any satellite phone users ??

Honda08

hi, are there any satellite phone users knocking round boards these days?

seems like there are a few new systems coming online shortly, ie inmarsat isatphone, new globalstar network , it would be handy to have a section on here for satellite phones. what do ya think mods?

Jonathan

Doubt it.. How many people actually use inmarsat?

Honda08

jmccrohan wrote: »

Doubt it.. How many people actually use inmarsat?

it will increase a lot after end feb 2009 when they have full coverage, after re positioning their satellites, and handsets are round the
$600 USD price range, with not bad price plans, also iridium have released a new phone the 9555, which for satellite phones is kinda nice. I use two, iridium and globalstar, and globalstar are launching a new network next year, with new handsets to follow, so the satellite market is hotting up, and prices are reducing, and dont forget theres thuraya there too...

i like my gadgets. people think that they are expensive, but they arn't really.

towel401

Greetings my fellow satphone collector.

I used to have a Thuraya SO-2510 - horrible build quality, unstable phone but the network was good. I ended up selling it, tried to buy a thuraya transceiver unit a while back but i was sniped on ebay.

So now I only have an Iridium 9522A, never been used but the guy i bought it from claimed it had a GPS and disappeared. I bought the handset for it as well but don't have it here yet. was thinking of using it for some funky project someday but since it has no GPS its nearly worthless as like a car tracking device + phone unless i start doing complicated **** with embedded computers and that only makes the tracker easier to disable.

Thx for the tip off on the 9555. Usually I watch these satphone news pages like a hawk but my connection has been very wobbly (not satellite). Real nice looking handset but the antenna is too small for my liking. Globalstar is almost dead at this point. their shares have gone below the 1-dollar mark and their network is falling apart. Basically if they don't get that new network up soon they will be dead and buried.

There was an inmarsat iSatphone on ebay a couple of weeks ago but they are **** - clones of ACeS handsets used in asia - they can't even send SMS. and with satphones that can be their most useful feature if your signal is any way dodgy.

edit: about making a forum for satphones - i think we`d be the only ones in it. no other satphone enthousiasts around unfortunately. Remember this site is pritty much packed with "jayzus! iPhone 3G with mobile broadband on O2" people who never venture outside the city and live a completely web-based life. none of this "backward" satellite phone stuff. there are people here who would like to see standalone houses in the country abolished and the land converted to automated farmland so that townies can order cheap pizzas through a facebook application. maybe thats stretching it a bit but you get the idea..

billbond4

I saw the Ericsson R290 in finland a good few years ago, it looked alright
Anyone use it?

godskitchen

Sorry if this is a silly question guys, where would you need a sat phone these days?

I know the answer is where ever you dont have phone signal, but most places are covered now................

Am I missing something?

billbond4

Would be handy in the middle of a concert You would have no problems ringing someone

mkennedy

godskitchen wrote: »

Sorry if this is a silly question guys, where would you need a sat phone these days?

I know the answer is where ever you dont have phone signal, but most places are covered now................

Am I missing something?

Yeah i was wondering this as well.
What's the main selling point- is it that you NEVER lose coverage no matter where you are?
Is there any other major selling point?

Also, a dumb question, but i assume you don't need to have a clear view of the sky to get a signal with these, do you?

towel401

godskitchen wrote: »

Sorry if this is a silly question guys, where would you need a sat phone these days?

I know the answer is where ever you dont have phone signal, but most places are covered now................

Am I missing something?

there are still plenty of places without coverage that are unlikely to ever get it because it just isn't worth installing and maintaining base stations in the backarse of nowhere. even some places in ireland. mainland europe has near 100% coverage but still gets a lot of satellite phone traffic probably people calling other satellite phones because normal telcos charge a fortune to call them

some of them need a clear view of the sky but most will work through a window or the roof coverage is fairly bad indoors usually but there are dual mode satphones around

Random

I don't reckon a sat phone forum would be needed at all. I don't remember a post about them here in donkeys years so don't see how there would be any justification for their own forum really.

Our man in Havana

Do they still cost $10 a min to call people?

towel401

Bond-007 wrote: »

Do they still cost $10 a min to call people?

they can be fairly expensive to call from normal phones and mobiles. although not quite $10. maybe 1-5 eur per minute. inmarsat and iridium are usually the most expensive to call but they have gateways so you can call them reverse charge. calling from a satphone to one on a different network is quite costly as well.

outgoing calls from satphones are usually around $1-$1.50 per minute but you can get them cheaper with a 'deal' that is often bound to a specified area or when you buy loads of minutes. calls to satphones on the same network are usually half price so a lot of people will buy the phone just for that reason

towel401

billbond4 wrote: »

I saw the Ericsson R290 in finland a good few years ago, it looked alright
Anyone use it?

no but their network is really unreliable these days. all their satellites except the 8 new ones are basically one inch away from death. they lost an awful lot of transmit power because some of the components are affected by radiation. the 8 new satellites don't appear to be doing much good either

Honda08

Bond-007 wrote: »

Do they still cost $10 a min to call people?

no. it costs the same as to call france as it does to call a globalstar satellite phone, bout 15cent from an eircom landline..

