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#11
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Best cell phone/plan for pilots
Ben Hallert wrote: Followup, I've got a corporate pilot friend who's looking for a phone rec (any service provider) that he can get good weather maps on. I think he wants more than the tiny radar GIFs, any suggestions? He's not rich, so no $800 phones. Treo? Blackberry? What're you guys using? I have a Treo 600 right now. The resolution of the screen isn't good enough for weather maps. The 650 has twice the resolution and would be really good for that. My next phone will be Windows based. I like the Treo's but the screen is too small. I have decided on the Verizon XV6700. It has the bigger screen and runs Windows Mobile 5. I have WM5 on my Dell Axim and like it. |
#12
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Best cell phone/plan for pilots
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. This makes a considerable difference in area of reception. I've been able to get them at Goodwill for about $10. The only trick is to find someone who can program it to work with your provider. I searched internet for the "Motorola Bible" and in it are instructions on how to program the phone. You need to get some setting stuff from Verizon and program that into the phone. You need to call back Verizon and tell them you have a new phone and give them the electronic serial number. In a minute you are good to go. I've been using a bag phone for the boonies for the last five years. It will work almost everywhere I go in the Great Basin of Oregon, Nevada, and California. In many places I can get reception, my wife's regular phone won't even get one bar. The bag phone won't have any bells and whistles, but for emergency use, it is great. tom |
#13
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Best cell phone/plan for pilots
I don't live in the boonies but I am frequently there. One of the
things I was most concerned about with my Treo was that it was digital only. It has proven to be a nonissue. I always buy a phone that has a jack on the back for an external antenna. I have a mag mount antenna for my truck. There's a place in northern Montana where we hunt, about 20 miles south of the Canadian border. I get 1 bar at the top of any hill. We are about 25 miles from the nearest cell site. A bag phone will work better than a cell phone without an external antenna but not even in the same league as any cell phone with one. Transmitting is usually not the problem, it is receiving. If you can't receive the cell it is irrelavant how many watts you can transmit. If you can receive then a 1/2 watt transmitter is adequate. 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. This makes a considerable difference in area of reception. I've been able to get them at Goodwill for about $10. The only trick is to find someone who can program it to work with your provider. I searched internet for the "Motorola Bible" and in it are instructions on how to program the phone. You need to get some setting stuff from Verizon and program that into the phone. You need to call back Verizon and tell them you have a new phone and give them the electronic serial number. In a minute you are good to go. I've been using a bag phone for the boonies for the last five years. It will work almost everywhere I go in the Great Basin of Oregon, Nevada, and California. In many places I can get reception, my wife's regular phone won't even get one bar. The bag phone won't have any bells and whistles, but for emergency use, it is great. tom |
#14
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Best cell phone/plan for pilots
From the TracFone Coverage Map page:
TracFone® provides nationwide prepaid wireless service. We use the nation's leading cellular providers to create a national footprint covering 99% of the U.S. population. This gives you service everywhere cellular service is available. I meant to say Tracfone not TracPhone. Where my wife's cingular has no serve, my TracFone does. Where my dauther's Verison has no serve, my TracFone does. John Hudson Tiner |
#15
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Best cell phone/plan for pilots
Marc:
Is your primary concern the handsets ability to grab a weak signal and still make a call successfully, or is your priority to have a multifunction device that will allow you to check radar images, etc? If it's the former, then the earlier suggestion to get an old fashioned bagphone will be unparalleled. They are pretty archaic, but they will work where pretty much any other phone would fail you, even in the weakest signal locations. Just forget about internet, or even text messaging for that matter. I don't think you can really even buy them new anymore (I could be wrong, though) but you'll have no problem finding one used. If your interest is the latter, then there's lots of options that are surprisingly cheap. I know you mentioned that really expensive ones are out of the question, so that probably eliminates the Treo/Blackberry option, but have you considered a Sidekick? I know it carries a bit of a stigma as a "Kid" device, but I've owned for for 2+ years now and it is the absolute best bang for the dollar when it comes to a multifunction device that is not only a phone, but a good internet-capable data device. There's nothing more reassuring then sitting in the cockpit just before startup and getting a live radar image of your destination, or pulling up a METAR/TAF while waiting for wx. There's lots of handhelds that will allow you to do this, but none that will do it for the downright cheap price that you can get a Sidekick for. No, the screen isn't the size of a Treo/Blackberry, but it works well in my experiences. -- Regards, Mark. http://www.oshawapilot.ca Unmunge my email address to respond directly... |
#16
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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 Gift Giving Made Easy Get the gifts you want & give the gifts they want One stop wish list for any gift, from anywhere, for any occasion! http://thewishzone.com |
#17
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Best cell phone/plan for pilots
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. |
#18
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Best cell phone/plan for pilots
OK thanks for all the opinions, looks like I should stick with a phone
with analog capabilities for a while longer. 99% of my usage is in a digital area, but its pretty important to have the analog available for when I fly out of town. I chose the LG VX5200. Not a particularly highly-rated phone, but not any worse than what I have now (CDM8900). It is however, one of the few analog-capable phones Verizon offers at this point. And cheap enough that I can upgrade later if something better comes along. |
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