Hello. Any know.

How far out do cell phones work on the atlantic around Key Biscayne to
Key Largo. Elliot Key is about 8 miles out from Black point marina,
does a cell phone work to and from the mainland?

Also, new to boating, and my boat has ship to shore radio, I think it
was getting a signal when I tested the boat, would that same radio
produce any signal or even turn on with the key out and the boat 15
miles inland? Getting nothing right now.

Thanks!

Even though most cellular phone companies will NOT let you "activate"
a trusty old AMPS bagphone, the big, ol', honkin' 3WATT monster I use
every day, the FCC says they MUST allow your phone to connect to their
system and allow it to make 911 emergency calls, any place in the
country, at least until Feb 16th, 2008.

Armed with this information, you can buy a $1 Motorola bagphone in
most any thrift shop, donated by its sucker owner who has a new glitzy
toy phone. Get one with a good handset, nice looking and that has a
cigarette lighter power plug that will run off the boat's 12V or any
12V gelcell in an emergency. The 911 operator WILL connect you with
the CG, cops, fire department or any emergency agency necessary.....in
an emergency ONLY.

I wouldn't boat without my powerful 3W cellphone. Coming up from
Florida to Charleston, with the rubber duck antenna sticking up from
the bimini or hardtop on the sailboat, I get usable service up to
around 50 miles at sea! Rich beachfront communities have lots of cell
towers with good coverage on 800 Mhz AMPS. It works in areas where
you'll get noone on VHF marine out there. It's just a good secondary
backup system to have aboard.....especially when you can buy them for
under $10 in nearly-new condition.

Be also informed, because cellular companies would rather not tell
you, that if you ever WERE an AMPS cellular customer, like me, 800 Mhz
cellular licensees are REQUIRED to offer you AMPS service, like it or
not, if you are smart enough to ASK for it. I've gotten many old AMPS
customers back on the air with their AMPS-only phones with much more
range by pointing this out to cellular employees, of course making
allusion to contacting the FCC if they refuse, out of hand.

Currently, 800 Mhz carriers are also REQUIRED to provide AMPS analog
service through February 16th, 2008. That date will continue to be
extended as long as there are substantial numbers of users.....which
is why cellular wants to get AMPS customers off AMPS onto digital SO
badly. Er, ah, the Presidential Limo has several powerful AMPS phones
so his crypto scramblers will work....(c; OnStar is also all AMPS and
provides thousands of AMPS customers using the system.

Your 800 Mhz toyphone will have the same 3 miles of coverage away from
the tower as it does in the city. Your 1900 Mhz toyphone will also
have the same 2 mile range offshore. These phones are only 150 to 200
milliwatts (.15 to .20 watts) to limit their range so cellular can
cram more users onto ever-more-crowded channels.

As to your "ship-to-shore" radio, are you referring to a 25 watt
marine VHF radio? CB? 5W VHF walkie? How high is your antenna?
What kind of antenna is it? That way we can tell you more about its
range, offshore.



On 30 Nov 2003 18:08:29 -0800, wrote:

Hello. Any know.

How far out do cell phones work on the atlantic around Key Biscayne to
Key Largo. Elliot Key is about 8 miles out from Black point marina,
does a cell phone work to and from the mainland?

Also, new to boating, and my boat has ship to shore radio, I think it
was getting a signal when I tested the boat, would that same radio
produce any signal or even turn on with the key out and the boat 15
miles inland? Getting nothing right now.

Thanks!

Larry W4CSC

NNNN

I have cingular (bellsouth) cell service and it works great from Key West, icw
wise, all the way to and beyound miami.

Have been at elliot keys many times with service.

Sterling
www.Captsterling.com

I have cingular (bellsouth) cell service and it works great from Key West, icw
wise, all the way to and beyound miami.

Have been at elliot keys many times with service.

Sterling
www.Captsterling.com

Thanks Larry,

I appreciate the info, I did not know how long we could still use the
good cel phones. My wife got in on a $15/month cel phone plan, and I'm
at $20.
My wife and I still use our old 3 watt monsters. I kind of take the
Zen view of phones in that "they are my tools, they are not my master".
I've never been tempted to take my bag phone into a restuarant. My
phone can be plugged into the lighter outlet if I want to make a call.
When I use the phone, my conversations are clear, even in very rural areas.

