Alternative way of communication ( Need Some Ideas)

[Il_Duce]

Little back story. We are buying some land south of Henryetta. We where out there two saturdays ago looking around and deciding where to but a road in. I was trying to pull a map up on my phone and noticed that I did'nt have any data service. I figured it was'nt a big deal surley I would still be able to recive calls or make calls. Well I was dead wrong. We left about 10 miles from Heneryetta my phone starts ringing. I pick it up. The wife starts to tell me that they have been trying to call my dad and I for the past 3 hours to tell us about a death in the family.

So that has me thinking. What if one of us was hurt, needed help or there was an emergency back home. How would we get ahold of someone.
I need some ideas of what I could use to communicate back home in okc?

 

[COZICAN]

Sounds like you need a different carrier with service in that area; that or a satellite phone.

 

[FRISKY]

^^^ Or try an elevated, long range antenna to see if it will connect to the closest cell tower.

 

[Il_Duce]

Im with verizon that should say it all

 

[NightShade]

http://www.verizonwireless.com/accessories/signal-boosters/

Do not have to buy the devices from Verizon but gives you an idea. You can get them to be mounted in your home and rebroadcast inside/outside or in a vehicle.

Other than finding a carrier who does have service in your area that is lacking or getting a satellite phone this is going to be one of the only options to call. You could get some sort of handheld but that also means someone needs to be on the other end of it when you need them.

 

[DeeJay]

Many folks are going to strictly cell phone. But, if you are moving there, get a landline. We have one for that reason, no reliable service.
We have also found out that phone calls get dropped but text messages do get through so you might test that out.
One other thought is to use your vehicle's satellite system such as GM's on-star.

 

[vvvvvvv]

We have a repeater on our TV tower. We're right on the edge of range for the towers around us, so no matter what carrier we only get 1 or 2 bars outside and a lot of dropped calls.

So we have an omni-directional antenna that is 30 inches long and compatible with both GSM and CDMA signals. That runs down a cable to a 55dB amplifier that feeds an omni-directional antenna in the house. 5 bars anywhere in the house, no dropped calls.

 

[J.T.]

Where can I get that rig, Veggie? We have crap service at home (Verizon) but in speaking with neighbors it seems we all have crap service in the area amongst all carriers. Oddly, my wife's IPhone gets better reception than my Galaxy.

 

[Il_Duce]

I just found this
https://www.iridium.com/products/Iridium-GO.aspx?productCategoryId=1

 

[vvvvvvv]

Where can I get that rig, Veggie? We have crap service at home (Verizon) but in speaking with neighbors it seems we all have crap service in the area amongst all carriers. Oddly, my wife's IPhone gets better reception than my Galaxy.

I bought the CellPhone-Mate CM2000-WL-55 on Amazon about 5 years ago according to my order history - it was $398 then. Searching for it shows that it has since been discontinued, but this looks like a similar setup. It looks from the picture that it's only a 45dB amp, though, and that seems to be their strongest amp that is currently offered. Coincidentally, RockSignal (who is listed as the seller) is also who was the seller 5 years ago, so I'll vouch for them as legit.

We've personally used it with service from US Cellular, Pioneer (Verizon), Sprint, and Verizon, and I've had no complaints from the AT&T family members.