Satellite phone experiences?

[DaktariEd]

I am considering picking up a used Globalstar satellite phone for both emergency use and personal freedom! :victory:

I realized that one of the reasons I have not been able to get out camping and exploring in recent months is that I am on call 24/7 with only one weekend a month covered by my PA. I need to be in range of my cell phone.

So, if I get the sat phone I can be out in the boonies and have the phone service available for incoming calls (mostly) and outgoing should I find myself in a nonextractable bind.

Has anyone had experience with a sat phone, particularly the Globalstar GSP1600, here in the US? (Or elsewhere I suppose).

Is it reliable?
Is reception good?
What about dropped calls? Are those common?
Any thoughts otherwise?

Thanks for the input...

Ed

(Dying to get outdoors :camping

 

[PCRover]

Thanks for posting this as I was about to ask similar questions. I to have responsibilities that require 24/7 avaialblitity most of the time and a Sat Phone seems like a logical solution to allow remote exploration, yet still being able to keep in touch if required.

Globalstar is what I was looking at as the phones are not too expensive and the monthly service is managable. Hopefully Satphone users can chime in hear and share there experiances.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

I did a review of Satellite phones a while ago (two years?). Essentially all the telephone models I looked at - including Globalstar - were high quality, and reception in each system was very reliable. I liked the Motorola/Iridium combination best; the 9505 phone is, well, the Land Cruiser of satellite phones, and Iridium is still (I believe) the only truly worldwide system. I don't think Globalstar has coverage in sub-Saharan Africa yet. But for U.S. use the Globalstar should work great. I think you can get factory refurbished phones for $600 or so.

They've come a long way in less than a decade: The first satellite phone I got to use had a handset attached to a transceiver and a big tri-fold panel antenna you had to aim just so, and the directions made it clear in no uncertain terms (red letters, skull and crossbones) NOT to stand in front of the antenna while it was broadcasting. Creepy. But I called home from a camp in Zambia and talked to Roseann while lions were roaring in the background. Totally cool.

 

[flyingwil]

Ed-

Not sure if this thread might help you out. It was posted a while back.

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=597&highlight=Satellite

 

[Hltoppr]

I really like the Globalstar phones. I take one with me everytime I go to Mexico, and we use them for SAR in Az, when we need to get out of the Grand Canyon, or are otherwise in the middle of BFE. Very good reception and easy to use. I haven't killed one yet from vibration, either!

-H-

 

[flywgn]

I've had my Magellan World Phone since 1999. Stratos (Canada) is the service provider. No monthly fees. $2.90/min. No problems. I don't leave home without it. So far, from the Arctic Circle to the Tropic of Capricorn it hasn't failed.

Two drawbacks: 1. it's a 'sachel-phone', like the early cell phones. Doesn't bother me since we always seem to have room for one more sachel, and 2. you need to be stationary to use it.

Allen R

 

[ChuckB]

We use the Motorola Iridium 9505 here in Iraq to call back to the states. From my experience, it has good battery life, the reception is very good. Every so often you get a dropped call, but its not that frequent. Sometimes there is a slight delay. I only have limited experience with this phone. Not sure about the fees or rates... Uncle Sam foots the bill :ylsmoke:

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

Chuck, is the 9505 the issue phone over there?

 

[ChuckB]

Chuck, is the 9505 the issue phone over there?

I think so...Its the only one that I have seen and EVERY unit has several of them! Some people have Thurayas but they only work in the Middle East, North Africa and I think parts of Europe. Not an option for North Americans.

 

[PCRover]

Thanks for all the info and links! I am going to start by renting one of the Globalstar units and see how it works out. Depending on rental costs it may make more sense for a part time explorer like me to rent one than to dive into ownership.