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#214223 - 01/03/11 07:23 PM Re: It even happens to the best... [Re: comms]
raptor Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 04/05/08
Posts: 288
Loc: Europe
I, too, watched Frozen couple of weeks ago. Rather good movie (although not without couple of typical logical mistakes). Also good for pondering about what should have been done/ what would you do/ what would you bring etc. It reminded me the thread here on ETS about paracord rappeling smile .
Maybe I did not pay enough attention but what was the reason why no one carried a cell phone? Where they out of range?

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#214228 - 01/03/11 08:30 PM Re: It even happens to the best... [Re: comms]
ireckon Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 04/01/10
Posts: 1629
Loc: Northern California
Originally Posted By: comms
...They explain the lack having a cell phone in the movie, though on AT&T, I never consider my phone a via option outside of town...


You might want to test that out. Sprint has worked for me on mountain peaks in Tahoe, including Heavenly and others. I'm talking 4 out of 5 bars. I was quite amazed.

Originally Posted By: TeacherRO
Ok - How about an email to friends (or facebook note)
Listing possible where's and when to start looking. even if its 2-3 parks and possibly 10-30 trails, it gives SAR a good place to start.


That's certainly a good idea, no question. Facebook has been instrumental in finding people and solving a few crimes.
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#214238 - 01/03/11 10:55 PM Re: It even happens to the best... [Re: Susan]
Eugene Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/26/02
Posts: 2995
Sprint will work outside of town, CDMA carriers have a lot more coverage. AT$T/GSM is non existent outside major towns.

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#214239 - 01/03/11 11:01 PM Re: It even happens to the best... [Re: Eugene]
chaosmagnet Offline
Sheriff
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/03/09
Posts: 3819
Loc: USA
Originally Posted By: Eugene
Sprint will work outside of town, CDMA carriers have a lot more coverage. AT$T/GSM is non existent outside major towns.


That's certainly true in some areas. However, some areas I've been my AT&T phone worked fine where Sprint and Verizon did not.

There's an argument to be made for carrier-diversity among your party.

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#214261 - 01/04/11 11:25 AM Re: It even happens to the best... [Re: Susan]
Eugene Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/26/02
Posts: 2995
I guess I should have prefaced with my area. From the west end of TN to Washington DC, South to the Carolinas and North to Michigan GSM coverage has been getting worse once you get out of any decent sized towns. Its almost like they have transmitters at the town limits, people's gsm phones drop there. I was keeping an analog cdma and a gsm phone for diversity but in the last few years the coverage areas of either has gotten so low it doesn't matter anymore.

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#214266 - 01/04/11 01:53 PM Re: It even happens to the best... [Re: Eugene]
Dagny Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 11/25/08
Posts: 1918
Loc: Washington, DC
Originally Posted By: Eugene
I guess I should have prefaced with my area. From the west end of TN to Washington DC, South to the Carolinas and North to Michigan GSM coverage has been getting worse once you get out of any decent sized towns. Its almost like they have transmitters at the town limits, people's gsm phones drop there. I was keeping an analog cdma and a gsm phone for diversity but in the last few years the coverage areas of either has gotten so low it doesn't matter anymore.



Cell coverage certainly isn't great in the I-81 corridor or 60 miles west of DC in Virginia. I have Verizon and always lose the signal about 70 miles west of DC in Virginia headed toward the mountains. Friends and I caravanned to Pigeon Forge, TN in October and relied on walkie-talkies to communicate between vehicles (I-66 and I-81). I wouldn't bet a nickel on getting a cell signal anywhere along that route -- outside of the few significant towns.

At 3700 feet in the Shenandoah Mts, at the campground we frequent, there are only a couple of campsites where a signal is possible for most peops I know. But I did meet someone with a Droid last summer and they were pulling up weather radar away from the usual good spots for a signal. I don't think they were on Verizon.

