the easter special

[farmbif]

well first off Good Friday is almost here, spring has sprung here in the southeast and had to start on cutting grass, filling pots and planting seeds getting machines running after sitting all winter, ect.. after toil outside a rest inside is much deserved only to be plagued with annoying solicitors calling back to back for almost an hour now. I thought I was rid of these pests.
after picking up the phone there is always a delay and can here office chatter in the back ground.
so I start answering
are you calling about the easter special?
enter your ten digit code number and I can connect you to get all your computer problems solved

all of them said

sorry I have the wrong number and hung up.
I know people who have stopped answering their phones altogether. and they have missed important phone calls because of it.
personally I think unsolicited phone calls should be outlawed. but I must be a minority because lawmakers have yet to make such laws and a way to enforce them.

wish I knew how to get rid of all the annoying calls once and for all.

[Winger Ed.]

I know people who have stopped answering their phones altogether. and they have missed important phone calls because of it.
l.

That's where I'm at.
If something is so important, I figure they'll come over and tell me what it is, or send a Western Union telegram.

[BLAHUT]

I do not answer, If it's important they will live a message ?

[Minerat]

I answer using the speaker and on mute. That way they get dead air like they do to me. They also think it is a dead line and they have to disconnect so they can't use the line to scam from. Today I got 11 of those annoying calls.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

Three calls every morning using various caller I.D. disguises. The majority of them want to sell some sort of Medicare supplemental insurance. So I push the answer button and the off button in rapid succession and they're gone. The only problem is that I still have to walk across a room or two to get to the phone (landline).

DG

[beemer]

And it is usually just as I drift off to sleep. How do they know when I take a nap?`

[45workhorse]

And it is usually just as I drift off to sleep. How do they know when I take a nap?`

My problem too.

[GregLaROCHE]

We got rid of our land line years ago. It was expensive and the majority of the calls were BS. The worst part was that for some reason we could only set the phone to five rings. We would rush to answer, thinking it was important and only BS.

[rbuck351]

For the landline, I bought a new set of phones that have a call block button. If it's a phone number I don't know, I just push the call block button and the next time they try to call it rings once and then stops with a message that says call blocked. It stops a lot of running for the phone.

[schutzen-jager]

i wonder how many taxpayer dollars have been spent for administration of the do not call list program that has never worked since day one ? !

[Half Dog]

In my area, the majority of the annoying calls ask if I want to sell my house. There have been so many that I don’t even try to be nice any more, just hang up. But I haven’t gotten a call asking if my refrigerator is running. Lol

[ioon44]

Yes, this what I do also "I do not answer, if it's important they will live a message?"

[MrWolf]

For the landline, I bought a new set of phones that have a call block button. If it's a phone number I don't know, I just push the call block button and the next time they try to call it rings once and then stops with a message that says call blocked. It stops a lot of running for the phone.

Been using that feature for years. Works great along with Verizon's call filter for the cell phone. Really cut down on the number of calls.

[beemer]

I would like to get rid of our land line. It cost too much and our lines are poorly maintained. Just over the hill the temporary line repair has been laying in the ditch for several years. Problem is that we have very little to no cell reception in the house or yard. Sometimes it sort of works and sometimes nothing.

[Shawlerbrook]

Same here as beemer. Here in the hills of Central NYS, cell phone coverage is spotty at best.

[MaryB]

Beemer, Shawlerbrook... if you have a high spot on your property that does have reception setup a small cell amplifier system. Can power it with a battery/solar panel/charge controller(this ha 2 wires, red and black... input and output, really easy to wire) https://www.amazon.com/Booster-Carriers-Amplifier-Repeater-Approved/dp/B09N9CCSF1/ref=sr_1_4?c=ts&keywords=Cell+Phone+Signal+Boosters&qid=1680878959&s=wireless&sr=1-4&ts_id=2407782011&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.f5122f16-c3e8-4386-bf32-63e904010ad0

[GregLaROCHE]

MaryB, do you have one of those systems that is working for you. We can only get the cell signal outside. Maybe five years ago I bought two systems like that and they never worked. I hired supposedly an expert and he couldn’t find a solution. It would be nice to be able to make calls from the comfort of inside.

If anyone has had a positive experience with one of these boosters, please let me know. It’s been a few years now, maybe there’s something that really works today. Thanks.

[Alex_4x4]

What is a telephone?

[MrWolf]

MaryB, do you have one of those systems that is working for you. We can only get the cell signal outside. Maybe five years ago I bought two systems like that and they never worked. I hired supposedly an expert and he couldn’t find a solution. It would be nice to be able to make calls from the comfort of inside.

If anyone has had a positive experience with one of these boosters, please let me know. It’s been a few years now, maybe there’s something that really works today. Thanks.

