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Thread: Sat Phones

  1. #11
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    Was speaking briefly with a guy who is selling a lot of 2nd hand XT Lites on eBay. He said that the voice quality of the Thuraya is very good. He said that the Satellite is based 35,000 ks above Sumatra, so the further north we go the better and easier the coverage. He also said that you could get signal in the high country if you were to stand on top of a hill or ridge. I must admit I'm not too worried about the high country as it's a popular and busy place, plus, last time I stayed at Talbotville I listened to online music on my Galaxy S6.

    Here's a link to a very useful thread on Whirlpool that I read - https://forums.whirlpool.net.au/foru....cfm?t=2221946

    I'm happy to carry 2 phones, 1 normal mobile and the other a sat phone. I don't like the idea of swapping SIMs and I don't really understand it I must admit, I guess folks do it so they only carry one phone when away?????

    I think from memory that the XT Lite allows you to text your GPS co-ords. This is a great idea. Personally I'd use this to show people where I am so they can follow me on a map. Which leads me to ask, does anyone know of a web site that you can wander up to, throw in some GPS co-ords and it brings up a display of where you are? Does Google Earth allow you to do that?
    ..

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    GQtdauto (27th February 2017)

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  4. #12
    Patrol God threedogs's Avatar
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    @macca I'll email Ron and get his thoughts on sat phones in 2017

    EDIT done
    Last edited by threedogs; 27th February 2017 at 01:55 PM.
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  5. #13
    Legendary GQtdauto's Avatar
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    Like you 10G I don't mind carrying two phones , our mobiles are used only rarely , in fact only carry it when going out somewhere and it's usually flat .
    So if you're like me and not a heavy mobile phone user anyway yes the Thuraya may suit , we have long life prepaid mobile phones and find $30 usually does us for up to six months so not a very heavy user .
    Did look at the second hand units but decided last minute to go for a new one .
    Me and tech stuff don't seem to get along , I bought a VMS a few years ago and had nothing but trouble with it , my brother in law bought one because I had one and he too has trouble , ended up with a Hema which was better off road but the street function is hopeless .

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    Legendary GQtdauto's Avatar
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    Sorry yes google earth I'm sure does allow coordinates .

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    Patrol God threedogs's Avatar
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    Ok received a reply from Ron and he says " he uses an old Iridium sat phone connected thru Telstra,
    and when needed buys access for a month or whatever"
    He's used all the other sat phones with varying degrees of success,
    it's the package that sets them apart. It depends on how much you
    use it 1,2,6 or 12 months a year and actual call time.
    Calling a sat phone on the same network is cheap but to another
    network can be VERY expensive. Calls to fixed lines and normal mobile vary.
    Instead of relying on a sat phone Ron now uses a service called "SPOT"
    cheap to buy and a lot cheaper monthly access. People can track your travels on their computers
    [updates every 10 mins or so] And you can send one of 3 messages at any time
    such as,,,, OK,,,,,,Have an issue, but can work it out,,,, and we have an emergency send help
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    GQtdauto (27th February 2017), Skitzyrex (27th February 2017)

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    Legendary GQtdauto's Avatar
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    Am looking for a tracking device for the camper trailer and maybe the GQ , I did have a look at the spot system but I'm a cheap barstard and that system has more extras and add ons it made my head spin .
    Some cheap sat tracking devices can be used for the same purpose as spot but still looking into how reliable they are , starting price is under $20 and don't think I've found the upper limit yet there are thousands of company's selling them .
    Some have no ongoing costs some do , but exactly what the difference is between the cheap and the expensive I have no idea , maybe someone here has used this new tech .

  10. #17
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    That SPOT thing sounds interesting. I think I'll widen my field of investigation.
    ..