Mike.


Larry W4CSC wrote:

Even though most cellular phone companies will NOT let you "activate"
a trusty old AMPS bagphone, the big, ol', honkin' 3WATT monster I use
every day, the FCC says they MUST allow your phone to connect to their
system and allow it to make 911 emergency calls, any place in the
country, at least until Feb 16th, 2008.

Armed with this information, you can buy a $1 Motorola bagphone in
most any thrift shop, donated by its sucker owner who has a new glitzy
toy phone. Get one with a good handset, nice looking and that has a
cigarette lighter power plug that will run off the boat's 12V or any
12V gelcell in an emergency. The 911 operator WILL connect you with
the CG, cops, fire department or any emergency agency necessary.....in
an emergency ONLY.

I wouldn't boat without my powerful 3W cellphone. Coming up from
Florida to Charleston, with the rubber duck antenna sticking up from
the bimini or hardtop on the sailboat, I get usable service up to
around 50 miles at sea! Rich beachfront communities have lots of cell
towers with good coverage on 800 Mhz AMPS. It works in areas where
you'll get noone on VHF marine out there. It's just a good secondary
backup system to have aboard.....especially when you can buy them for
under $10 in nearly-new condition.

Be also informed, because cellular companies would rather not tell
you, that if you ever WERE an AMPS cellular customer, like me, 800 Mhz
cellular licensees are REQUIRED to offer you AMPS service, like it or
not, if you are smart enough to ASK for it. I've gotten many old AMPS
customers back on the air with their AMPS-only phones with much more
range by pointing this out to cellular employees, of course making
allusion to contacting the FCC if they refuse, out of hand.

Currently, 800 Mhz carriers are also REQUIRED to provide AMPS analog
service through February 16th, 2008. That date will continue to be
extended as long as there are substantial numbers of users.....which
is why cellular wants to get AMPS customers off AMPS onto digital SO
badly. Er, ah, the Presidential Limo has several powerful AMPS phones
so his crypto scramblers will work....(c; OnStar is also all AMPS and
provides thousands of AMPS customers using the system.

Your 800 Mhz toyphone will have the same 3 miles of coverage away from
the tower as it does in the city. Your 1900 Mhz toyphone will also
have the same 2 mile range offshore. These phones are only 150 to 200
milliwatts (.15 to .20 watts) to limit their range so cellular can
cram more users onto ever-more-crowded channels.

As to your "ship-to-shore" radio, are you referring to a 25 watt
marine VHF radio? CB? 5W VHF walkie? How high is your antenna?
What kind of antenna is it? That way we can tell you more about its
range, offshore.



On 30 Nov 2003 18:08:29 -0800, wrote:


Hello. Any know.

How far out do cell phones work on the atlantic around Key Biscayne to
Key Largo. Elliot Key is about 8 miles out from Black point marina,
does a cell phone work to and from the mainland?

Also, new to boating, and my boat has ship to shore radio, I think it
was getting a signal when I tested the boat, would that same radio
produce any signal or even turn on with the key out and the boat 15
miles inland? Getting nothing right now.

Thanks!


Larry W4CSC

NNNN

On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 05:34:47 GMT, Michael Kelly
wrote:


Thanks Larry,

I appreciate the info, I did not know how long we could still use the
good cel phones. My wife got in on a $15/month cel phone plan, and I'm
at $20.
My wife and I still use our old 3 watt monsters. I kind of take the
Zen view of phones in that "they are my tools, they are not my master".
I've never been tempted to take my bag phone into a restuarant. My
phone can be plugged into the lighter outlet if I want to make a call.
When I use the phone, my conversations are clear, even in very rural areas.

Oh, I carry the Motorola TX200 with me into restaurants. Younger
people have never seen one and I'm frequently approached to ask about
how well it works.

