"Courtney Thomas" wrote in news:KUULg.4535$v%
:

Larry,

Wasn't it possible to use them with an acoustic coupler and modem ?

Is this now impossible ?

Thank you again,

Courtney



Ok, NOONE will put a bagphone on their system, except a few mom and pop
operations out in the boonies. AMPS, the analog system, just uses too
much bandwidth and reduces revenue-per-square-mile. Telecoms got the FCC
to decree that every cell system had to be GPS-traceable digital phones
by X date and when that happens the FCC will let 'em turn off AMPS
forever because noone will be using it. The heaviest user now is OnStar,
but even they are moving to digital modes (that suck). Don't expect to
push your OnStar button out in the country, like you can now, and get an
operator. That isn't going to happen when OnStar cars are running 150 mw
digital, instead of the big 3W AMPS transceivers they're using now....a
real selling point.

So, moot point. The ONLY thing you can use the bagphone for is 911.

--
There's amazing intelligence in the Universe.
You can tell because none of them ever called Earth.

Spammy Spamson wrote in
:

If there is an alternative... pls lemme know eh?



http://www.iridium.com/



--
There's amazing intelligence in the Universe.
You can tell because none of them ever called Earth.

In article ,
Spammy Spamson wrote:

Telus and Bel in Canada both plan to drop analog service within the
next 12 months. A bag phone as ANY cell phone in Canada will connect
to 911 whether there is a contract on that phone or not.

Modems are available for 3 watt bag phones. They are expensive and
limited to 9600 baud.

I have a bag phone and have no idea what I will replace it with. Based
on my experience with having guests on board with those cute 'lil do
all cell phones (they do all except pick up a signal) I don't think I
will be happy with anything that is on the market today.

Just *try* to find "power output" in the "specs" of a new cell phone.
The sales people can show you how to surf the net (while in a mall),
and God knows how handy THAT is while on a boat).... but they can't
tell you which model packs the most punch.

If there is an alternative... pls lemme know eh?



"Spammy"

(keeps the bots at bay)


There are 3 Watt Digital 800 Mhz Cellphones around if you know where
to look for them. We use them a lot up here in Alaska for RemoteSite
Cabin Comms, as none of the AMPS Bag Phones are allowed to be Activated
on our networks anymore. Other options are also available, like Booster
Amps for DualBand and TriBand Cell/PCS phones that have External Antenna
Connections, and are capable of 3 watts on each band. There are also
Base Cradles that allow Handheld Cellphones to be used with RJ11 Devices
as if they were wired network devices. Fax Machines, Modems, Answering
Machines, Cordless Phones, ect. You just have to look around a bit more
than going to RadioShack and talking to a SalesDroid. I have a Nokia
Handheld, connected to a BaseCradle that feeds one of my local PBX's
LoopStart FXS Outside Line inputs, and it has a Booster Amp driving
a 10db Panel antenna up on the roof, that connects to my CellTower
16 miles away. I get AllBars, and DigitalD on the system. This is my
backup Phoneline when the Microwave System that brings in our 2ea. T1
Lines goes down.

Bruce in alaska been there, engineer that, works good......
--
add a 2 before @

On Fri, 08 Sep 2006 03:45:55 GMT, Bruce in Alaska
wrote:


There are 3 Watt Digital 800 Mhz Cellphones around

//*snip


'ta Bruce, good info. Seen that, gonna dooit!


"Spammy"

I still have but no longer use a 3W Panasonic from the late 1980's.
Whenever I used it people would be knocked over by the sound quality
which was far better than any landline phones. I miss using that big
sucker. But now it is only useful as an exhibit at the Smithsonian.

Steven Shelikoff wrote in
news
They specify max power output because in operation, they actually
output
much less most of the time. They adjust the power output to the
minimum
required to reach the cell tower in order to extend battery life.
You'll notice a big difference in battery life if you normally use your
phone in an area with "1 bar" signal strength vs. all the bars lit.

Well, that's the official story at least. The actual power output IS
controlled from the cell, but the reason has nothing to do with your
battery. They could care less. It's about trying to maximize the number
of phone minutes/hour/square mile....the profit motive is strong.....

The old cells are all reduced to minicells, their powerful 500' antenna
panels that used to stretch out the miles to your trusty ol' beast, are
now reduced to little highly directional panels pointed DOWN from,
perhaps, 50-100' around the base of the old towers. New towers, the
microcells, are about has high as a tree and have a range to your little
toyphone's picopowered transmitter, which maxes out at 150 milliwatts,
now, so even if you don't make a tower, you don't make a lot of noise to
the other towers, jamming the channel we can sell to 24
users/sector/channel/tower...lots of cell minutes/mile.

More people, more money....simple.



Putting out the minimum required power is also a good idea since most
new phones are held right at your head.


