Satellite Phone in the Sierra?

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tim
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Re: Satellite Phone in the Sierra?

Post by tim »

I've tested both satellite phones and SPOT as part of my job. SPOT being only one-way is not affected by the problems Globalstar is having with its (two-way) satellite voice service. It is reliable in terms of getting a message through except if you're under trees (where you can often get GPS service but no outbound messages). If you can see more than 50% sky then you should get the message through within about 3 tries. Obviously the human factor of whether someone comes to rescue you is not as definitive - there are procedures for dealing with PLB alerts, but things are still evolving with SPOT since its not a government run service. In the US you should be OK (though there might be regional differences - I've heard a few interesting stories) but internationally it may be hit and miss. I found the SPOT service really very useful in the Desolation Wilderness last summer (my wife was keeping an eye on us since I had taken the kids away on my own and she called within 5 minutes of us getting back in cellphone coverage at Echo Chalet).

In terms of satellite phones, remember that the Iridium satellites go behind the mountains - they go down as low as 10 degrees elevation angle and move over from south to north or vice versa in about 8 minutes. The satellites follow on another on a north-south path (6 planes of 11 satellites) and then as the earth rotates, you move under the satellite plane and on to the next one every two hours. So if you are in a mountain basin ideally you want a clear north and south horizon to avoid calls dropping regularly. If this is the case and the calls keep dropping you aren't directly under the satellite plane so wait 20-30 mins and try again. If you can see the satellites then you should connect about 95% or more of the time and less than 10% of calls will drop (usually during the handoffs every 8 minutes or so). Otherwise keep your calls short to avoid them dropping at the horizon, and wait about 1-2 minutes after a drop rather than immediately redialling.

There's been lots of news about the Iridium collision last month - that's caused temporary impairments but they shouldn't last more than another week or two. Also note that Iridium has just launched a new much smaller phone (9555) - its expensive but a lot lighter. Next year there'll be other competing services available and prices should go down (to less than $1000 for new phones).
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fishmonger
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Re: Satellite Phone in the Sierra?

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tim wrote: In terms of satellite phones, remember that the Iridium satellites go behind the mountains - they go down as low as 10 degrees elevation angle and move over from south to north or vice versa in about 8 minutes. The satellites follow on another on a north-south path (6 planes of 11 satellites) and then as the earth rotates, you move under the satellite plane and on to the next one every two hours. So if you are in a mountain basin ideally you want a clear north and south horizon to avoid calls dropping regularly. If this is the case and the calls keep dropping you aren't directly under the satellite plane so wait 20-30 mins and try again. If you can see the satellites then you should connect about 95% or more of the time and less than 10% of calls will drop (usually during the handoffs every 8 minutes or so). Otherwise keep your calls short to avoid them dropping at the horizon, and wait about 1-2 minutes after a drop rather than immediately redialling.

There's been lots of news about the Iridium collision last month - that's caused temporary impairments but they shouldn't last more than another week or two. Also note that Iridium has just launched a new much smaller phone (9555) - its expensive but a lot lighter. Next year there'll be other competing services available and prices should go down (to less than $1000 for new phones).
good info on the drop issues - totally acceptable for the 1 minute "check in calls" I have in mind, or, the emergency call I hope not to have to make.

9555 handset is too expensive - I'd rather carry a few more ounces and get a used 9505a for sub $500 on ebay. Kyocera handsets go for even less, and they are smaller than the 9555, however, I cannot find any reliable review of their performance compared to Motorola's units.

I'm not going to call home much, but I want a phone that works when it has to work, even if I have to wait 20 mins to wait for the next satellite to pass over.

I'm pretty decided to bring an Iridium phoen this summer, and I'll report back how they worked for me on the JMT.
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tim
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Re: Satellite Phone in the Sierra?

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fishmonger wrote: 9555 handset is too expensive - I'd rather carry a few more ounces and get a used 9505a for sub $500 on ebay. Kyocera handsets go for even less, and they are smaller than the 9555, however, I cannot find any reliable review of their performance compared to Motorola's units.
The Kyocera performance numbers would be a few percent worse than the average I gave, but not dramatically so. One fact to be aware of is that there are two versions of the phone: the very oldest one (from 1999) had a antenna that pulls out from the body (a bit like the 9555 design) but this proved to have poor performance so they started issuing them with "rotate and extend" antennas like the 9505. Make sure you get the rotate and extend version if you opt for a Kyocera handset. None were made after 2000 so they will all be old and therefore possibly a bit flaky (e.g. ability to hold a battery charge, though you may still be able to get replacement batteries - not sure on that) though I have a 1999 vintage Motorola 9500 in my drawer and that still works (admittedly its not been on any backpacking trips). Since the 9505A's are at most ~3 years old, they will probably be less prone to problems of old age (before that they were the Motorola-built 9505). Note that the Kyocera is quite a bit bigger than the 9555, in fact pretty comparable in size and weight to the 9505A (if you go for equivalent batteries).
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Re: Satellite Phone in the Sierra?

Post by oldranger »

Fishmonger,

Maybe I missed something but as I understand it you also have the option of renting rather than purchasing a sat phone. Before I decided on the SPOT I had looked into it.

One thing to think about if you are relying on the SAT phone if for some reason your call gets dropped and there is some ambiguity you may actually increase the anxiety of the people you are trying to reassure. The SPOT at least leave an unambiguous message.

mike
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fishmonger
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Re: Satellite Phone in the Sierra?

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renting makes no sense, unless you want to buy a new phone. why? > we are hiking the Muir trail yo-yo, which is more than 30 days - 2 months of rental is well over $750 without the minutes. I can buy a 9505a for $500 any day on ebay and possibly sell it in fall for $400.

re position - we have a Garmin 60csx with us, highly reliable. If a call gets dropped, I guess I can call again in most situations, unless I am about to die in between satellites, which is when the Spot wont help me much either.
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Re: Satellite Phone in the Sierra?

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Ok, I knew Iridium was more expensive but not that much.

Main concern about dropped calls isn't about the person in the field but the person on the other end. I several search and rescue personel once were called out on a winter rescue after a persons call was dropped. And the receiver thought the person making the call was in trouble. We received permission from the forest service to use snowmobiles in the wilderness but got about 100 yards into the wilderness when due to steep terrain and dense forest we had to start skiing. Luckily the person who made the call arrived at Mt. Bachelor's Nordic center and two Nordic patrollers figured out he was the person we were looking for! The call was to say he was coming home early because the weather was real nasty. As it was we were lucky that the deputy sheriff on the search team was able to hear his radio. We were really close to going on a nasty 8 mile ski.

Mike
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