The Bigfoot Hunter's Guide:
Cellular Phones and Satellite Phones

When out in the woods and searching for Bigfoot, having a cell phone or satellite phone can be a life saver. It will also allow you to notify your teammates to move to your position if you have a sighting and allow you to call for help if someone gets injured on the trail. Although these devices may not always work very well in thick forested areas or remote areas, they can bring help in a hurry if they do. You'll definitely be glad you brought it if there is an accident or you get lost in the woods.

Cellular Phones
There are many different types of cellular phones each with their own styles and features. Choosing the right cell phone and plan can sometimes be overwhelming. Choosing a plan is always a big decision and requires a lot of research. My advice is to shop around and ask a lot of questions. A cell phone is something that you don't want to buy in a hurry since some phones can be quite expensive and you'll want to get your money's worth. I'll try to provide some information here on this page to help the decision making process go a little bit faster and easier for you.

If you are a regular hiker or climber, you'll want a handset that can take a good beating, and continues to do everything that you need it to do. The more waterproof, the better. I also like the phones that are able to shoot digital pictures or video in case I spot Bigfoot out on the trail. Some companies that you might want to check out include Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and LG Electronics. They all make some pretty good products.

One of my favorite sites for comparing cellular phones and plans is Let'sTalk.com. I'll let you decide whether you want to buy there or not, but their comparison tool is useful for comparing features. Other websites may have a similar tool. I just like the way it compares the phones and plans side-by-side.It's just easier to compare.

To help you sort out the cell phone standards, here are the definitions of what they mean (This may or may not help you. Do a Google search if you need more info on each of these):

GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications
CDMA: Code Division Multiple Access
TDMA: Time Division Multiple Access

When choosing a carrier, make sure you pick one that has a good reputation for service and has a network that covers the area that you will be using the phone in. If there are not towers in the area, you will not be able to get service and the phone will not be of use to you. I recommend testing your phone upon arrival at base camp. If you are having difficulty getting a signal, try the phone at a higher elevation point or clearing.

How frequently you use the phone, will depend on how you want to pay for it. There's no sense in paying while you're not using it, if you can avoid it. The choice comes down to Pre-paid cellular phones with calling cards or phones with long-time plans that you pay on month-to-month.


Satellite Phones
For those working with a fatter wallet, another form of communications is the satellite phone. A satellite phone, or sat phone for short, is a mobile phone that can communicate directly with communications satellites orbiting the earth. Depending on the system architecture, coverage may include the entire Earth, or only specific regions.

The mobile equipment, known as a terminal or earth station, can vary. A satellite phone handset is usually somewhat larger than a mobile phone with a large retractable antenna. These are popular on expeditions into remote areas where terrestrial cellular service isn't available.

Some satellite phones use satellites in geostationary orbit. These systems can maintain near-continuous global coverage with only 3 or 4 satellites. The major satellite system in civilian use is Inmarsat. One disadvantage of geostationary satellite systems is that because the satellite is so far away in space, a large antenna system is needed for signal transmission and reception. The physical phone system must be quite large compared to current terrestrial mobile phones. 

One disadvantage of satellite phones is that the hand held units need a clear view of the sky. They will not work inside buildings, cars or boats. External antennas are required.

LEO telephones utilize LEO or low Earth orbit satellite technology. The advantage is that they allow worldwide coverage without gaps. Most newer satellite phones are LEOs. LEO satellites orbit the earth at high speed, low altitude orbits with an orbital time of 70–90 minutes, at an altitude of 640 to 1120 kilometers (400 to 700 miles), and provide coverage cells. 

Iridium and Globalstar are the two currently deployed LEO satellite systems. Customer numbers for both systems never matched the levels required to fund the high satellite launch costs, and both went into bankruptcy. They are now operated by new owners.

There are several models of satellite phones available including Inmarsat, Globalstar, Iridium, MSat,Thuraya, and ACeS.