We are in the process of closing on a 42' trawler
questions about Cell phone & e-mail set-up options:
(I know this could be akin to: "Who's on first")
I have seen several e-mails about do this or do that, but they leave out
critical pieces of the puzzle.
the cell companies say you can only use their plug in 'card' for a flat fee
per month.
Others say they use their cell phone without any additional charges.
We will be cruising 'The Great Loop', all the East Coast and the Bahamas.
Does anyone have exactly what is needed and from whom, for us to be fully
functional.
Changing cell service providers is not a problem in order to get the best
set-up.
Thanks in advance.

jim
"The Secret of Success is Consistency of Purpose"
Benjamin Disraeli

Jim Cobb
e-mail address      otisltd@mysc.com

Jim,

Verizon is generally acknowledged to have the best East Coast coverage at
this time. You need to select your phone carefully and you need to confirm
that it works with their data kit which plugs into a USB port. If you are
willing to wait until 9:00PM and weekends, you pay nothing extra for
Internet access.

The morass of plans is for you to decipher. Take out the $3 or $5 dollar a
month insurance, otherwise, when it gets wet and die you get to buy a new
one at normal retail - maybe $200 plus. Some of our correspondents confirm
that Georgia and parts of SC do not have great coverage at this time and NC
service is provided by another company at no extra charge to you.

Ron Rogers
Willard 40 AIRBORNE
Lying Annapolis

I concur with Ron that Verizon is the way to go but there something else to
consider. Many of the phones they now sell are called Digital which sounds
nice except it really means Digital Only which means it will not connect to
a analog network. As far as I know Verizon will roam in the Bahamas but on
analog only. Although Verizon has a great digital network there are still
areas where a analog connection is the only choice.

They still have Digital/Analog phones. The Verizon term for these is "Tri-Mode"

Try to find one that will allow an external antenna connection that works
at the same time as the computer connection.

Frank Burrows  79  43' Viking MY  Piney Narrows Marina  Chesapeake Bay

This sounds good. I have a Motorola V120e which is both digital and analog.
But, you must check setup to insure that the phone will try analog if it
fails to achieve a digital connection. Similarly, you can program it to
default to either type of connect when you are in an area where one or the
other fails consistently.

BTW, this is from a fellow who cannot troubleshoot an ABI overhead two bulb
lamp with a multimeter - for the second time. Last time I bought a new,
brighter ABI.

Ron Rogers
Willard 40 AIRBORNE
Lying Annapolis

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven Dubnoff" sdubnoff@circlesys.com
|
| I am a great fan of the Kyocera 2325.  These are quite easily obtained on
| ebay in new or slightly used condition for about $30.00.  Buy one, buy a
| spare.  When you drop the first one overboard, activate the second one
over
| the phone.  Works great on Verizon for voice and data.