Sat Phones?

[HankStarr]

I'm interested in renting a satellite phone for our upcoming 6 week trip through the northern Rockies and into Canada. Does anyone have experience and recommendations? Experience with actual costs?

[GMFL]

I have used Sat phones for years doing overseas mission work and off shore fishing.
Iridium systems work the best o have found. (Disclaimer Sat phone DO NOT work as well as your current cell does does with service). Sat phone provide marginal service where cell service does not exist.
If you want to use your current smart phone and use a Satellite router the Iridium GO is the ticket
If you want to purchase a stand alone unit the Iridium Extreame is my preference.
Also check out rental plans. They provide equipment and minutes all in one.
Cost to buy is high.
Prepay Use Minutes will run you from around $1 per minute to $2.50 per minute depending on how many you buy at a time.
You can also get post pay minutes like most current call phone plans but I’ve never done it that way.
Hope this helps some.

[OTRA15]

Thanks for the details. Does your sat phone plan care where you are located on Earth? May be a dumb question but would be good to know. If US and Canada are all the same a cross-border sat phone for travel here might make great sense.

Peter

[Piggy Bank]

Did you happen to see this?
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f42/...ar-191651.html

[HappyHapgood]

I use a an Iridium GO in conjunction with my iPhone.
Just as another poster mentioned... the quality is “okay”. Certainly not the voice quality of a cell phone. However, it is excellent for texting.
Cost... I buy an annual prepaid plan that works out to about $1 per minute. But since I never use all the time it averages out to a lot more than that. Texts are really cheap. All in all, it’s nice to have because you know you are always ABLE to communicate with business associates or family.

I bought mine and my service from BlueCosmo. It’s just an online portal, and it works fine. I don’t think it matters where you are, at least within all of North America.

[OTRA15]

Thanks for the recent posts/details.

Previous mentions of Iridium GO here: https://www.google.com/search?q=Irid...com&gws_rd=ssl

FYI

[vintageracer]

You should consider a Garmin In-Reach or other type of GPS communicator/Emergency locator versus a SAT phone. This type of communicator is probably a better choice for what you need based upon your initial post.

Here is a link to a LONG THREAD on Expedition Portal that discusses all the different types of communicator/Emergency Locators that might help you make a decision as to their functionality and what ultimately fits your needs best!

https://www.expeditionportal.com/for.../#post-2541610

Here is a post from "JIM" on Expedition Portal giving his take on all 3 types of communicators:

"My 2¢

Here is my synopsis of this discussion, leaving out the 'tastes great', 'less filling' arguments:
(I probably missed some)

Personal Locating Beacon (one way alert), cost = $
--Advantages: simple to use, lasts ~5 years, pinpoints location
--Disadvantages: alerts SAR only, no communication with SAR/family/friends

Satellite Communication Device (Spot, inReach, et.al; 2 way text communication), cost = $$
--Advantages: texting capability, communicate with family/friends/SAR, pinpoints location, weather reports
--Disadvantages: not as simple as PLB, monthly subscription fee > $15, needs periodic recharging

Satellite Phone, cost = $$$
--Advantages: can use like regular phone.
--Disadvantages: does not give location, airtime costs, periodic recharging.

As I see it the lack of not being able to communicate with SAR is a big negative; a completely different response is needed for "I hit a rock and punctured my oil pan" and "I hit a rock and punctured my head". SAR peeps can comment on what the response is when nothing is known other than location.

The satellite phone's lack of giving location to me is a risk. If I hit my head and am not lucid enough to relay GPS coordinates the phone is not much help. I don't know how easy it is to pinpoint a satellite phones location.

Since I travel alone I like the ability to keep in touch with my family. The Garmin In-Reach prerecorded message with map and pin is what I use most. Texting back and forth when needed has been sufficient and the ability to get a basic weather report has helped on a couple of occasions.

jim"

[vintageracer]

Here is another reason to consider a Garmin In-Reach GPS device!

https://www.expeditionportal.com/for...s-well.202645/

[HankStarr]

Thanks for all the posts everyone. I think I've got a good idea of all the possibilities and can figure out potential costs from the various websites.

Hank

[GMFL]

I have a (Delorme) now Garmin InReach we use it also because it tracks location like a Spot track in 10 min intervals. Our church members can follow us live while we are in the jungles of Peru and South America. It works well paired with a smart phone for texting as well. It is also CHEAP per month and can be used month to month (as long as you remember to turn service off when you don’t need it)

[GMFL]

Originally Posted by OTRA15

Thanks for the details. Does your sat phone plan care where you are located on Earth? May be a dumb question but would be good to know. If US and Canada are all the same a cross-border sat phone for travel here might make great sense.

Peter

Iridium systems cover the entire planet. Both land masses and water so it “works” anywhere.

[OTRA15]

Thanks