searoom - 12-16-2006 at 12:21 PM
Da wife is ready to make a run to the Central Pacific Coast after Christmas IF she can somehow get internet over the Sat Phone. Anyone have a line on
how to accomplish this techie feat?
I tell her to leave it all at home and relax, but those independent contractors are a different breed. I know, I married one.
While she is huddled up in the tent schmoozing and wheeling and dealing I'll be fishing/surfing/beering. Strange way to do Baja, my Pop is rolling
over in his salt water grave...
BajaNomad - 12-16-2006 at 12:25 PM
A dialup account? 
(I can actually provide you with an inexpensive temporary one if this would actually work somehow)
searoom - 12-16-2006 at 12:30 PM
Really, no joke. We use the new V640 from Verizon in the PCMCIA Slot on a mac Book Pro for National Broadband access. Slow as hell, but good for email
on the go anywhere you get a cell phone signal.
http://www.gearlive.com/index.php/news/article/verizon-v640-...
oladulce - 12-16-2006 at 12:49 PM
Our Inmarsat phone (a Nera Mini-m model) has worked out great for our needs. Reception anywhere, and the best part is, we found a service provider
with a plan that has no monthly service charge so you don't have to pay for all the months that it's sitting in the closet waiting for your next trip.
But the per minute charge from Baja Sur to Cali. is about $1.89 so combined with the painfully slow baud rate of sat phones, normal internet cruising
would cost you a fortune. It's not bad for picking up and sending email, but paying bills etc can rack up the $$ because it takes so long for bank
websites and stuff to load completely.
searoom - 12-16-2006 at 12:55 PM
Sr. Oladulce, Can you divulge the service provider?
My high rolling wife is a "$$$ is no object" kind of gal. As long as she can occasionally plug in and stay in the loop she can relax a bit. Weird I
know.
Geeze thats a nice looking wave under your name!
mtgoat666 - 12-16-2006 at 04:20 PM
Go talk to a sat phone retailer for advice. I have seen many people, in many countries, use sat service to access internet -- but be prepared to pay
for it, nothing is cheap by satellite.
capt. mike - 12-16-2006 at 04:46 PM
ask at BBP, several there do it. Maybe El Jefe Jack can advise, he sells em.
comitan - 12-16-2006 at 04:47 PM
Just Google Aircard might do the trick.
oladulce - 12-16-2006 at 08:12 PM
Not sure if this set up would appeal to everyone, but I’ll describe it a little and explain why we went with it.
The Inmarsat satellite system has been around since 1979, with big focus on maritime communication. Reception is possible anywhere on the planet
except the very North Pole and the very South Pole. When we bought the phone in 2000, this was the only satellite network that would cover our Baja
Sur and Central America needs.
The Mini-m is not a handheld though and it's the size of a small laptop.
The antenna is the lid of the case.
“Stratos” is the service provider we have for our Inmarsat phone. Stratos has a service called “StratosNet” and here’s a description from their
website:
Conventional Internet Service Providers (ISPs) use networks that are not typically designed to address the needs of mobile satellite users, due
to the relative slower connection speeds that are characteristic of the satellite connection. Therefore, Stratos developed StratosNet® - a service
that is optimized for cost-effective Internet Services for satellite phones.
On-the-Fly Compression of all information transmitted
Stratos understands that every minute counts for mobile users. To further increase efficiency, and to minimize connection time and cost, we've
included compression software as an integral part of our service. Everything that goes over the StratosNet link will automatically be compressed by at
least 4:1 for e-mail transactions, and at least 2:1 for web browsing. These rates can even be higher, depending on the size and nature of the
information being transmitted.
Pay only for satellite airtime
There are no registration or monthly fees associated with use of the StratosNet service, and the CD is free as well. You pay only the satellite
airtime charges incurred to connect to StratosNet, as itemized on your monthly bill.
We get the Stratos service through this company- Preferred Communications
Preferred Communications is the only place I found that offered a “no monthly service fee” option on a satellite phone. I haven’t shopped around for a
few years so maybe someone else offers this now, but it used to be unheard of.
They are very helpful if you have satellite phone questions.
We also bought the Mini-M World Phone from Preferred, and it was a former rental unit and slightly cheaper than a new one. The baud rate on this model
is only 2400 bps for “data”( such as internet) though, which is almost impractically slow for anything other than brief email sending and receiving
etc.
There could be lots of other options out there nowadays, and there are probably others with faster download speeds. But this reliable unit has worked
well when we needed it for remote phone and internet.
p.s. searoom- I still feel like a señorita, but am actually a señora and the wave on my avatar is a real one that motivates me to keep working and
saving for the not too distant future. Have fun.
Summanus - 12-16-2006 at 09:55 PM
How about simply using a Pocketmailer with a sat phone?.....should work and would probably cost less air time.
searoom - 12-17-2006 at 12:14 PM
Oladulce,
Following my father to a watery grave, nothing has motivated, moved or punished me as greatly as the ocean.
Thanks for the info, keep the faith!
Internet via sat phone
bonanza bucko - 12-17-2006 at 08:34 PM
We have an Iridium Sat Phone and love it! We get an ad once a month with the bill that offers high speed internet via the Sat Phone if you buy a
gizmo that makes that work...if you go to Google and look up Iridium I'm sure you'll find it...costs like $2000.
Best of luck. So far we don't need internet down there. But it's gonna be next.