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turtle fast
11-24-2007, 22:35
I have read that folks are not too happy with ATT (formally Cingular) cell phone service while on the trail. However, has anyone come to do any research as to which cell service is the best? I have heard positive things with US Cellular and Verizion.....any suggestions?

Summit
11-24-2007, 22:37
I have been pleased with Verizon Wireless in N. Georgia and NC. Not sure how it fairs further north. ;)

Kirby
11-24-2007, 22:57
Sprint is horrible, you need to live in their head quarters to have reception. I have heard Verizon does decent on the Maine AT, but know that a lot of cell phones, no matter what company, have difficulty getting a signal on the trail in Maine.

Kirby

ARambler
11-24-2007, 22:57
I have been pleased with Verizon Wireless in N. Georgia and NC. Not sure how it fairs further north. ;)
In Damascus, Verizon was "one tick", and sprint was clear (I hear). In Pearisburg, Verizon was clear. Both places cingular was useless, except for contacting god. He told me, I was an idiot for switching. Who else do you want to talk to???
Rambler

butynski
11-24-2007, 23:00
I have Verizon and have been in the woods in several states and had very good luck. (Louisianna, Kentucky, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Colorado, New Hampshire, Vermont, California, Texas, and a few more) Granted, it did not always work, but for the majority it worked well.

Turbo Turtle
11-24-2007, 23:23
I thru-hiked this year with Verizon and was very pleased. The only places that it didn't work were national parks like the Smokies, Shenandoah, the White Mountains, and much of Maine.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
11-24-2007, 23:37
We have used US Cellular, ATT / CIngular and Verizon. Verizon is far and away the best for coverage.

Hurley
11-25-2007, 03:17
I had cingular last year when I sectioned the smokies and had no reception at all. I was hoping that after the AT&T crossover would result in better coverage, but still I have crappy coverage. I haven't been back to the trail yet, but in order to use my phone at my house and my parents house in FL, I still have to walk outside. Not a big deal, but then again, mommy still pays for my cell phone :) I have a feeling that my phone won't work at all till I get into trail towns. On the other hand I'm really excited about not having to use my phone at all.

Tennessee Viking
11-25-2007, 04:45
Alltel has pretty much all coverage up most of the way. No Maine coverage. There are some small remote communities where its roaming service.

Sprint is hell. You can only get it only on major highways in the country. I had Virgin that runs off Sprint. Everytime I went into the country and dropped off the main highway or interstate, I had no service.

T-Mobile is just getting into some of the smaller communities now. Coverage is growing but might take some time.

CaseyB
11-25-2007, 06:02
OK, this may be a drunk post but......WaHHHHHH. Honestly, folks, 10-15 years ago this 'cell phone coverage' debate would have meant nothing to no one. Get over it, your phone don't work, you're in the woods, WAAHHH.

Buy a phone card and call MOMMY when you can. Otherwise shut up and stop gripping else wise we all find out that you could not have made it 20 years ago, engineer of the whining express

Summit
11-25-2007, 12:18
OK, this may be a drunk post but......WaHHHHHH. Honestly, folks, 10-15 years ago this 'cell phone coverage' debate would have meant nothing to no one. Get over it, your phone don't work, you're in the woods, WAAHHH.

Buy a phone card and call MOMMY when you can. Otherwise shut up and stop gripping else wise we all find out that you could not have made it 20 years ago, engineer of the whining expressYeah, I think your "drunk" post is out of line. Just because we have technology today that we didn't have 20 years ago, why shouldn't we make use of it? Do you still not have electricity in your home and hunt gather food off the land everyday? If not, why not, according to your analogy? :confused:

EWS
11-25-2007, 12:29
It was funny when it was first posted, editing took the smartarse humor out of it.

kayak karl
11-25-2007, 15:47
verizon works in nj and pa on the trail. im planning on taking my PDA in 2008 for e-mail and text. if we have the tech, why not use it?

whitefoot_hp
11-25-2007, 16:03
well if you see a use for it, by all means, you dont have to justify it.

as for me, i don't take electronic stuff into the woods, outside of a headlamp. just doesnt seem right. and i can't promise that i won't think differently of the 'guess where i am calling you from' types.

kayak karl
11-25-2007, 16:46
what other ways are there to keep in touch with home. i have kids and grandchildren that will want to know how i am doing. any ideas for this. im not happy about carrying rechargable things (PDA). but have no other ideas.

whitefoot_hp
11-25-2007, 17:23
what other ways are there to keep in touch with home. i have kids and grandchildren that will want to know how i am doing. any ideas for this. im not happy about carrying rechargable things (PDA). but have no other ideas.
personally, i would choose to carry a calling card for direct communication, and i would just pen letters on my off days to anyone i wanted to let know about how i was doing.

