Communicating in the middle of nowhere/sat phones?

by **JamesInTheWorld** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 3:36 pm

I have a sat phone that despite the amount I travel pretty much collects dust. They are also somewhat expensive so unless you can write it off or someone else is footing the bill it isn’t really worth it.

I would suggest that you ether rent one, buy a used one from ebay and buy a 30 min scratch card or go hit up your local churches and see if you can rent or borrow one of theirs (most big churches that do missionary work have a few lying around collecting dust in some deacons desk).

~JITW

by **marie-angelique** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 4:16 pm

nowonmai wrote:There's plenty of portable HF radios about. When you set camp all you do is put up your antenna and you can speak to the world - as an added bonus once you have provided proof of life to your Mum you can then settle in to an evening listening to the BBC world service.

Get stuck into this lot.

http://hfpack.com/

Its starts "Howdy gang, planning for the next HFpack Forum at Pacificon 2008 has already begun." I can't hardly wait.

that's tits, thanks for that.

http://www.hello-radio.org/whatis.html

http://www.arrl.org/

http://www.popularwireless.com/

http://www.twiar.org/

by **ktrout** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 5:45 pm

I practiced the ham radio test online a few months ago, but never got around to taking the test.
I help a bit watching over the trails in some of the parks around here and some people want to start using ham radios.
There are many dead zones in all of the canyons around here and a ham radio would be able to get out of the canyons.
There are some nice handheld ham radios now. They call them "handy talkies" because somebody has the trademark on the name "walky talky"

by **ktrout** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 6:14 pm

At first glance the Yaesu VX-7R would appear to be the ticket for someone outdoors. Quad band and waterproof. A little pricey - would be a little under $310 US out the door at a local shop.

by **marie-angelique** » Sat Apr 26, 2008 11:05 pm

are you part of BAMR?

or these guys? http://www.sfarc.org or http://www.mdarc.org?

these guys have your radio for under 300

http://www.hamradio.com/

by **ktrout** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 3:57 am

marie-angelique wrote:are you part of BAMR?

or these guys? http://www.sfarc.org or http://www.mdarc.org?

these guys have your radio for under 300

http://www.hamradio.com/

Thanks. That's my local shop :). I have a whole new world of learning to get going on.
I practiced on HamTestOnline for a while but had to set it aside for work a few months ago.
I can still pass Technician class, so I'm going to take the test in the next couple of weeks.
All of the technical questions are easy for me, but some of the rules and regs are a challenge. Still, mostly common sense.

by **marie-angelique** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 4:54 am

i've been flunking this free exam this afternoon,
maybe i should buy a book
http://www.qrz.com/xtest2.html?

by **ktrout** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 5:26 am

marie-angelique wrote:i've been flunking this free exam this afternoon,
maybe i should buy a book
http://www.qrz.com/xtest2.html?

I'll have to see what I can do there, but try the HamTestOnline web site.
It keeps track of where you're strong and weak and continuously drills you on your weak areas.
EDIT: I'm able to pass it. Try drilling at HameTestOnline.

by **Professor Devlin** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 4:14 pm

How about a hand full of coins ?

by **ktrout** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 4:23 pm

Professor Devlin wrote:How about a hand full of coins ?

LOL. Not in the middle of the desert.

by **marie-angelique** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 5:47 pm

this one looks pretty good too:
http://www.kb0mga.net

yeah, my mom used to give me quarters when i went out in the wilderness. i guess it would be useful once you wandered out, walked to a gas station, and found a payphone.

how many payphones do you see around these days?

by **Professor Devlin** » Sun Apr 27, 2008 6:03 pm

ktrout wrote:
Professor Devlin wrote:How about a hand full of coins ?

LOL. Not in the middle of the desert.

You won't be the first to cross without a phone.

by **ktrout** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 2:51 am

Professor Devlin wrote:
ktrout wrote:
Professor Devlin wrote:How about a hand full of coins ?

LOL. Not in the middle of the desert.

You won't be the first to cross without a phone.

Yeah, but I'm an engineer. How many excuses do I need to tech it up?
Damn, I cleaved a bearing in the hub on my road bike yesterday. Parts are unobtainium for the hub and the wheel itself has more or less passed its expiration date. Time for a new wheel....

by **marie-angelique** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 3:05 am

what kind of hub is unobtanium?

i once had a wheel fail in a dramatic way - the entire rim cracked all at once, all the way around. the wheel was over 10 years old and had been really well built, never saw anything like it before...

my mountain bike rear hub is 126 mm, 10 years older than the bike...

by **ktrout** » Mon Apr 28, 2008 4:21 am

marie-angelique wrote:what kind of hub is unobtanium?

Well, it's an 18 hole Rolf, late 1990s vintage. It had also lost a pawl (tooth). A spoke was also pulling out of the wheel.
Maybe I could have saved it, but looking at its condition and age I winced and upgraded.

i once had a wheel fail in a dramatic way - the entire rim cracked all at once, all the way around. the wheel was over 10 years old and had been really well built, never saw anything like it before...

I've never seen a bicycle wheel split. I saw that happen on a racecar recently. The rear Rolf wheel got a sheet metal screw in it once that had to be removed with a screw driver.
I was always a little worried that it would go like that.

Communicating in the middle of nowhere/sat phones?

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