any experience with satelite phones

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J

johnnyafrica

New Member
Posts
113
Location
dublin
hi there,
just in the starting phase of getting my landy in prep mode for a drive from dublin to cape town.
with any of the sat phones around is there any particular dealer/phone/provider,
ive been doing some light research and am wandering has anyone used these while in the eastern side of africa and what was couverage like.
or is there a cheeper alternative to this.

thanks

john:cell:
 
I used a Telit globalstar phone, ZA and OZ and UK where the cellphone does not work , It works as a cellphone where there is a network , or if not then satphone . When used as satphone you pay for incoming and outgoing phone I got mine on vodafone in OZ . They are excellent for when you need to communicate , incredibly expensive if you dont watch usage .
The communication is very clear and a lot better than HF radio . HTSH
 
johnnyafrica said:
hi there,
just in the starting phase of getting my landy in prep mode for a drive from dublin to cape town.
with any of the sat phones around is there any particular dealer/phone/provider,
ive been doing some light research and am wandering has anyone used these while in the eastern side of africa and what was couverage like.
or is there a cheeper alternative to this.

thanks

john:cell:
Click to expand...

Have a iridium 9505a worked in New Zealand and deepest siberia last year, very good, not so good near buildings, use a pre pay but you can get plans even africa only plans
 
africa...the land of the three legged chicken eh...still,id rather be over there drivin about that sat here at the desk lol....cant help with the sat fones as ive only ever used them in the army and didnt really pay much attention to them,but have a great time over ther ya all
 
sasha2001 said:
Have a iridium 9505a worked in New Zealand and deepest siberia last year, very good, not so good near buildings, use a pre pay but you can get plans even africa only plans
Click to expand...

Nice avatar sasha.:)

I had to tow my mates Gaz the other day cos a cog outter had seperated from the inner causing the timing to jump. Great vehicles though. My mate runs it on the contaminated fuel that we get in at work. As long as there's 50% petrol in it it'll run.
 
ratty said:
Nice avatar sasha.:)

I had to tow my mates Gaz the other day cos a cog outter had seperated from the inner causing the timing to jump. Great vehicles though. My mate runs it on the contaminated fuel that we get in at work. As long as there's 50% petrol in it it'll run.
Click to expand...
Theres a decontamination Zil on ebay at the mo.Will run on mixed fuel and wont stop for nuffink.
 
ratty said:
Nice avatar sasha.:)

I had to tow my mates Gaz the other day cos a cog outter had seperated from the inner causing the timing to jump. Great vehicles though. My mate runs it on the contaminated fuel that we get in at work. As long as there's 50% petrol in it it'll run.
Click to expand...

would love to bring a gaz to New Zealand but I cannot put it on the road
even if I had the papers to say I owned it for years!!,reasonably good truck
they also make Ural trucks which are very tough see this link (in english)
All wheel-drive trucks - Heavy
 
Just bought an Iridium 9555 having previously rented a 9505. Much smaller and quicker to acquire a signal than the 9505. Buy from cellhire.co.uk for £995 (phone only) then buy 300 minutes prepaid African minutes from satphone.co.uk for about £300. It's the cheapest way to do it but beware cellhire won't let you use a credit card. It's £1725 from satphone.co.uk so it's worth the effort to save nearly £500.

Thuraya don't work from Zim downwards. Globalstar have pathetic coverage and from personal experience Iridium is great. Email from phone and email to text works well. I leave on a Cape to Chichester trip in three weeks and it was the only phone that had total coverage.
 
P.S. Don't even think about cellphones for emergencies - there is no reception outside of towns. Our landy fell over in the middle of the Kalahari when we reckon we were the only people in the northern half, 6 days walk to help anyone?
 
It's a simple answer I think,
==> Thuraya has a good voice quality, but the coverage is limited to:
Most Europe
All of Africa except the southern part (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, where reception is bad to inexistent)
Pros: it's cheap(er)
==> Iridium
Much more expensive, bulky (size-wise), and a slighly lower voice quality (I have used one and it wasnt THAT bad after all for a quick call)
BIG PRO: Works EVERYWHERE in the world (with the exception of a few countries which block the service, like N Korea I think)


I am getting myself an Iridium asap.

Jonathan
 
Hi I dont have a sat phone but I know they are currently undergoing some change 'protocols'. I have seen hand held one used successfully. In towns or where there are phones you are better off using your mobile phone and changing sims but if you are off the beaten track you maybe limited to a sat phone. cheers Arthur
 
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