going to be traveling the mountain side of japan in the upcoming months, there will be no cell reception, and spotty electricity. i have a portable solar charger, which ill use for my camera, and phone. however ill have no cell reception, whatsoever, so im interested in finding a satellite phone, so that i can get reception. ideally, one that has internet, does such a thing exist? ive never heard of one, can anyone tell me anything they know on the topic? thanks
slow down the replies guys, i can only read so fast
Search for Thuruya and Iridium.
Both support Data-Connections with thuruya beeing a bit cheaper.
The avaible phones for these networks are not made for internet usage but can be used as Modems to connect to your laptop and some even BT tether to other Smartphones.
Be warned though: Satellite Phone rates are really steep. And Data is really slow, too. Think 9.6kbps
Related
I am trying to find out if there is a limit on how many phones can establish a data connection to the same cell tower at the same time.
Here is why: 4 users in the same room on Cingular's network. Two can connect to Edge network and get service and two can't. Sometimes all have Edge and sometimes only one. It seems random. The office complex where this happens is full of other people also having cell phones, not all the same provider but probably many also use Cingular... we don't necessarily have that much choice ;-)... The office also happens to be near a very busy shopping mall.
I've been doing some reading about the channels (on HowStuffWorks) and it talks about a certain amount of channels being available. So I figure the reason why sometimes some of us lose connectivity is due to the tower being overloaded - too many people accessing the tower at the same time.
Does anyone have some data on how this all works, or where I can go to find out about it? Does someone work with this stuff, like putting up towers for one of these cell phone companies, who has experience with this? I think it would be of interest to others, too.
Sadly Cingular isn't much help... "Maybe you sweat too much and got your phone wet and that's why..." can you believe he actually suggested that? We even had Cingular replace one phone which was particularly prone to this phenomena, only to find that it didn't change.
Food for thought....
So I remember my boss had a cell booster for his blackberry. I still experience problems with reception in a few places around my town, especially my whole neighborhood...ever where around i have 3G except a few neighborhoods and my house(i get almost 0-2 all day everyday on Edge in and around my house)...
Was wondering if anyone had any experience with Indoor Signal Boosters or Boosters that attach to the device (NO NOT THOSE STUPID STICKER BOOSTERS). The boosters that cost $150+
I have had good luck with the good "expensive" ones... make sure you get one that is fully compatiable with the AWS 3G bands. Most, these days, are, but still worth double checking.
You might also want to take a look at a femto cell, if T-Mobile has any.
I was just looking at a signal repeater for AWS bands... can't remember what website it was, but it was about $350 for the entire kit which included an outdoor antenna and an internal receiver. I'm sure it works, but I can't justify the expense when I have wifi.
here in the uk some of the network providers offer femto cells which attach to your broadband router.
These are good not only for voice but data, since 3g generally uses less power than wifi, particularly if the signal strength is very good so you get better battery life since the radios reduce transmit power for closer cells
pjcforpres said:
I have had good luck with the good "expensive" ones... make sure you get one that is fully compatiable with the AWS 3G bands. Most, these days, are, but still worth double checking.
You might also want to take a look at a femto cell, if T-Mobile has any.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
scote said:
here in the uk some of the network providers offer femto cells which attach to your broadband router.
These are good not only for voice but data, since 3g generally uses less power than wifi, particularly if the signal strength is very good so you get better battery life since the radios reduce transmit power for closer cells
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you guys post more on these femto cells? Sound interesting..but are they expensive?
Edit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femtocell
a guy at work got a femto cell from vodafone uk for about £80
I just installed a Wi-Ex zBoost YX500-CEL Signal Booster, and it works great. Went from 1-2 bars to solid full. Just a little pissed off I didn't do this sooner.....
Got mine from Amazon for $200.00
Has anyone found a cell booster that works for T-Mobile's 3G bands 1700/2100?? they all seems to work with T-Mobiles GSM bands, but I want the upgrade for 3G. TIA...
Well, one thing that I really hate with Nexus S is its wifi hardware. The signal reception is weak, weaker than my HTC Desire.
Often, the wifi signal got disconnected suddenly and reconnected again autmatically.
This is sucks, especially if you play online game or streaming.
I don't think there is a way, software wise to fix this because I read that Samsung is using cheap low powered wifi hardware.
It is good to conserve battery, but the experience sucks.
So, what did I do?
I replaced my wifi access point!
Yeah ... that's, a quick and simple solution.
I just added a new wifi access point, Sitecom Wireless N Access Point. Place it in a good position. And whoala! No more wifi disconnect I found it is much better signal strength compared to the SpeedTouch router (B/G mode only).
There you go, certain wifi access point could potentially cause this auto-disconnect.
So happy now, although I must spent 69 euro + some more for long extension power cable (need this to reach that good position so I got decent signal from my bedroom + living room).
Happy happy happy ... fast enough (900+ KBytes/sec), steady and reliable wifi connection! No more disconnect!
I did the same. Installed apple airport extreme and all is well now.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
I will try changing my wifi antenna . I have realized that the signal is a lot better when I connect to routers that has 2 antennas (300 mbps). Mine is just 150mbps and the signal its medium worth laptops in the end of the house. So I think Ill stay like this. Thanks to samsung!!!
I just got myself a Japanese Sharp Aquos Xx 203sh from SoftBank and so far pretty pleased with it but for one thing, location.
As long as I'm outside and have good GPS signal its very fast but as soon as I go into a big building its game over, likewise when I'm outside and disable GPS. I installed OpenSignal to see if I was seeing enough cell towers and most of the time I see at least 4 ot 5, around where I live often 8 or more. Also plenty of WiFi around.
Does anyone know of any software that I can use to check if the phone is having problems with location finding using WiFi and Cell Towers? My old iPhone finds me in seconds with GPS off so its not like its not possible. Also dont think its antenna as signal is strong and I can even watch 1SEG TV.
Look forward to any help I can get, have already spoken to their support and well.. you know how that goes, me explaining technology to them.
I've got a starbucks near me,not super far anyways. About a block away.
What sort of antenna would I need to be able to connect to their free wifi?
I've read and watched videos about the homemade satellite antennas and seem some parabolic antennas being sold on new-egg and other sites.
Any ideas?
If I could connect to their free wifi,it would save me some money since I dont use the net for much besides reading and watching a few videos.
Are you trying to connect from your computer? Or are you using a phone/tablet?
If you're trying to connect with a computer, a lot of people get an external USB wifi adapter and make a "satellite dish" with foil and other crazy things to try and extend range.
I've also seen some people who make their own signal receivers. I would say it might be possible (though couldn't say how reliable it would be). Keep in mind the signal strength also depends on the router that the starbucks is using. If they're using some cheap router where the signal will barely reach you, might not be worth the trouble.