Cellular Phone Service

[HernyG]

Chilly,

 

What happens when you get paged six hours out from the car? Are you dealing horsecock, is that why you would still be on call in the BC?

 

No crap ment by this post... just an observation.

[rbw1966]

quote:

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Originally posted by Cletus:

Incidentally, did you know that cell phones have been shown to cause interference with avie beacons? Just a tidbit of info there. No charge.

[/QB]

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Got a citation for this? I heard speculation that they do but in fact was found through anecdotal testing to be incorrect. They operate on different frequencies. The batteries, if my memory serves, were a potential source for problem. I'd be interested in learning more about the subject though.

 

I don't use my cell phone in the BC unless its an emergency. I've called my wife from the summit of Mt. Hood but that could hardly be characterized as "the backcountry."

[iain]

link to off-piste

 

here's a snippet of info from BC Access about interference w/ the Tracker beacon. What people do with this info is up to them, but I don't sweat the cell phone interference when using a beacon. Again, I keep my cell powered down though.

 

The main annoyance i have found with radio interference has been my beacon transmissions constantly breaking the squelch on my VHF radio. Conterra makes their radio harnesses so that you can mount the beacon to the side to avoid this (and it is supposedly a good ideain general to keep your pack/shovel from acting like a deflecting faraday shield when you are buried face down).

[sk]

I don't realy go far back country, just because I have not had the chance yet. but here is my take: When I go camping or rock climbing I take me cell phone. I leave it turned off. when I get back to the car I check in with the sitter or who ever I said I would check in with... WHEN I AM DONE!!! now call me silly if you want, but arn't most accidents on the decent??? I would want to hear from my husband when he was down, at the car and had a time that he was going to be home. Thats just me though.

[b-rock]

agreed. my M2 picks up interference from my GPS and cell phone (when in receive mode) but it isn't a problem when you turn them off or get more than a few meters away from them. it is something to keep in mind though if you are a newbie following a weak signal in circles...

[turn_one]

cell sites work better at covering locations below towers,,not so good above. analog channels are being removed as to migrate customers to the latest greatest so fewer calls can be made from a particular site w/ the old analog phones,,and as more cell sites go in the more power has to be turned down on the radios so interference doesn't become a issue so the channel you may have been on atop the peaks yesteryear may still be there, just not powerful enough to reach these high points.

F.Y.I.-G

[chilly]

Herny G,

 

Just a contractual requirement for my profession, it sucks, but some one has to be in charge, pays not bad either for four days on and four days off.......

[Alpine_Tom]

Guess I stepped on Cletus’ bunion. Sorry about that. My point was principally that, if I tell my wife (who worries, with some justification, about my safety) that I have the cell phone, so I’ll call, and it’s 8:00 PM on the second day and she hasn’t heard a word, when does she start to worry? Since she’s gotten calls from Stuart, and Glacier Peak, and other remote spots, (as well as from the summit of Rainier in the past) it may seem reasonable to her, especially given the well-publicized accidents on Rainier this year, that not hearing from me for two days (when she knows I have her precious new fone that AT&T assured her works much better than the old one) it’s maybe time to worry.

 

At this point I have enough data to say “I’ll call if I can, but don’t expect it.” Frankly, I’d just as soon leave the electronic leash at home, and I may from here on out. I can’t imagine relying on it for rescue in a dire situation; I’d trust our Westie to play Lassie and go for help first.

 

OTOH, I have been out climbing on a workday where my boss said I had to bring my pager and cell phone in case of emergency. Beats not getting out.

 

Thanks turn_one, that’s an explanation that makes sense.

[Thinker]

Text messages work well to say "safe for the day", and they're alot less offensive to some. In addition, they often get out when a voice conversation can't/won't for some reason.

[Chepe]

Set your phone on fire and smoke it.....heh.