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Post by thereth on Aug 30, 2015 23:08:24 GMT 10
Hey Guys, We all know that communication is an issue we all look at as preppers, and a lot of us are concentrating on radios, either UHF, VHF or HF, but what about satellite phones? I have been having a look and they can be purchased relatively cheaply and put on a $20 a month plan. Now i know the satellite infrastructure isnt going to be around forever but in the weeks and maybe even months during and after a SHTF scenario, be it economic collapse, EMP or war, satellites should still be working and by that logic, I would think that satellite phones should still be working. Again I am not an expert and I am looking for some feedback from people who have more experience with them. Also these guys sell an entry level model for $500 new and $375 refurbished www.satphonesales.com.au/Phones-under-500cheers reth
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shinester
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Post by shinester on Aug 31, 2015 16:43:50 GMT 10
Satellites I would imagine would be up there for decades, assuming there's no warfare on communications in space [there's plenty of anti-satellite weapons]. The trouble wouldn't be getting the signal to the satellite and the satellite would then send that signal to earth, the trouble would be what happens with that signal once it hits the earth again. The telephone exchanges would have to be up and running and whilst they 'do' have significant redundancy [at least in land lines] and battery backups, it's backup is in hours not days or months. I'm not sure if you could send satellite phone to satellite phone without the exchange though I suspect not.
Certainly in most disaster situations that aren't catastrophic and national or global, it's a great idea, would be an excellent tool for hiking and such.
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Post by thereth on Aug 31, 2015 17:01:03 GMT 10
hey shine, those are pretty much my thoughts a well, I am curious about whether satellite phone to satellite phone would work if the standard grid is down, that would be a big sell point for me, having one at home at all times and one in the car with me, damn good if for $800 + $40pm I can communicate in almost any situation anywhere in the world
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australia
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Post by australia on Sept 4, 2015 15:58:22 GMT 10
only one problem , Non government sat phones (public) will be unusable during most scenarios due to the sat phone handshake wont be able to communicate with the live "billing" server on land , thats how landline / mobile / non gov sat phones work , all public modes communicate with the billing server first (authentication handshake) before calls can be made ,
as mentioned - all landline , mobiles / radio phone patching equipment and almost everything else that uses a "billing" system wont be able to be used if power is down or connections lost between exchanges .
it happened recently with a a Australian Telco and all customers were effected , billing system went down for a short time,
Gov owned satellites and military sat phones do not have this issue ..
But HF is still one of the first choices with military and Amateur radio emergency organisations worldwide during disasters ,
hope this helps
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Post by thereth on Sept 4, 2015 18:59:48 GMT 10
thanks for that mate, guess its back to the drawing board for a reliable long range communication system in a SHTF scenario.........
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Post by Peter on Sept 4, 2015 20:59:41 GMT 10
I've been thinking about short wave radio a bit lately. My problem - in the metro area - is having a whopping great aerial sticking into the air. There's also the consideration that AFAIK the signal can be tracked to its origin.
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Post by thereth on Sept 4, 2015 21:09:30 GMT 10
yeah mine is more because i travel up to 150km away from home a day for work, so if something (big or little) happens and mobiles arent working for whatever reason, I can still reach my family, and i also thought it would be good to leave a set at my parents so they can call me and we can coordinate in the event of a widespread scenario
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Post by Peter on Sept 4, 2015 21:37:01 GMT 10
Perfect. My priority is to communicate with various regional BOLs we have across the southern third of the state. I also hope to have opportunity to form a network of metro preppers with whom we can share situation reports WTSHTF.
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australia
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Post by australia on Sept 4, 2015 22:55:54 GMT 10
Just a few more bits of info In Australia "WICEN" Wireless Institute Civil Emergency Network , they setup UHF CB repeaters during disasters for public use and emergency services also if gen power is lost or a Gov repeater site is wiped out , they have been operating for years doing this successfully , most towns /cities have amateur operators that are members of WICEN Also most radio clubs have a WICEN operater that will use the clubhouse for comms and liaise with other Hams/ SES /Gov services if it's called for in times of need . www.wicen.org.auMany Gov departments now have portable repeaters in custom COMMS trucks and trailers also in there fleet , I've seen a few and they are very impressive and quick to setup . WICEN also uses HF frequencies if further distance is needed , and to liaise With defence dept as most defence assets use HF ------------- With regards to discreet antennas , use a UHF yagi antenna (looks like a TV antenna ) as its directional and will only transmit in the direction It's being pointed at .
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2015 23:03:49 GMT 10
Hello,
Had no idea this discussion was happening this month, I almost bought an Iridium 9555 Satellite phone. On the topic of Satellite phones, the best and only one to go with in Australia is the Iridium Network. I was about to purchase an Iridium 9555 for $600. Telstra uses the Iridium network and I know for a fact that all Public Departments which aren't defence use the Iridium Network because it is simply the best (I don't wanna get into the technicals but if you really want you can look them up online). A telstra Post paid (you can't use prepaid) sim with International Roaming would work in a Iridium Sat phone, allowing the phone to connect to the Iridium Network. However I have decided that there is a lot more I can do with $600 + a recurring fee off $120/year (best deal I could find).
I have decided that upgrading my comms is much better. Looking to buy more Baofengs which are the 8 Watt's. I have the 5 Watts - still need to sus out what I'm going to do - some models are 6 transmit power and 2 recieving (TX/RX) and some are 7 transmit and 1 recieving. I have tested my 5 Watt models (4 Watt Transmit/ 1 watt receive) in a suburban environment. I was able to get good communication from my house to the local tip, about 6KM - I have a lot of Hills, thick bush, electrical lines and a whole town in between so I was pretty impressed with the range.
Another thing I learned: UHF vs VHF Ultra High Frequency will travel further, however it lacks the ability to penetrate simple items such as doors VHF will travel a similar distance (not as far) but it will penetrate doors, buildings, reach through thick scrub.
In a real "Grid Down" situation you will find that Satellite phones will most likely not work, just because the phone connects directly to the Satellite does not mean that it will reach the other end. Plus who am I going to call? I'd only be calling someone else with a Sat Phone. Your call goes from the Satellite, back down to an Earth Station, possibly to another Satellite, beamed down again (usually to the US), and rerouted to wherever your call is going, if one of these is not functioning then your call will not work, so if the normal exchanges aren't working and signal towers are down your call could not reach the other end as well.
Just looked up WICEN and I need to give it more of a look. ALSO - Anyone with a Baofeng - any tips on programming my UV-5R? I just spent a solid hour trying to retrieve a channel list from any of my 6 baofengs and had no luck. Probably going to have to dedicate a day to making all the channels the same.
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Ammo9
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Post by Ammo9 on Oct 5, 2015 23:06:16 GMT 10
I gave my baofengs to a guy I used to work with who loaded them through his computer with all the 80cb channels and a few specialty freqs
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2015 10:56:32 GMT 10
Damn, I'm having no luck, just have them all synced on the same frequencies at the moment in Frequency mode.
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