On Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:43:50 -0400, wrote:

On Sat, 05 Jul 2008 10:26:32 -0400, HK wrote:

I use mine a lot when out fishing...it's a much better way than VHF
radio to reach the "captains" of other boats to hear them lie about the
fish they are catching where they are. Out on the Bay these days, cell
coverage is damned good if you are out a bit from the cliffs and woods
on the western shore.

With a 3 watt analog phone and a good marine antenna cell coverage is
better in Florida Bay than VHF. When my buddy was making that limp
home from Marathon to Pine Island (the bent prop shaft thread) he
never lost cell signal but his VHF was useless

Luckily, Baltimore has a tremendous Coast Guard station that reaches any
are of the Chesapeake Bay I've been in. I've been able to reach them also,
in the one instance I needed to.

TowBoatUS monitors the Bay pretty well also.

On Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:43:50 -0400, wrote:

With a 3 watt analog phone and a good marine antenna cell coverage is
better in Florida Bay than VHF. When my buddy was making that limp
home from Marathon to Pine Island (the bent prop shaft thread) he
never lost cell signal but his VHF was useless

This was about twelve years ago back when our rural 911 system was
still in it's infancy. The Fire/Rescue services all chipped in and
set up the system and used volunteer operators until the towns chipped
in to hire dispatchers until the state could get it's act together.

I was on a midnight shift when I got a cell phone call off the Pomfret
cell tower. The call was from a boater in Long Island Sound off The
Dumplings near The Race - his boat was dead in the water, had no
power, battery had run out and couldn't use his VHF.

Took me a minute to figure out what happened - atmospheric ducting
took the signal and the first tower that was in the duct grabbed the
signal. :)

I transferred the call to CG New London and they took it from there.
Called me back a couple of hours later - they found the boat,
everything was fine.

I've often wondered what would have happened if somebody not familiar
with the physics of radio might have been on duty that night.

On Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:22:09 -0500, Vic Smith
wrote:

On Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:48:15 -0400, HK wrote:


You used only 200 minutes over an entire year?

Crikey.

We go through about 700 minutes a month...of course there are four of us
on the family plan, one is a teenager still in high school and another
is a college student. They talk a lot, but they IM even more. Thank
goodness IM's are free. Even better, *I* don't IM. At all. Hate it.

How it worked was first year got about 1200 minutes off the bat for
about $160 which included a Motorola flip phone still in use.
There was a 200 min bonus deal.
Second year I did $100 which gave us a total of 1600 mins because we
still had 600 left. You don't lose old minutes if you re-up.
Last year still has 800 left.
So we use about 600 a year - most talking to the kids when we're on
vacation.
They all have different stuff, including U.S Cellular and T-Mobile
family plan - my daughter and her best friend.
Some of my kids have the T-Mobile family with my ex.
The thing about the T-Mobile is there are no roaming charges.
One son - the proverbial yakker - has a US Cellular that runs $60-80
month and just showed up this morning back from Tennessee unannounced
because the roaming charges are so high.
Forget to give him *MY* T-Mobile prepaid that the wife gave me for my
birthday and I have never used and usually forget to carry.
Waste of money.
No, I don't like cell phones. Can't see the buttons.
But they are nice to have for the road so we have them.

--Vic

So far, from what I've seen, T-Mobile seems to be about what I'm looking
for. Thanks.

On Jul 5, 9:48*am, HK wrote:
Vic Smith wrote:
On Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:24:02 -0400, John H.
wrote:

I'm thinking of getting out of the contract cell phone plan and getting a
prepaid plan. T-Mobile, for example, sells 1000 minutes for $100 and
they're good for a year.

Does anyone here have a prepaid mobile phone? If so, with whom and how do
you like it?

I've had the that T-Mobile deal for about 3 years.
If you do the $100 right off, after a year you can buy any amount to
renew for another year. *Gold member or something like that.
Last year I think I bought a $40 refill because we still had about 800
minutes left.
I still don't know any service that's cheaper for "light" use.
But.......any phone is worthless if there's no coverage.
From Chicago to Florida - which is where we use it, it's been perfect.
So check coverage first.
I've heard coverage maps aren't always indicative of "good" coverage,
so it would be best to actually find somebody who uses it your area
and get the straight skinny.
We bought here in Chicago with local use in mind, but it's worked out
for out trips too. *Dumb luck.

