Sat phones????

[wildcard]

Thanks for the input guys....Iridum it is. Anyone have a used phone they want to sell?

[sailingdog]

Wildcard-

Thuraya does cover the pacific and africa quite thoroughly. I was equipping journalists with the Thuraya phones, for deployment in Iraq/Afghanistan and they performed quite well.

I understand that they now make a small Iridium like handset that uses an omnidirectional antenna... so it might be worth investigating. One phone in particular that may be of interest to you is their SG-2520 model, which is both GSM-triband and Satellite capable. This would probably simplify and reduce your costs when traveling in areas with GSM coverage.

Also, be aware that it is against the law to use a satellite-based phone within the borders of the US, without a waiver from the FCC. So, if you get one and want to test it, either get a waiver or go offshore to do your testing.

[camaraderie]

No question about G-Star...not suitable for Pacific. I only recommend it for Caribe. Beth Leonard and Evans Starzinger used Iridium with great success in the Pacific and down in Chile. Don't know anything about Thuraya.

[wildcard]

I have never heard the no US use thing. Why is that? Is this an FCC rule of some sort???????

[sailingdog]

Originally Posted by wildcard

I have never heard the no US use thing. Why is that? Is this an FCC rule of some sort???????

It was, at least when I was working with testing sat phones for journalists back in 1999-2002. Probably still is...

[wildcard]

I dont see how they would sell if you couldn't use them???/
Whats up here?

[sailingdog]

From what I understand, satellite phones are meant for use outside of the CONUS borders. Use within CONUS is limited to emergency and military personnel, unless you have an FCC waiver. I think one reason for it is the difficulty of tracking satellite phone users... unlike a cell phone—who can be localized to within a few square miles, a satellite phone user can be almost anywhere within the footprint of the satellite.

[kimberlite]

The mini-m is 100 % all the time from africa to the carib to the usa. never dropped a call, iridium is ok but i wind up repeating myself and a number of times .
my shipmate uses globalstar. he says something about they are repositioning satellites. he gets lousy reception
fair winds,
eric

[wildcard]

Thanks for all the help guys. One more quick question. If I get say a motorola phone, can i change providers simply by changing sim cards?