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#214273 - 01/04/11 04:47 PM Re: It even happens to the best... [Re: Susan]
comms Offline
Veteran

Registered: 07/23/08
Posts: 1502
Loc: Mesa, AZ
In the movie, Parker (girlfriend) had a phone in the locker but was talked out of getting it by the boyfriend as he tried to repair a wrongly taken conversation.

AT&T in Arizona is horrible outside of town and that includes stretches of state routes between cities, (not major freeways). I have been on the top of 4 Peaks and at the 1.5 mile rest house in the Grand Canyon and AT&T had no service. My hiking partner who has Verizon had good signal at both and had to use his phone. In the Superstitions when I had Sprint I knew exactly where I could pick up service coming out of the canyon. With AT&T I have to travel an extra 4 miles out and even then have to reset my phone or wait another few minutes to pick up a tower. YMMV with provider and location.
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#214274 - 01/04/11 05:12 PM Re: It even happens to the best... [Re: Susan]
Susan Offline
Geezer

Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
Some areas have set moritoriums on building additional cell towers.
I don't know the reasoning.

I'm 5 miles off Interstate 5, and always had bad cell coverage. I bought a TracFone and couldn't get any kind of signal. My vet's wife refers to this as 'cell hell'. So I called a couple of cell phone services and asked if they wanted to put up a cell tower in my back yard. They said they would like to, but they couldn't due to the local moritorium.

Sue

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#214279 - 01/04/11 05:23 PM Re: It even happens to the best... [Re: comms]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
I have had great experiences with Verizon, connecting on the Channel Islands, which are outside their official coverage area, aw well as other odd locations. On one trip, my basic phone worked where a sat phone flunked out.
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Geezer in Chief

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#214282 - 01/04/11 05:29 PM Re: It even happens to the best... [Re: Dagny]
Eugene Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 12/26/02
Posts: 2995
Originally Posted By: Dagny
Originally Posted By: Eugene
I guess I should have prefaced with my area. From the west end of TN to Washington DC, South to the Carolinas and North to Michigan GSM coverage has been getting worse once you get out of any decent sized towns. Its almost like they have transmitters at the town limits, people's gsm phones drop there. I was keeping an analog cdma and a gsm phone for diversity but in the last few years the coverage areas of either has gotten so low it doesn't matter anymore.



Cell coverage certainly isn't great in the I-81 corridor or 60 miles west of DC in Virginia. I have Verizon and always lose the signal about 70 miles west of DC in Virginia headed toward the mountains. Friends and I caravanned to Pigeon Forge, TN in October and relied on walkie-talkies to communicate between vehicles (I-66 and I-81). I wouldn't bet a nickel on getting a cell signal anywhere along that route -- outside of the few significant towns.

At 3700 feet in the Shenandoah Mts, at the campground we frequent, there are only a couple of campsites where a signal is possible for most peops I know. But I did meet someone with a Droid last summer and they were pulling up weather radar away from the usual good spots for a signal. I don't think they were on Verizon.



Mountains add in a lot of dead zones as the signals get bounced and or blocked. My parents home is in a valley and we can't get a signal there, but 1 mile down the road I get a perfect signal where the two streams and valleys merge so the area is open enough that the signal can get in.
Now with a droid I only have to go 1/4 mile down the road, the reception has improved that I can still get a signal that last 3/4 of the mile where I couldn't before. The higher end phone has that much of a better antenna.
I drove down on the 4 wheeler to meet someone who wanted to visit us, she had to turn around 1 mile away from there and drive the 7 back to town then make a call on her at&t phone, I assumed she had called from where I was and wondered where she was when I got then so I had to sit and wait for 20 minutes for her to drive the 7 miles back from town to meet her again.
On top of the mountain I have a perfect signal vioce and data, yet no one else on other carriers can get a call in or out. So its partly the better carrier but partly a better phone too.
I actually have the cb radio to converse with others who don't have the coverage.


Edited by Eugene (01/04/11 05:29 PM)

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