sirius Tas wrote:I never knew what difference there were between the two types...but certainly explains a lot. What really impressed me with the reception under rain forest canopy was that the Etrex GPSr I had at the time had no hope of getting satellite lock...but the newer GPS60CSX would work fine as has the later and more sensitive chipset.
In future I'll do testing with Sat phone in really difficult spots to keep checking on whether coverage may have changed.
It's also interesting to note that the new SPOT Satellite Messenger service is provided by Globalstar...hence those contemplating using this for emergency use instead of a PLB may need to take a rethink??
Cheers...sT
I left those two out as these locations have been mentioned.Bush_walker wrote:[*]Top Frenchmans Cap
[*]Near Mt Anne and no doubt the top, although I can't vouch for that.
ILUVSWTAS wrote:We made a few calls from the top of western Bluff yesterday.
ILUVSWTAS wrote:Um. My phone is an old crappy nokia. very old. I called my wife
My fellow walking partners have newer phones and they had slightly better coverage than me. I think we're all with Telstra.
stepbystep wrote:the horrible Moonlight Creek campsite below Moonlight Flat.
eggs wrote:SBS - I am quite surprised you had coverage at High Camp Hut.
If you go to the Telstra Mobiles web site you can pull up coverage maps and zoom in on any part of Australia.
The maps are based on tower location and height profiles - and the towers that cover the SW are all to the east - out towards the channel country, Mt Wellington and near Mt Field. Hence a good coverage sweeping across any east facing slope through Mt Anne - down to Schnells Ridge and onto the Western Arthurs.
I imagine parts of the Mt Eliza plateau that rise above the Mt Lot / Sarah Jane edge would get reception, but cannot imagine how you would get coverage down the western slopes of Mt Eliza?
Bush_walker wrote:ILUVSWTAS wrote:Um. My phone is an old crappy nokia. very old. I called my wife
My fellow walking partners have newer phones and they had slightly better coverage than me. I think we're all with Telstra.
Telstra rates phones according to there suitability for regional areas. Those with the better reception are rated "blue tick" and they include a range of brands even Nokia! For bushwalking you have to go with Telstra because of there better country coverage.
BarryJ wrote:Bush_walker wrote:Telstra rates phones according to there suitability for regional areas. Those with the better reception are rated "blue tick" and they include a range of brands even Nokia! For bushwalking you have to go with Telstra because of there better country coverage.
Don't rely too much on the ratings as they are done by via desk assessment by reading the manufacturers' spec sheets. Many phones which didn't get a "blue tick" out-perform those that did "out in the field". For example, if a phone had a jack for an external antenna, it got a blue tick but many Nokias don't have such a jack so don't get a tick. However, in my experience (comparing them with other phones I have had as well as those owned by companions etc), Nokias tend to be right up there with the best as far as range is concerned.
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