Will definitely report back! Glad to know I can just buy a converter for a few dollars instead of a whole new $15 power cord.
Every little penny counts.
Before you buy, look for 12V current ratings. The cheap ones can't power much. OTOH it's unlikely that your power booster (which is limited to 2W@800MHz / 3W@1900MHz by law) will consume more than 500mA, which is nothing in 12V land.
I'm saving your post so I can know which antennas to buy to swap out. I wonder if I could just buy the parts cheaper separately and easily plug it all together...
Feel free to PM me if you like. Might even want to get my e-mail so after I'm banned for speaking my mind in the political section...
I assembled mine out of separate parts, which is why I have so many spare parts that I may never use again. I have a Digital Antenna Digital PowerMax DA4000 linear, which was top of the line when I bought it, and still in production at half the price I paid for mine. Still, that's close to $200 for the amp alone. To make a long story short, buying components is nice for serious users and permanent installations, but will cost more.
I called an engineer at WPSantennas.com and was advised that I could get a $16.95 adapter for my Sprint SII and keep on using my existing hardware, but I have to say that I prefer the sheer simplicity of the Wilson Electronics Sleek Cell Phone Signal Cradle Booster that OverByter recommended. (It's 2W max on both bands, which is an insignificant difference.) WPS has it on sale right now for $89.95, which is $5 more than Amazon.com, money well spent if you need tech support or other help. For example you'll want to throw out the useless stubby antenna that comes with the thing and get a proper dual band antenna like the Wilson Cellular Dual-Band Magnetic Mount Cell Phone Antenna (P/N 301103) at $39.95. WPS will make sure that you get any necessary adapters (for free) if you order from them. IJS from a happy customer.
Since you're concerned about the price of 12V adapters, I'll assume that you'll probably not get the Antenex Phantom (costs ~$100 w/ the required mag mount and plug installed) no matter how much I gush about it, but FYI to any lurkers who have the cash and want a truly exceptional antenna design (all the cops are using these with good reason), this is the one to get.
This is probably a good place to say that you should put the external antenna squarely in the middle of your roof for best reception. If you have a sunroof, move it to the middle of the metal part. You need the metal part as a ground plane, and the better you do to make a good ground plane, the better the reception will be. You can use the trunk, and even the rear package shelf (if it's metal), but it's not advisable with passive adapters, and a definite no-no with wireless multi-phone products.
Right now we are only going out there for one weekend out of the next 5 weeks due to other vacation and travel plans so it would be silly to spend the money now instead of using it for vacation. Then we get into Septish where we only have 4 more weekends out there... Is it really worth the cost for just 5 more weekends this season... Where exactly did the summer go??
I need to get this thing as a Xmas gift so I don't feel frivolousness buying it!
Think of it this way: it could save your family's lives in an emergency. That's never frivolous!
If you're going to unfamiliar places, you actually might want this thing now to use if service gets spotty. I have to make frequent 140 mile trips alone, and sometimes drive cross-country, often away from the major interstates and their consistent cell service. You won't know until you're there, of course.
