New SPOT SAT PHONE!!
- Thread starter christopher
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The Globalstar phones have outages because of the lack of useable Sats. There is a reason they are cheap. You get a deal because u have to deal with the spotty reception. Once they can compete with Irridium u can bet the price will go up.
You can go on to their website and type in your coordinates and it will tell you when the outages will be. I looked at the phones but cost is just too high for Irridum. Also the outages just don't inspire confidence in the product because of the reason for owning one in thef first place.
I went with a Inreach SE this year. Works perfect so far even at 41,000 ft lol
You can go on to their website and type in your coordinates and it will tell you when the outages will be. I looked at the phones but cost is just too high for Irridum. Also the outages just don't inspire confidence in the product because of the reason for owning one in thef first place.
I went with a Inreach SE this year. Works perfect so far even at 41,000 ft lol
I've been researching satellite phones for a while and just purchased a Globalstar GSP-1700. Globalstar's second gen satellite network is now fully operational and working quite well now. They had some service problems during the launch of the new system due to the gen 1 satellites failing. That is not an issue anymore.
As said above, the Spot global phone is a rebranded GSP-1700 and uses the Globalstar network at the same rates. Go with whatever one is less expensive. I picked up my GSP-1700 for $389. The double minutes promotion is still going on so I opted for the Orbit 40. I figure $40/ month is cheap insurance for my life.
Here's a couple of tips...First, you must have a clear line of sight to the sky. The phone reception is also sensitive to having the antenna fully extended and pointed up to get a signal and while talking. I made a call from inside my house at a window and it was just as clear as my cell phone. Globalstar offers standard US based 10 digit numbers and calling is pretty straight forward...dial the area code and number then press send. (This was very important to me) You can also receive 35 character text messages but you cannot send them.
Of the three service providers, Globalstar has the best call quality as it uses CDMA technology, just like Verizon Wireless' digital cellular network. It also doesn't suffer from delays in the conversation. Iridium has the best coverage with the only true global network as the satellites are in a polar orbit. Inmarsat has a few stationary orbit satellites over the equator but doesn't reach past the northernmost and southernmost parts of the globe. Iridium and Inmarsat receive the signal from the phone and relays the call to one or more satellites until it can reach a ground station where the call is routed through normal networks. The satellite 'hopping' is the reason for the delays in the conversation. Globalstar calls transmit to the satellite and then directly back to a ground station as their network has many more ground stations across the globe. No hopping means a faster round trip transmission and thus no delay.
At current prices and service levels, satellite phones are now a very viable communication tool to supplement traditional cell service and provide a life line in those life and death situations or just to place an occasional call while out in the middle of nowhere.
As said above, the Spot global phone is a rebranded GSP-1700 and uses the Globalstar network at the same rates. Go with whatever one is less expensive. I picked up my GSP-1700 for $389. The double minutes promotion is still going on so I opted for the Orbit 40. I figure $40/ month is cheap insurance for my life.
Here's a couple of tips...First, you must have a clear line of sight to the sky. The phone reception is also sensitive to having the antenna fully extended and pointed up to get a signal and while talking. I made a call from inside my house at a window and it was just as clear as my cell phone. Globalstar offers standard US based 10 digit numbers and calling is pretty straight forward...dial the area code and number then press send. (This was very important to me) You can also receive 35 character text messages but you cannot send them.
Of the three service providers, Globalstar has the best call quality as it uses CDMA technology, just like Verizon Wireless' digital cellular network. It also doesn't suffer from delays in the conversation. Iridium has the best coverage with the only true global network as the satellites are in a polar orbit. Inmarsat has a few stationary orbit satellites over the equator but doesn't reach past the northernmost and southernmost parts of the globe. Iridium and Inmarsat receive the signal from the phone and relays the call to one or more satellites until it can reach a ground station where the call is routed through normal networks. The satellite 'hopping' is the reason for the delays in the conversation. Globalstar calls transmit to the satellite and then directly back to a ground station as their network has many more ground stations across the globe. No hopping means a faster round trip transmission and thus no delay.
At current prices and service levels, satellite phones are now a very viable communication tool to supplement traditional cell service and provide a life line in those life and death situations or just to place an occasional call while out in the middle of nowhere.
does spot have there own satellite network or using the the 2nd gen globarstar network ? i have used irdrium for the last 6 years been great. you buy can used 9555 for around 4-$600 the newest version the extreme has built in gps and a sos button that makes the phone very trackable though GEOS system. base plans run $55 a month you get 60 mins and roll minutes over with monthly a plan. idirium will work in every corner of the global there is few countries that require a special security code due to goverment restrictions That is good to hear global star is back up and running i did use there service but it didn't work half the time
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SPOT is a subsidiary of Globalstar and uses the second gen Globalstar network. I've been testing it here around my home town area in southern NH for the past two days and so far it's worked extremely well. I will get to test it in Aruba next week and then back up at our snowmobile cabin in northern NH, which is the main area I plan to use it in. I'll report back here afterwards with my experiences.
Globalstar certainly lost a lot of customers over the network problems before the second gen network was up and running. Hopefully all three of the providers will continue to improve in the coming years. It would be good for all of us...lower cost and better service.
Globalstar certainly lost a lot of customers over the network problems before the second gen network was up and running. Hopefully all three of the providers will continue to improve in the coming years. It would be good for all of us...lower cost and better service.
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