--Vic

You used only 200 minutes over an entire year?

Crikey.

We go through about 700 minutes a month...of course there are four of us
on the family plan, one is a teenager still in high school and another
is a college student. They talk a lot, but they IM even more. Thank
goodness IM's are free. Even better, *I* don't IM. At all. Hate it.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You shouldn't allow a teenager to use a cell phone. It's very
dangerous and borders on child abuse. If they are yacking on a cell
phone, then they aren't paying attention and could get hit by a car or
worse.

On Jul 5, 10:32*am, wrote:
On Jul 5, 9:48*am, HK wrote:





Vic Smith wrote:
On Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:24:02 -0400, John H.
wrote:

I'm thinking of getting out of the contract cell phone plan and getting a
prepaid plan. T-Mobile, for example, sells 1000 minutes for $100 and
they're good for a year.

Does anyone here have a prepaid mobile phone? If so, with whom and how do
you like it?

I've had the that T-Mobile deal for about 3 years.
If you do the $100 right off, after a year you can buy any amount to
renew for another year. *Gold member or something like that.
Last year I think I bought a $40 refill because we still had about 800
minutes left.
I still don't know any service that's cheaper for "light" use.
But.......any phone is worthless if there's no coverage.
From Chicago to Florida - which is where we use it, it's been perfect..
So check coverage first.
I've heard coverage maps aren't always indicative of "good" coverage,
so it would be best to actually find somebody who uses it your area
and get the straight skinny.
We bought here in Chicago with local use in mind, but it's worked out
for out trips too. *Dumb luck.

--Vic

You used only 200 minutes over an entire year?

Crikey.

We go through about 700 minutes a month...of course there are four of us
on the family plan, one is a teenager still in high school and another
is a college student. They talk a lot, but they IM even more. Thank
goodness IM's are free. Even better, *I* don't IM. At all. Hate it.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You shouldn't allow a teenager to use a cell phone. It's very
dangerous and borders on child abuse. If they are yacking on a cell
phone, then they aren't paying attention and could get hit by a car or
worse.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

These kids and cell phones.. My kid could text with her hand in her
pocket I hate it when they are talking to you, and texting a friend
at the same time. But then again, I don't go bull****, it's progress.
My other daughter googles everything we talk about, real time. The day
the Mouse crashed and I was in the front yard gearing up, she phoned
me... "dad I crashed"... amazing...

I talk to my 91yo dad about that stuff all the time. He is not a
typical old man though, he loves and embraced technology.. He really
wants to take a couple of laps on a dirtbike. If he thought he could
do it without dieing, he would. He watches the big boys and girls
doing doubles and says "I could have done that".. Anyone who knows him
would agree. He was the strongest and most agile "pound for pound"
person I have ever known. .He was a monster, unloading freight cars
for Finast until he was in his mid 70's 100 pound bags of flower all
day long.. He could have been a great rider and he knows it. But he
still comes to the track any day it's not going to top 90 degrees...
Loves the dust, the kids, the machines.. One impressive old man...

On Jul 5, 10:55*am, wrote:
On Jul 5, 10:32*am, wrote:





On Jul 5, 9:48*am, HK wrote:

Vic Smith wrote:
On Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:24:02 -0400, John H.
wrote:

I'm thinking of getting out of the contract cell phone plan and getting a
prepaid plan. T-Mobile, for example, sells 1000 minutes for $100 and
they're good for a year.

Does anyone here have a prepaid mobile phone? If so, with whom and how do
you like it?

I've had the that T-Mobile deal for about 3 years.
If you do the $100 right off, after a year you can buy any amount to
renew for another year. *Gold member or something like that.
Last year I think I bought a $40 refill because we still had about 800
minutes left.
I still don't know any service that's cheaper for "light" use.
But.......any phone is worthless if there's no coverage.
From Chicago to Florida - which is where we use it, it's been perfect.
So check coverage first.
I've heard coverage maps aren't always indicative of "good" coverage,
so it would be best to actually find somebody who uses it your area
and get the straight skinny.
We bought here in Chicago with local use in mind, but it's worked out
for out trips too. *Dumb luck.

