I just completed a trip around the Upper Plains and found the Nextel coverage to be pretty good. Stay to the interstates and US Hwy routes in this part of the country and you'll get good coverage. Granted the land is pretty flat, which helps a great deal with the coverage. I had geofences set around major cities and received all my alerts. Most of the time the antenna was not extended.
If you're going to place the phone on the dash, try a sticky pad (
http://www.handstands.com/retail/automo ... ypad.shtml ). They work great. $5 at Office Depot. Make sure the phone is away from other radios and electronics to avoid drowning out the GPS receiver.
I drove:
I-76 from Denver to Ogallala - 98% Coverage
I-80 to Des Moines - Little coverage until Lincoln, NE
I-35 to Minneapolis - 95% coverage
US-169/US-71 to Wadena, MN - 95 % coverage
US-71 to Park Rapids - No coverage
MN-34 to Detroit Lakes - No coverage
MN-34/US-10/I-94 to Bismark, ND - 99% coverage
US-83 to Minot, ND - 100% coverage
US-2 to Tioga,ND - No coverage after Berthold, ND, 20 miles W of Minot
US-85 Williston, ND to Spearfish, SD - Coverage within 10 miles of either side of I-94
I-90/WY-585/US-20/I-25 to Cheyenne, WY - no coverage until about 15 miles north of Cheyenne
I-25 to Denver - full coverage
My Two Cents
---joe
I just completed a trip around the Upper Plains and found the Nextel coverage to be pretty good. Stay to the interstates and US Hwy routes in this part of the country and you'll get good coverage. Granted the land is pretty flat, which helps a great deal with the coverage. I had geofences set around major cities and received all my alerts. Most of the time the antenna was not extended.
If you're going to place the phone on the dash, try a sticky pad ( http://www.handstands.com/retail/automotive/stickypad.shtml ). They work great. $5 at Office Depot. Make sure the phone is away from other radios and electronics to avoid drowning out the GPS receiver.
I drove:
I-76 from Denver to Ogallala - 98% Coverage
I-80 to Des Moines - Little coverage until Lincoln, NE
I-35 to Minneapolis - 95% coverage
US-169/US-71 to Wadena, MN - 95 % coverage
US-71 to Park Rapids - No coverage
MN-34 to Detroit Lakes - No coverage
MN-34/US-10/I-94 to Bismark, ND - 99% coverage
US-83 to Minot, ND - 100% coverage
US-2 to Tioga,ND - No coverage after Berthold, ND, 20 miles W of Minot
US-85 Williston, ND to Spearfish, SD - Coverage within 10 miles of either side of I-94
I-90/WY-585/US-20/I-25 to Cheyenne, WY - no coverage until about 15 miles north of Cheyenne
I-25 to Denver - full coverage
My Two Cents
---joe