[GreenKeys] OT: emergency communications

[Paul Pennington]

Apparently things are much better now for Iridium.  See the Wikipedia
article "Iridium Communications".

Paul Pennington
Augusta, Georgia

On Tue, Apr 11, 2017 at 9:05 PM, Andy Williams <andywilliams at pobox.com>
wrote:

> I was on a 4 month assignment in 2007 where there was no phone service,
> landline or cell. We had an Iridium satellite phone and I found the service
> to be spotty at best and some of the calls were unintelligible. We had a
> good view of the sky and I tried calling from the roof of our building on a
> few occasions. We even had our phone replaced, to no avail.
>
> Unless the Iridium service has improved since 2007, I would not recommend
> it.
>
> Andy Williams
>
> > On Apr 11, 2017, at 2:18 PM, John Nagle <nagle at animats.com> wrote:
> >
> > http://www.satphonestore.com/iridium-9555-satellite-phone-
> standard-package-used.html
> >
> > On 04/11/2017 07:23 AM, greenkeys-request at mailman.qth.net wrote:
> >> From: dmm at lemur.com
> >> Subject: [GreenKeys] OT: emergency communications
> >>
> >> I have a question primarily for the amateur radio folks on the list.
> >> It's clearly off-topic, but this is the only venue I know of with
> >> a deep knowledge of ham radio.
> >>
> >> Since my wife's recent and unexpected death, I'm now living in our
> >> rural home alone.  It's 50 acres, and the terrain is complicated.
> >> To cover it all line-of-sight would take half a dozen positions.
> >> Adding to this, it's all within a valley in which there
> >> is basically no cell reception.  We have land-line telephone
> >> and terrestrial-radio-based Internet (ex-Motorola Canopy)
> >> at the house (only).
> >>
> >> This has been made more difficult for me because last year
> >> I injured my back rather severely.  So a real possibility now exists
> >> that if I'm out working on something remote from the house and
> >> re-injure myself so that I can't make it back, it might be too
> >> late before anyone notices and comes looking.
> >>
> >> What I need to find is some kind of device that I can carry with me
> >> on foot which can, perhaps with the aid of a base station at the house,
> >> permit me to make an outgoing emergency call (or at least send a
> signal).
> >> It can't require line-of-sight, and it can't depend on the cell network.
> >>
> >> What, if any, are my options?
> >>
> >> Thanks very much for any and all advice.
> >>
> >> Regards,
> >> David M.
> >
> >   I'd suggest an Iridium phone.  They can be had for about $850.
> >
> > http://www.satphonestore.com/iridium-9555-satellite-phone-
> standard-package-used.html
> >
> > https://www.amazon.com/Iridium-9505A-Satellite-
> complete-package/dp/B000S2AVBS
> >
> > These connect directly to satellites and will work anywhere on the
> > Earth's surface where you can see the sky.  The airtime rates are
> several dollars a minute, but you can buy a prepaid SIM card and not use it
> much.
> >
> >                               John Nagle
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