Cell Phones.. did you know??

[snowdance]

For those that live in areas where you have cell phone service all the time that are going to travel to areas with little or no service like where we live did you know.. Many times your phone will show no service but repeater stations for fire, police,ect will pick up a 911 call. So even if you show no service try it..
Did you know an old cell phone with no service will call 911. We have used them for years on our motorcycles, backpacking ect where we can not lock them up. We just keep them charged up. If some one steals them they just get and old phone with no service. This way people that do not have cell phones can pick up an old one from family or friends and be covered by 911. But if you do use one do it only if really needed as you will have to explain why you are using a phone with no service. Give them you home phone and address ect. Seems even some of the 911 operaters do not know it works. But we have used them several times over the years.

[doublenot7]

There are also secondary EMS/911 service networks for when the commercial carriers fail. These are not always an automated switch over type arrangement. After Hurricane Katrina in LA we set up portable EMS cellular towers and generators (and had to secure them so they did not disappear).

[wny_pat1]

YC 1 wrote:

dave54 wrote:

YC 1 wrote:
Repeaters for police and fire will not pick up cell phone signals. If you are meaning their actual communications channels.

They use different frequencies and modulation techniques.

A separate antenna connected to different base unit on the same tower will receive 911 calls. Not too common yet, but increasing in mountainous rural areas.

Can you explain this a bit more please. Some new piece of communications equipment on the market?

Cell phones do not connect to 911 dispatch centers via their towers or radios. They connect via phone lines. The cell towers and vendors send that information via their infrastructure.

Inquiring minds also want to know about this too. In my humble opinion, it is going to be routed thru the cell phone intrastructure before it gets to the 911 center, and not the 911 tower. It is possible that the cell phone service has provided a small repeater transceiver, but I know nothing about that. And just less than a year ago things in California's 911 system were not all that wonderful: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/09/08/emergency.numbers/index.html

[YC_1]

dave54 wrote:

YC 1 wrote:
Repeaters for police and fire will not pick up cell phone signals. If you are meaning their actual communications channels.

They use different frequencies and modulation techniques.

A separate antenna connected to different base unit on the same tower will receive 911 calls. Not too common yet, but increasing in mountainous rural areas.

Can you explain this a bit more please. Some new piece of communications equipment on the market?

Cell phones do not connect to 911 dispatch centers via their towers or radios. They connect via phone lines. The cell towers and vendors send that information via their infrastructure.

[demoon]

Just Jeff wrote:

snowdance wrote:
But we have used them several times over the years.

How often do you have to call 911?

Once is enough!

[silvercorvette]

Just Jeff wrote:

snowdance wrote:
But we have used them several times over the years.

How often do you have to call 911?

Heck I don't even know what number I need to dial to get 911;)

[dave54]

YC 1 wrote:
Repeaters for police and fire will not pick up cell phone signals. If you are meaning their actual communications channels.

They use different frequencies and modulation techniques.

A separate antenna connected to different base unit on the same tower will receive 911 calls. Not too common yet, but increasing in mountainous rural areas.

[snowdance]

YC 1 wrote:
Repeaters for police and fire will not pick up cell phone signals. If you are meaning their actual communications channels.

They use different frequencies and modulation techniques.

Where you live in the flat lands they have no reason to but we live in Siskiyou County, Calif. We have over 6,347 sq miles in the county and most of the area is mts with small valleys ect and less than 40,000 people. With cell phone service only in a few areas and along 1-5 whitch cover only a small part of the county. I have infact had a 911 call answered from a repeater station when we found a lost child in the high country while in a no service area. Many of the newer repeaters will but they are in areas with few people. And you are right you can not access the police or fire calls or radios as they do use different communication channels.

[Mremdal33]

Interesting. The trick is keeping them charged. I dont know that I am diligent enough to not have a dead brick of a phone when the time came.

[wrvond]

We donate our old cell phones to battered women centers for this very reason.

[YC_1]

Repeaters for police and fire will not pick up cell phone signals. If you are meaning their actual communications channels.

They use different frequencies and modulation techniques.

[fj12ryder]

Just Jeff wrote:

snowdance wrote:
But we have used them several times over the years.

How often do you have to call 911?

Once would be worth the limited hassle involved. Especially if it's for you. 🙂

[snowdance]

Just Jeff wrote:

snowdance wrote:
But we have used them several times over the years.

How often do you have to call 911?

Depends on how often we come across a fire or where some on has missed a turn on our winding mtn roads often one lane and their car or motorcycle is laying down in a gully or creek. Not to uncommon here.

[Golden_HVAC]

Yes I knew that.

I keep a old cell phone and it's 12 volt charger in the car for that reason. I never thought about someone stealing the old phone, it will be no use to them, except to make a 911 call.

The older phones might not have GPS tracking to the phone location, while Congress has decided that we must have GPS tracking on the new phones - so we can be located in case of a 911 call.

Might be something to keep in the trunk of a car - in case you get kidnapped or car jacked. They can track a phone that is turned on and charged by GPS.

Now thiefs know that the Onstar tracked GMC vehicles are not the ones to get caught stealing them. . . .

Fred.

[Just_Jeff]

snowdance wrote:
But we have used them several times over the years.

How often do you have to call 911?