Where to rent a satellite phone in Mpls?

Going on a fishing trip where there is no cell phone coverage.
Seems like most places are online only

Not sure on Minnesota, but I have used this company before, very nice to work with GMPCS

I have been thinking about these for a long time. Do these phones really work anywhere? Are they military grade?

FDR

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I have been thinking about these for a long time. Do these phones really work anywhere? Are they military grade?

FDR

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They work everywhere.

I would think the only place that might be challenging would be under a very thick canopy.

If your GPS works the phone is going to work. Reception does depend on the strength of satellites just like your GPS. Some satellites do change position over the day which can also affect anything receiving a signal.

or maybe when the Northern Lights are especially brilliant? (are they affected by high solar flare activity causing electromagnetic interference in the atmostphere?)

But don’t they basically work off the satellite signal in much the same way that our GPS units do?
So I’d bet anyhwere/anytime you’ve been able to get good GPS signal, you’d probly have gotten sat-phone too.

KWP, we can only assume that once you get a sat phone you’ll be posting hour-by-hour updates from your trip, correct? Including uploading pics?

Be sure to send me the number so I can call you to chit-chat too.

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I have been thinking about these for a long time. Do these phones really work anywhere? Are they military grade?

FDR

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They don’t work everywhere and the consumer phones are completely different from the millitary equipment.

The consumer phones work on the Irridium sat network. You can view “footprint” diagrams online of the coverage, but the bottom line is there are far fewer Irridium sats in orbit compared to GPS sats.

As an aside, I saw a PRnewswire item a while back about how central Africa is currently “off the grid” for sat phone use due to issues with the sat that covers most of that area. Ain’t technology wonderful?

With sat phones, even though they look like a conventional cell phone (albeit one from 1994), they don’t work like a conventional cell phone. You have to be outside with a clear view of the sky. My understanding is that the signal is very sensitive to any canopy of leaves, rain, cloud cover, sunspot activity, etc that’s between you and the sat.

Grouse

The ones I have used, we used in THICK low lying cloud cover, to find out the plane was not coming …(darn, another day of fishing) So it worked well in those conditions. We have used them maybe 20 times over the years and they always worked when needed. If it’s a decision of no phone or a sat phone, I spend the $40 for peace of mind (I always think we might use it on some of the flights in….)

will it work in the Missippi river bottoms if yur snake huntin’ in a pink ripped-fringe belly shirt and no pants?

The reason I need a satphone is because I am going to a place with Brook Trout this big (or bigger )…

Big brookies like places far, far away from the crowds.

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KWP, we can only assume that once you get a sat phone you’ll be posting hour-by-hour updates from your trip, correct? Including uploading pics?

Be sure to send me the number so I can call you to chit-chat too. Grouse

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He only needs it in case he runs across a group of numbskulls whose parents never taught them any manners.
You know, so the Conservation Officer can be called to come give them the spanking that they need.

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He only needs it in case he runs across a group of numbskulls whose parents never taught them any manners.
You know, so the Conservation Officer can be called to come give them the spanking that they need.

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He isn’t going to be running into any numbskulls where he’s going. It isn’t the middle of Buttcrakistan, but from any modest hill, you can see the middle of Buttcrackistan from there.

Grouse