Thread: Sat phone reception?

You need clear view of the sky to get reception. Unless you have an external antenna they dont work so good inside a vehicle. EPIRB will have the same problems unless it has an external antenna, although the 406 EPIRBs are a bit better.

Also dependent on provider - Globelstar is said to be more problematic than Iridium, for example.

We have car kits & external antennas, but still have reception akin to optus outside the CBD

Originally Posted by Scallops

Also dependent on provider - Globelstar is said to be more problematic than Iridium, for example.

That's what we've got Piece of crud. This could be dangerous particularly for people who think they will have reception anywhere.

you also need to be stationary with the cheaper ones.... and then you need to do the antenna alignment thing, try it one day. read the whole tech manual on the transiver set, find out how the Techs set it up to work and not how the marketing guri said it should work when they sold it to you and see if its any different.

We've been told the problem is with the sat, but 800k of dirt road a day may not help eh. I still think that in this day we should be able to get reliable comms

I've got the Nera World Phone - Inmarsat Mini-M. Used it in all sorts of locations from CBD to middle of nowhere.

Like with most comms equipment, it's all going to come down to the setup and quality of the antenna you're using.

M

I have used a borrowed Iridium one - seems to work OK although haven't tried using it on the external antenna while driving along.
Did your company consider HF two way radio with selcall ?