Satellite phones are available now at fairly reasonable prices (as low as $600) and airtime is reasonable too ($20 per month and $1.50 per minute). Wilderness travellers now have a unique communications tool, should the need arise. I had looked into a 406 Mhz PLB at $1500 or higher. Now I've got a sat phone and take it whenever I'm out of cell phone range. I fly and am often in remote areas. Now I'm always in contact. Some phones have e-mail service too at no cost. The Motorola 9505 phone I bought weighs just 13 ounces.<br><br>Dan

Similar communications have been available in a reasonable sized package through Amateur radio for a while. There are several amateur satalites in orbit providing global coverage and a reasonably light radio can access them for free (providing that you have a valid ham lisence in the countries that you are traveling.) In most countries emergency use of amateur bands doesn't require a lisence - as long as it is a true emergency. The only difference is that with Ham you aren't guarenteed that anyone is listening. This requires registering call-in times before heading out and pre-arranging frequencies. This is a normal precaution if you are doing anything that might drop you into a wilderness survival situation. <br><br>The problem with the sat-phone, ham radio, cell-phone as a survival tool has nothing to do with the utility of the tool but rather the dependence on the tool. All of these tools can become useless from rough handling ( as you might experience in an off-airport landing) or dead batteries which almost always occur when you need to depend upon them. If you are fully prepared to survive without an electronic device then adding such for convenience and comfort with the added benefit that they might actually facilitate rescue is great. The reverse logic - I don't need any provision for shelter since I have my sat-phone and can call in the calvary when I'm lost - is fatal everytime.<br><br>Thanks for the update on the costs of sat-phone coverage. How is the network? Is the coverage truely global? How many satalites do they have aloft? What is the carry weight and battery life of the unit you have? What is the transmitting power of the phone? How hot does you ear get when you have that much radio-power transmitting right next to your head? As a HAM I am very interested in as many technical details as you can provide.

I agree with your assesment of a false reliance on electronic gadgets to save someone from a survival situation. Personally I always travel with a survival kit of one size or another. Much of my travel is by private plane over and into very remote parts of the west, Canada, and Alaska. I consider myself prepared and trained to handle an unintended landing or longer-than-anticipated stay. <br><br>To answer some of your questions, the service I have is through the Iridium network. They have, I believe, 62 satellites and complete global coverage. The phone weighs about 13 ounces and is about the size of an old Motorola flipphone cell phone I had 6-8 years ago. That cell phone would get hot but I have not noticed the same with the sat phone. I believe it is less than 1 watt in power. The e-mail feature is nice too. My family can send a message up to 120 characters like: "Call home, we're out of groceries." There is no charge and I know to call then,. The e-mail message is waiting on the Iridium system for me to turn on my phone. Battery life is claimed to be 20+ hours, depending on the talk to standby ratio. It can be charged from a cigarette lighter. Check out the Iridium website at www.iridium.com <br><br>Dan