Discussion: Sat Phones

It appears almost certain that teams will be required to have a sat phone for this one, the areas are pretty remote. But I am working on a deal for rentals. More info will be posted online when available.

Another option, although it's different functionality, is to have teams carry SPOT trackers. They can be rented from TrackMe360. This has the additional benefit of providing spectators with a cool way to watch the race. You will know where the teams are on the course and they have the ability to push different buttons such as OK, 911, Help (message sent to race organizers but not to emergency services). It doesn't give you the ability to have a 2-way phone conversation, which is a negative, but sat phones don't always work when you need them, and they are heavy. Not a straightforward decision - not apples and apples.

For GUATS Wilderness Traverse, which also goes into remote areas, we've decided to go with SPOT tracking.

Spot devices are something that we have used in the past, both as racers and also as organizers at last years Race the Phantom. They are great devices but are limited in communication of course, the combination of the sat phone and spot devices (such as Untamed has done) should address any potential communication concerns.

In ~12 months I'll have an affordable solution for us NSAR. I've got one now, just it's currently too expensive.

The SPOT website yesterday was advertising a small device to "turn your cell phone into a satellite phone". Didn't have time to read the details but that may be a good solution in future.

From JayXC's Feb. 14 log entry from Patagonia:
"Contacting HQ ended up being tougher than we thought. Of the 3 sat phones available none worked. 1 wasn't charged, 1 didn't have the race HQ phone number and 1 wouldn't turn on. Fortunately we had Ignaco with us, our embedded field reporter and he had his own Sat phone which we were able to get though on."

So it's definitely good to have multiple methods of communication.

Agreed Bash....last year we had Spot Devices, Cell Phones (mandatory gear) and we supplied racers with VHF radios. The range on the radios wasn't as good as we had hoped due to the terrain, and the nature of the radios. The terrain for the upcoming RTP will offer some communication issues with the standard means, so the sat phone with a spot device should be our best option.

Are you entertaining the trip down? We would love to have you. I suspect you are heading to RTNX though.

Unlikely to do RTNX and would definitely like to get to RTP some year. I may have exhausted my relationship with Aeroplan for 2011 though!

No form of communications will be perfect. Basically the satellite phone has the best chance of working... if you've got the range to see a cell phone tower, then you've got the range to catch an iridium satellite. Same for GPS based systems. It's much easier to catch an iridium satellite than the GPS ones.

Charging issues and functionality issues are typically universal.

The biggest hurdle is user awareness. If an emergency number is required then it and all other contact information should be on all maps, instructions, passports... tattooed on racer's hands etc. But awareness on device functionality is also often a problem. Fortunately both the SST and I work in the industry, so when our tracker was goofing off at Untamed we knew how to keep it going. Unfortunately, no one is going to pay attention to a spot tracker or satellite phone tutorial in the hours before a two day adventure race.

At least with a satellite phone that a racer is required to supply, they'll have the opportunity to pick it up in advance and confirm it's functionality and learn how to use it without sacrificing map time.

Warning: nerd alert . . .

All sat phones are not created equal! Iridium is the ONLY type, in my opinion, suitable for reliable communication at ARs anywhere on the planet.

I raced the 2008 Patagonia race, for example, and all race staff had Globalstar phones (the same company behind the SPOT trackers) and none of their phones worked. As a media hook and for safety, I had brought our own Iridium phone and at the CPs the race staff were asking to borrow our phone. No joke! Globalstar is particularly limited on the "edges" of continents and Patagonia is certainly on the tip. For our New England race, we only use Iridium to avoid the problem.

For Untamed New England, I'd estimate about 10% of teams end up calling in on their phones for various reasons. We could never run our event without them, and it's cool to see the idea catching on in NB.

Yea, Iridium is the best at present. No question. We still use some Argos based protocol in our stuff, but Iridium is taking over.

Roadpost is taking care of the Phantom racers with a great rate on rentals....check out the deal at:

http://www.roadpost.ca/Iridium-Satellite-Phone-Ren...

Be sure to place your order before April 30th, put Satellite Phone Rental as the subject (if you book online) and to thank Maz for taking care of us.

cheers

Did you confirm that there is no additional data package charge? That is a sweet price compared to what I've had to deal with in the past.

I am sure if you use it, there will be a charge.

All rental information is at this link:
http://www.roadpost.ca/Iridium-Satellite-Phone-Ren...