$20 a week to rent a satellite phone for emergencies??

MacDoc

MacDoc

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With 5 minutes of phone time included.

I know I get stuck out even in Ontario outside of cell range all the time.

I can get a world coverage of up to 750 minutes for $750.
$1 a minute here and $2 a minute in Australia is deducted for time used.

I only want it for emergency and ETA type short communications.

Are there other touring riders that might rent it for $20 a week with 5 minutes as a security blanket??

Figure on a $200 deposit on the phone. They are not all that expensive but paying the plan upfront is and none of us would use it all year but just on the longer treks.

Not looking to make money just to pool an expense.

I figure I need about 1/2 the minutes/dollars in Aus for 3 months.
The the rest is here in North America where the rates are cheap.

Thoughts? It's a brick so marginal to carry on your person but easy enough to tuck in the luggage.

portable_phone.jpg


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.
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Would be interested in the summer

Sent from my tablet using my paws
 
Good - some of the best roads are a bit out of the cell coverage - even Pennsylvania sucks let alone the likes of Chapleau or The James Bay Road and having a for sure line even to call CAA+ would be a bonus.

Email me when you are taking a trip and we'll see how the plan works out.
I have the phone - just need to sort what plan to buy.

Anyone that has some experience with plans - appreciate info.
 
Man that's cheap! When my friends and I rented a sat phone for 1 month it was like... $270 or something ridiculous. But we had to have it as we went to a super remote place (Ladakh).
 
They are usually ridiculous expensive but

a) I'm just looking to cover my costs and help out other riders

b) got the phone cheap

c) this is a special time limited coverage plan so don't know after next year if available.

Because of the failure of a few of it's satellites Globalstar is offering discounts. As riders we don't need all the time coverage ( it's like 15 minutes gap at most ) so why not take advantage.
Will firm up today as I have to get the deal on the plan before it's gone
 
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I would be looking at a rental (emergency only) for a trip to Alaska, but thats a few years away. That price is more then reasonable.
 
I haven't used it but some of my friends use the Spot satellite system. It enables others to track them and for them to send a short message. In addition Spot now has a way for the Spot to connect to your smartphone and send emails, etc through it.

..Tom
 
Maybe read the negatives about Spot before taking the plunge.
The worst one is it shows a successful connection but fails to send the message leaving you in limbo. There are many of these posts about it. Qualcom1600 is proven if older tech and a honking great battery and you can actually talk and communicate directly.

My Spot unit could never acquire a GPS location or send and OK message. I did try one test "Help" message which went through but, it had no location for my position. Good thing that I didn't need help, a smoke signal would have been much more effective.

The company's customer service line is not knowledgeable about their product and insist that you cannot return the unit or cancel service. It looks like a long battle or just writing the $300 unit and service cost off to experience.

I didn't do much research before purchasing after I saw the product in a magazine. Since the technology is so readily available it didn't seem necessary. Big mistake!

Please steer your friends away from this product. It doesn't work and the company isn't interested in helping its customers.

Posted by: Chris R on April 7, 2008 10:03 PM | Reply to This Comment
I have found also that the SPOT does not work as advertised. In fact I thoroughly field tested it in the Wyoming Wilderness both with a clear view and with some trees and canyons. I am a seasoned veteran commercial outfitter for 23 years. I used my very nice Garmin 60csx side by side to see if in fact it was acquiring the satellites (at least the Garmin did anyway on every press of the OK on the SPOT)so I know it is capable of tracking the satellites in the geographic locations. What's even more discouraging is finding all of the negative reviews (like this one). I'm most disturbed by the customer help line which literally told me I was wrong and to try it a couple more weeks. It was real clear the person I received knew nothing and was offended I honestly told him it DID NOT send one OK message in a 5 day wilderness trek, AND we gave every benefit of the doubt to the unit because I truly wanted it to work. I told him how can I trust this for a 911? He said that was different and it WILL work no matter what. I really do not believe him? ****** off would be a good word to describe my feelings towards this company and their attitude. I just hope at least some people read this. If they don't make corrections to fix this unit(what ever that might be)it will go "belly up" because the proof really is in the pudding. I know I'm not alone!
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http://www.gpsmagazine.com/comments/000419.php
 
MacDoc said:
Maybe read the negatives about Spot before taking the plunge.
The worst one is it shows a successful connection but fails to send the message leaving you in limbo. There are many of these posts about it. Qualcom1600 is proven if older tech and a honking great battery and you can actually talk and communicate directly.
Click to expand...

