Cell Phone Question

[DieselPower]

I'll give the TracPhone another +. My mother has one for emergencies also. I get her a 1 year card every Christmas. It's a great way to get a cell phone cheap if you only need it for emergencies

As for me, I have a Nextel since most of the people I know also have them and with the plan I have using the 2 way is free.

 

[billbill1]

I have a work supplied Nextel, in NE Kansas, their range is terrible. The wife has Cingular, it's much better where we are located. I wouldn't have one if work didn't make me. If mine rings-it's work calling.

 

[kennyd]

But earlier this week, we had a severe ice storm and lost power and telephone service, so I'd like to have one of those carded cell phones for those rare emergencies. BUT, I was wondering if the reception on them is any good. It's pointless to get one, if we can't get a signal.

I work for a major communications company doing fiber optic splicing and system turn-up...
I am very familiar with how the cell network operates and how it interfaces with the landline network so calls can be made and recieved...
If the icestorm was that bad, there is a very good chance the cellsite closest to your house was down also, either from a power outage or damaged cable that feed's the T1 circuits to the site. The cell network is not foolproof.
In New York, one of the major problems on 9/11 was that all the cell antenna's and repeters for the police/fire network on the roof of the WTC towers were damaged/destroyed, making communication very difficult.

As far as reception, can you see any cell towers from you property? Do you have freinds/family that can use thier phones at your property?

 

[goaliedad]

kennyd makes a very good point about the system not being failsafe. However, just because you can see "a tower" doesn't mean your phone will work- not all phones work off all towers!
Ask your friends if they are happy with thier coverage- and which carrier they have. Then the real trick is to find out which system the various pre-paid phones work on. Good Luck. FTI- I used to work in the cell phone business.

 

[Boomerang1]

However, just because you can see "a tower" doesn't mean your phone will work- not all phones work off all towers!

When you dial 911, the phone will work from any tower, doesn't matter who owns the cell tower. Any old cell phone will access 911. In our area, old cell phones can be donated to the abused womens shelter. This way they can have a way to call 911 if they have problems with their former boyfriends, husbands ect..

 

[goaliedad]

I'm not trying to start a fight here ,but feel I must correct boomerang1's information. Tt is true that a cell phone does not need to be active or inservice (under contract ) to dial 911. However, due to different technologies used not all phones will work with all towers- Sprint recently acquired Nextel, but thier phones do not work on each others networks- there is no industry standard of digital system in the US- different companies use different types- there are many companies that have roaming agreements with others, and they share systems- but not all phones work with all systems. You can't take a phone from company A and have it activated on Company B unless they share "formats". In the old days all cellular companies used analog phones- they were all the same. However, as digital systems have been built out there are many towers that do not offer analog service. When I worked for a large national cell company we were giving customers new digital phones as we built our system out. Some of the old timers refused to give up their 3 watt car mounted phones- as we added new towers they did not get to use them.

 

[midlf]

Some of the old timers refused to give up their 3 watt car mounted phones- as we added new towers they did not get to use them.

They probably did not need the new towers. My old bagphone got coverage EVERYWHERE I went in SE WI. A very few spots the rubber ducky would not work but the mag mount always did. The same is not true of Sprint. Time will tell with Cingular. The digital seems to be much more "line of sight" dependent than the analog. And this is not good as we are situated in a hole. At least Cingular was honest about saying, before I signed up, that my house was a weak signal area. Sprint always claimed service everywhere nationwide, but their idea of the nation had a lot less square miles than the one I travel over.

 

[swedish-fish]

Rich,
I don't like to carry a cell phone either, but have a tracfone with a one year card for emergencies so my wife can get a hold of me.

Here's another option... especially for widespread power outages. Amateur radio. I've been out of the hobby for awhile but kept my license up with the FCC. I understand morse code is no longer a requirement nowadays. With a mobile radio in the car and external antenna the range is about 10-30 miles depending on band and hills. Often times repeaters are available for your use on hilltops owned by clubs which extend your range even more enabling handhelds to be used town to town on just a few watts. Many repeaters also have phone patches and 911 is a free call. Most VHF/UHF radios have a dtmf touchtone pad. In the early 80s, before cell phones were popular, I could answer my home phone anywhere in SW New Hampshire over the radio. I was such a nerd!

Aside from the initial cost of a radio and test fees, airtime is free. Of course being amateur radio, it's not intended for business and you can't benefit from it financially, but for safety and checking in with people and chewing the fat it's great. Oh, it's also not all that private considering others may be listening.

Now, if I could only get my wife interested in learning some theory and passing the ham test...
Good luck!

 

[KYErik]

My wife and I both have trac phones and we like them. We got the free reconditioned phones along with the 1 year card for $99. We ordered them off the tracphone website last August and have had no problems.

If you know someone who has a trac phone and they use the tracphone website referal form, you and the person who refers you will each get 100 or so minutes for free- just plan ahead and have the other person fill out the internet referral form before you purchase the phone. My BIL referred me and I got free minutes from that arranegement and the I referred my wife and we both got free minutes from that as well

If you need someone to refer you- PM me and we can both get some free minutes...

 

[Soundguy]

Hey.. on 2m and ssb.. you should be able to get some decent range.

I don't qsl much.. but i do have my base station 'ready' to use.. and i also have a handheld, and a 50w booster, if needed.

Soundguy

Rich,
I don't like to carry a cell phone either, but have a tracfone with a one year card for emergencies so my wife can get a hold of me.

Here's another option... especially for widespread power outages. Amateur radio. I've been out of the hobby for awhile but kept my license up with the FCC. I understand morse code is no longer a requirement nowadays. With a mobile radio in the car and external antenna the range is about 10-30 miles depending on band and hills. Often times repeaters are available for your use on hilltops owned by clubs which extend your range even more enabling handhelds to be used town to town on just a few watts. Many repeaters also have phone patches and 911 is a free call. Most VHF/UHF radios have a dtmf touchtone pad. In the early 80s, before cell phones were popular, I could answer my home phone anywhere in SW New Hampshire over the radio. I was such a nerd!

Aside from the initial cost of a radio and test fees, airtime is free. Of course being amateur radio, it's not intended for business and you can't benefit from it financially, but for safety and checking in with people and chewing the fat it's great. Oh, it's also not all that private considering others may be listening.

Now, if I could only get my wife interested in learning some theory and passing the ham test...
Good luck!