Best cell phone/plan for pilots

tom wrote:
The best bet in the boonies is analog. The digital service is taking
over the high population areas, but analog still rules in the sticks.
The best cheap phone for boonies is an old fashioned bag phone.
Instead of .6 watts power, they have 3 watts power.

Don't forget about the option for an external antenna. A good antenna
can make .6 watts look like 6 watts on both RX and TX. You may have to
look hard for an antenna that has that much gain, it will likely be a
directional antenna. Just be sure your phone has the connectors and
jacks needed to attach an external antenna. Also one thing to keep in
mind, with certain digital modes, it doesn't matter how strong the
signal is if you are more than a certain distance away. I think that
distance is around 20 miles. There is a some kind of handshake routine
that is timed and if it takes your phone more than the alloted time to
respond, it wont work even if there is plenty of signal strength. Sorry
I don't remember for sure which digital service this is, but I think it
is GSM.

--
Chris W
KE5GIX

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Chris W wrote:
There is a some kind of handshake routine
that is timed and if it takes your phone more than the alloted time to
respond, it wont work even if there is plenty of signal strength. Sorry
I don't remember for sure which digital service this is, but I think it
is GSM.

It's not CDMA as I get 20-25 miles with my external nondirectional mag
mount antenna on my truck.