Satellite Email via GPS? 21
mtm_king asks: "Has anyone had any experience with Magellan GSC 100 Satellite Communicator? It is a GPS that does email. (Their web site pricing and info is out of date.) The GSC costs $850 unit, $130 for case and antenna, another $50 in sign up fees, then it is $30 a month for the service. My parents live full time in Mexico (outside of Todo Santos, cool place) and just have a cell phone which is expensive and flaky ($1.00 a minute+ from the US) . Trying to communicating with them is really frustrating. I am thinking about buying one of these units for them,but it is getting close to some 'serious money' considering I do not know how well it works. I know I could try to get their PC on the internet through the cell phone but considering that they have to stand by a window or go outside to use it, and the cost of an ISP and more minutes on the cell phone...well, I am looking for cheaper/more reliable alternatives than that." Would the GSC really work better in this case than using the cell phone modem?
What a lame post, informative? (Score:2, Funny)
It's a crime.
Re:What a lame post, informative? (Score:1)
If we use the web as if it was expected to fail, then we could just as well have stuck with usenet.
Even if he thinks that countermeasures are justified then he should properly credit it as copied verbatim from the site.
Or, do like most and post a link to a mirror.
Or, do like most and wait for complaints.
Or, do like most and realize that a commercial site that has few images like magellan.com is not likely to be slashdotted especially since the article never made it to the front page.
I mean really, should the
I repeat, why do we have links?
Orbcomm, not so good... (Score:2, Informative)
An email sender must first find a satellite than will pass above you in the next 36 hours (IIRC) and send it the message. When the satellite passes above you, if your unit is on it squirts the data down. Otherwise it's lost. You need a separate program to compute satellite passes and there's no inter-satellite communication. Long delays. It's so complex, there's no way Joe Schmuck can send you an email.
From a moving unit to a ground based station is a little easier: keep your unit on until a satellite passes overhead, that's all.
Privacy & access (Score:1)
Wha about privacy? Do spammers get access to your most recent coordinates, too?
Can I also access the email from, say, an IMAP account? Where is the email stored?
Other than that, I want one.
What's wrong with the cell phone? (Score:2, Insightful)
I would use Iridium (Score:1)
Expensive initially, but has more uses.
Phil
Re:How 'cool' (Score:1)
Use tunneling? (Score:2)
Have you considered SMS? (Score:1)
Hope the suggestion helps.
Check Out Iridium (Score:4, Informative)
The cool thing - is that most plans charge by ten second increments. Volume plans can get you down to $.60 a min.
Also they work greay in an emergency - I had no trouble getting a line on Sep11, but cell and land line diden't work.
Curious thing though - after Sep11 (around the 25th or so) - Iridium calls took an extra five seconds to connect. I think shady people were being monitered by our frinds at the NSA. Or I could just need to re-adjust my foil hat.
Sorry 'bout the rambeling. I need coffee.
Oh - the best thing about Iridium VS Garmond: You family can use it in an emergency, when communiction is a life saver and not just a novilty for email.
Good luck - sounds like a cool project and I admire you for trying to keep in touch with family.
Be Aware! (Score:1)
GPS Satellites do not carry any extraneous information, such as data streams to carry e-mail, etc. If Magellan's unit provides communicaion abilities, it will be with other similar units, or through a 3rd party provider, such as a cellular phone company, the latter being more probable. If they are using a 3rd party provider, does their provider extend their service into Mexico?
I know there are several projects to extend the reach of the internet into technologically dead areas of the world. And while I don't know all of the details, I know there has been an effort to use HAM radio as a transmission medium to connect computers in areas where they have poor or no communication infrastructure. Perhaps a better 'Ask Slashdot' would be to pose the question of how to connect when there are no local ISPs.
Re:Be Aware! (Score:1)
After reading their web page, it seems they do use a 3rd party provider for their messaging, ORBCOMM, who's web site was down when I tried to access it. If your parents already have a computer, it might be easier to find a satellite modem like the one offered here [magellangps.com]. Too bad theirs is an OEM unit without even a case. How good of a provider is ORBCOMM? And do others manufacture satellite modems for their service? Sounds like a lot more research has to be done...
Outside Todos Santos? (Score:1)
Starband? (Score:2)
See a recient ./ question about starband. Seems like the costs are only slightly more, but you get a true internet connection, and it has been around longer.