survival communications
book...@yahoo.com
sort out, considering all the accessories and features being combined
in different simple and expensive versions. Maybe in a short time
cell phones will have GPS and mapping capabilities, batteries will be
longer lived, recharging by solar more efficient.
What I have to report is my review of needs and what's out there now
within my budget. My biggest hang-up is that I'm using the old
dial-up modem along with my land-line for a home telephone. Get a low
price in the bundle of about $10 a month. Since my land line is down
when I use the computer, I loose contact with the "real" world.
So I've had three different cell phone service providers already,
quit them when they tried to rip me off, still have two of their
phones, but need a cell phone.
Yes, I have considered eliminating my land line telephone and just
using one or more cell phones full time.
Where I'm going with this for the time being is to the pre-packaged
cell phones that include a length of service and minutes. I did it
all using the Internet, researching the pre-paid packages and
comparing prices. You have to go to the company site to choose a
phone and service that's operating where you live, then make sure
that's what you buy.
Turns out that, for me, the best deal was using the info from the
Internet, then going to WalMart to buy. I got a TracFone "Bonus Pack"
(recommended), with Motorola W260g, accessories, and "Unliimited
Double Minutes" for about $10. Plus, for $99, I bought a 1YEAR
service card and 400 minutes of airtime, which when doubled and bonus
added became 1, 020 minutes. I used the Internet at the TracFone site
to set up my account, do set up, and activate. Cost per month would
seem to be $110 divided by 12 months, unless I use up all the minutes
and have to buy more, which I doubt.
This cell phone is very basic, with no camera or transfer of pictures,
but does have most of the rest of the bells and whistles, like text
messaging, caller ID, etc..
I'm still thinking on whether doing away with my land line phone and
getting a high-tech cell phone with GPS, Internet, etc.. Here's a
case for developments in technology could make us more independent, at
least on some things. A cell phone with GPS would be a terrific
survival aid. bookburn
edi...@netpath.net
a hunting aid, FRS/GMRS walkie-talkies will be hard to beat. If it's
for gathering intel from truckers, CB will be unbeatable - to just
listen on Channel 19.
http://www.Internet-Gun-Show.com - your source for hard-to-find stuff!
Stormin Mormon
phone, and go cellular. It has the advantage of being very
portable. The disadvantage, that it's easy to lose or have
stolen. I'm not sure I've ever heard of a Bell Tell wall
phone lost or stolen.
I'd still be on a modem and dialup, but the wire bundle
going into my neighborhood is bad, and the modem is
undependable. And the speeds were terrible. I got a trial
offer from cable internet, and it's far superior to dialup.
I sense that you're not eleigible for DSL through the phone
system, I know some folks who are on DSL, and they really
love it.
As to being available by phone while the computer is online.
So, get a cell, and give the cell number to your friends and
to work, etc. Unless the modem / cell has faster connection
speeds.
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
<book...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:jooti5ptbs4r0bl8l...@4ax.com...
Stormin Mormon
I don't think it's what the fellow was discussing.
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
<edi...@netpath.net> wrote in message
news:75af8f15-8170-42b5...@m38g2000yqd.googlegroups.com...
robert bowman
> I used the Internet at the TracFone site
> to set up my account, do set up, and activate. Cost per month would
> seem to be $110 divided by 12 months, unless I use up all the minutes
> and have to buy more, which I doubt.
I've had a TracFone for a few years and it's worked out well. I very seldom
use it or any other phone (other than something to connect to a modem), and
since you have to buy minutes to keep it alive, I wind up with a ridiculous
amount. I've got about 1000 now and will have to buy a card next month.
Still, it's cheaper than a Verizon contract.
I've got several stand alone GPSs and I don't need one in my phone. I want
to know where I am, not provide my own radio collar. If I need to relay a
location, I'll do it manually.
Karsten Kruse
> Yes, I have considered eliminating my land line telephone and just
> using one or more cell phones full time.
Around here you would buy a cheap mobile phone (30 euros once), some
prepaid SIM card, say 20 euros (wich at 10 cent per minute gives you a
lot to phone). Since you also need internet you would buy a 50 euros
UMTS USB-Stick and a flatrate for about 10 euros. UMTS is very fast, up
to 6mbit or so and can be compared to a cheap DSL line, except that it's
mobile.
> I'm still thinking on whether doing away with my land line phone and
> getting a high-tech cell phone with GPS, Internet, etc.. Here's a
> case for developments in technology could make us more independent, at
> least on some things. A cell phone with GPS would be a terrific
> survival aid. bookburn
Around here you would buy a cheap mobile phone (30 euros once), some
prepaid SIM card, say 20 euros (4 cent per minute). Since you also need
internet you would buy a 50 euros UMTS USB-Stick once and a flatrate for
about 10 euros monthly. UMTS is quite fast, up to 6mbit or so and can be
compared to a DSL line, except that it's mobile. I think that's about as
cheap as it gets.
Karsten
--
() My homepage is http://www.tecneeq.de/ and your homepage sucks�!
<\/>
_/\_ �) Unless it has animated gifs from 1996, then it rocks!
Stormin Mormon
those minutes? Like airline miles, and vacation days.
Somehow the company will cheat them away from you if you
leave them too long.
