A fellow member from the IAA sent me an email in regards to Globalstar sat phone coverage. Apparently they are shy a few satellites and coverage is not fully available until they launch a few more. I keep a sat phone in my airplane, I haven't used it for a while so I tried it. No coverage! I called their service line and they explained to me that coverage may only be available a few times a day! $36.00 bucks a month for particial coverage at best. So much for emergency communications. If you have Globalstar service, try your phone. I am trying now to renegotiate my $36.00 bucks a month.

Idaho SuperCub

Globalstar does not work now and won't for 3-5 years. All you need to do is call and quit your service, it does not matter if you are under contract. They will have a higher level rep call you back the next day to try and talk you out of it. You now have a choice to make. GS is going to offer you no monthly fees and less than a dollar a minute. All you'll pay is your actual air time. Of course you can't actually use the service so your bill will always be zero. Or you can just quit and sell your phone on ebay. That's how desperate they are.

Thanks,
I'll press them on the fractional use price. Probably to many for sale on Ebay. The funny thing is I have used it with no problem in Japan. Fortunately I'm still covered with the ACR 406MHZ personal locator beacon that I picked up at Oshkosh this year.

Idaho SuperCub

Even when they had all of their sattelites, The dang thing only worked about 1 out of ten for us (Mexico and Central America). Iridium on the other hand was beautiful.

thats the same thing i got from a local distrib of globalstar, i always had Irdium and its always great service anywhere in AK, even solid overcast

A friend out in the bush wanted to get globalstar, the distrib here said prob 2-3 years before they get more sats up and service is spotty (even go to the main global site, and put in your town or location, it gives you exact minutes that a call could go though)....

We have 1 of each (Globe/Iridem) and the GS will drop you before you know it and the IR will work INSIDE the TENT!!! Don't waste your time on the GS.....

I have Globalstar and Iridium phones for my business- have had each for 6-7 years respectively. The G/S is nice for the optional cell service, but for reliable sat service, it's the Iridium, hands down. We worked with members of the US Secret Service last year, and they are on Iridium, so I guess that's a vote in favor.

One caution about Iridium: It treats every call like an international call. This got me into trouble once trying to close a flight plan from the b/c. I dialed 1-800-wx-brief from interior Alaska, and was routed to a guy in Long Island, NY. He claimed he could get into the system and close me out, but a half hour later my friend and air-taxi operator gets a phonecall in the middle of the night asking if he knows why I'm overdue. Luckily, I had closed my wife-plan with a second phone call, so she was able to call off the aerial search before things got involved. Since then I have always carried the local-exchange numbers for FSS along with the Iridium.

Nice to be able to get out when it counts!

denali,

If anything like that happens again, give the FSS problem line a call. It's posted on AOPA. Lockheed Martin hasn't done real well the last six months or so, but ANY flight service station, even on the other coast SHOULD be able to close a flight plan for you. They are all on the same system.

There have been some problems, but things do seem to be improving now that a lot of people have been squawking the levels of service over the summer.

You're right on the Iridium, the call comes down from space at a portal, and you won't know where that portal happens to be. As you noted, it's not a bad idea to have the local FSS numbers available as well. If nothing else, they'll have a better notion of the local weather.

Don't even think about anything but Iridium if you want reliable satellite phone service.

MTV

mtv wrote:denali,

If anything like that happens again, give the FSS problem line a call. It's posted on AOPA. Lockheed Martin hasn't done real well the last six months or so,
MTV

Good thought MTV. This was 3 or 4 years ago, before the FSS transition. I don't think I can blame Lockheed Martin for that one...

I have an Iridium phone that I had service on for some time. It seemed like it was hit and miss and the calls would never go through when I needed them too. It's a Kyocera phone and I never tried the service with a different phone. Sounds like you all have better luck with Iridium. Maybe the Motorola phones are the key?

