But is your phone a MIL-SPEC phone???

[Trent Rock]

So
I was in some deep canyon near Platoro, Co
About here===>
http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=37.223394&lon=-106.455956&z=14.8&r=0&src=msl
I was on vacation from my job
I start hearing this chirping sound
"WTF is that sound?""
It was my BIG boss Nextel walkie-talking me!!!
I guess he forgot I was on vacation

My questions===>
What is the infrastructure/frequency range/repeaters/towers/etc for Nextel walkie talkie services??
I think it is the 900MHZ range?
Is that a good freq range for survival situations??
Do you think I just got lucky and got "reception" in a canyon at 9,000 feet?

My phone is a Motorola i560
http://www.mycellphoneblog.com/motorola-i560-review-ebay/
I get a lot of comments on it
"Trent..That is a really cool/space age/military looking phone..But...It's looks sorta bulky!!"
Then I go
"Oh yeah...But is your phone a MIL-Spec phone and can you do THIS with YOUR phone??!!"
Then I toss my phone in the air about 5 feet and let it bounce on the carpet

I have 3 friends that also have Nextel walkie talkie phones
I told them if I am stranded in some canyon in need of help at 2pm MST
You better answer my walkie talkie "alert"!!!
You are mostly likely my "only hope"......

 

[Brian Jones]

Trent,

High frequency signals tend not to travel through leaves, etc. as well as low frequencies. That is why you see the huge whip antennas on rural police cars, and shorter antennas in cities.

Low frequencies travel worse in urban areas.

The reason for this is the length of the frequency wave. The longer waves travel over trees etc better than shorter, which tend to bounce and get caught up in the softer leaves, etc.

Th shorter waves tend to travel better in urban areas because they can slide through and bounce better in urban areas.

This is a generality, and there are other factors, such as type of signal, satellite relay, locations of cell towers, but it gives you a broad picture. A canyon may very well act similarly to the hard surfaces of buildings, though.

 

[abo4ster]

Coverage is variable, like any other carrier. Where they have an advantage from a survival aspect is Direct Connect NEVER goes through the Public Switched Telephone Network. So if a public switch is damaged as what happened in Katrina, 9/11, when FL was a speed bump for hurricanes, etc., OR the network gets jammed, there are many examples including the fore mentioned where Direct Connect worked and nothing else did, including cellular on Nextel.

The other good thing about Nextel is there is an off-network walkie-talkie (Direct Talk) in the unlicensed 900 MHz band, with 10 channels and 15 codes per channel. They advertise it as up to 6 miles, but 1.5 to 2 is average. I have used it with my family when we didn't have coverage in the mountains, cruises, etc. Great for businesses who have business continuity plans, etc.

Nextel is a favorite for many Public Sector agencies for secondary communications because of the radio, interoperability, and fixed costs.

This is the phone I use, check the review, they ran over it with a car...

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2001856,00.asp

 

[Trent Rock]

Damn!!!
They got one with diamond plating now!!!!

Thanks for the info all!!
I have been really happy with Nextel

BTW..The case I got is by Body Glove