Nice hack to increase signal strength

[PPCGeeks4ME]

Okay, I just tried this and here are my test results. I'm a Sprint user using the newest Verizon radio.

My default values were 2285 and 3044. I tested the signal strength and battery life with my default values, the OP's final values, and the OP's adjustments applied to my default values. I soft reset between each test and unplug the USB cable when testing. The phone is in the same spot on my desk the whole time. Signal strength shown is the average of six samples taken ten seconds apart; battery usage shown is amount of battery life consumed during a one minute and ten second phone call to "It Could Always Suck More" according to acbPowerMeter.

Default: 2285 / 3044
1X: -90
HDR: -79
Battery: 351mA, 9mAh

OP Values: 2092 / 2392
1X: -93
HDR: -82
Battery: 315mA, 7mAh

OP Tweaks: 1785 / 1944
1X: -94
HDR: -80
Battery: 385mA, 9mAh

Conclusion: It certainly doesn't seem to be helping. I will play with these values more later, and will try using tweaked values in a known deadspot when possible to see if I get service. For now, however, I'm going back to my defaults.

OP: How did you find out about this tweak, and do you have any idea what those values represent, specifically?

[xconwayx]

Originally Posted by krohnjw

Good #'s.

If you are going to try more keep an eye on the battery voltage to see the effect of lowering the gain on the actual battery. I am curious to see how much of a quantitative different it makes on battery drain/battery life.

Could you let me in on how to monitor battery usage? I am missing something.

[razorloves]

Originally Posted by TheAlienElite

As future ruler of the planet, I am immune to disclaimers.

are you related to or from the same planet as tech1? LOL. jk

[krohnjw]

Originally Posted by xconwayx

Could you let me in on how to monitor battery usage? I am missing something.

http://www.acbpocketsoft.com/Product...verview-2.html

[krohnjw]

UPDATED INFO JUL-29

Certain providers need certain items in the RF radio. My buddy had a VZ phone and I also had to change the following items. If they are in your phones RF items then change them. If you cant find them then you dont need them.

NV_FM_AGC_1 (default MIN = 43 MAX = 2
NV_CDMA_MIN_RX_RSSI_I (default -1150)

Interesting - Sprint here. Neither of those items are present in the NV items for me.

Bumping the values down even further to 1749 and 1994 respectively didn't help with signal strength (default ranged from -76 to -81 while tweaked ranged from -16 to -79) but did increase draw on the battery from an average of 159 mA to 184 mA (resting docked, screen on over a 10 minute period).

I am curious if this would work better in a "low" signal area rather than somewhere with a strong signal. Anyone have a convenient low signal area to try? Around here we are short on areas of low signal.....I guess that's not a bad thing though.

[wchamblee]

Originally Posted by razorloves

are you related to or from the same planet as tech1? LOL. jk

+1 Thats what I was thinking.



W

[junior1234]

If this just affects your receiver sensitivity and or overall Q then no it will not greatly enhance the odds of contracting cancer over normal exposure ,but on the other hand if it affects your transmission signal strength then the answer is yes and it may also be in that nice little gray area under the jurisdiction of the FCC which limits the output power of these handy little devices to protect us from ourselves. It would be really nice if someone could give a DEFINITIVE answer on what these values are associated with and then we might have something that could solve some problems. Oh, and if it increases output power with all else remaining the same it will drain the battery faster ....more output requires more input and it may not be directly proportional....on the receive end , if it gives you signal where there was none previously then most likely result is that the receiver hardware is working harder to amplify this small(comparatively) signal to a level that can be demodulated so that you can get an intelligible audio signal through your earpiece....once again more power drain.

NV_CDMA_MIN_RX_RSSI_I - minimum receiver sensitivity analog
NV_FM_AGC_1- automatic gain control

Dont quote me on this but it looks like what this setting will do for you is increase sensitivity so that a weaker signal wont be rejected and then boost it up with the gain control so that you can hear that really bad quality call that wouldnt otherwise be tolerable and it will get you better reception if applied correctly but at the cost of battery life for sure.

[krohnjw]

Originally Posted by junior1234

If this just affects your receiver sensitivity and or overall Q then no it will not greatly enhance the odds of contracting cancer over normal exposure ,but on the other hand if it affects your transmission signal strength then the answer is yes and it may also be in that nice little gray area under the jurisdiction of the FCC which limits the output power of these handy little devices to protect us from ourselves. It would be really nice if someone could give a DEFINITIVE answer on what these values are associated with and then we might have something that could solve some problems. Oh, and if it increases output power with all else remaining the same it will drain the battery faster ....more output requires more input and it may not be directly proportional....on the receive end , if it gives you signal where there was none previously then most likely result is that the receiver hardware is working harder to amplify this small(comparatively) signal to a level that can be demodulated so that you can get an intelligible audio signal through your earpiece....once again more power drain.

NV_CDMA_MIN_RX_RSSI_I - minimum receiver sensitivity analog
NV_FM_AGC_1- automatic gain control

Dont quote me on this but it looks like what this setting will do for you is increase sensitivity so that a weaker signal wont be rejected and then boost it up with the gain control so that you can hear that really bad quality call that wouldnt otherwise be tolerable and it will get you better reception if applied correctly but at the cost of battery life for sure.

I would hope that auto gain control is enabled by default - to not have it enabled would be puzzling unless there is concern for quick battery drain with fringe area signals.

[junior1234]

Originally Posted by krohnjw

A bit of quantative analysis at least in one instance. You'll see that my defaults were much closer to what the OP ended up at than his were. I tried to keep the adjusted numbers in the same ballpark as the OP.

Defaults:

NV_C0_BC0_VGA_GAIN_OFFSET_1 Default: 2249
NV_C1_BC0_VGA_GAIN_OFFSET_1 Default: 2994

Altered Values

NV_C0_BC0_VGA_GAIN_OFFSET_1 Default: 2092
NV_C1_BC0_VGA_GAIN_OFFSET_1 Default: 2494

Readings were taken from a cold boot in the same location on my desk.

I actually saw a bit of a drop in signal strength (2-3 db from -81 or so to -84 or so) with the altered values compared to the default in both 1X and HDR.


Perhaps if my defaults were higher I would see a signal strength increase or possibly more tweaking of the #'s is needed to get a higher signal without increasing battery drain significantly based on my defaults but for this single instance I didn't see an increase in signal strength and went back to the defaults.

So, if you want to give this a shot just make sure you check out the #'s afterwards to get a better grip on the effect of the changes.

Anyone else with some hard #'s after making the change?

If this is what I think it is ,then actually the change from -81dbm to -84 dbm is actually representing that you just made your receiver twice as sensitive as before so a signal only half as large as what used to be the minimum threshold to make your receiver work is needed

[junior1234]

Originally Posted by krohnjw

I would hope that auto gain control is enabled by default - to not have it enabled would be puzzling unless there is concern for quick battery drain with fringe area signals.

its not a matter of enabling it you are changing the level at which it operates, and yes battery life would be affected think car amplifier turn up the gain to hear that really poor dubbing in your cd player and yes it will play louder at a lower volume setting on your deck but the reason is because youre overworking the amplifier...theres no such thing as free energy....energy cannot be created nor destroyed only change forms ...so if your phone is using more power its taking it from somewhere...the battery, in order to give you better reception.