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    threedogs (28th February 2017)

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    Quote Originally Posted by 10G View Post
    That SPOT thing sounds interesting. I think I'll widen my field of investigation.
    We have these for our Linehaul drivers that drive all over the state. Great system that just run off aaa batteries. You can leave it on for people to track you, or can even send an sos if shit got real.
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    I've recently been looking at sat phones too. Main use will be solo northern & desert travel - for emergency use only. I've decided on a Thuraya XT lite - would like a Satsleeve but I'm not going to buy one AND a new phone to suit! A friend who has travelled overland extensively put me on to Thuraya pre-paid, an alternative to the Pivotel plans which I hadn't come across. Usage pattern will determine which represents the best value.

    Here's what he wrote for me:

    here's an alternative approach to the monthly plan through Aus telco to Thuraya.
    http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Thuraya-Sate ... Sw5dNWh~2b

    Thuraya have two sims, Nova and Standard. Nova is for the list of countries that have reduced call rates. Standard is the rest, like Aus (of course).

    You'll have to do your own research on how much call time a unit provides and the recharge costs. You may still think a plan is worthwhile.

    I'm about to buy another sim, I let the last one lapse as I wasn't traveling remotely enough.

    My phone was second hand about 6 years ago. Of course I didn't need it, but if I hadn't taken it I would have ....

    PS 10 units is 6.5 minutes,

    here's the recharge prices, 39 units is the annual renewal
    https://www.thurayarecharge.com/prices/

    recharge by phone is possible - ie recharge when really needed .....
    https://www.thurayarecharge.com/Recharge-By-Phone/


    Big advantage (for emergency only use)is that it costs about $45 a year (after buying the sim) to have it & air time can be bought/topped up instantly when needed via a free call & the airtime you buy remains valid as long as you keep the phone registered for the $45 a year. ie. can roll it over.

    We decided on a sat phone & an epirb. The Spot seems a bit limited for our purpose. It would be ok if you had someone 'following you' on it whom you could send an SOS to if needed, but we don't really have anyone to fit that bill & the ability to get advice in circumstances of ill health or vehicle breakdown with a satphone seems like a good idea.
    Last edited by Cuppa; 27th February 2017 at 11:56 PM.

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  14. #20
    Adventurist stevemc181's Avatar
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    I use an iridium 9575 and have it on a plan with Telstra. Costs me $35 a month which includes $10 of calls. There are cheaper ways to do it with prepaid sims etc, but I write it off for work anyway, so prefer to have it on a plan and always available.
    Calls to mobiles or landlines cost me about $2.00 per minute, but I will usually send a text to the family and have them call me from their mobile. The caller pays the same costs as calling any other mobile phone, so this is the best way to keep in contact with family for me. Be aware that some of the other networks can charge exorbitant fee's, particularly if the caller needs to dial an international prefix to reach you. It is also expensive on any of the Sat networks to call from one network to another.

    I went with the iridium 9575 as it is also GPS enabled and has an emergency button that is programmable and can send your co-ordinates to emergency services. I have mine programmed to voice call emergency services and to also send a text with my location to a pre-determined contact. There are various search and rescue groups that can be programmed in to be called when the emergency button is pressed. GEOS is one such example. Most of them will offer some form of paid subscription to their services on a world wide basis.

    The Voice call quality can be patchy and there will be dropouts occasionally, but generally every 6 minutes there is an Iridium satellite in view, depending on how much horizon you can see. Iridium is the only network that will work anywhere on the planet, but it is still subject to having a good wide view of the sky, so if you're in a gully/gorge etc it may be difficult to get a signal.
    They have just begun to launch 75 new Satellites as part of the Iridium NEXT project. The first 10 of these were launched into orbit on 14th January 2017, the rest will be deployed over the next 18 months. I'm not sure how much difference this will make to call quality, but it will have a big impact on data speeds for those that require it.

    Anyway, it works for me and I don't go offroad without it. You don't have to be far out of a town or city in this country to lose mobile reception, and I wish I had the Sat phone with me a few years back when I had to hike 20km's through the scrub to get a mobile signal after a breakdown. I was only 100km's from town, but might as well have been in the middle of nowhere.
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