To Verizon's dismay, I let them make a call so they can hear the
beautiful FM fidelity, without the digital delays and distortions of
their little toyphones. Most of them, exposed to cellular's
brainwashing that AMPS is terrible, noisy, distorted and just awful to
reduce demand for AMPS cellular service, are astonished that they've
been lied to by the companies.

Compared to 8 or 13 Khz digital schemes, AMPS sounds like FM
stereo...(c;

I'll get off AMPS when they drag the bagphone handle from my DEAD COLD
HANDS.....


Larry W4CSC

NNNN

On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 05:34:47 GMT, Michael Kelly
wrote:


Thanks Larry,

I appreciate the info, I did not know how long we could still use the
good cel phones. My wife got in on a $15/month cel phone plan, and I'm
at $20.
My wife and I still use our old 3 watt monsters. I kind of take the
Zen view of phones in that "they are my tools, they are not my master".
I've never been tempted to take my bag phone into a restuarant. My
phone can be plugged into the lighter outlet if I want to make a call.
When I use the phone, my conversations are clear, even in very rural areas.

Mike.

I also don't know if you go into the Caribbean, but your AMPS phone
will work most places on small islands with a simple call to 611,
unlike the confusing, incompatible digital schemes they've dreamed up
to prevent churning from company to company. Small countries are
still AMPS cellular.


Larry W4CSC

NNNN

On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 05:34:47 GMT, Michael Kelly
wrote:


Thanks Larry,

I appreciate the info, I did not know how long we could still use the
good cel phones. My wife got in on a $15/month cel phone plan, and I'm
at $20.
My wife and I still use our old 3 watt monsters. I kind of take the
Zen view of phones in that "they are my tools, they are not my master".
I've never been tempted to take my bag phone into a restuarant. My
phone can be plugged into the lighter outlet if I want to make a call.
When I use the phone, my conversations are clear, even in very rural areas.

Oh, I carry the Motorola TX200 with me into restaurants. Younger
people have never seen one and I'm frequently approached to ask about
how well it works.

To Verizon's dismay, I let them make a call so they can hear the
beautiful FM fidelity, without the digital delays and distortions of
their little toyphones. Most of them, exposed to cellular's
brainwashing that AMPS is terrible, noisy, distorted and just awful to
reduce demand for AMPS cellular service, are astonished that they've
been lied to by the companies.

Compared to 8 or 13 Khz digital schemes, AMPS sounds like FM
stereo...(c;

I'll get off AMPS when they drag the bagphone handle from my DEAD COLD
HANDS.....


Larry W4CSC

NNNN

On Thu, 04 Dec 2003 05:34:47 GMT, Michael Kelly
wrote:


Thanks Larry,

I appreciate the info, I did not know how long we could still use the
good cel phones. My wife got in on a $15/month cel phone plan, and I'm
at $20.
My wife and I still use our old 3 watt monsters. I kind of take the
Zen view of phones in that "they are my tools, they are not my master".
I've never been tempted to take my bag phone into a restuarant. My
phone can be plugged into the lighter outlet if I want to make a call.
When I use the phone, my conversations are clear, even in very rural areas.

Mike.

I also don't know if you go into the Caribbean, but your AMPS phone
will work most places on small islands with a simple call to 611,
unlike the confusing, incompatible digital schemes they've dreamed up
to prevent churning from company to company. Small countries are
still AMPS cellular.


Larry W4CSC

NNNN

Larry, Thanks for the great info.

I just a got a used bag phone from Ebay, cleaned it up, threw out the
battery and plugged it in.... works like a charming getting 911!!

Gotta say, I sure wish i knew about this before, like last summer when
I decided to take a short cut through the Florida Panhandle (in my
truck) and recall driving for an hour with no phone signal and seeing
nothing but road kill. Would have been real ugly to have been broke
down out there.

QUESTION FOR ANYBODY WHO KNOWS:
I understand I can make collect and credit card calls with the phone??
Is this true? How? Right now I get some message from ATT (I think)
about not being a valid phone line. I tried calling 101020 - and still
get that message. Wonder some of those 1800collect type numbers would
work?

Thanks for any help or information.