jeans - 10-11-2010 at 07:15 PM
Is anyone familiar with a Magellan World Phone?
It's about 8-10 years old. It does not have a model number for referrence. Is it obsolete? Is there anywhere in San Diego I can take it to find out?
If it's not obsolete, it's for sale. 
capt. mike - 10-12-2010 at 05:59 AM
Jeans,
find out which of the 2 orig sat systems it was made for. one of the 2 went BK so it has to work with the one left or it is useless.
good luck.
bufeo - 10-12-2010 at 08:16 AM
Jeans,
I still have my World Phone. It worked fine the last time I used it, which was a few months ago.
When we first acquired our 'rental' property at Pta Bufeo we had the phone from our trawler. It was great to have at the beach.
It needs the southern horizon to work well. On a trip to the Arctic Circle a few years ago, we lost the satellite somewhere on the Arctic tundra.
Can't remember the latitude right now.
Our service provider was ( I say 'was' because I discontinued the service in August '10.) Stratos in Canada. The cost per minute was roughly
US$2.85/min but there was no monthly charge, so we felt it was a cost-effective means of communication.
There should be a model number on the underside of the phone (assuming it's the old 'sachel' model). If not, than unscrew the panel and look there.
There also is an "ISN" number somewhere on the phone.
Allen R
[Edited on 10-12-2010 by bufeo]
More Info
jeans - 10-12-2010 at 09:25 AM
Upon closer inspection I see a small plate that says:
"Via INMARSAT"
I Googled it..and it looks like the satellite service company is still going. I just sent a query to their customer support with the ISN# which I also
found.
Mom says they paid around $3,000 for it when it was new.
If we can determine that it is still operational, it will be for sale.
WOW...what Customer Service!
jeans - 10-12-2010 at 09:40 AM
I got a reply back in 7 minutes! 
"The service is available and the equipment is still active on our network. The equipment should work if you try to make a call. Stratos are the
provider for any further queries such as pricing you can contact them on 0017097484226."
Apparently my parents still have their account..since there is no monthly charge. Now...batteries...I gotta figure out how to charge this thing
up.... Stay tuned.
bufeo - 10-12-2010 at 10:35 AM
If the phone is still in its sachel there should be a charging cable. Check first to make sure the battery has no corrosion on it. We found that a
fully charged battery would give us about four hours of Standby. Xmission sucks a bit of juice from it, so long calls drained the battery rapidly.
We have a 12V cord as well so that I could hook it up (via power point plug or directly to auto battery terminals) we would have access to DC current.
In our Bufeo house we wired a 12V directly from the PV battery bank into the house.
I should have mentioned the INMARSAT name. Just forgot to do so.
We paid something over two grand for the phone in 1999. The resale is not so hot, since later generation sat-phones are much handier and have better
coverage. Your best chance for resale might be around a marina somewhere, since the World Phone was originally designed for marine use.
Allen R
P.S. ...and Yes, Stratos' customer service is extraordinarly prompt, courteous, and efficient.
[Edited on 10-12-2010 by bufeo]