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Two way pager service?

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  • ATX_Shawn

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    Jan 28, 2013
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    Does any one use, or have experience with a pager service, preferably a local company? I have a t900 I want to activate service on.

    Okay, I expect I will get some questions and some criticism on this so I will try to explain the best I can...

    After a disaster, or even during a huge influx of people coming into town, cell towers can go down completely but more often than not they are just overloaded. This makes getting voice calls out almost impossible, that's why "they" bring in mobile cell towers for large events like SXSW and ACL. You may have heard that SMS text messages take up less space and can usually get through even while towers are overloaded. I do keep an extra phone (company phone issued to me, I just forward the calls to my Google voice number) , charged, activated, etc... in my EDC bag as back up and when my I phone dies it comes in handy.

    Well I have a Motorola t900 from wayyyy back in the day. Pagers like this operate on the old analog signals, not digital signals, and can only send sms or emails via the analog signal. Making it a decent alternative during times where cell towers may be overloaded.
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    General Zod

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    Pretty sure all of the major cellular players have ditched analog coverage. It's hard to justify the expense of maintaining a network none of their equipment utilizes.
     

    ATX_Shawn

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    So they don't use analog as I thought originally....
    Excerpt from wikipedia.. Pager - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    "Most modern paging systems use simulcast delivery by satellite controlled networks. This type of distributed system makes them inherently more reliable than terrestrial based cellular networks for message delivery. Many paging transmitters may overlap a coverage area, while cellular systems are built to fill holes in existing networks. When terrestrial networks go down in an emergency, satellite systems continue to perform. Because of superior building penetration and availability of service in disaster situations, pagers are often used by first responders in emergencies."
     

    F350-6

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    I think the old pagers did use analog. It's the newer pagers that use the new technology. If you're willing to pay for the service anyway, why not spend a few dollars and get new pagers? Or go big and get some sat phones.
     

    ATX_Shawn

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    I think the old pagers did use analog. It's the newer pagers that use the new technology. If you're willing to pay for the service anyway, why not spend a few dollars and get new pagers? Or go big and get some sat phones.

    Pager services are fairly cheap.. cheap enough for me to justify having a reliable back up for communication. I've looked into sat phones before, a long time ago, and as I remember they were expensive to buy, and the plans were expensive. I wouldn't be apposed to that, but seems texting with a two way is more practical than sat phones..
     
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    Talk to a doctor, my wife is a nurse and almost all the doctors around here still have 2 way pagers, I don't know what the service is or who offers it but it is still available and used for certain professions.
     

    LynxIV7

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    Actually that is what obama and most execs use today as they "cannot" be hacked and are "much" more secure than regular cell access.

    I have wanted one for a while. A modern and more reliable alternative would be SPOT or something similiar. The T900 is still the standard and will more than likely be the last of the lines of 2-way unless a botique shows up to compete for this small area of business.

    About PagersDirect < Link to 1 year plans

    Honestly for what your trying to achieve you may as well buy spot service or something similar like the delorme and pay the service fees...

    DeLorme inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicator for Apple iOS and Android - Free Shipping at REI.com
     

    ATX_Shawn

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    Jan 28, 2013
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    Talk to a doctor, my wife is a nurse and almost all the doctors around here still have 2 way pagers, I don't know what the service is or who offers it but it is still available and used for certain professions.
    I dont know any.. lol


    Actually that is what obama and most execs use today as they "cannot" be hacked and are "much" more secure than regular cell access.

    I have wanted one for a while. A modern and more reliable alternative would be SPOT or something similiar. The T900 is still the standard and will more than likely be the last of the lines of 2-way unless a botique shows up to compete for this small area of business.

    About PagersDirect < Link to 1 year plans

    Honestly for what your trying to achieve you may as well buy spot service or something similar like the delorme and pay the service fees...

    DeLorme inReach 2-Way Satellite Communicator for Apple iOS and Android - Free Shipping at REI.com

    Interesting.. didnt know that oBama used one. I was really hoping someone had experience with a service provider and could recommend one. I like the emergency GPS devices like the spot and I'd like to get one, but they are not quite what I am looking for, two way communication is the issue with them. My goal is something affordable, that I can use day to day if needed, but is more reliable during high traffic situation than a cellphone, small enough to carry, and has better range than a two way radio. Not to mention battery life is great, and its easy enough to find a AAA battery.
     

    LynxIV7

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    well the link to the delrome is supposed to be true two way text comms. If you find an extra T900 AA model I am in the market...

    I believe the regular carriers like verizon, sprint, and at&t probably have that info I would call and get routed to billing (should be in the US) and then have them route you to who they think would know.

    Now just to get the forum to group buy a few older commsats and position them over Texas for free Comms separate from other entities... lol if only
     

    ATX_Shawn

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    Jan 28, 2013
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    Austin
    well the link to the delrome is supposed to be true two way text comms. If you find an extra T900 AA model I am in the market...

    I believe the regular carriers like verizon, sprint, and at&t probably have that info I would call and get routed to billing (should be in the US) and then have them route you to who they think would know.

    Now just to get the forum to group buy a few older commsats and position them over Texas for free Comms separate from other entities... lol if only

    Lol group buy for commsats, yeah if only.

    I looked into the delrome s'more and they are pretty cool, and pretty reasonably priced. You can do some pretty basic text and data transfers it seems. In order to do that though you have to Bluetooth to the device with a smart phone. Not sure yet what I think about that...

    I have a buddy with a t900.. Ill ask him if he is willing to sell.

    I sent some emails to service providers, waiting on responses, Ill let you guys know what I find out.
     
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