Satellite phone

[Four Boar]

Any one got a satillite phone?
Is there any thing I should look out for/ make sure mine has (accessories)?
What brand and model?
Price/s of phone/ accessories/ credit?

Any added info would be helpful.

Cheers Landy Lovers

[flagg]

A long time ago a mate and I picked up an ex-hire motorola for a grand. We were doing the 'big lap' and it was much cheaper than hiring one.

Each trip we now just pick up a pre-paid sim. It's expensive but TBH I've never actually used it. (its only for an emergency).

My mate used it to call his missus once form some middle of nowhere place, I think it was $6 a min. He said the Lag made it hard to have a conversation but would be fine in an emergency.

I'd be looking for one that could work on its own out side of the car. IE if it burns down and you can only grab one thing - you can grab the sat phone.

[RangieBit]

G'day FourBoar,

Have a look at some of the Inmarsat phones. They have reached the point now where they are about the size of the old Motorola brick AMPS phones.

The plans these days are also a lot better. You can them down to around $1/min.

I personally don't have one but know a couple of folk who have the Inmarsat capable ISatPhone Pro and they seem happy enough. They even come with bluetooth now so you can set up the handset in the ideal line of sight for the satellite and wander around camp talking via a BT headset.

There are deals to be had and most can be had with enough bells and whistles for under $1K.

If the government is still running it's subsidy scheme you can easily get a setup for under $500.

Look for reasonable battery life (it'll never match your regular mobile phone as it's got a lot further to communicate and that takes energy).
Features such as Bluetooth and SMS functionality are useful and more than "nice to have"s.

Anyway that's my 5c worth.

Good luck and happy hunting.

Cheers,
Iain

[juddy]

I can highly recommend the Inmarsat phones, having used and sold a number myself they offer one of the best deals available.

Be it hand held or in car kit with roof mounted mini dome receiver/transmitter theres a option for most budgets.

The beauty is you buy the handset, add a value of credit, and off you go, no contracts, your credit is valid for 2 years......

We field tested one last year, happy to answer any question you may have.

contact me a info@landybitz.com.au for further information.....

[mikehzz]

I've got an Isatphone Pro. Unfortunately they dropped the 2 year credit expiry from plans bought after July 1st this year. Existing plans keep the 2 year expiry but when you recharge you get the new plan which is only a few months I think. The phone is decent enough, sort of like going back 10 years on mobiles :)

[flagg]

Features such as Bluetooth and SMS functionality are useful and more than "nice to have"s.

I think SMS is pretty good for a "we are at xyz, going to abc all is well" type thing when you are very remote or on your own. I do this with my spot when I'm doing long hiking or kayaking trips. Especially if I'm on my own.

[dmdigital]

The Iridium 9555 works well (Telstra). SMS is handy but all up any call isn't cheap. I've had Satphones for 12 years now and have used only once for an emergency and was very glad to have it.

The SPOT locator system also works well as do the latest generation EPIRBS with GPS. With SPOT you can transmit an "I'm OK" or "We're here" type message as well as "HELP!".

[Boxhead63]

Contrary to DMDigitals opinion regarding the Iridium I use it most days in the Kimberley or try to. We have had endless problems with them from Handset not talking to the docking station, calls continually dropping out, lag between transmision and receiving (this causes great frustration), Handsets and docking stations require frequent software updates.......
On one occasion I broke down up the Gibb and was stuck there until I actually worked out what the problem was with the car and fixed it myself. Luckily I carry 3 days food and water with me wherever i go. The whole time I was there I was trying to call my office to let them know there was a problem. The phone did not work. This incident caused a national safety audit with my company. The outcome was that there is a need for a new and more reliable SAT Phone system. Which is still under review. The upshot of all this it's making a lot of people sit up and think about where they are going. and what they're doing. and how they're doing it.
Anyway that's my 2c worth. I don't trust the Iridium system. Actually no one should trust any Sat phone. The technology that's available for civilian use is unreliable. But we're stuck with it for now.

Cheers
Rob

[Utemad]

My mate used it to call his missus once form some middle of nowhere place, I think it was $6 a min. He said the Lag made it hard to have a conversation but would be fine in an emergency.

The lag is pretty annoying. We have the 9555 and a couple of the model before that. So great for emergencies but suck for conversation. It is closer to using a CB radio than a phone.

My advice is make sure the numbers you are likely to need are programmed into the phone as in an emergency you are likely to forget how to use the phone properly.

