# Satellite Phones



## Ocean Master (May 20, 2008)

I am considering a Sat phone. Probably the Iridium 9555. How many of you have Sat phones and what reccomendations do you have?

Thank You


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## rigrunner05 (May 8, 2008)

i know if you have at&t you can set your regular cell phone up for international roaming and it works great out there and its A LOT cheaper than any sat phone they really stiff you on the way the do there minutes and they expire....i think w/ the international roaming minutes are anywhere from 2.50 - 3.50


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## MSViking (Oct 11, 2007)

I have used a satellite phone for offshore fishing for years. Personally it is one of the most important things I carry offshore to me. I initially owned the Globalstar phone, which worked quite well for years until they started having satellite degradation issues. At that point they became nothing more than an expensive paperweight. Do Not under any circumstances buy a Globalstar phone. ( I threw mine away!) They advertise great rates, but what good is that if you can't get connected. It had gotten to where I could not get connected no matter how many times I tried for days on end.



Iridium is the other hand held system out there. It works perfectly everyday, every time. It is more expensive, but worth it. I have owned the 9505a for four years now and swear by it. I keep it in a waterproof Pelican box until I get on the boat. On the boat I use the optional magnetic mount antenna which I place on top of my t top with a magnet underneath for additional holding strength. I then bought a universal holder suction cup mount that I attach to the front of my overhead electronics box and put the phone in it with the cable to the antenna going out to the top of the t top. The standard flip up antenna will "see" from under the t-top, but the mag antenna is better. so much so that I bought the upgraded mag antenna with a 5 meter cable and it is even better, makes for clearer less distorted talking. My wife and i communicate via texting (you send the text to an email address) when I am offshore as it is easy and to the point. She keeps me abreast of weather patterns that I might not know about, as well as just staying in touch. If I catch something special or otherwise need to talk I just call. I paid around $1200 for the handset and now pay $39/month for service that includes 30 min of airtime. I am fairly certain that texting is free or at least texting to the phone is. I use it all the time in the summer months and my bill never exceeds the base rate. Additional minutes are $.75 each.



Unless you step up to inmarsat or other permanent setup, Iridium is the only way to go. The new 9555 is smaller than the 9505 and uses simpler connectors for AC power and appears to be more weatherproof.



I would most definitely get the Pelican case as well as either the mast mount antenna or the optional upgraded mag antenna for improved reception. 



Mscontender


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## off route II (Sep 28, 2007)

whatever you do stay away from GMPCS for service


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## PELAGIC PIRATE (Oct 10, 2007)

Funny what you said about globalstar .

I still have one and its useless. Works one minute , then doesnt ?????

they claim they have sat issues , so why sell the dang phones ?

I need to do something cause my paper weight wont help save me if i need it .

Any chnace the other providers can allow me to use my exiting phone other than globalsatar ?


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## PELAGIC PIRATE (Oct 10, 2007)

> *rigrunner05 (9/10/2009)*i know if you have at&t you can set your regular cell phone up for international roaming and it works great out there and its A LOT cheaper than any sat phone they really stiff you on the way the do there minutes and they expire....i think w/ the international roaming minutes are anywhere from 2.50 - 3.50


where are you getting signal 40 to 100 miles out if not near a rig ?

My cell works around some rigs , but at sea forget it ?

so how are you doing this ?


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## Ocean Master (May 20, 2008)

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=smalltxt vAlign=top><SPAN id=_ctl1_ctlTopic_ctlPanelBar_ctlTopicsRepeater__ctl2_lblFullMessage>i know if you have at&t you can set your regular cell phone up for international roaming and it works great out there and its A LOT cheaper than any sat phone they really stiff you on the way the do there minutes and they expire....i think w/ the international roaming minutes are anywhere from 2.50 - 3.50 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

I don't this guy has a clue about where we are fishing. You have to have a tower in range to use a cell phone and I've never seen one offshore...!!


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## rigrunner05 (May 8, 2008)

you have to be within about 15 miles of any oil rig....


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## rigrunner05 (May 8, 2008)

oh my bad.... i thought you were talking about fishing on lake martin... i should have known better since you have an "ocean master" hence the name...silly me


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## MSViking (Oct 11, 2007)

When I signed up for Iridium service I asked about using the Globalstar phone with Iridium and it was a no go as the technologies are very different. They did offer a $200 trade in against the 9505a but if you use the trade in you cant use the "sale" price of $200 off. Ha Ha what a joke that was, so I just put mine in the trash and used the sale price.


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## PELAGIC PIRATE (Oct 10, 2007)

i just called a iridium dealer , and the phone is 1495 $ new 

then you get minutes either 75 minutes for 150$ that are good for one month , which you can extend for one year for 450$ so for 600$ you get one year to use 75 minutes ....are they freakin crazy ?????

Looks like i need to call around , but the dude claims that all providers have the same deals ....?????? can anyone confirm. Im looking for no monthy , and pay as i use.

I have this on my globalstar phone , pay as i use but since teh phone never works i never pay ,.......lol.


