looking for a satellite phone

[REEL ADDICTION]

Looking for a satellite phone any ideas?

[CClassic28]

I have a Globalstar 1600 & after a year of use, the service IMO is not great. I seem to drop calls frequently & it does take some time to lock on satellites at times. Most of my use has been out in the canyons. I did bring the phone with me to Alaska, and during my stay I was unable to use the phone due to heavy cloud cover. I understand that the Iridium phone is much more reliable, but I believe 2x the cost. I purchased my phone from www.outfittersatellite.com, good pricing, easy transaction.

Good Luck,

Chris

[Petty Cash]

I have the globalstar 1600. Have it four years now. Use outfittermarine also. I can't make a call under the hardtop, have to be in cockpit. There is an antenna that can be used that the canyon runner uses and says its good. I don't know too much about the iridium but check the Bass Barn website on the offshore threads and there is some info that may help you. Most of the time it works well for me and I would not go offshore without it. I'm not sure about this but I think that when the radar is off I have better success with the sat phone.

[backman]

ugly ugly ugly situation

google "Globalstar satellite problems" and weep.

They are having increasing problems w. their transmitters on birds in the sky and at the current time do not have a technical solution. If they do not resolve the issue they will not be able to provide coverage by mid 2008.

I was 2 days from pulling the trigger w/ Outfitters Sattellite when I found this out.

Wait and see for me right now....

[Calypso]

Are these issues with handheld sat phones only, or with fixed antenna sets? I am getting the Globalstar Wavecall 3000 Fixed phone and understand its a reliable unit. Does anyone have experience with this one?

[Beowulf]

Sat-Phones

Last year I purchased the Motorola Irridum phone on E-Bay. The phone was a lot more expensive then Globalstar but there are advantages. First off the Phone is crystal clear and easy to operate. I have never had a problem with the unit. As I only use the phone in the summer I buy a Sim card good for 75 minutes and am able to renew the card each month if the minutes are not used. The total cost of the card for the season is about $ 250.00, cheap for the peace of mind it brings. I have to find the bills from last year to get the actual cost if your interested. I found a great dealer for the cards on the internet but again I have to check the computer at my office for the exact name. The prices on Ebay are about 4-500 less then retail and if you keep looking and bidding you can get the phone (new) for about $ 900.00. You can also find some used phones but you have to be sure they are not more then a year or two old. Some of the older Irridium phones had a battery problem that was corrected by Motorola , still must be sure that whoever owned the phone did the upgrade. I keep my phone in the ditch bag along with the other emergecy items. Irridum phones are used by some cruise lines and commercial ships as most of the globe is covered by their satellites. Since the Iraq war many family members have given Irridium phones to their sons and daughters to keep in touch which has expanded the market for used systems. They were also used during Katrina and some of those phones are now becoming available.

[REEL ADDICTION]

If you can get me the number it would really help. Thanks!

[Beowulf]

Iridium Phones

Here is the info you requested.

I bought the phone on Ebay through a company called Novasystemslogic1 .I would check out Ebay and see what companies are offering the phone. If you do bid, pick a price you want to pay and stick with it. Dont get caught up in a bidding war. It took me 3 months to buy the phone at the price I wanted (950.00).

Delta Wave Communication is where I buy the Sim cards .They also sell phones on Ebay. (which I didnt know when I bought mine). They are fair in the pricing and sometimes have slightly used phones. The model I have from last year was a Motorola 9505a. The Sim card from Delta is $ 150.00 for 75 minutes good for 30 days. If you dont use all the minutes you can renew the card 5 days before the month ends. Dont wait till the end of the month as I did and had to talk to the owner to get it renewed. The fee for another 30 days is $ 25.00..You can keep doing this till the season ends. There are many other options if you are a frequent user like 500 minutes for 12 months and so on. Check out the site for details.

http://www.deltawavecomm.com/

Steve
CC32-Cape May, NJ