Remote Travel Emergency Communication

GB
Also I have the hotspot not the sleeve
Sleeve risk is you’ll change your phone and it won’t fit!!!

Other benefits of hot spot

If it’s 35 degrees and your hiding back in the tree line you can have the hotspot set up pointing north to clear air away from trees but be well away in the shade to deal with whatever...

The battery in the hotspot last forever! Well almost.

Hotspot has an emergency call button so it can be used standalone if needed?

Oh and all the millennials I work with could never be 5 days from a latte walking through the scrub fishing for Barra !

Self limiting population

S

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by goingbush

You can use the simcard from your ordinary Telstra Post paid mobile in Iridium 95**, so dont need a Satphone plan, Calls are expensive both incoming (caller pays) and outgoing . Sat phone uses your ordinary Telstra Post paid number . Telstra wont tell you about this loophole. I have an unwanted Iridium 9555 if yr interested ( Prepaid Telstra sim wont work)

I dumped my Telstra Postpaid plan ( and stupidly forgot I used the sim in my Iridium) so got onto Thuraya $15.00 plan which is cheaper than the cheapest Telstra Post Paid plans anyway. (but had to buy a Thuraya phone)

---

Thank you for that [bigrolf][bigrolf]
Using my existing Telstra sim sounds like the solution as long as the sim card is the same "Micro" type that I have in my Samsung 9 [thumbsupbig]

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by trout1105

Thank you for that [bigrolf][bigrolf]
Using my existing Telstra sim sounds like the solution as long as the sim card is the same "Micro" type that I have in my Samsung 9 [thumbsupbig]

---

no, All the Satphones I've used take full size sim cards, you need to put the simcard in an adaptor , Any $2 sim from Aldi etc comes with the adaptor for free, just press it out of the simcard holder and place your micro sim in it. Note the Telstra hack only works with Post Paid Telstra sim , not Telstra Pre paid cards, nor post paid cards from any other carrier.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by goingbush

no, All the Satphones I've used take full size sim cards, you need to put the simcard in an adaptor , Any $2 sim from Aldi etc comes with the adaptor for free, just press it out of the simcard holder and place your micro sim in it. Note the Telstra hack only works with Post Paid Telstra sim , not Telstra Pre paid cards, nor post paid cards from any other carrier.

---

No problems, I have heaps of those adaptors as I use micro sims in my crash cameras and in my drone.
I have a plan with Telstra so hopefully that sim should work[thumbsupbig]

Trout
Just make sure you have global roaming activated on your Telstra account
But yes that works for post paid Telstra and those old sat phones

Only hassle is the change over of sim
And that people calling you get pinged high call costs

On the Thuraya $15 Optus plan
Calls/txt to the sat phone are just considered normal mobile so for most people that’s free to call

Makes it cheap when wanting to touch base with home

Sat call to home mobile - hang up after a few rings
Home mobile calls back

Free sat comms

S

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by roverrescue

Trout
Just make sure you have global roaming activated on your Telstra account
But yes that works for post paid Telstra and those old sat phones

Only hassle is the change over of sim
And that people calling you get pinged high call costs

On the Thuraya $15 Optus plan
Calls/txt to the sat phone are just considered normal mobile so for most people that’s free to call

Makes it cheap when wanting to touch base with home

Sat call to home mobile - hang up after a few rings
Home mobile calls back

Free sat comms

S

---

I only intend to use the sat phone in an emergency/life threatening situation where I cant get comms on my phone or UHF/VHF radio so the call costs are irrelevant.
Not having to have a separate "Plan" for the sat phone for this type of usage is a "No Brainer" and is the way to go in my opinion.
If I want to "Touch base" with home I wait until I can get reception on my normal mobile anyway and you only need to be close to a town or minesite to do this[thumbsupbig]

Of course you can always send tex / sms on a sat phone , lets people at home know your OK, no need at all for any actual call rates unless you in an Emergency , then it does not matter what the cost.

Pivotel also have a $15 Casual plan for the Thuraya Phone / sleeve / hotspot .

its $40 for the first month (includes activation) $15 thereafter . This is the one I'm on . cheap enough to keep active even if your at home.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AK83

No(but not sure what's possible)
I've been looking into satphone comms too over the years, and so far(what I've researched) .. the differing networks are not interoperable.
That is, if you go with a Irridium system to start with, then you can't use that hardware to access Thuraya, or Inmarsat.
Haven't found(or really looked hard enough) if a multi network device exists.
It's not like a mobile system. Or even a navigation system, even tho the premise is similar.
I've really only read up on the big two's networks, Telstra = Irridium, Optus = Thuraya.
Irridium is low orbit(LEO), and technically low latency(less delay). Thuraya is geostationary and hence higher altitude sat network so latency and hence delay time is going to be longer.
Note I have zero personal use experience .. just reading up on which system is better for my intended use at some point in the future.
Also(so far), I've also found that Irridium has had some satellite issues and so there can be network outages near the equator. Don't say exactly where(what latitudes) but I'd say far north Aus could be affected.
if satellite coverage isn't there with LEOs, then obviously drop outs will happen.
So with the above No answer tho .. I have no idea if the device could be hacked or modded to access the Thuraya network, which is what you'd need to do.
One issue I'm now looking at, is that geo stationary systems need more open sky to work reliably.
eg. say you're in some canyon or gorge and clear sky is only a narrow slit between the rocks, your signal is degraded. So with that, I'm looking more at whatever access device is used(more likely a sleeve) .. that while it'll be in car fixed, it also needs to be mobile, which the Optus sat sleeve is.

---

I have carried an Iridium sat phone for many years - I'm on my 3rd!

I have used it across northern Australia to get the weather and submit flight plans - never had a problem getting through.

More recently I have used it in the Gulf of Carpentaria to have a conversation with a technician to reset the auto-deploy trolling motor on my boat. Technician in Brisbane, "Where are you guys"? Me, "50 km north of Boroloola out in the Gulf"!

We also use it regularly to send SMS to family to tell them that we are OK when fishing in remote places - or to give a fishing score. I think it 50c to send an SMS.

Haven't yet had to use it in any sort of emergency situation - but its a "nice to have" item for what we choose to do!

I think that I will give the irridium idea the flick and go with the Thursday phone [thumbsupbig]

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by goingbush

no, All the Satphones I've used take full size sim cards, you need to put the simcard in an adaptor , Any $2 sim from Aldi etc comes with the adaptor for free, just press it out of the simcard holder and place your micro sim in it. Note the Telstra hack only works with Post Paid Telstra sim , not Telstra Pre paid cards, nor post paid cards from any other carrier.

---

It’s not a hack, Telstra here are very open about telling people about it.

We went with Thuraya initially and it was so touch and go for coverage we dropped it. Being geostationary if you’re in a dead zone you will always be.

Switched to Iridium and it was an improvement although could still be flaky.


Thuraya also struggles in Southern Australia.


The best performance I’ve seen is Inmarsat, excellent coverage except in Antartica or the Arctic.
Addition: If you are in a shadow you need to move.

With Iridium, if you don’t have signal just wait a bit and you’ll be good.