phone

I assume it means it's been used to make 8min 34secs of calls.

But definitely worth more than a Thuraya handset.

Around $350 to $500 for the Isatphone on ebay
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/205187312783

Thuraya with missing Sats in the sky, and Network closed down, I believe, Not worth a lot

I think the Telstra Sat phones were sold off when Telstra changed plans so that the standard Sim card with roaming could not be used in their Sat phones.

I think anyone going remote should have a Sat phone, ( or other Sat device) along with personnel working in outback stations.

Hi,
I have been looking into getting a Sat phone for remote comms, but in the end when considering ongoing costs, real coverage, I decided to go HF transceiver with auto tune antenna. (Codan 9323 HF radio with 9350 autotune antenna). I have the system setup in my Prado, and it has a GPS connected. In the case of an emergency a single button push sends emergency call, plus lat/lon, to bases in each state. They then coordinate required emergency services. They can then make contact with my radio and offer real time support, while coordinating emergency services.
HF (High Frequency) radios are very cost effective, as the system can be purchased for around $1000, use a annual subscription of about $100 with a service provider, and through them I can transmit at 100W on prerscribed frequencies. You do not need to get an amateur license (I have one anyway).

Cheers
Phillip
VK3LRO

Hi Phillip,

One issue that I can see with an HF Radio, is that in the event of a roll over, if the antenna gets snapped off, you will lose the ability to transmit and receive any distance. With a Sat. Phone, that is unlikely to happen.

Macca.

.
HF antenna damage is certainly a possibility Macca but I dumped my HF because of unreliability of propagation due to ionospheric issues. Some times I heard a third party acting as relay between base and a another mobile.
I considered the system to be unreliable for emergency purposes and switched to the satphone. It is notable that the RFDS also moved to satphone except for aircraft communication.
But now satphone is being replaced by Starlink. HF is becoming a historic memory.
I still have my satphone active but giving serious consideration to moving on.

Met a young bloke walking the Canning earlier this year.
He was carrying a Starlink and small solar panel.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

Maybe not so surprising Peter. Maybe a lot better than lugging a Codan 9323 plus antenna and a 12 volt AGM battery in a back pack?

Hello, some sat phones allow calls to 000 without sim card. Only reason I still have one (Iridium 9555).

Cheers
Greg

Have you actually tried it Greg? Have you connected and spoken to 000?
My Iridium 9555 will not even proceed to connect to the satellite without a valid SIM card.
I tried to fully test it by calling 000 but during boot up it declares "NO SIM" and will not proceed. So I tried fitting my Telstra cell phone SIM and it proceeded to attempt connection but failed to connect.

Hello Allan, sounds like you are several firmware upgrades behind. The ability to call 000 (without a sim) was added 3 or 4 updates ago.

Iridium firmware release notes



Cheers
Greg

Thanks for that Greg. You are right, my phone has not been upgraded. I was not even aware of that need and checking now I find nothing in the user instruction book on upgrading.
Net searching reveals the necessary information but the upgrade tool is only available for PC's and not for Apple Mac, so with the whole wider family using Macs I am unable to upgrade the phone.
Being uncertain of how much longer I will have the phone my only option is to continue on the installed release and retain the Telstra satphone SIM and account. Or maybe find a PC tech who will upgrade it for me.

No worries Allan - I lied to you by the way - I have an Iridium Extreme, not a 9555 (I sold that). Got my models mixed up, same deal though - function was added with a firmware update at some stage.

I did have one of those $10 /month Telstra sims but as others experienced, they jacked to price up to ~$50/month so I cancelled it, given I figure the 000 option was sufficient for my needs these days as I also have normal phone (albiet Optus :( ), Starlink and a PLB.

Your post did prompt me to check my sat phone and the battery was dead flat (haven't used it for a while). Had a bit of trouble getting it back to life but seems to be charging now. Happy dayz.

Cheers
Greg

Optus??? Good luck with 000 !!! lol
Yes, I started at $10/month and now $45.
I considered Starlink but at $80/month that is no option except it can be idled.
I really have no need for comms other than cell phone which includes email and I believe Starlink is yet to include phone.
Of course, a PLB will summon the cavalry but I do like the satphone advantage of being able to easily have a two-way conversation to provide details and obtain advice.