Ah, I see the cellular propaganda campaign has had the desired effect,
getting the users to accept, "for their own good", lower and lower
transmitter power levels with poorer and poorer coverage that must be
closer and closer to a cell for it to function. This would all be fine
if there were a grid of cell towers 2 miles apart. There isn't so the
tiny transmitters running wide open picopower now have huge gaps, dead
zones, in the spaces the towers never got erected in for one reason or
the other, mostly to do with m-o-n-e-y.


But, all this will soon be as moot as the bagphone on AMPS:
http://telephonyonline.com/wireless/...llular_013006/
You'll simply ignore the cellular ripoff artists and use VoIP over your
wireless LAN to services like Skype, which works great, even in its
infancy. The companies, as you can see from this website, are fed up
standing in the windows of the offices just to make a cellphone call.
They want wireless phone service throughout the plant, offices, nooks and
crannies. They'll soon have it:
http://www.netgear.com/Products/CommunicationsVoIP.aspx
Fits right in your pocket....no cellphone company, really CHEAP
interconnects (many are free), no computer necessary. It connects
directly to any wifi 802.11b/g router to Skype across the planet. My
Charleston Skype phone number costs me $28/YEAR! A $10 outgoing charge
to my account with my credit card and I'm ready to call most phones on
the planet. Worked great to my buddy's cellphone number in
Bahrain....25c/min...NOT $3.49! Most of the larger countries are
$US2.1c/min and NO MONTHLY FEES OR FUNNY BUSINESS CHARGES...

Skype works great at any wifi-connected marina. If your friends and
family are also on Skype with their computers, you can talk from anywhere
to anywhere for FREE for as long as you like....(c;

If I were cellular, I'd be afraid....very afraid.

--
There's amazing intelligence in the Universe.
You can tell because none of them ever called Earth.

On Thu, 07 Sep 2006 17:47:08 GMT, "Gordon Wedman"
wrote:


"Dick Locke" wrote in message


I believe Larry's statement is correct for Canada. Any cellphone, contract
or no, will get you through to 911.



OK, two countries. I don't think any other cruising destinations use
911 for emergencies.

3 watt AMPS phones are incredibly useful. It's all about bandwidth,
transmit power, and a decent antenna.

I'm saddened to hear the AMPS service is going to be discontinued, as I
have been running a 3watt bagphone 24/7 through a 4 foot Shakespeare
external antenna (3 or 6 db gain?) mounted on the sternrail of my boat
since 1991, using ship's 12v power, as my "home" phone. It's worked
great, haven't had a dropped call or "butt-in" ever, and have gotten
service up to 25 miles off the coast. Analog doesn't "click off"; if
the signal gets marginal, there's just more hash and static, like an AM
radio. Also don't have trouble with "grabby" Mexican networks here in
Southern California, which will "steal" your signal in mixed waters
near the border, and make a digital phone useless. Guess they're
digital only.

A few years back I discovered the NAM module in my Technophone is in
the handset, not the aluminum transciever box, so I bought two more
"antique" Technophones on EBay for $20, keep them in my cars as 911
devices, and switch the handset for my "live" one on long trips, to
stay in touch. They use old "brick" camcorder batteries, so that's not
been a problem. I'm into desert exploring, and with an 8 inch(?)
rubber ducky antenna, using a Jeep hood as a counterpoise, have been
able to punch out to towers when the pocket cellphone folks can't get a
signal at all. Once made a (marginally intelligible) call from a
remote mountaintop where the nearest tower was over 40 miles away (but
line-of-sight), technically impossible using digital.

The other posters here are right about not being able to sign up a new
AMPS phone; I chatted with my service about changing plans, and they
said thay haven't accepted new analog subscribers for years, don't know
anybody who does. I'm still with them paying a premium price (about
$60/month, with no minutes, 100% roam surcharge because I moved out of
my home range years ago) only because I'm now their oldest continuous
subscriber and a legacy. I signed with them when they were literally a
mom and pop startup in Woodland Hills, now they're a major SoCal
player.

I haven't figured out what to do come March 2008, maybe go Iridium or
Globalstar, although running one 24/7 standby might be a problem, and
I've heard from users the service is less than stellar. Maybe
something better will come along by then.

Why in the world would you want a 911 only cell phone on the water,
when you should have a VHF, preferable interfaced with a GPS to call
for help?

"Mark" wrote in news:1157696759.948040.242390
@i3g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

I'm saddened to hear the AMPS service is going to be discontinued

Mark, have you noticed a new carrier tactic of NOT answering calls from the
old AMPS phones to 611 or *611? Both AMPS carriers in Charleston, Verizon
and Alltel no longer answer the 611 calls. When I dial 611 from any of the
AMPS bagphones in my various vehicles, it connects, then simply disconnects
on the first ring.

I suppose it has to do with people calling them to get them to put the old
girls back on their systems, and their not wanting to have to answer such
calls....so they simply refuse to answer the phones and hang up on them.

Pity. You're right about QUALITY...None of the little toyphones will ever
sound anywhere near as good as the narrowband FM radios in a trusty old
Motorola bagphone or carphone. Those days seem over.



--
There's amazing intelligence in the Universe.
You can tell because none of them ever called Earth.