[GreenKeys] OT: emergency communications

Bruce Phillips bruce at ecsindustries.com
Wed Apr 12 01:10:23 EDT 2017


As a side thought.....and I stupidly forgot to mention......I also have 
an EPIRB beacon 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_position-indicating_radiobeacon_station 
(they are not just for boats) which is registered to me, and my 4wd 
vehicle, when prospecting.....Luckily I cannot praise it's operation, as 
I've never had the need to activate it.....but maybe that would be an 
option for "an absolute, life threatening emergency" in your situation. 
I also use a "findmespot" http://www.findmespot.com/international/ which 
is great for tracking, and sending the occasional check in 
message.....but the cost per year makes it a luxury....especially when 
my epirb has no ongoing costs.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,

Bruce




On 12/04/2017 2:35 PM, Bruce Phillips wrote:
>
> For what it's worth....I use Iridium when out of mainstream network 
> coverage in Australia, and I have only had the occasional issue of 
> getting service/network reception.....Rest assured their billing 
> department works just fine (as all telco's), so be sure to query any 
> extra charges.
>
> Regards,
>
> Bruce
>
>
>
>
> On 12/04/2017 11:31 AM, Paul Pennington wrote:
>> 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 <mailto: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
>>     <mailto:nagle at animats.com>> wrote:
>>     >
>>     >
>>     http://www.satphonestore.com/iridium-9555-satellite-phone-standard-package-used.html
>>     <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
>>     <mailto:greenkeys-request at mailman.qth.net> wrote:
>>     >> From: dmm at lemur.com <mailto: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
>>     <http://www.satphonestore.com/iridium-9555-satellite-phone-standard-package-used.html>
>>     >
>>     >
>>     https://www.amazon.com/Iridium-9505A-Satellite-complete-package/dp/B000S2AVBS
>>     <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
>>     > ______________________________________________________________
>>     > GreenKeys mailing list
>>     > Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys
>>     <http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys>
>>     > Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>>     <http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm>
>>     > Post: mailto:GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net
>>     <mailto:GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net>
>>     >
>>     > 2002-to-present greenkeys archive:
>>     http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/greenkeys/
>>     <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/greenkeys/>
>>     > 1998-to-2001 greenkeys archive:
>>     http://mailman.qth.net/archive/greenkeys/greenkeys.html
>>     <http://mailman.qth.net/archive/greenkeys/greenkeys.html>
>>     > Randy Guttery's 2001-to-2009 GreenKeys Search Tool:
>>     http://comcents.com/tty/greenkeyssearch.html
>>     <http://comcents.com/tty/greenkeyssearch.html>
>>     >
>>     > This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>>     > Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>
>>     ______________________________________________________________
>>     GreenKeys mailing list
>>     Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys
>>     <http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys>
>>     Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>>     <http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm>
>>     Post: mailto:GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net
>>     <mailto:GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net>
>>
>>     2002-to-present greenkeys archive:
>>     http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/greenkeys/
>>     1998-to-2001
>>     <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/greenkeys/%0A1998-to-2001>
>>     greenkeys archive:
>>     http://mailman.qth.net/archive/greenkeys/greenkeys.html
>>     <http://mailman.qth.net/archive/greenkeys/greenkeys.html>
>>     Randy Guttery's 2001-to-2009 GreenKeys Search Tool:
>>     http://comcents.com/tty/greenkeyssearch.html
>>     <http://comcents.com/tty/greenkeyssearch.html>
>>
>>     This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>>     Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> GreenKeys mailing list
>> Home:http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys
>> Help:http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post:mailto:GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net
>>
>> 2002-to-present greenkeys archive:http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/greenkeys/
>> 1998-to-2001 greenkeys archive:http://mailman.qth.net/archive/greenkeys/greenkeys.html
>> Randy Guttery's 2001-to-2009 GreenKeys Search Tool:http://comcents.com/tty/greenkeyssearch.html
>>
>> This list hosted by:http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list:http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________
> GreenKeys mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/greenkeys
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:GreenKeys at mailman.qth.net
>
> 2002-to-present greenkeys archive: http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/greenkeys/
> 1998-to-2001 greenkeys archive: http://mailman.qth.net/archive/greenkeys/greenkeys.html
> Randy Guttery's 2001-to-2009 GreenKeys Search Tool: http://comcents.com/tty/greenkeyssearch.html
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.qth.net/pipermail/greenkeys/attachments/20170412/1fa52a33/attachment.html>


More information about the GreenKeys mailing list