Bluetooth connection Freelander 2

Fixed car phones of years gone by needed (And the few modern ones still do) an external aerial because there isn't one "in the box", and the box is normally sited inside another totally enclosed metal box (such as the boot) itself. The fitted bluetooth systems use a small aerial and a milliwatt or less of power to connect with the bluetooth system on your phone, which then handles the onwards connection (Up to a watt of radiated power on a totally different frequency) to your mobile phone provider, and this all works in more or less the same way as a bluetooth earpiece.

I'm not sure about the Landrover answer, but I use a portable bluetooth handsfree setup with a Nokia mobile in various vehicles, and I use the same mobile as a modem for 3G internet connections, and I find that as long as the phone's not buried in a glovebox or similar, the signal is sufficient unless you're in a marginal area. Mostly, if it doesn't work in my coat pocket on the seat, then it won't work anywhere inside the vehicle. Signal strength, especially in urban areas, has improved greatly in the last five years or so. If you're somewhere rural, it makes more difference which network you are on than where you keep your phone. Against this is the fact that some modern vehicles have an (effectively radio wave proof) electrically heated windscreen, which is why your satnav will sometimes need an external aerial.

Placement in the vehicle is important - to a degree - now a days, but so long as the phone can 'see' outside it should be okay.

Bluetooth AFAIK doesn't have any form of amplification / relay / rebroadcast of the cellular signal, you are quite correct that cellular technology has come on leaps and bounds since the days of fitted car phones - how many phones now a days have an antenna, look at the fuss caused by the iPhone 4 and holding it in your left hand !!

One major improvement is that the cellular networks have 'improved' their coverage since the days of the Motorola 4500 & BT Ruby 2 - I had a external antenna with 6dB of gain on a vehicle once in 1990 and there was some very dodgy reception areas even on Motorways !! The antenna was bloomin massive as well looked like at 2M / 70cm Amateur antenna as as for the transportable suitcase - that looked like a Clansman set. I say 'improved' as Vodafone at home is absolutely pooh, O2 on a certain Junction of the M61 is none existent - but that's quite possibly down to network overload.

T-mobile is unspeakable pigshit, everywhere.

Thanks all for your responses.. as I suspected the handheld antenna is still the only window to the mobile network in this configuration. Yes, coverage has improved over the years as I was aware but the "fringe" coverage areas would still be an issue with handheld versus fitted cellphones featuring external antennae. re the trend for internal antennae on handheld cellphones - I think it was a bad concept and I wish some leading manufacturers would sacrifice some of the "style" for proper "function" - if Apple have their heads screwed on properly they ought to re-design the iPhone to feature an external hi-gain antenna - even if it means it has to be retracted between phone call usage to fulfil the needs of idiots who cannot appreciate the fact that it is a RADIO telephone after all...

Which reminds me of the first GSM phone I had, which had an aerial you were supposed to extend to make calls. It apparently made no difference whatsoever, and further investigation revealed it to be just a plastic rod, not connected to anything....

Then there were the adjustable external aerials on other phones which just fell off with use. :-/

The iPhone aerial is just in the wrong place, and so is sometimes surrounded by the user's hand when in use. The same aerial at the other end of the phone would work perfectly well. Nokia, among others, seem to have it cracked.

Not as bad as Orange! Total crap.

Dave B.

...and those two networks have now merged!

Cheers

Peter

Who they are now sharing masts with.....