Posted: 12/4/2002 12:37:08 PM EDT
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What is it, and is it worth the upgrade from my standard digital phone? I hated the loss of power when I was forced to switch to digital phones. Will CDMA help reduce dropped calls, etc.? Is there any greater security with CDMA? And any info on reliable CDMA phones would be appreciated. Thanks. |
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Code Domain Multiple Access. Multiplexing technology based on channel number (64) in one line transmission. Each subscriber has its own (rotating) ID number. Impossible to steal the SN/ID and listen to the call. Phone tapping is done at the switch level and NOT in the field. I am a network analist in the RF Eng. dept. for Sprint PCS. |
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Kaoma: Is this the "new" digital cell phone technology that everyone has been waiting on for years? It sounds more secure. Does it also provide better reception? Do I need to get a new phone, or maybe I should ask if this technology will replace or simply co-exist with the old hardware? I have to go elsewhere for my information on phones because it's hard to get reliable info from cell phone sales clerks. TIA |
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I design the crap as a RF Engineer. What was your "old" digital phone; IS-95B? There are all sorts of standards, EDGE, TDMA, GSM, etc. CDMA, in theory or as itself has the ability to be real robust. The problem is that there are ALOT of parameters in the system that can be malipulated by the service provider to allow for more capacity, propagation areas, COST, etc. The technology is only as good as the weakest link in the hardware/software so you have to factor in the RNC, Switch Network, etc. In short it should provide less dropped calls but, Sprint POS down here in TX has proved otherwise with the shittiest network I have ever seen. My old NAMPS phone/system worked better. UMTS wideband ("3G") is not implimented yet so I assume you are simply upgrading to a "2.5G" network which is basically the same as far as your subscriber is concerned. Therefore your "new" system is still probably 1.25MHz CDMA. |
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Code Division Multiple Access versus Time Division Multiple Access - wars have been started over less. As I was just explaining to my 7 year old nephew this Thanksgiving, TDMA takes your voice (and the voice of everybody in an area) and "shares" a single radio frequency carrier. Just like on a gattling gun where every barrel gets a chance to fire in turn, everybody on your RF carrier gets a chance to speak - in turn. The switching between barrels (voices) is so fast, the person receiving the message isn't aware that your voice is being doled out in precise measure. CDMA is just pure voodoo - your voice (and everybody else's) is chopped up and spread over multiple frequencies. Also, the power your phone and everybody else's phone emits is very tightly controlled so that you don't affect other aspects of those multiple frequencies. Spread spectrum encoding such as this is very hard to crack - however your phone "registers" itself so often, even when idle, that you're fairly easy to locate in a paranoid, big brother kind of way. The ultimate result was that more users could be wedged into a set radio frequency bandwidth. Which is better? [tinfoil hat = on] Who knows! The real issue is quality versus quantity. The phone companies used to know exactly how low they could go in terms of voice quality and customer service before you as a consumer would get fed up and find another way to complete your communications - but now, what choice do we have? Cell phones are ugly facts of life - sure you could risk using a pay phone - but then you'd be labeled a drug dealer by the police and also set yourself up for taking incoming sniper fire - and that's not too cool. So we all just have to have cell phones, and unfortunately we have very little say in what's best for us as individuals. Hell, I halfway miss the old analog cell phones with their 2 hour batteries and shit - but I don't miss the bills (they were huge)! Now they're quite aware of how piss poor they can treat people while still expecting the average joe to send in his $35 check on time every month. So I think we're all stuck under the crushing wheels of telecommunication progress and better learn to deal with CDMA and all the ugly triangular shaped antenna towers that go with it - until the next new and improved system gets introduced. So was the upgrade worth it? Yes, because eventually they will price your old system out of reach. [tinfoil hat = off] I have to go elsewhere for my information on phones because it's hard to get reliable info from cell phone sales clerks. That says it all! But where you gonna go? Nobody is going to be able to help you like your brothers here at AR15.com! Good luck Dude! |
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The phone that I have is a Nokia 3320. My service provider is US Cellular. I had just heard that something "new" was being offered and thought there was a reference to CDMA (maybe that was the old technology?). Then I looked on the US Cellular website and they have all new phones, like the Nokia 6385. If this is the same "old" digital technology, I'll stick with what I'm currently using. Though I think my phone might have some problems. If my phone craps out, I just want to know a little bit about new options before stepping foot in the store. |
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Corey, I used to have Cellulink in WI. It was a TDMA system. As I remember most of WI used to be TDMA. Here is the scoop: The old US Cellular digital system was TDMA and it has been converted to CDMA, that is why you are forced to get a new handset. No new, new CDMA system. [:D] US Cellular in WI is 800MHz. Nutting new about that just a different architecture. They are using the same BW so there is no need to convert the towers! Edited to add, they will phase in the new system so your not in any immediate trouble. Any new handsets sold will be CDMA though. i wonder who makes the infrastructure. It may have some Boomholzer designed hardware in it. [:D] |
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Dolo: Thanks. Hope everything's cool with you. If you know of any good winter shoots, give me a heads up and I'll try to make it. It's been too long since I've been to the range. Boom: So, as I understand it, US Cellular in WI switched from analog to TDMA digital. I was then forced to switch to a digital phone (my current Nokia 3320). Now, US Cellular in WI is upgrading to CDMA, and billing it as an upgrade. Will my current Nokia 3320 handle the new system or will I need a new phone? From the (seemingly jumbled and possibly inaccurate) information that I got, it seems that US Cellular is giving discounts on new phones. Perhaps an unnecessary "upgrade"? Is the 800 MHz adequate, barely sufficient, or a decent standard? Dunno if I'm getting screwed with a low end digital system. And I gotcha on the "no new, new CDMA system." Thanks [b]everyone[/b] for their responses. I've said it before and I'll say it again: AR15.com is [b][i]the[/i] place to come to with questions ranging from medical, to lawn care, to sports training, to electrical, to physics and, heck, even GUN related questions!![/b] |
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anything for a Wisconsinite [:D] If your 3320 is not a tri-band (pretty sure it is not) you'll eventually need a new handset. 800band is not a standard but just a band of operation. I have delt with 800MHz and 1.9GHz hardware. The 2.1GHz is the 3G UMTS (CDMA wideband) we should see rolling out after the economy recovers. Streaming video, real internet graphics (porn), and other useless features. |