Posted on 09/21/2013 6:43:48 PM PDT by PinkChampagneonIce
bear in mind that amateur radio is only for non-commercial use, and that using it to facilitate your business as an attorney may not be permitted. contact a two-way radio dealer about land mobile options, including community repeater access that would offer similar capabilities for business use.
None of the “old timers” live as far out as I do. Most live in town. It’s not a new problem, but my situation tends to produce a “perfect storm” of communication problems. I have an unreliable landline that goes out every time there’s a storm, or if the squirrels chew on it. I have NO cell phone signal (am in rural Oklahoma). Have two culverts between me and the paved road. If one or both wash out, I have no way to get to the road. If the truck decides not to start in conjunction with all these other things and, assuming I can get past the washed out culverts, I have about a 5-6 mile walk to the nearest reliable neighbor, 3 miles to the volunteer fire department (unlikely anyone will be ther), and about 6 miles to the nearest “trading post.” Don’t get me wrong. Normally, I LOVE it. But every now and then I need to get a message out.
Ask a local cell phone dealer if they still carry car phones. They are the ones that use a roof top car antenna and they push about 3 watts. Their range is a lot further than a hand held cellphone. There is a world of difference between the capabilities of a hand held cell phone and a Transportable I think they were called. They may still make them but likely special order.
Well, with all that, — landline unreliable, satellite phone doesn’t work for you, physical travel won’t work — looks like you have very limited options — one of which is to move while you are a practicing attorney, or retire and just ride out the storms incommunicado...
How often has it happened that you have both no phone and no vehicle?
One other option may be checking with a business radio communications company that leases radio systems, frequencies, repeaters, etc to clients. Some of these type systems can go state wide. A phone patch capability should be a service they offer.
LOL. It isn’t as bleak as that. There’s no way I’m moving from my place. Everyone at the Courthouse knows about my situation, and if I don’t show up they all know why. BUT, I would still like to figure out a way to let them know the situation, and to at least get them to call the back-hoe guy to come dig me out when there’s a flood.
People in this area are remarkably resiliant, because they deal with this all the time. It’s not as scary as it sounds!
In ten years, about 3-4 times.
I really would recommend you check out the various satellite communications options and ask them about reliability.
Do you live alone? It sounds like you are really saying that you are becoming afraid to be so isolated where you live. Maybe you need to have a friend or co-worker call you and check on you on a regular basis. If culverts wash out, then people can’t reach you anyway, so maybe you need to move closer to someone. How often have the culverts washed out?
I don’t know if CB is going to reliably reach 20 miles - may work better now than they did 30 years ago when everybody had one.
Have you considered getting a horse? That would at least get you to where you could call for help. Or see if a cell provider was interested in providing service if you gave them some land to put a tower for the area.
Dish network (satellite) offers Internet service. It’s way faster than dial up and the satellite is reachable at most latitudes.
Yes, I do live alone, and that’s not going to change. It’s just annoying when I can’t get a message out. One culvert washed out about 3 months ago during a “100 year flood”, but there are three other people who have to use it to get to their property, so eventually it’s going to get fixed even if I don’t do anything.
If the landline goes down, no one can “check on me.” They just have to use their spider sense to figure out what’s happening!
That’s funny about the cell phone tower. I actually contacted a nationally known cell phone provider about offering land for a tower. They directed me to a website where I was required to provide all sorts of information about where my land was located, how many acres were available, the legal description, etc. I provided all the information, and the response I got back was “Sorry, but we cannot consider your proposal because we do not provide service in your area.” Well, DUH! ROFLMAO
CB will not work for a 20 mile transmit, at least not reliably.
Thanks for all the replies. I think I will check with the Sheriff to see what they suggest. The satellite option just won’t work - when the weather’s bad, it goes down. There truly is NO cell phone signal, and none expected in the near future because there are not plans to put a tower on this side of the hill (it’s the hill that blocks the signal).
For all you people who might be considering a move to the “real” country, I think perhaps there are a lot of people who do not realize that communications in some areas are still what many would consider primitive. Many older people in my area don’t even have voice mail. They have a landline, and if you call and they are not home it will continue ringing until you hang up. Just like it was 30 years ago!
“Ask a local cell phone dealer if they still carry car phones. They are the ones that use a roof top car antenna and they push about 3 watts.”
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You are referring to a “bag phone” and a magnetic mount antenna.
That is all I sold when I was my counties first Bell South agent back in rural Tennessee. They were analog phones, as opposed to the modern digital.
You'll need someone to host the other end of your data link where there is solid broadband internet, like a cable modem.
The result would be not only a backup phone, but broadband internet. That might really be helpful for working from home, Skype calling, etc.
Price may be an issue, commercial products often have way more performance than you need, and a commensurate cost.
Research a cell booster like: http://www.amazon.com/Wilson-Electronics-SignalBoost-Booster-Vehicle/product-reviews/B0011GI95A
You can see how far away from a tower you are here: http://opensignal.com/
I’d call Wilson after looking into it.
Units are 150 to 400, deductible I assume.
The local ‘outpost’ store has a booster and people go to their parking lot to use it. We have no or little signal here.
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