For some reason the car kits in all our cars work poorly when the vehicle is moving so I wouldn't bother with one. Especially if it is only for emergency use.

[mikehzz]

The normal spot system only sends sms messages, doesn't receive. There is a new sort out that receives as well which is good. I like home to be able to message me as well if anything goes wrong with them. The Inmarsat allows free sms messaging from home via the web which is pretty good.

[RisingSun]

I just ordered 2 Inmarsat pre paid forr the company I work for.
About $1,000 per phone $100 credit lasts 6 months before expiry. You can purchase less credit but it expires sooner.

Most company's will throw in accessories, which ones are best is personal preference.

Because of where I drive the Govt has subsidized both phones by $500.
Very cheap insurance IMO.

When I head up to the top end I will probably sort one out for myself and apply for the subsidy.

To be eligible you have to prove that you go areas where there is no signal at least 90 times per year, for a company you have to have less then 20 employees. Or live or work where no signal is available from any provider.
I just had the Optus and Telstra coverage maps out and located the black spots I travel to.

Hope this helps a little. Hope to pick them up on Tuesday as I am heading to Hughenden via Undarra Wednesday (Big Blackspots).

[RisingSun]

Some extra info

Calls about $1 per minute, texts 50c.
Calling to the sat phone is expensive, sat phone to sat phone is astronomical.

From their website, you can send Unlimited free SMS to the sat phone.

Apparently a lot of guys take them offshore fishing and the wife at home sends them weather updates for free.

[123rover50]

It all sounds like a good reason to stick with SSB HF radio.
Cheaper and always got some comms.

Didiman

[RangieBit]

Well I hate to disillusion you Didiman but the systems isn't quite as reliable these days as it was. Even the RFDS have acknowledged that the bulk of their callouts now come via phone and not HF in remote areas. They went to Selcall systems on HF and ditched the old two tone ECD a couple of years ago.

Between that and the rash of sunspot activity that seems to be on the increase again (thank you el nina) HF is taking a beating.

Having said that you can still get to just about any of the bases around Oz via HF, the signal just isn't always as strong and clear as it used to be. On some occasions it is marginal at best. The beauty of it being an open communication system though is that is likely somebody can hear you even if your intended station can't. If your satellite based phonecall fails then you have a problem.

I always went for HF communications and will probably continue to do so because I have a fairly significant investment in the equipment (and it's what I know). These days though I'd also carry a SatPhone because the technology has reached a point where it's robust, reliable and cheap. Just like HF used to be. Also the cost of acquiring and licensing HF equipment these days is at least four times that of a SatPhone (new to new comparison) and that equates to a LOT of phonecalls via satellite paid for in breaking even.

Can't remember the last time a satellite couldn't be acquired on InmarSat, that wasn't down due to maintenance (a very infrequent event anyway). Thousands of users worldwide rely on the system and it's still going strong for good reason. Not sure what is happening with Iridium.

Also as someone earlier pointed out. If you have to bail out in a hurry you can grab the SatPhone. Not usually so easy with the HF gear as it tends to be a fixture in the vehicle.

Satphone technology is, and always will be, much simpler to use and clearer than HF can ever hope to be. HF can, and does, get through when all else fails. Choose your poison. Each has plus and minus points.

Another 5c worth. Didn't mean to hijack the thread. Just felt a need to clear up this myth about the wonders of HF.

Cheers,
Iain

[scarry]

Contrary to DMDigitals opinion regarding the Iridium I use it most days in the Kimberley or try to. We have had endless problems with them from Handset not talking to the docking station, calls continually dropping out, lag between transmision and receiving (this causes great frustration), Handsets and docking stations require frequent software updates.......
On one occasion I broke down up the Gibb and was stuck there until I actually worked out what the problem was with the car and fixed it myself. Luckily I carry 3 days food and water with me wherever i go. The whole time I was there I was trying to call my office to let them know there was a problem. The phone did not work. This incident caused a national safety audit with my company. The outcome was that there is a need for a new and more reliable SAT Phone system. Which is still under review. The upshot of all this it's making a lot of people sit up and think about where they are going. and what they're doing. and how they're doing it.
Anyway that's my 2c worth. I don't trust the Iridium system. Actually no one should trust any Sat phone. The technology that's available for civilian use is unreliable. But we're stuck with it for now.


Cheers
Rob

Exactly my opinion as well,in fact i try not to use them at all anymore....