhn.

[yahonza]

Err, how did you cut the hole? That seems to have been skipped over. Also, wireless advisor doesn't have any cell phone tower maps that I could find.

[sneakerset]

Hello people..Nice video(informative and quick)Couple of suggestions..first,hang a white sheet in front of the backlite(to reduce the shadow)and use a small fill lite near the bench for the macro shot.Your money shot was good but do several takes talking to the 2nd unit camera(that will greatly improve the transitions)And bro, use that CUTE girl as your helper!Show her how it's done..overall good effort,guys!

[zsandmann]

Now that's pretty cool, I can't get any reception in my house, it's bizarre. Lead paint or something, lol.

[beatlemania616]

sweet im gunna try this

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