Well, I work work a Satellite phone company and they are cool. I took one to
L.A. when I picked up my westy and sat on the phone all the way across AZ,
NM, and TX as I drove to Dallas and then DC. Lots o fun

However, sound quality is marginal and it ain't cheap my friends. Pretty
much a BtoB service. 3-4K$ for the phone, about 50$ a month service and 1$+
a minute for air time. This is a fraction of what INMARSAT used to cost
(15$+ a minute). We have one satty over Texas (no not really but it's easier
to explain that way) that cover Alaska to the northern reaches of South
America.

Problem.. Magnetic mounts for the antenna. Glass roof  :-(

Mikey
`87 Westy Eeore

-----Original Message-----
From: Pat Collins [mailto:collins.90@OSU.EDU]
Sent: Friday, April 21, 2000 3:27 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: CB or cell?

Don't discount ham radio either.  Has of the 15th the fcc has relaxed the
testing requirements.  You can study the actual test on sites like
http://www.eham.net.  With 50 watts on 2 meters and a 5/8 wavelength antenna
you can get any repeater within 50 miles.  Also, a lot of the repeaters are
linked with multi-state coverage.

Pat N8VW

On Fri, Apr 21, 2000 at 01:45:19PM -0500, Michael C. Duran wrote:
> Is your cell phone a REAL cell phone or a PCS?  If it has analog
> capabilities, chances are you are covered.  If it is digital only (PCS),
> then chances are you won't be covered.  Analog cellular covers 98% of
> places on the continent where humans live.  Digital PCS? Bahah!!  Go off
> the Interstate and bye-bye coverage.
>
> Secondly, CB radios, at least down in Texas are virtually out of use by
all
> but truck drivers.  Truck drivers MIGHT be nice enough to help you out if
> they get your cry for help, but chances, IMO, are slim based on my
prevoius
> CB conversations with truckers.  Many of the smarter truckers run w/
> squelch up high so they don't hear all the crap (cussing, sex jokes, blah
> blah) of the other truckers.  Also, FYI, nobody monitors channel 9, the
> "emergency" channel. The cell phone is your best bet unless you can afford
> a satellite phone :)
>
> Also, if you're ever cruising with a group it's probably a good idea to
get
> a FRS radio.  It's a low-powered walkie-talkie style radio used by alot of
> civilians (it stands for Family Radio Service).  So far I find alot more
> individuals in cars using FRS than CB anymore.  The range is alot shorter,
> but you're alot more likely to find a friendly voice when next to a
highway.
>
> Good luck...
>
> -Michael
>
> At 11:43 AM 4/21/2000 -0600, Drew Bedford wrote:
> >I'm heading off to a rather remote location for a weekend camping trip
> >and I began to ponder communications. In case "Happy" gets unhappy,
> >should I add a CB to the glovebox? I already have a national-coverage
> >cell phone, but rural Utah is, well... rural. Has anyone gotten out of a
> >jam using a CB where no cell coverage was available? Seems like fairly
> >cheap insurance.
> >
> >TIA,
> >Drew
> >83.5 Westy
>