Kirby
11-25-2007, 17:23
what other ways are there to keep in touch with home. i have kids and grandchildren that will want to know how i am doing. any ideas for this. im not happy about carrying rechargable things (PDA). but have no other ideas.

You can always carry a calling card, and either use a pay phone or find someone who will let you use their phone and call who you need to. My has requested I carry my cell phone and to use that when I get in town if I can get reception, but it will be off and in my backpack while I am hiking, I will either carry my charger with me or send it from town to town in a bounce box.

Hope this helps,
Kirby

Frolicking Dinosaurs
11-25-2007, 17:30
what other ways are there to keep in touch with home. i have kids and grandchildren that will want to know how i am doing. any ideas for this. im not happy about carrying rechargeable things (PDA). but have no other ideas.You could also use public computers to keep in touch via email by setting up a free on-line account (Juno, Yahoo, and many others) I have one with all the family addresses as well business contacts (doctors, utility providers, insurance carriers, etc.). This was a real Godsend recently when I was out of town for an extended period after my mother frolicked off to heaven.

bigcranky
11-25-2007, 17:47
what other ways are there to keep in touch with home. i have kids and grandchildren that will want to know how i am doing. any ideas for this. im not happy about carrying rechargable things (PDA). but have no other ideas.

I carried a phone card on my last section, and found actual pay phones in a couple of places. :eek: If you ask nicely, many places will let you dial an 800-number (which is how you use a phone card). Many hostels provide a phone for hikers to use, as long as you use a phone card for any long distance charges.

I've carried a cell on some hikes, and while it can be convenient at times, it's something of a two-edged sword -- just when you *really* want it to work, it doesn't get a signal. (That said, of all the services we've had over the years, Verizon really does work better in the southern mountains.) A cell phone also provides a sense of security (for both you and your family back home) that really doesn't exist.

Finally, if you want to keep in touch with the family, please don't make or receive calls at shelters. We were at one shelter last spring with hikers who spent several hours calling and getting calls -- family, work, family, text messages, -- just a constant barrage of one-sided conversation and ringing phones. It sort of defeats the purpose of getting away from civilization, ya know?

Lone Wolf
11-25-2007, 20:47
Finally, if you want to keep in touch with the family, please don't make or receive calls at shelters. We were at one shelter last spring with hikers who spent several hours calling and getting calls -- family, work, family, text messages, -- just a constant barrage of one-sided conversation and ringing phones. It sort of defeats the purpose of getting away from civilization, ya know?

one day you'll learn to stay the {bleep} out of shelters. people who use them hate being in the woods

EarlyBird2007
11-25-2007, 21:34
I have read that folks are not too happy with ATT (formally Cingular) cell phone service while on the trail. However, has anyone come to do any research as to which cell service is the best? I have heard positive things with US Cellular and Verizion.....any suggestions?

I carried a cell phone during my 2007 thru, mostly because my wife wanted me to in order to keep in touch. I have AT&T formerly Cingular. I found coverage to be pretty spotty in the South until northern VA. Down south, you could occasionally get a signal on a ridgeline or mountain summit. From northern VA through southern ME, the sugnal was pretty good the whole way, with only occasional dead spots. I expected to have nothing in the hundred mile wilderness. However, I got a decent signal there several times, like at White House Landing.

Kirby
11-25-2007, 21:44
I not sure which company, but I got a perfect roaming signal from the summiy of whitecap in the wilderness. It's funny though, cell phones, even with perfect roaming signals, sometimes will not put the call through for one reason or another. I think it has to do with which company your providers pays money to for use of their towers.

I made a phone call from the shelter 15 miles into the wilderness with no problems, and I made a phone call from Antlers campsite.

Kirby

woodsy
11-25-2007, 22:06
I don't carry one, never had a problem with "getting a signal":banana

bigcranky
11-25-2007, 22:06
one day you'll learn to stay the {bleep} out of shelters. people who use them hate being in the woods

Not to let you hijack the thread, but we stopped in for dinner. It's nice to have a table to cook on and a spring nearby. Then move on and camp elsewhere.

Goosegrass
11-25-2007, 22:09
I use Vorizon and had very good coverage from Springer thru the Smokies--had to switch to digital sometimes to get through. I also had great coverage on the first 400 miles of the Mountain-to-Sea Trail--again, had to switch to digital sometimes. Unfortunately, Vorizon is dropping their digital service early in 2008. Not only will that make connections more difficult, I won't be able to use PocketMail to transmit journal entries from the trail anymore.

SGT Rock
11-25-2007, 22:44
I have had good luck so far with US Cellular and I hear good things about Verizon. AT&T sucks, and so does Sprint - I cannot get a signal with either of those in places I can with US Cellular.

rafe
11-25-2007, 22:48
one day you'll learn to stay the {bleep} out of shelters. people who use them hate being in the woods

LW, you're like a broken record... a while(1) loop... a flywheel spinning free of its shaft.