--Vic

You used only 200 minutes over an entire year?

Crikey.

We go through about 700 minutes a month...of course there are four of us
on the family plan, one is a teenager still in high school and another
is a college student. They talk a lot, but they IM even more. Thank
goodness IM's are free. Even better, *I* don't IM. At all. Hate it.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You shouldn't allow a teenager to use a cell phone. It's very
dangerous and borders on child abuse. If they are yacking on a cell
phone, then they aren't paying attention and could get hit by a car or
worse.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

These kids and cell phones.. My kid could text with her hand in her
pocket I hate it when they are talking to you, and texting a friend
at the same time. But then again, I don't go bull****, it's progress.
My other daughter googles everything we talk about, real time. The day
the Mouse crashed and I was in the front yard gearing up, she phoned
me... "dad I crashed"... amazing...

I talk to my 91yo dad about that stuff all the time. He is not a
typical old man though, he loves and embraced technology.. He really
wants to take a couple of laps on a dirtbike. If he thought he could
do it without dieing, he would. He watches the big boys and girls
doing doubles and says "I could have done that".. Anyone who knows him
would agree. He was the strongest and most agile "pound for pound"
person I have ever known. .He was a monster, unloading freight cars
for Finast until he was in his mid 70's * 100 pound bags of flower all
day long.. He could have been a great rider and he knows it. But he
still comes to the track any day it's not going to top 90 degrees...
Loves the dust, the kids, the machines.. One impressive old man...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Same with my uncle, who raised us and raised us right! We always had
motorcycles and snowmobiles starting with my Lil' Indian mini bike! We
just grew up knowing how to work on stuff, and if it broke we fixed
it. We had "field cars" just old junk that he'd let us fix and get
running and use them in the potato fields, that was a blast!

HK wrote:
Vic Smith wrote:
On Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:24:02 -0400, John H.
wrote:

I'm thinking of getting out of the contract cell phone plan and
getting a
prepaid plan. T-Mobile, for example, sells 1000 minutes for $100 and
they're good for a year.
Does anyone here have a prepaid mobile phone? If so, with whom and
how do
you like it?

I've had the that T-Mobile deal for about 3 years.
If you do the $100 right off, after a year you can buy any amount to
renew for another year. Gold member or something like that.
Last year I think I bought a $40 refill because we still had about 800
minutes left.
I still don't know any service that's cheaper for "light" use.
But.......any phone is worthless if there's no coverage.
From Chicago to Florida - which is where we use it, it's been perfect.
So check coverage first.
I've heard coverage maps aren't always indicative of "good" coverage,
so it would be best to actually find somebody who uses it your area
and get the straight skinny.
We bought here in Chicago with local use in mind, but it's worked out
for out trips too. Dumb luck.
--Vic


You used only 200 minutes over an entire year?

Crikey.

We go through about 700 minutes a month...of course there are four of us
on the family plan, one is a teenager still in high school and another
is a college student. They talk a lot, but they IM even more. Thank
goodness IM's are free. Even better, *I* don't IM. At all. Hate it.

IM's aren't free. IM's are the phone company's bread and butter these days.

BAR wrote:
HK wrote:
Vic Smith wrote:
On Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:24:02 -0400, John H.
wrote:

I'm thinking of getting out of the contract cell phone plan and
getting a
prepaid plan. T-Mobile, for example, sells 1000 minutes for $100 and
they're good for a year.
Does anyone here have a prepaid mobile phone? If so, with whom and
how do
you like it?

I've had the that T-Mobile deal for about 3 years.
If you do the $100 right off, after a year you can buy any amount to
renew for another year. Gold member or something like that.
Last year I think I bought a $40 refill because we still had about 800
minutes left.
I still don't know any service that's cheaper for "light" use.
But.......any phone is worthless if there's no coverage.
From Chicago to Florida - which is where we use it, it's been perfect.
So check coverage first.
I've heard coverage maps aren't always indicative of "good" coverage,
so it would be best to actually find somebody who uses it your area
and get the straight skinny.
We bought here in Chicago with local use in mind, but it's worked out
for out trips too. Dumb luck.
--Vic


You used only 200 minutes over an entire year?