Our man in Havana

What is the monthly charge on those?

Bligh

It’s been awhile since I used a sat phone but the Inmarsat A, B and email over Sat C was a lifeline in my last job. Would be interesting to see how the technology has evolved over the last few years. I used an iridium hand set on a project a couple of years back and still thought the call cost was quite expensive. On the sat B it was about $4.50 per min, is it any cheaper now on the sat B or F as the inmarsat A is not in use any more? In terms of coverage and systems are iridium and inmarsat the only real contenders in the market seeing that the globe star system is on its knees and are there any new systems planned? It seems amazing there is enough room up there for so many satellite constellations.

Honda08

Bond-007 wrote: »

What is the monthly charge on those?

for unlimited calls on globalstar it costs 34.99 per month, and that covers calls to any country in your home zone, ie most of europe, ie a huge area. yes the signal has problems but they have an availability tool on their site, so you can calculate when is the best time to make a call, it works perfect, and you just have to plan when you want to make a call. but the quality is very good ,when you make a call. i have one and its grand.

the thing is this:
when satellite networks launch new satellites handset prices go up, and so do price plans. they have planned to launch mid/end 2009 their new constellation of satellites.


however i find the service is not bad considering you are getting unlimited calls. or you can opt for a flat fee, of 80cent per call, and no monthly charge, so you just pay for the calls you make.

Honda08

Bligh wrote: »

It’s been awhile since I used a sat phone but the Inmarsat A, B and email over Sat C was a lifeline in my last job. Would be interesting to see how the technology has evolved over the last few years. I used an iridium hand set on a project a couple of years back and still thought the call cost was quite expensive. On the sat B it was about $4.50 per min, is it any cheaper now on the sat B or F as the inmarsat A is not in use any more? In terms of coverage and systems are iridium and inmarsat the only real contenders in the market seeing that the globe star system is on its knees and are there any new systems planned? It seems amazing there is enough room up there for so many satellite constellations.

1. globalstar mid end 2009 new constellation.

2. isat phone ( inmarsat) world coverage end feb 2009.

3. there is some new venture being launched, in USA in near future, using standard sized handsets to communicate, with the satellites, to be able to do this, the new satellite will have an array of 20 meters.

4. iridium are launching new phone motorola 9555, in november.

loads happening in the satellite market .

and finally, iridium monthly tariff, post pay contract 27 us dollars per month service charge, then you pay 1.49 us dollars per minute.
not bad for a phone that works world wide, look on ebay, motorola 9505 / 9505A handsets dont last long there at all.. but if you were to call an iridium satellite phone from your land line it costs between 5-6 euros per minute.

towel401

have you used the isatphone? no sms via satellite would suck.

i don't like the MSV/Terrestar handsets at all. they are dull and boring like a normal mobile phone. satphones are supposed to be rugged and have a huge antenna. but if ya can get a decent antenna for one it would probably work fairly well indoors on satellite mode

on iridium the best option would probably be the 500 minute prepaid card. they don't throw in any free minutes with that plan for some reason.

Honda08

towel401 wrote: »

no but their network is really unreliable these days. all their satellites except the 8 new ones are basically one inch away from death. they lost an awful lot of transmit power because some of the components are affected by radiation. the 8 new satellites don't appear to be doing much good either

the S band antennas are degrading, on some satellites. however, globalstar are the same satellite network that the spot satellite messenger works on, ( L band uplink) and it works great, i have one, and its not affected by the problem.

you have to use the availability tool on the globalstar site to make a call on a globalstar phone , i have used it loads of times and it works...... however outside the times listed on the availabilty tool , the phone shows no signal..

towel401

Honda08 wrote: »

the S band antennas are degrading, on some satellites. however, globalstar are the same satellite network that the spot satellite messenger works on, ( L band uplink) and it works great, i have one, and its not affected by the problem.

you have to use the availability tool on the globalstar site to make a call on a globalstar phone , i have used it loads of times and it works...... however outside the times listed on the availabilty tool , the phone shows no signal..

i might try and get one so.. saw a gsp 1600 go for 51gbp not so long ago..

although the 1700 looks like a nice handset. the recession + credit crunch could still cause a lot of trouble for globalstar

Honda08

towel401 wrote: »

have you used the isatphone? no sms via satellite would suck.

i don't like the MSV/Terrestar handsets at all. they are dull and boring like a normal mobile phone. satphones are supposed to be rugged and have a huge antenna. but if ya can get a decent antenna for one it would probably work fairly well indoors on satellite mode

the thing is, the way the satellite networks structure their numbering ..
+8816 +8817, - iridium virtual country code, adds to the cost and makes calling them expensive..

however, globalstar, have an excellent system, ie you get a satellite phone number according to what gateway you are near, for european users on globalstar, they connect to the french gateway, in the south of france, and thus you have a number +33 64XXXXXXX, ie a standard french number that is cheap to call!

