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How many carry Sat phones?

PostPosted: Wed 05 Sep, 2018 8:13 pm
by trekker76
I got one for long distance hikes and offshore fishing and was also taking aged relatives camping so it combined a few purposes for me. I wondered how many other folks use them? The one I got is the Thuraya XT-lite, entry level but decent quality. Thuraya has two geostat satellites, I think the one fixed over Singapore is the one useful for QLD. I have heard its not as good the further south and east you get as the viewing angle to Singapore obviously drops it lower on the horizon. $15 a month maintenance plan, calls and SMS extra of course, but even if I don't make calls the $180 a year is decent insurance for my tasks. Interested to hear about any other systems folks use, particularly the southern regions.

Re: How many carry Sat phones?

PostPosted: Wed 05 Sep, 2018 8:26 pm
by peregrinator
Interesting question, but can I follow up with a question of my own? Do you carry a PLB?

And to answer yours, no I do not carry a Sat phone. Nor do I have a Mon, Wed, Fri [tele]phone.

Re: How many carry Sat phones?

PostPosted: Wed 05 Sep, 2018 10:17 pm
by LachlanB
peregrinator wrote:And to answer yours, no I do not carry a Sat phone. Nor do I have a Mon, Wed, Fri [tele]phone.

*facepalm*
I dunno about you, but my mobile phone works just fine on Saturdays.

$180 a year is a lot in my books. Actually $260 for a PLB that'll last 10 years was bad enough...

Re: How many carry Sat phones?

PostPosted: Thu 06 Sep, 2018 12:09 am
by trekker76
Folks south of the border get weirder and weirder is all I can say, its the cold weather and jobs in tiny cubicles :lol:

As to PLB's never used one no. I like to be able to communicate when its also not an emergency. A lot of non coverage areas in the cape, and out at sea ;)

Re: How many carry Sat phones?

PostPosted: Thu 06 Sep, 2018 12:17 am
by trekker76
LachlanB wrote:
peregrinator wrote:
$180 a year is a lot in my books. Actually $260 for a PLB that'll last 10 years was bad enough...


Still a fraction of what folks pay on data plans for games and netlfix though.

Re: How many carry Sat phones?

PostPosted: Thu 06 Sep, 2018 2:59 pm
by LachlanB
Tekker76 wrote:Folks south of the border get weirder and weirder is all I can say, its the cold weather and jobs in tiny cubicles :lol:

As to PLB's never used one no. I like to be able to communicate when its also not an emergency. A lot of non coverage areas in the cape, and out at sea ;)


Lots of non-coverage down south with mobiles too, especially if you have Vodafone as a carrier (like me). I guess the assumption is that it's not an emergency, until you let your PLB off... So the absence of any sort of rescue effort is telling everyone that I'm still ok. :D One thing that definitely weighs in the favour of PLBs is that their signal is more reliable (afaik) than that of a sat phone. If I've just had my leg gnawed by a brown snake, I don't want to be wondering if the signal actually got through

Re: How many carry Sat phones?

PostPosted: Sun 09 Sep, 2018 9:39 am
by trekker76
Lachlan certainly, you have to choose what suits your purposes. For those using sat phones, non emergency comms are part of the reasoning and also the fact you can prevent some situations in advance with it well. Weather or positional updates between home or other groups. Of course the dedicated purpose of PLB is an advantage as a beacon.

On another tangent one thing that surprises me is how quiet this site is these days. Or is it my imagination? I used this place for searches since way back and seem to recall it had a lot more traffic?

Re: How many carry Sat phones?

PostPosted: Tue 11 Sep, 2018 7:44 pm
by ribuck
Tekker76 wrote:On another tangent one thing that surprises me is how quiet this site is these days.

It's quality, not quantity, that counts.

Nowadays there are so many Facebook groups: for bushwalking in general, for individual styles (e.g. ultra lightweight), and for individual walks (e.g. Larapinta Trail). But the quality of posts is so low compared to here. Someone might ask for recommendations for a good backpack, and most of the replies will be one-word posts which just name a brand: "MacPac", "Osprey", etc.

Here, there are people who live and breathe bushwalking.

Re: How many carry Sat phones?

PostPosted: Wed 12 Sep, 2018 9:27 pm
by trekker76
I agree about quality of forums. One thing I no idea about was all the facebook groups out there.

Re: How many carry Sat phones?

PostPosted: Wed 12 Sep, 2018 10:36 pm
by LachlanB
Tekker76 wrote:On another tangent one thing that surprises me is how quiet this site is these days. Or is it my imagination? I used this place for searches since way back and seem to recall it had a lot more traffic?

I'm not sure why you're so convinced that the forum is as quiet as the grave. A quick count of mine suggested that there are 35 threads that have had a post today. And it's just a normal Wednesday, nothing special about it...

I don't know how that compares to the good old days before I was a member. But in this day and age, I would have though that was pretty active for a forum like this?

Re: How many carry Sat phones?

PostPosted: Thu 13 Sep, 2018 2:07 am
by trekker76
I'm not convinced its quiet as the grave. I felt it was quieter though so asked for opinions.

Re: How many carry Sat phones?

PostPosted: Thu 13 Sep, 2018 5:18 am
by wayno
use an inreach explorer for two way texts instead

Re: How many carry Sat phones?

PostPosted: Thu 13 Sep, 2018 8:44 pm
by coastie
A few years ago we bought an Isatphone with Inmarsat for outback camping trips and also for extended bushwalks, mainly in Tassie. We prepay a month or 3 when we need it, and use it for weather updates and messaging. Never had to use it for an emergency but we have never had a coverage issue. And certainly don’t need to double up with a PLB.

Re: How many carry Sat phones?

PostPosted: Fri 14 Sep, 2018 9:19 am
by bobcrusader
I rented one for a trip through the Simpson Desert with a group of 14 people, including a few over 60. The theory was the phone could call for help, but also to receive instructions for first aid or mechanical problems. We never turned it on, but I was glad we had it. But for bushwalking, I only take a PLB.