Hi all,

My girlfriend's mother lives in an area with poor reception,
especially indoors. I recently hung a little metal bracket from
suction cups on her bedroom window, stuck one of those 3dB magnetic
mount cell antenna's intended for a car roof on it, and ran the wire
inside so that she could use the free long distance from home without
facing the Florida summer heat. It helps quite a bit, but still cuts
out.

I understand that when used as intended the antenna uses the roof or
trunk of your car as a ground plane or counterpoise. (Are these the
same thing?) Some websites recommend sticking the antenna on a square
foot sheet of metal, but as this is Florida in the summer, I think our
usual midday rainstorms might blow the whole over. I've also seen
some mention of a wire groundplane - just a piece of wire cut to the
proper proportion of a wavelength. This would probably stand up
better to wind, but I can't find many specifics for this application.
The cable and antenna are one piece, so I can't attack the coax
shielding directly to the ground plane, but I assume the base of the
antenna is a ground plate meant to lie parallel to the car roof and
couple with it like a capacitor. Or am I wrong? Does the antenna
need the only the mere proximity of a wire of proper length? I don't
know.

I've seen a product advertised that looks like what I want, called
Sputnik, but I'd really not buy anything else, especially when I could
make it myself.

So I guess I need a small ferrous plate to stick to the magnetic
bottom, to which I can solder the horizontal wires of the ground
plane, but I'm not sure what lengths these need to be, how to position
them, or how many to use.

I don't even know what wavelengths I'm dealing with. It's AT&T
wireless, and "digital, not GSM", which I assume means PCS, on a
Motorolla V60 color. Can someone tell me if I'm looking at 800 Mhz,
or 1900, or what?

I considered making a parabolic reflector, but I know neither the
wavelengths used nor the precision necessary. (Do I need to adjust it
for the specific channels used, both for sending or recieving, or can
I just use the center of the 1900 range as an estimate?) Anyway, it
would be even worse with the wind than a flat sheetmetal counterpoise.

If the wire ground plane isn't feasable, could someone give me or
point me toward some deteils on building a little yagi for cell phone
use?

Any direction at all would be appreciated. I have ZERO experience
with antennas or radio equipment. I have no idea if I'm even on the
right track.

Thanks in advance, Isaac