I put up a 42' tower and originally used the WeBoost 4g setup that cost around $900. It died about a month after the warranty ended and the company wanted about $600 to replace booster. Nope so it sat. I tried various other units but I was to rural with mountains blocking closer towers. A few months ago one of the vendors I had purchased from reached out to me on Amazon. Sent me a unit at no cost basically to try and review. I did. Product is here and my review is the top one under "Ron".
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09NJJ5YKT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Those are my actual results and it worked great. I did notice the price has already increased like everything else. As I stated in the review, I did not try their antennas, External and Internal as I used my existing ones that were from Weboost and a better quality. I can't do the cell tower antenna replacement with my back anymore. Good luck. Let me know if you have any questions.
Ron

[PhilC]

With caller ID I let any caller whose number I don't recognize go to the machine, better than 95% never leave a message.

[MaryB]

MaryB, do you have one of those systems that is working for you. We can only get the cell signal outside. Maybe five years ago I bought two systems like that and they never worked. I hired supposedly an expert and he couldn’t find a solution. It would be nice to be able to make calls from the comfort of inside.

If anyone has had a positive experience with one of these boosters, please let me know. It’s been a few years now, maybe there’s something that really works today. Thanks.

Back in the 90's they put in a tower 3 miles from my house so I haven't used one in a long time. Need a spot with good signal to make them work or a tall tower...

[Rockindaddy]

They are usually from India. There are whole office buildings dedicated to scamming western people. They manage to steal alot of money from googans that don't have a clue. Sometimes they send a "code" !!! This code if punched in your computer and sent to the scammers will give them access to your entire computer. Sometimes I go along with the pitch like trying to scam Medicare. They ask if you have hurt your shoulder and could use a free brace. That's a $3000 brace that they scam Medicare. I tell them that I need a brace. The India faker asks what shoulder? My response is that my canary fell off of his perch and injured his left wing. They get pissed off now that I have wasted their time. I usually ask they how many goats have they copulated with this week. That really pisses them off. Sometimes they respond with a foul remark and hang up. I have blocked their calls as the number they use is not in service. Our congress should stop sending aid to India until their government cracks down on the scammers.

[ulav8r]

Installed the "Should I Answer" app. When a call comes in, it displays the number and ask whether to accept or reject. I reject all that I do not recognize. If they do not leave a message I report the number as unsolicited spam and block that number. Weekly updates allow it to determine if an incoming number has been reported by any user and label reported numbers as likely scam calls.

[GregLaROCHE]

My problem is I can usually get a signal now outside, but not inside. Sometimes texts will come through. I had one that looked like and cost the same as the one now for sale on Amazon. I couldn’t get anything out of it. Does anyone know if cell phones in Europe use the same frequencies? My European phone works great when I visit Alaska, so I figure it should be the same as here. Does anyone know if there is a difference?

[MaryB]

There are slight difference in cell frequencies between EU and the USA, they make international phones with wider coverage for those who travel a lot...

One test would be to stand on your roof and see if your signal bars go higher, walk form side to side/front to back o the roof... if they do maybe a tower with booster will help. And there are better boosters with 2 directional antennas, one for pointing at the cell tower and one to point back at your house. More expensive though!

If you private message me your exact location in AK I can use my tower location software to see where the closest one us, what carrier it is, and if it is feasible to use a booster.

This will give maximum gain on the incoming signal https://powerfulsignal.com/cel-fi-go-g32-rural-cell-signal-booster-high-gain-grid-parabolic-antenna/ NOT cheap! $1350!!! But if it gives a solid signal and you have family that uses the internet it is the way to go.

With StarLink from Elon Musk you would have access to WiFi calling... and it is only around $500 last I looked. If your phone supports wifi calling... I know mine does.

To bad I am not closer, I have the test equipment to see how strong the signal is at your location. Often even moving around the roof can make a difference. It can get you out from behind a tree for example and trees block cell signals pretty bad.

[MrWolf]

There are phone apps that will tell you the signal strength. Depends on your phone type, i.e. android, iPhone. Mary coud probably tell you if they are any good. That is what I used to find my best spot.

[MaryB]

There are phone apps that will tell you the signal strength. Depends on your phone type, i.e. android, iPhone. Mary coud probably tell you if they are any good. That is what I used to find my best spot.

No clue LOL I use a spectrum analyzer with a preamp ahead of it to boost the signal. Pain in the butt to haul up a tower! Weighs 30 pounds!!! I have a new micro spectrum analyzer I am testing. Fits in my hand with a built in battery instead of external. Things are dirt cheap... https://www2.randl.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_8620&products_id=75669 Is it a lab quality instrument? Nope! But if $130 drops from 30+ feet in the air I am not out much vs $3k for my other spectrum analyzer.

[fixit]

I get a lot of calls looking to buy my house, for ridiculously low prices! I've reached the point where my response, once I hear the words "do you own?", is a run together sentence "not for sale leave me alone goodbye!".

[fixit]

Oh yeah, there's a click at the end, when I hang up!

[MaryB]

Oh yeah, there's a click at the end, when I hang up!

"FBI field office" then whisper "You got the trace? YES!" They hang up fast LOL