Crikey.

We go through about 700 minutes a month...of course there are four of
us on the family plan, one is a teenager still in high school and
another is a college student. They talk a lot, but they IM even more.
Thank goodness IM's are free. Even better, *I* don't IM. At all. Hate it.

IM's aren't free. IM's are the phone company's bread and butter these days.


Our plan includes "unlimited" IMs on four cell phones for $10 a month.
That's pretty much free. The three other users burn up the airwaves with
hundreds of messages each a month.

On Jul 5, 12:01*pm, HK wrote:
BAR wrote:
HK wrote:
Vic Smith wrote:
On Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:24:02 -0400, John H.
wrote:

I'm thinking of getting out of the contract cell phone plan and
getting a
prepaid plan. T-Mobile, for example, sells 1000 minutes for $100 and
they're good for a year.
Does anyone here have a prepaid mobile phone? If so, with whom and
how do
you like it?

I've had the that T-Mobile deal for about 3 years.
If you do the $100 right off, after a year you can buy any amount to
renew for another year. *Gold member or something like that.
Last year I think I bought a $40 refill because we still had about 800
minutes left.
I still don't know any service that's cheaper for "light" use.
But.......any phone is worthless if there's no coverage.
From Chicago to Florida - which is where we use it, it's been perfect..
So check coverage first.
I've heard coverage maps aren't always indicative of "good" coverage,
so it would be best to actually find somebody who uses it your area
and get the straight skinny.
We bought here in Chicago with local use in mind, but it's worked out
for out trips too. *Dumb luck.
--Vic

You used only 200 minutes over an entire year?

Crikey.

We go through about 700 minutes a month...of course there are four of
us on the family plan, one is a teenager still in high school and
another is a college student. They talk a lot, but they IM even more.
Thank goodness IM's are free. Even better, *I* don't IM. At all. Hate it.

IM's aren't free. IM's are the phone company's bread and butter these days.

Our plan includes "unlimited" IMs on four cell phones for $10 a month.
That's pretty much free. The three other users burn up the airwaves with
hundreds of messages each a month.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Nice dance steps, WAFA....

HK wrote:
BAR wrote:
HK wrote:
Vic Smith wrote:
On Sat, 05 Jul 2008 07:24:02 -0400, John H.
wrote:

I'm thinking of getting out of the contract cell phone plan and
getting a
prepaid plan. T-Mobile, for example, sells 1000 minutes for $100 and
they're good for a year.
Does anyone here have a prepaid mobile phone? If so, with whom and
how do
you like it?

I've had the that T-Mobile deal for about 3 years.
If you do the $100 right off, after a year you can buy any amount to
renew for another year. Gold member or something like that.
Last year I think I bought a $40 refill because we still had about 800
minutes left.
I still don't know any service that's cheaper for "light" use.
But.......any phone is worthless if there's no coverage.
From Chicago to Florida - which is where we use it, it's been perfect.
So check coverage first.
I've heard coverage maps aren't always indicative of "good" coverage,
so it would be best to actually find somebody who uses it your area
and get the straight skinny.
We bought here in Chicago with local use in mind, but it's worked out
for out trips too. Dumb luck.
--Vic


You used only 200 minutes over an entire year?

Crikey.

We go through about 700 minutes a month...of course there are four of
us on the family plan, one is a teenager still in high school and
another is a college student. They talk a lot, but they IM even more.
Thank goodness IM's are free. Even better, *I* don't IM. At all. Hate
it.

IM's aren't free. IM's are the phone company's bread and butter these
days.


Our plan includes "unlimited" IMs on four cell phones for $10 a month.
That's pretty much free. The three other users burn up the airwaves with
hundreds of messages each a month.

Like I said, IM's aren't free. And I seriously doubt that you have
unlimited IMs on 4 lines for $10 per month.