It's totally obvious how you feel about AT shelters; a sizeable chunk of your 16000 messages on Whiteblaze contain the word "shelters" and "suck" in close proximity. But is it really necessary or useful to demean, insult, or ridicule everyone else who just might feel otherwise? Grow up.

Nightwalker
11-25-2007, 23:19
one day you'll learn to stay the {bleep} out of shelters. people who use them hate being in the woods

Shelters are good for stopping and making a meal. There's always a nice, flat spot to put your stove, and you can usually dodge the wind while cooking.

If they're already there, why not make some use of them?

Nightwalker
11-26-2007, 00:29
Alltel has pretty much all coverage up most of the way. No Maine coverage. There are some small remote communities where its roaming service.I got Alltel coverage a pretty good bit in the 100 mile Wilderness. It seemed better around running water, for some reason.
We have used US Cellular, ATT / CIngular and Verizon. Verizon is far and away the best for coverage.If you have Alltel, you also have Verizon. Most of my free roaming is on Verizon towers.

Lone Wolf
11-26-2007, 00:31
LW, you're like a broken record... a while(1) loop... a flywheel spinning free of its shaft.

It's totally obvious how you feel about AT shelters; a sizeable chunk of your 16000 messages on Whiteblaze contain the word "shelters" and "suck" in close proximity. But is it really necessary or useful to demean, insult, or ridicule everyone else who just might feel otherwise? Grow up.

put me on IGNORE. shelters really do suck. hike enuf and you'll understand

Tennessee Viking
11-26-2007, 01:29
OK, this may be a drunk post but......WaHHHHHH. Honestly, folks, 10-15 years ago this 'cell phone coverage' debate would have meant nothing to no one. Get over it, your phone don't work, you're in the woods, WAAHHH.

Buy a phone card and call MOMMY when you can. Otherwise shut up and stop gripping else wise we all find out that you could not have made it 20 years ago, engineer of the whining express
If one is at a trailhead and needs a ride into town, they can call up a shuttle service. Or break a leg or fall ill. It would definitely help.

kayak karl
11-26-2007, 02:59
personally, i would choose to carry a calling card for direct communication, and i would just pen letters on my off days to anyone i wanted to let know about how i was doing.
thanks, i didnt think of letter writing (too simple i guess). in the day it was the main way of communicating, but stamps were 4 cents:)

Summit
11-26-2007, 12:43
I got Alltel coverage a pretty good bit in the 100 mile Wilderness. It seemed better around running water, for some reason.If you have Alltel, you also have Verizon. Most of my free roaming is on Verizon towers.Running water / reception was a coincedence! :p Alltel owns less towers than the big three (VZW, Sprint, AT&T) by far. That's why. ;)

ki0eh
11-27-2007, 11:33
Running water = valleys = likely straighter shot to out-of-the-wilderness towers?

I too find Verizon has better coverage out in the sticks.

However driving I-81 to VA a couple of weeks ago it dropped me 3 times near the VA/WV and MD/PA state lines, switching to "extended network." The voice mails don't come through on "extended network" too well either.

It doesn't work on my A.T. section in "St. Anthony's Wilderness" yet. You can still escape! :)

faarside
11-27-2007, 16:38
Verizon. I hated them for years, but it turned out they provided the best coverage for the lowest price (I use pay-as-you-go). And that comes from someone who was loyal to AT&T for more than 12 years.

Bare Bear
11-27-2007, 20:41
I know that a cell phone saved a man's life near Muskrat in 2006.........
.and I agree that you need to stop before a shelter to use it or ask if it bother others. I found the few times I really needed to ask that everyone brought theirs out too.

Nightwalker
11-28-2007, 00:23
Running water / reception was a coincedence! :p Alltel owns less towers than the big three (VZW, Sprint, AT&T) by far. That's why. ;)

All of the Verizon towers work on Alltel. Plus, their customer service is superior.

4eyedbuzzard
11-28-2007, 10:18
Unfortunately, Vorizon is dropping their digital service early in 2008. Not only will that make connections more difficult, I won't be able to use PocketMail to transmit journal entries from the trail anymore.


Exactly the opposite. Verizon is dropping their ANALOG service in 2008 and going all digital. They are also going to "open up" their network to allow third party devices and services that meet their technical standards to connect. PocketMail is acoustic/analog similar to analog fax machines - and pretty much a dead technology given that you can text and e-mail directly from a digital cell phone.

http://www22.verizon.com/about/community/learningcenter/articles/displayarticle1/0,1727,1009z1,00.html

http://www.aximsite.com/boards/mobility-site-news/221592-verizon-introduce-any-apps-any-device-option-customers-2008-a.html

Summit
11-28-2007, 13:05
All in all I think a cell phone is a great thing to pack along and leave off, so as to "get away from it all," but nice to turn on (being considerate of others) for emergencies, shuttles/pickups, or "checking in" with those who love and care about you! With my Palm Treo 700p smartphone, I have the added convenience of weather updates (nice!), eBooks and Bible reading with a backlit display that is great at night.

