Satellite Phone

[moab mark]

After reading the thread on the accident at Undercover I thought I would post some new info on Sat Phones. About 6 months ago I had my nice little Globalstar phone as well as my GPS and a nice set of headphones stole out of my truck. In trying to figure out some way to get a new phone without dropping $800 I came across a guy in Salt Lake that sells used Globalstar phones for $100. His company is called SkyCall Communications. They are not the nice small one like my old one but they work. They are about the size of a cordless home phone. When calling Globalstar to activate this new phone to my account they informed me they now have a package where you just pay for the minutes you use. I think it is around a $1 per minute. I've been on this plan for about 6 months and seems to be working fine. Prior to this new plan I was paying $35 per month for 45 minutes for the last 8 years.
Globalstar has been having Satellite problems for years now and sometimes you have to wait a few minutes to make a call but never have been unable to call out. If a GPS will get a strong signal my phone will usually call out. I never go anywhere outdoors without it. IMO even at $35 per month if you spend alot of time in the outdoors it's worth every penny.

[jman]

After reading the thread on the accident at Undercover I thought I would post some new info on Sat Phones. About 6 months ago I had my nice little Globalstar phone as well as my GPS and a nice set of headphones stole out of my truck. In trying to figure out some way to get a new phone without dropping $800 I came across a guy in Salt Lake that sells used Globalstar phones for $100. His company is called SkyCall Communications. They are not the nice small one like my old one but they work. They are about the size of a cordless home phone. When calling Globalstar to activate this new phone to my account they informed me they now have a package where you just pay for the minutes you use. I think it is around a $1 per minute. I've been on this plan for about 6 months and seems to be working fine. Prior to this new plan I was paying $35 per month for 45 minutes.
Globalstar has been having Satellite problems for years now and sometimes you have to wait a few minutes to make a call but never have been unable to call out. If a GPS will get a strong signal my phone will usually call out. I never go anywhere outdoors without it. IMO even at $35 per month if you spend alot of time in the outdoors it's worth every penny.

So $35/month and every minute is $1, correct?

Or is it no monthly charge and only $1 a minute.

[moab mark]

I have had an account with Globalstar for close to 10 years so I was on one of their original plans. It was $33.50 per month and that included 45 minutes. When they started having problems with their network I complained and they cut the monthly fee down to 17.50. The plan I am on now is $1.00 per minute no monthly fee. Right now Globalstar is struggling to keep customers due to the sat problems they have been having. So the rates are pretty cheap.They launched or are launching several satellites to try to improve their coverage. If and when they get this fixed the rates will be going up. Yes the coverage at times takes a few minutes to come thru but I have never not been able to make a call. Ram emailed me about a post over on Canyons about sat phones and it can give you some more detail into the tech problem Globalstar is having. If you were using this phone daily for business out at an oil well it would drive you nuts waiting for a signal but for casual-emergency use I can always call out. But personally I hope Globalstar never resolves the problem because the rate is dirt cheap and I seem to be able to make calls when I need to. For reference I use it 2 to 3 times a month. Used it the other day in Idaho snowmobiling and called right out.

[Iceaxe]

Messages From the Wilderness
via SatelliteBy ANNE EISENBERG

AH, wilderness. The great outdoors, the fresh air — and the spotty cellphone coverage. But hikers, adventurers and others in remote places who want to send messages now have a new alternative when the signal vanishes: they can send texts using a satellite network instead.

You can’t send your version of “War and Peace” — the limits of the messages are typically 41 to 120 characters — but you can send dispatches from the woods announcing: “Chain on bike broke, will be late” or “Pick me up. I’m not having fun.” And you can make specific requests for emergency help if necessary.

For the last several years, people heading to remote areas have been able to buy an device from a company called Spot that sends requests for help via satellite. The device also allows people to add a preprogrammed message, but it cannot send an original text.

Now, new hand-held devices from Spot allow people in the wild to compose and beam short, original text messages via satellite, and even send e-mail, Twitter feeds and Facebook updates. Other companies, too, have introduced text messengers that work via satellite.

And while it has been possible for some time to make voice calls in remote areas with satellite telephones, their use has been limited because of their high cost.

The new message technology provides a more economical alternative. It offers an additional layer of security in the wilderness so long as you use it properly, said Jason Stevenson of Lancaster, Pa., author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Backpacking and Hiking.”

“The problem with cellphones is reliability in back country, miles from the road,” Mr. Stevenson said. “That’s why these new satellite devices are so helpful. They work just about everywhere so long as you have a clear line of sight to the sky,” and no narrow canyon wall or dense foliage that blocks the satellite links required for a connection.

But before setting out with the new gadgets, users should take time to understand the technology and its limits. “The mechanics of using a satellite-connected device in the woods are not as simple as whipping out your cellphone and calling,” he said.

To send messages, users key the text into a GPS unit or a smartphone linked to a transmitter, which sends the message skyward to the satellite system. A GPS receiver from DeLorme, the Earthmate PN-60w, sold as a pair with the Spot Satellite Communicator, costs $549.95 at L.L. Bean. Users must also pay for satellite service ($99.99 for a year) and the sending of original messages ($50 for 500), said Derek Moore, a spokesman for Spot, which is a subsidiary of Globalstar, a satellite network company in Covington, La. The system is one-way; users can send texts but not receive them.

