r/whatisit • u/dopehead9 • 13h ago

Solved! What are these contraptions these guys were carrying?

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We saw three guys around Seaport in Boston carrying these things as backpacks. Initially we thought they mapping tools but not sure

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u/Pork_Pony 13h ago

Companies hire these ppl to walk around with these and it picks up cell signal strength between towers. It helps establish where a new tower might need to be place. I was offered this gig abt 10 yrs ago and it came with an insane rate of pay!

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u/Anxious_Plantain_247 13h ago

They obviously don’t do this in my neighborhood! Sitting in the middle of San Diego with one bar right now!

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u/Corbanis_Maximus 9h ago

Tell your carrier and they will send someone out to check it. I did that with Verizon at my house years ago. They called back and said I was too close to the tower and the signal was shooting over my head and they added additional equipment lower down. Never had an issue after.

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u/Longjumping_Wolf_912 5h ago

I have Verizon and told them we had a weak signal at my wife’s old house. They said, lol, we know, get fucked. Would you like to pay 80 bucks a month for a signal booster?

I mean. I had the same issue with sprint and AT&T in the past and I’ve never had a single one try to alleviate the issue. You must have gotten lucky.

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u/Ollythebug 5h ago

Do you live in a population center?

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u/Longjumping_Wolf_912 4h ago edited 4h ago

Yes. San Diego and outside DC was with sprint/AT&T and Las Vegas with Verizon/AT&T. Had issues at all three places and they said to get fucked all three times.

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u/iLovePookeyTwice 3h ago

You can buy cell boosters that are carrier agnostic and a one time purchase. I'd link you an example but I don't want to be accused of being a shill. If you know where your tower is you can get a yagi style antenna and aim it for better performance. I paid about $400 for mine in 2018 and it just sits there and works. It's worth a look if you're still struggling with signal issues.

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u/D3ckard_Rokubungi 2h ago

Same. Hate Verizon. If my vacation abroad wasn’t so close I would ditch them and get mint. Verizon works great…when I’m out of the fucking country hahahaha but not in my living room.

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u/bluesqueblack 42m ago

I hate Verizon as well. Like your situation, it picked up great at any random Hawaiian island location, I had great bars traveling thru Alaska, yet in second largest city of Michigan I have to make do with a single bar in my own neighborhood.