I have a UT Starcom Audiovox CDM8945VW phone with Verizon.

My reception at home is absolutely horrible, most of my conservations are at least 10% "can you hear me now"

I noticed that my phone has an antenna jack, but I'm unsure where to get one and if it would help.

The Radio Shack folks don't seem to have one.

I was searching online for antennas and most of what I find are general purpose brand-nonspecific models which somehow velcro onto the battery pack... doesn't sound very promising to me.

Thoughts, experiences, I seek the guidance of TWW before I waste $$$ on some garbage that doesn't work.

9/7/2007 5:23:01 PM

the shit you tape on to the battery isn't going to help.. i can promise you that

9/7/2007 5:26:51 PM

yeh, the antenna's that you stick behind the battery don't work. i've gotten a couple free ones before and they never did a thing. as for attaching an antenna to the jack, i think you have to go to the phone's manufacturer for that. best thing to do is get a new phone.

9/7/2007 5:41:14 PM

does anybody else with verizon have the same problem in that area?

9/7/2007 5:42:58 PM

I had that problem in my house, and switching phones (LG to treo) solved the problem.

9/7/2007 6:09:14 PM

Does the reception problems only happen when you are inside you house (as opposed to being in the yard)? A lot of places have foil backed foam under the siding that acts like Faraday cage and prevents RF signals from entering or escaping. My parent's developed this problem when they got new siding on their house.

9/7/2007 6:13:15 PM

Well this is not my first phone here, I had the same problem with the last model. My wife has a motorola slvr and it seems to work a little better, but it still is pretty sad. We have to sit in this one place in order to get quasi-reliable service most days. Other people have different cell phone carriers, and I also have trouble talking in their apartments as well. Basically Verizon's signal strength is weak here generally.

Of course, outside it's better, that's why I figured if I could get an antenna and mount it outside then I could effectively be outside when I'm inside. I live in an apartment so I'm stuck with whatever is in the walls.

I know I could spend about $300 to set up a repeater, but that's kinda out of my price range. I just want to find an antenna that fits my phone, or some similar solution for say less than $50.

My googling skills have not yet helped me find the correct antenna... I mean the antenna jack is probably standard, I just have no idea for sure... Verizon sent me like hundred pages of advertisements for the "Vcast" but technical specs on my phone, nah why would I need that

9/7/2007 9:34:02 PM