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
"robert bowman" <bow...@montana.com> wrote in message
news:7p9fh2...@mid.individual.net...
robert bowman
> Can you find a yakky girlfriend, who will use up some of
> those minutes? Like airline miles, and vacation days.
> Somehow the company will cheat them away from you if you
> leave them too long.
Getting cheated out of minutes by Trakfone would cost me a lot less than
having a yakky girlfriend. Sooner or later they start yakking about
marriage and getting out of that contract makes getting out of a cellphone
contract look like one of your church picnics.
Stormin Mormon
settle down and get meself a wife.... " and ends up with "I
think I better think it out again."
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
"robert bowman" <bow...@montana.com> wrote in message
news:7pau19...@mid.individual.net...
Hisler
I have one of those $14.00 Motorola cell phones that TracFone sells.
IIRC, the manual that comes with the phone says that you can use it as a
two way radio (Walkie Talky) if there is someone else who has a the same
Motorola phone. So even if you ran out of minutes on your Tracfone,
there is a way to call directly to another tracfone if the other person
is within range of your tracfone. Similarly, if you are in a remote
area where there is no cell, you can still communicate with another
Tracfone user if you call their phone directly. I'll have to peruse the
manual and see if I can find that feature. If so, I'll post again with
more information.
Stormin Mormon
range than FRS or GMRS. Please, do write again when you find
out more.
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
"Hisler" <His...@cocks.net>
wrote in message
news:hh5ovb$vpk$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
Hisler
> Would be interesting to know if the Tracfone walkie has more
> range than FRS or GMRS. Please, do write again when you find
> out more.
>
I can't find anything in the documentation that I have from Tracfone
that supports my belief that the Motorola C139 GSM can act as a 2-way
radio. I do recall reading it somewhere, but can't find it now. If I
come across it I'll post it here.
Stormin Mormon
anything shows up.
One country friend of mine. Says the mocking birds learned
the Nextel phone chirp, near where he worked. Drove the
mechanics totally NUTS cause the mocking birds would chirp,
and everyone would check his phone. Said it was beyond
hysterical.
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
"Hisler" <His...@cocks.net> wrote in message
news:hhjglc$j9k$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
book...@yahoo.com
It would be stunning if cell phones could communicate directly,
without a satellite or antenna or carrier signal. I'm sure the CIA
would not want Alkaida to have anything like this. The regulatory
agencies would want to control and tax it. I bet it's illegal,
although there are those two-way radios in WalMart for cheap.
robert bowman
> I can't find anything in the documentation that I have from Tracfone
> that supports my belief that the Motorola C139 GSM can act as a 2-way
> radio. I do recall reading it somewhere, but can't find it now. If I
> come across it I'll post it here.
The closest thing I could find is Nextel Direct Connect that is based on
Motorola technology:
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question530.htm
It's not really phone to phone; if the Nextel towers go down you're through.
Hisler
Thanks for the link and thanks to all for the civil discourse on the
subject. James Wesley Rawles discussed the matter thoroughly in his
great survivalist book, "Patriots." He has a great blog at
www.survivalblog.com as well. Rawles covers everything from perimeter
defense to patching up bullet holes if you've been shot. Rawles is a
national treasure.
Happy New Year to you and Stormin Mormon, Karsten Kruse and others in
alt.survival.
Here's a New Year's message from my website:
http://globalgulag.us/id15.html
Check out the "Buffel" for chasing down intruders. (The armored vehicle,
made in South Africa in the pre-ANC days.) ;<))))
robert bowman
> Thanks for the link and thanks to all for the civil discourse on the
> subject. James Wesley Rawles discussed the matter thoroughly in his
> great survivalist book, "Patriots." He has a great blog at
> www.survivalblog.com as well.
I enjoyed 'Patriots' and the ongoing discussions on the website. I've been
dipping into 'How To Survive the End of the World as We Know It', but
haven't had the time to do it justice. Some people are put off by the
Christian content but I'd rather have a devout, prepared Christian covering
my back than a confused atheist when the shit is raining down. There will
be plenty of time afterward to discuss theology. Personally, if I were
fleeing a shootout, finding a church service wouldn't be one of my
priorities, but so it goes.
Hisler
I concur with what you say. I wouldn't want a certain Christian-type
around who believes too strongly in welcoming illegal aliens and other
strangers into the midst. I think the type of Christians that settled
the frontier in the pre-20th century would be the best types of people
to have around in the kinds of scenarios Rawles paints in his books.
They believed in borders, tribes, races, ethnicities, and Manifest
Destiny, for example. On some level, I think the White Rhodesians who
circled the wagons under the leadership of Ian Smith were the last
Europeans who had good survival instincts and the courage it takes to
stand up for what is right. Most of them were church goers.
Strabo
Yep. While it's useful to know cellular technology and how to
use it in a pinch, it won't survive calamities.
For the survivalist, communications emphasis should be on radio, codes
and audio/visual signaling.
Hisler
When I worked for Hertz, they used Nextel radios for communications. It
worked along the entire Front Range of Colorado. I'm not sure those $14
Motorola Tracfones are capable of taking advantage of the direct connect
feature. Thank you for the link.
robert bowman
> I'm not sure those $14
> Motorola Tracfones are capable of taking advantage of the direct connect
> feature. Thank you for the link.
I have no idea. I've got a Tracfone but its a Nokia and the actual carrier
is Verizon. Motorola's don't even come up on the Tracfone site for my
zipcode.