In February, Spot will introduce a free smartphone application to be paired with another Spot transmitter called the Spot Connect ($150). Users type their text messages on Android-based phones linked wirelessly by Bluetooth to the Spot Connect device, Mr. Moore said. An app for iPhones will be arriving shortly, he said. The basic service charge will be $99.99 a year.

Before they head for the forest, users must go to the Spot Web site and set up contact information for the people they may want to reach, said Tim Flight, editor of GPSReview.net in Carrabassett Valley, Me. Once on the trail, the DeLorme GPS unit shows the contacts’ names. “You pick the people and key in your message,” he said.

For an additional $50 a year, Spot will track users’ routes, reporting their locations every 10 minutes on Google maps on the Web site, Mr. Moore said.

Michael Bramel, a volunteer overseer for the Appalachian Trail who lives in Gettysburg, Pa., likes the service.

“My wife can go to the Web site and see how far I’ve gotten,” he said. His mother likes it, too. On his way to visit her over the holidays, he put the Spot into the car, and “she could click on the Web site and see how close I was,” he said.

Messages sent by the new satellite systems fill an unusual niche, said Jonathan Dorn, editor of Backpacker magazine, who has been testing the Spot-DeLorme pair.

“Hikers love to tell stories,” he said. “Historically, we have to wait until we get home.” Now some of those stories can be told in real time. “It’s wonderful to be able to communicate spontaneously this way with a device that fits in the palm of your hand,” he said.

GeoPro of Mississauga, Ontario, offers a satellite-based device that allows users not only to send texts but also to receive them, said Morris Shawn, the company’s president. The cost varies from $600 to $700 for the device, he said, with monthly fees for service through Iridium’s satellite network typically $35 to $50.

And if texting is not enough, the classic solution, a satellite telephone, is available at a price. For example, a lightweight Iridium 9555 satellite telephone is a best seller at www.globalcomsatphone.com (http://www.globalcomsatphone.com), said Steve Manley, the site’s president ($1,268 plus service; one option is $39 a month, plus $1.39 a minute). The phone works anywhere with a view of the sky, he said. Mr. Manley, who flies a plane in his free time, has the phone on board — and a Spot on the dashboard so his family can follow his route online.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/business/30novel.html?src=busln

[trackrunner]

Ram emailed me about a post over on Canyons about sat phones and it can give you some more detail into the tech problem Globalstar is having.

for those interested

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canyons/message/59377

[Iceaxe]

Ram emailed me about a post over on Canyons about sat phones and it can give you some more detail into the tech problem Globalstar is having.

The tech problem is simple.... Globestar doesn't have enough reliable satellite in the correct orbits.

And until they launch more satellites its a crap shot.... but to luanch more satellites they need more money... so the real problem is cubic dollars...

[scubabryan]

After reading the thread on the accident at Undercover I thought I would post some new info on Sat Phones. About 6 months ago I had my nice little Globalstar phone as well as my GPS and a nice set of headphones stole out of my truck. In trying to figure out some way to get a new phone without dropping $800 I came across a guy in Salt Lake that sells used Globalstar phones for $100. His company is called SkyCall Communications. They are not the nice small one like my old one but they work. They are about the size of a cordless home phone. When calling Globalstar to activate this new phone to my account they informed me they now have a package where you just pay for the minutes you use. I think it is around a $1 per minute. I've been on this plan for about 6 months and seems to be working fine. Prior to this new plan I was paying $35 per month for 45 minutes for the last 8 years.
Globalstar has been having Satellite problems for years now and sometimes you have to wait a few minutes to make a call but never have been unable to call out. If a GPS will get a strong signal my phone will usually call out. I never go anywhere outdoors without it. IMO even at $35 per month if you spend alot of time in the outdoors it's worth every penny.

Is this just a local shop in SLC that only sells locally or do they have them online for that price? Doing a 60 mile hike up in the high Uintas in a few months and would love having one of these in my pack.

[moab mark]

http://www.manta.com/c/mtxkhn7/skycall-communications

He is in Salt Lake. Have no clue if he still has any etc. Before buying one I would check with Globalstar to see what plans are available now.

[jman]

Mark, who is your service through? Globalstars website says to your local dealer about plans.

[moab mark]

My account is with globalstar. If you are interested id just call them.

[jman]

Mark, that deal of no monthly charges and only pay for the minutes used - is for long-time customers (like yourself) and/or people who have lots of issues connecting.

Anywho if anyone is interested still, their lowest rate is $20/month.

[Jammer]

For my long hikes across Utah I have primarily used a Globalstar phone with a data cable connecting to my PDA. With this method I was able to compose/read email offline and then send/recieve email in short bursts of 1-2 minutes. The connection was sometimes a pain, but using this method it didn't matter too much. The phone has a nice feature which beeps when service is available -- so I could just set the phone down and wait for a signal, then when the satellight was overhead it would beep and I would hit connect/send. Since I rented the phone I only had to pay for the minutes used.

I used an Iridium phone on my last hike -- much smaller and more reliable, but much more expensive in general. The nice thing about it was the text messaging was two-way (Globalstar 1600 is not) and it had incoming free and outgoing much cheaper than airtime.

- Jamal