Sure, there are always negatives and I really don't care one way or another as I'm not gettting either.

I'm sure there are for Satelite phones as well. Spot has worked well for my friends that ride motorcycles and travel all over North America though.

..Tom
 
Let's hope it works when they need it. Too many negatives out there to be reliable in my mind.
Satellite phones are rather simple - the trouble with Spot is it's trying to use the satellites with a tiny antenna and double A batteries.

instead of what is needed for a reliable signal which is a big antenna and battery.
Too many negatives with Spot and too expensive annually for the little you get.

The phones also give you access to the cellular networks and data streams. Yes it's big and in this case that's a good thing. For hiker maybe the smaller unit would be okay but did a lot of research last year and the guys in Australia did not think much of the Spot either.

Globalstar-GSP-1600.jpg


anyways I won't be renting out a Spot. :D
 
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I would rent it for a trip to Alaska or the Trans Lab. Prob not till 2014 though.
 
I love my Spot. Have had 2 and they both worked fairly well. There have been a few times when it failed to get a connection with a Satellite so it didn't drop a point on the map, but it's good enough to let friends/family know back home that I'm not dead.


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Having said that, the Spot Subscription is pricey, and the few times i've been without cell phone service MacDoc's Sat phone would be extremely handy!!

I may PM you in the summer :D
 
I have a SPOT and it seems to work sorta but with occasional gaps, better than nothing. SPOT is one way communication while a sat phone allows confirmation of messages. Keep in mind that the cell number is only yours for the week. People allowed the use of the number will have to be limited to the intellegent.

The theoretical advantage of SPOT is that if you crash into a ditch someone tracking you might clue in that the position hasn't changed for a while and there is no reason to stop at that point. A phone doesn't help is you're unconscious.
 
Yes that is an advantage.
The cell number in the case of the Qualcomm is permanent with the phone.

With a crash that knocks you unconcious even an epirb won't be useful without being triggered and Spots spotiness might mean a delay anyway.

Basically good practice is check in and tell someone your eta and general route.

If Spot was not so expensive annually I'd see a use.
 
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I'll tell you a perfect example of when the Sat phone would be great....and it's what I'm thinking about when I ponder the usefulness of a Sat phone.

I took a trip to the Tail of the Dragon a year or two ago. 7 day trip via the Blue Ridge parkway.

In the middle of the first day, on a very rough road in Pennsylvania somewhere, my SPOT fell off my bike. I have no idea how it fell off. It was clipped securely to the netting holding down a small pack on the rear of my bike.

Anyways. I went back and looked for it around where it last dropped a mark on the map (it stopped transmitting) but no luck.

Skip to 4-5th day of the trip. I'm on my way back and I'm carving back through the Blue Ridge parkway and I eventually stop to stay in a run down old motel off the Parkway. The Motel has no Wi-Fi and there is no cell service in the area. It wasn't until late mornign the next day I could get a signal and I had a worried GF at the other end who thought I had died.

Sat Phone would have been nice that day.
 
MacDoc said:
Yes that is an advantage.
The cell number in the case of the Qualcomm is permanent with the phone.

With a crash that knocks you unconcious even an epirb won't be useful without being triggered and Spots spotiness might mean a delay anyway.

Basically good practice is check in and tell someone your eta and general route.

If Spot was not so expensive annually I'd see a use.
Click to expand...

I only use my SPOT when I'm touring and wouldn't have a problem with occasionally sharing with friends. Problem is I don't have any friends.
 
slowbird said:
...
In the middle of the first day, on a very rough road in Pennsylvania somewhere, my SPOT fell off my bike. I have no idea how it fell off. It was clipped securely to the netting holding down a small pack on the rear of my bike.

Anyways. I went back and looked for it around where it last dropped a mark on the map (it stopped transmitting) but no luck.

Skip to 4-5th day of the trip. I'm on my way back and I'm carving back through the Blue Ridge parkway and I eventually stop to stay in a run down old motel off the Parkway. The Motel has no Wi-Fi and there is no cell service in the area. It wasn't until late mornign the next day I could get a signal and I had a worried GF at the other end who thought I had died.

Sat Phone would have been nice that day.
Click to expand...

You could just as easily checked in to one of the many places that offer free wi-fi (Macdonalds comes to mind) and sent a message from your smart phone to your gf to let her know you we're all right, or simply picked up your cell phone and called. On Blue Ridge you are never far from a cell signal.. Highway 81 has continuous signal.

Not saying satellite phone wouldn't have been good but if you were truly worried about your gf you could have found a way to contact her.

..Tom
 
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