On my last 7-day hike, reading about 2 hours per day, getting one weather update per day, and calling my wife/children an average of 2 calls a day, I didn't have to go to my backup battery until day 6.

For thru-hikers, I would think a much more conservative use approach would be wise, and carefully planned places to recharge your battery(s).

Goosegrass
11-28-2007, 23:10
My mistake. Verizon is dropping their analog service. Fingers weren't in sync with brain.

warraghiyagey
11-28-2007, 23:33
Just a quick thanks to the admins., for weeding out a bad thread starter about killer cell phones. Nice work folks.:) :)

Dakota Dan
11-28-2007, 23:54
Just a quick thanks to the admins., for weeding out a bad thread starter about killer cell phones. Nice work folks.:) :)


I'm the "bad thread starter". I just saw it on CNN, looked it up, posted it. I also googled it. about 5000 other news orgs are also reporting "killer cell phones"

warraghiyagey
11-28-2007, 23:56
I'm the "bad thread starter". I just saw it on CNN, looked it up, posted it. I also googled it. about 5000 other news orgs are also reporting "killer cell phones"
True, the story is out there, but there was nothing conclusive in it. Not enough detail to warrant a story even, or so it seemed.

Dakota Dan
11-28-2007, 23:57
I'll post it here. Maybe you can check it out before it too gets deleted.


http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=...-8&sa=N&tab=wn

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapc....ap/index.html (http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/11/28/phone.explosion.ap/index.html)

warraghiyagey
11-29-2007, 00:00
I'll post it here. Maybe you can check it out before it too gets deleted.


http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=...-8&sa=N&tab=wn

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapc....ap/index.html
Already read it. Not news.

Dakota Dan
11-29-2007, 00:01
True, the story is out there, but there was nothing conclusive in it. Not enough detail to warrant a story even, or so it seemed.

Yea, its not nearly as pertinent here as the thread dedicated to "Farting"

warraghiyagey
11-29-2007, 00:02
Oooookay. Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

SGT Rock
11-29-2007, 23:34
Good to know about pocketmail going the way of the Do Do eventually. Better to know it may not get service sometime in the future before you spend the money on it.

And there is an exploding cell phone thread already out there - just in the off trail stuff since that has nothing to do with the AT.

Two Speed
01-05-2008, 19:29
Slightly different problem. I want to go from a land line to a cell phone and keep my phone number. Anyone know if that's feasible, or if there are kinks I ought to know about?

Butterflymoon
01-19-2008, 11:31
Finally, if you want to keep in touch with the family, please don't make or receive calls at shelters. We were at one shelter last spring with hikers who spent several hours calling and getting calls -- family, work, family, text messages, -- just a constant barrage of one-sided conversation and ringing phones. It sort of defeats the purpose of getting away from civilization, ya know?[/quote]

Amen!!!

Butterflymoon
01-19-2008, 11:46
Thank you bigcranky for reminding us all!

To each is their own technology.... just please remember that some of us did come here for "Opportunities for observation, contemplation, and exploration of the natural world. A sense of remoteness and detachment from civilization. Opportunities to experience solitude, freedom, self-reliance and self discovery. A sense of being on the height of the land. Opportunities to experience the cultural, historical and pastoral elements of the Trail and it's surrounding countryside. A feeling of being part of the natural environment. Opportunities for travel on foot, including opportunities for long-distance hiking."

CaseyB
01-19-2008, 16:06
Thank you bigcranky for reminding us all!

To each is their own technology.... just please remember that some of us did come here for "Opportunities for observation, contemplation, and exploration of the natural world. A sense of remoteness and detachment from civilization. Opportunities to experience solitude, freedom, self-reliance and self discovery. A sense of being on the height of the land. Opportunities to experience the cultural, historical and pastoral elements of the Trail and it's surrounding countryside. A feeling of being part of the natural environment. Opportunities for travel on foot, including opportunities for long-distance hiking."

Rain sticks, bongos, & bongs are OK though, right?:D

take-a-knee
01-19-2008, 17:03
Finally, if you want to keep in touch with the family, please don't make or receive calls at shelters. We were at one shelter last spring with hikers who spent several hours calling and getting calls -- family, work, family, text messages, -- just a constant barrage of one-sided conversation and ringing phones. It sort of defeats the purpose of getting away from civilization, ya know?

Amen!!![/quote]

Stay away from shelters and that won't be a problem. Had I been there waiting out a storm he'd have had a conversation with me, I guarantee it.