I never used one of the Kyocera phones, but in my former life, our outfit used seven Motorola phones regularly, including two of them mounted in aircraft. Other than a rare dropped call as a satellite passed over the horizon, and which we were able to reconnect immediately, they worked flawlessly.

Phone bill was pretty impressive some months.....

MTV

After complaining, Globalstar changed my account from $36.00 per month to a use only fee of .49 per min. Now all I need is sat coverage.


Idaho SuperCub

Jr.CubBuilder wrote:In case anybody else here is stuck with a GlobalStar phone, and can't really see their way to popping for a new Iridium phone and plan, Globastar now has a wonderfull table that tells you when your phone might be more likely to work

http://www.globalstarusa.com/en/optimum_tool/

That table may as well be made up. The simple fact of the matter is GS service will be nearly unattainable for the next 3-5 years.

Found this somewhat-technical explanation of why Globalstar sucks (nine months old, I wonder if it's worsened from when this was written):
http://blogs.barrons.com/techtraderdail ... -shutdown/

I have had a Kyocera I got off e-Bay 3 years ago and it is super reliable. It uses Iridium satellites. Walking through the alders I called home with no problem. I called from inside a tent on New Years once as well. I don't recall the model but the antennae pulls out and angles to the side maybe 30 degrees. My father bought the same model with a straight antennae and I have had trouble with it. Don't wast an additional 4-500 dollars on an Iridium. If you want to know the exact model pm me and I will get it out of the garage. No flying here we have 34 degrees with freezing drizzle when the temps drop. Happy Thanksgiving. Galena

Jr.CubBuilder wrote:Maybe for the next flyin we could have a GlobalStar phone drop? First one to hit the trash can gets a free Irridium brochure.

I just got an advertisement for a Globalstar-to-Iridium trade-in promotion. Thought some of you might be interested, if you haven't already dropped 'em

The company is Spirit Wireless. Their number is 866-728-7368. www.spiritwireless.com is the site. They are offering a $500 trade in for old Globalstars. Good until 6/30/08.

I have two Globalstars I've thinking of giving 'em. I'd love to give 'em both away for a $1000 discount on one Iridium. I'll see if they go for it.

Used to be the Qualcomm GSP 1600 Globalstars that I've got had the great ability to connect by satellite or cell, but now the cell technology is upgraded in our area, and the old hardware isn't compatible. So I'm down to having no cell service on them, and spotty sat service. My one Iridium unit continues to be great, even at 63 degrees north Lat.

My Globalstar really sucked this last year. I heard they were sharing satellites in some areas and you'd get 8 min on, 8 min off .
Which made sense, cause there was no rhyme or reason for when the service worked.

I've used mine a few times the last month and it works flawlessly now. Must have got the right satellites up for our area.
Glad I didn't give upi and throw it away.

S2D wrote:My Globalstar really sucked this last year. I heard they were sharing satellites in some areas and you'd get 8 min on, 8 min off .
Which made sense, cause there was no rhyme or reason for when the service worked.

I've used mine a few times the last month and it works flawlessly now. Must have got the right satellites up for our area.
Glad I didn't give upi and throw it away.

Where are you located, if you don't mind me asking? Or what latitude, at least? Outside Alaska I assume, (from the dusting)

denalipilot wrote:
Used to be the Qualcomm GSP 1600 Globalstars that I've got had the great ability to connect by satellite or cell, but now the cell technology is upgraded in our area, and the old hardware isn't compatible. So I'm down to having no cell service on them, and spotty sat service. My one Iridium unit continues to be great, even at 63 degrees north Lat.

I guess I should qualify that: Our cell provider stopped supporting analogue cell service, and required everyone to change to digital. (I know, I know, all of you that live Outside probably did this years ago!). Anyway, it appears our GSP 1600's are digi-compatible, but the subscription plan would have changed, and our nice low rates would have been jacked way up under a new contract.

I was seriously looking at buying a SPOT mesenger but I believe that they use the globestar system and you guys are making me rethink my purchase. You guys have any opinions on the SPOT?