Hello again, firstly apologies to Macca for hijacking his followup thread,

Anyway - Starlink - You can use wifi calling via your phone (assuming it has that function - most do) so coverage almost anywhere.

I am currently on their $8:50/month plan (recently available) - unlimited data but speed limited so only suitable for wifi phone calls, emails and other low speed actions. Can apparently browse some webpages and watch low resolution YouTube videos. Hardware now cheaper also.

Cheers
Greg

Yeah, sorry Macca, hope our conversation interests you too.

$8.50?? Clearly I am not up not date on that either. I think i'll look into it. Those services would suit me. Any avenues you would care to point me to?

lyHi Allan

Can highly recommend Starlink, it is a true modern game changer with remote Outback communications and the Starlink Mini has it all in one very small unit that easily will fit in a back pack.

Works brilliantly and only the other week with a week in the Flinders, we made perfect phone calls, emails etc when there was not phone service at Merna Mora Station.

Allan - you can purchase Starlink mini direct from Starlink, JB HI-Fi and Harvey Norman. No idea who has best deal. You can also get them from Telstra but apparently no recommended as they don't have access to full speed internet plan if required (or something like that). You won't see the $8.50 plan when you first sign up - think you have to select one of the available plan options and then once signed up you can change to lower plan.

Cheers
Greg

Thanks Stephen. What is the monthly cost of your plan?
Does the device remain on your roof while travelling and can you use the service while the vehicle is in motion?

Hi Allan

They now have what they call the Standby Fee $8.50 a month. Still have very basic access, but if you just want emails and phone calls, no issues. If you want to have more data, they have the 50gb/$80 month plan that is around twice as fast as our home internet.

My only advise is turn off Background App Refresh in the General Section on your phone and switch to Aeroplane Mode.

The dish must point south and lots of on screen help to get it setup correctly.

We purchased our Statlink Mini direct from Starlink last Christmas when they were on special for $199

Very easy to setup from the on screen prompts.

I have made a few extra power supplies for it, one off my 18v cordless drill battery as well as step up power boasters from 12v to 48v dc

People will tell you they run off 12v, but you ned to boast it and I have anderson plug setup in the car and camper.

Just the other week when in the Flinders, we had no phone or internet what so ever, but with Starlink, we had full phone and internet coverage.

We still carry PLS's, an Inmarsat Phone, SPOT, but hope we never have to use them and have not used HF for years.

If you speak with people they will all highly recommend the Mini. One thing even better with the Mini over the previous Statlink models, you do not have to setup a modem...its all combined in the very small dish, smaller than a 13" laptop MacBook Airs that I use.

I even talked Chris Smith, EO member here to get one before he set off on May for his annual 6 month outback travels.

If you ever want to speak more, we can speak on the phone.

All the best and say hi to Roz.

I have my starlink mount flat on the roof rack, works fine i.e . Doesnt need to be "aligned" (tilted) to face south...but Im in South West WA most of the time (at moment) so guessing there is no shortage of sats overhead.

Cheers
Greg

Couple of months ago we used a friend's Starlink that was mounted flat on the roof of his Canter.
Never once did it not work in the OKA for us between Balgo and the Anne Beadell, including voice calls while mobile when we got to within 50-100m from the Canter.

He has since done some tests which suggest it could be mounted flat inside the sandwich panel roof of the OKA, so totally protected, with an acceptable loss of performance.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

Before purchasing a Starlink if your decision is based on the $8.50 plan you should also consider the Starlink conditions of service which state:

"Customers pausing with Standby Mode for more than 12 consecutive months may, at Starlink’s discretion, (i) be required to pay a fee or upgrade to a different Service plan, or (ii) be only able to connect to the internet to access their Starlink account."

Won't be an issue for those that were already paying for a higher plan and moving to the $8.50 but if your considering purchasing a new setup based on it only costing 8.50 a month moving forward be aware that they can force you onto a higher cost plan in the future if they so desire.