Honda08

towel401 wrote: »

i might try and get one so.. saw a gsp 1600 go for 51gbp not so long ago..

although the 1700 looks like a nice handset. the recession + credit crunch could still cause a lot of trouble for globalstar

theres lots of money riding on globalstars new constellation, satellites are being built at a rate of one every 2 weeks, so i hear, and they are being constructed in Rome.

Globalstar, launched the spot satellite messenger, to increase revenue.

when it has its new constellation in place, it is expected to last until 2025,
ie, much newer satellites than the current competitors. who knows, the same issues may affect them too as their satellites age.

globalstar phones, are quite cheap on ebay, at the minute, and you can get a phone, and all accessories for 500 usd, only the gsm handsets, sat 500, and 600 on globalstar use sim cards, to let you access the network. the other globalstar handsets, have some sort of over the air authentication, and dont have sim cards, such as GSP1600..

towel401

Honda08 wrote: »

the thing is, the way the satellite networks structure their numbering ..
+8816 +8817, - iridium virtual country code, adds to the cost and makes calling them expensive..

however, globalstar, have an excellent system, ie you get a satellite phone number according to what gateway you are near, for european users on globalstar, they connect to the french gateway, in the south of france, and thus you have a number +33 64XXXXXXX, ie a standard french number that is cheap to call!

i kind of like the virtual country codes.. I have caught a few muppets over the years leaving them missed calls from +88216 land, quite a few of them call back to waste some of their credit. iridium have a similar service but only dole out american numbers which are dead cheap to call from most places.Disclaimer: These were nigerian scammers and other gobsh1tes so its okay for me to do it...

Honda08

towel401 wrote: »

i kind of like the virtual country codes.. I have caught a few muppets over the years leaving them missed calls from +88216 land, quite a few of them call back to waste some of their credit. iridium have a similar service but only dole out american numbers which are dead cheap to call from most places.Disclaimer: These were nigerian scammers and other gobsh1tes so its okay for me to do it...

if you got a cheap 9505A /9505 on ebay that would be nice, considering that you can go prepaid, and buy all your airtime at us dollar rate!

towel401

Honda08 wrote: »

if you got a cheap 9505A /9505 on ebay that would be nice, considering that you can go prepaid, and buy all your airtime at us dollar rate!

"cheap" 9505's are very hard to find. I still hope to find a box of them at a carboot sale someday and some biddy who thinks they are old phones that don't work. time to start saving for a 9555 i think

Honda08

towel401 wrote: »

"cheap" 9505's are very hard to find. I still hope to find a box of them at a carboot sale someday and some biddy who thinks they are old phones that don't work. time to start saving for a 9555 i think

i rekon the 9555 = $$$$$

round the 2,000$ region i would guess.

godskitchen

Just one more question...................Is there a big lag in calls?

Oh and this has to be one of the geekier threads ever in the mobiles section, and thats saying something.....................there is something about obscure tech that I really like reading about, I look stuff like this up on wikipedia all the time.

Honda08

godskitchen wrote: »

Just one more question...................Is there a big lag in calls?

Oh and this has to be one of the geekier threads ever in the mobiles section, and thats saying something.....................there is something about obscure tech that I really like reading about, I look stuff like this up on wikipedia all the time.

geekier? lol
lag is supposed to be about 60ms, on globalstar, you cant notice it, the call quality, is very good, like a mobile call when you have full signal.

towel401

only on networks that use geosynchronous satellites like thuraya, inmarsat and those have a lag of about 1 second.

@honda do you think the 9555 will be less than 2k on ebay? cause there are still places selling the 9505a for that much

Honda08

towel401 wrote: »

only on networks that use geosynchronous satellites like thuraya, inmarsat and those have a lag of about 1 second.

@honda do you think the 9555 will be less than 2k on ebay? cause there are still places selling the 9505a for that much

i rekon the 9555 will be hard to get for a while, as iridium users who want a smaller phone will upgrade, and demand will be strong, however i would guess that second hand 9505A's will become more reasonable. new 9505A's with a good bit of accessories can be bought currently for 1300 usd, from the USA, so i would guess that 9555 will be around 2000 usd and they wont have a problem selling them at that price... not sure bout ebay,