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## MSViking (Oct 11, 2007)

I both bought and have my service thru http://www.wcclp.com/ and as I mentioned my plan is $39/month with 30 min which was the best deal that I could find.


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## sail7seas (Oct 2, 2007)

globalstar claims on their website that they are suppose to launch new satellites to fix the voice and data issues starting the second half of 2009 and be completed sometime in 2010. this is suppose to fix the issues. who knows if this timeline is accurate. i am sure their cheap plans will go up considerably if and when they get fully operational again.


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## alm (Aug 23, 2008)

I have global star junk only works about 15% of the time. I think it better than nothing mabe if broke down could get call out in about 3 days.


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## PELAGIC PIRATE (Oct 10, 2007)

> *mscontender (9/10/2009)*I both bought and have my service thru http://www.wcclp.com/ and as I mentioned my plan is $39/month with 30 min which was the best deal that I could find.




Thanks I will call them.


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## Ocean Master (May 20, 2008)

Thanks Roger..."MSContender" for your information on these phones.


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## PELAGIC PIRATE (Oct 10, 2007)

Well i just sold my phone to Iridium for 300$ and fired up teh new Iridium 9555 with the emergency kit that includes pelican case and solar charger.

50$ to activate

plan is $33.95 a month for 10 minutes and $1.29 a minute there after.

2 year plan

cost of phone after rebate was $1465

whats your LIFE WORTH ? 

THANKS MSCONTENDER , i called your dealer.


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## off route II (Sep 28, 2007)

got this from GMPCS by email today. i closed this account in dec '08. they kept billing me and and i finally sent them a check for 3 mos. because they said they would turn it over to collection. i wrote on the check "close account paid in full". i also spoke with them by phoneand sent email to close the account. now, 2 mos later i am still getting bills from them. I REPEAT STAY AWAY FROM GMPCS. check out this email about rates for service.

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=400 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD height=96 width=400>







</TD></TR><TR><TD width=400><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=9 width=400 bgColor=#ffffff><TBODY><TR><TD>
<P style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: small" class=style6>*Re: Your GMPCS Account GST5123*<P style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: small" class=style6>Dear Driscoll Colquett,
<P style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: small" class=style6>Your GMPCS airtime invoice is now available for viewing at the My Account section of our website www.gmpcs-us.com<P style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: small" class=style6>Please be advised of the following changes to your post paid airtime plans that go into effect October 1, 2009 and disregard the email you received earlier today as one of the rates were mis-quoted.
*Iridium Calls To Other Terminals: *Calls to other satellite terminals (not on the iridium satellite network) will be billed at a flat rate of *$14.20* per minute.
*Inmarsat Calls: *Customers calling other satellite terminals out of the Inmarsat network will be billed at a flat rate of $10.00 per minute.
*ISDN: *Calls on the Inmarsat network will be charged an additional $2.50 destination fee per minute over your current airtime rate.
*ISDN Double Hop: *There will be a double charge for calls that are ISDN to ISDN over the Inmarsat network.<P style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: small" class=style6>If this is your first time on our website of you have forgotten your username or password, click on Forgot Username or Password and enter your account number, GST5123 to have your login information emailed to you. Once logged in, you can review your current invoice, payment history, previous statements, and make payments! You can also change your password in the profile section.<P style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: small" class=style6>You can rest assured that GMPCS Online Billing is both reliable and secure and your payments will arrive on time, every time.<P style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: small" class=style6>Thank You,<P style="FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: small" class=style6>GMPCS Customer Care Team</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


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## MSViking (Oct 11, 2007)

Off route: Holy Cow! those numbers are beyond highway robbery! and to think I thought the boat was the expensive part of the equation!!



Titlewave: Glad it worked out for you, the piece of mind is worth every bit of the money you spent. Dont forget if you do alot of checking in with the wife, the texting feature is really handy once you get the hang of how to do it (kind of confusing, sending to email then *2 to send it) but my wife and I use it all the time. also the mag antenna works better for me allowing me to stand completely out of the weather and wind to talk.



MScontender


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## PELAGIC PIRATE (Oct 10, 2007)

Got my New Sat Phone today 

all i can say is it works, first try!

Thanks MSCONTENDER.............................the life you may have saved may be mine some day ......

See you on the water( i would give you my sat phone number but i cant afford incoming calls.....LOL)

Mike


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## Island24 (May 12, 2008)

Offroute-

Write a letter to them and indicate you paid in full and to notice your account as same. Otherwise, you intend to file suit for defamation of credit.


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## off route II (Sep 28, 2007)

> *Island24 (9/18/2009)*Offroute-
> 
> Write a letter to them and indicate you paid in full and to notice your account as same. Otherwise, you intend to file suit for defamation of credit.


i'm working on it


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## SUNDAY-FUNDAY (Apr 17, 2008)

+3 on globalstar. they are worse than if kanye and oprah had a child. still billing me from an account i closed out 3 years ago and work maybe 20% of the time. looking into the iridium now.


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