• a phone for someone who hates phones

    From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to All on Fri Feb 5 04:09:00 2021
    Hello y'All!

    Not sure where to post this, but I'll x-post in a few other
    echos.

    I am looking for ideas on how to set up a cantankerous old
    Yosemite Sam fellow with a cellphone system that he would use.

    What DOESN't work for him are the touch-screen smartphones that
    require swiping and tapping. Swiping left for one thing and
    right or up or down for other things just confuses him.

    A flip-phone was OK. But navigating through the menus was
    confusing - especially with previous Alcatel models, I think.

    The main problem is that cell signals do not work very well just
    50ft from the end of the driveway to his cabin. He claims that
    the signal is fine at the end of the driveway (where he parks
    his vehicle during the winter) but a phone would not work in his
    dwelling.

    Personally, I have a feeling that his old phones were configured
    to work in 4G LTE only. Perhaps if his previous phones were
    switched to 3G/2G, the signals would be better?

    I was imagining a solution like this: keep a fully charged
    cellphone in the truck (at the end of the driveway) and have a
    normal phone in the dwelling that is linked up with the one in
    the truck.

    Does anyone here employ such a solution and have experience with
    such a thing?

    Not long ago I was looking to replace an older 2.4G cordless
    phone of my own with something else and learned that there are
    domestic cordless stations that now have the ability to utilize
    a nearby cellphone's service. That way, one can use a regular
    handset for answering and making calls. I think my Yosemite Sam
    friend would be more comfortable if he could use a larger
    handset that is typical for cordless phones. He seems to fumble
    with delicate little cellphones and hates them.

    The cell-to-cordless distance would be at most 50ft.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
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  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Fri Feb 5 08:16:47 2021
    Re: a phone for someone who hates phones
    By: Ogg to All on Thu Feb 04 2021 11:09 pm

    Hello y'All!

    Not sure where to post this, but I'll x-post in a few other
    echos.

    I am looking for ideas on how to set up a cantankerous old
    Yosemite Sam fellow with a cellphone system that he would use.

    What DOESN't work for him are the touch-screen smartphones that
    require swiping and tapping. Swiping left for one thing and
    right or up or down for other things just confuses him.

    A flip-phone was OK. But navigating through the menus was
    confusing - especially with previous Alcatel models, I think.

    The main problem is that cell signals do not work very well just
    50ft from the end of the driveway to his cabin. He claims that
    the signal is fine at the end of the driveway (where he parks
    his vehicle during the winter) but a phone would not work in his
    dwelling.

    Personally, I have a feeling that his old phones were configured
    to work in 4G LTE only. Perhaps if his previous phones were
    switched to 3G/2G, the signals would be better?

    I was imagining a solution like this: keep a fully charged
    cellphone in the truck (at the end of the driveway) and have a
    normal phone in the dwelling that is linked up with the one in
    the truck.

    Does anyone here employ such a solution and have experience with
    such a thing?

    Not long ago I was looking to replace an older 2.4G cordless
    phone of my own with something else and learned that there are
    domestic cordless stations that now have the ability to utilize
    a nearby cellphone's service. That way, one can use a regular
    handset for answering and making calls. I think my Yosemite Sam
    friend would be more comfortable if he could use a larger
    handset that is typical for cordless phones. He seems to fumble
    with delicate little cellphones and hates them.

    The cell-to-cordless distance would be at most 50ft.

    It is likely that a pure 2G phone will have better network connectivity in an area with poor 3G/4G. As long as the carrier
    supports it in the area, that is. Legacy networks are getting decomissioned all around.

    It is possible to have a 4G capable router somewhere (for example, a truck of cabin), and then connect a regular household
    phone to it from another location. The household phone could then interface with some voip provider.

    I think that solution would be dirty as hech. It would look like this:

    Household Phone ->VoiP bridge->(wireless access point || looooog wire)->4G Router in truck.

    The VoiP bridge would link the phone to the Internet VoiP provider.

    My house service is similar but the deployment is:

    Household Phone -> VoiP bridge -> Loooong wire -> Mikrotik Router -> Loooooooooong wire -> Wimax Anthena.

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Fri Feb 5 22:04:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Friday 05.02.21 - 03:16, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

    It is likely that a pure 2G phone will have better network
    connectivity in an area with poor 3G/4G. As long as the
    carrier supports it in the area, that is. Legacy networks
    are getting decomissioned all around.

    I'm finding that with my own phone, 3G provides more bars on the
    signal meter than 4G. But I think 2G is no more here.

    It is possible to have a 4G capable router somewhere (for
    example, a truck of cabin), and then connect a regular
    household phone to it from another location. The household
    phone could then interface with some voip provider.

    The fello is working on getting the phone company to install a
    phone line. The idea is to request a dry-loop only and then
    subscribe to a VOIP service.

    But that won't solve the necessity of having a mobile phone when
    travelling. He's a really fuddy duddy when it comes to the
    design of phones. I voice-prompt-capable phone could be good
    for him since he hates pressing buttons, but he doesn't always
    enunciate properly especially when he has a cigarette in his
    mouth.

    I think that solution would be dirty as hech. It would look
    like this:

    Household Phone ->VoiP bridge->(wireless access point ||
    looooog wire)->4G Router in truck.

    I think the problem would be the looooong wire. A wire from the
    house to the truck would be a bit ridiculous.

    My house service is similar but the deployment is:

    Household Phone -> VoiP bridge -> Loooong wire -> Mikrotik
    Router -> Loooooooooong wire -> Wimax Anthena.

    It looks like quite a hack. Why can't you have all the
    interconnections wireless?

    --

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Sat Feb 6 04:11:27 2021
    Re: a phone for someone who hates phones
    By: Ogg to All on Thu Feb 04 2021 11:09 pm

    Not sure where to post this, but I'll x-post in a few other
    echos.

    I am looking for ideas on how to set up a cantankerous old
    Yosemite Sam fellow with a cellphone system that he would use.

    What DOESN't work for him are the touch-screen smartphones that
    require swiping and tapping. Swiping left for one thing and

    check out that jitterbug shit. they HAVE to have something that he will use. ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to Ogg on Sat Feb 6 09:05:23 2021
    Re: a phone for someone who hates phones
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Fri Feb 05 2021 05:04 pm

    Household Phone -> VoiP bridge -> Loooong wire -> Mikrotik
    Router -> Loooooooooong wire -> Wimax Anthena.

    It looks like quite a hack. Why can't you have all the
    interconnections wireless?


    I like wires.

    I could do something like this:

    Household Phone -> VoiP bridge ->Microtik Router -> Wireless Link -> Mikrotik Router II->Wimax Anthena.

    In fact I have tested similar deployments elsewhere.

    But a second quality router is more expensive than two lo[o]*ng wires.

    If your friend wants so solve his problem with a single comercial phone, I know some providers give you the possibility of
    bonding your phone number to a voip service you can trigger via software. That is, they give you a program able to make and
    take calls using your phone number.

    He could have a smartphone with that program installed, and take and make calls via IP. Then use the regular phone line for
    travelling.

    This, asuming they give you the option :-)

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to MRO on Sat Feb 6 12:33:00 2021
    Hello Mro!

    ** On Friday 05.02.21 - 23:11, MRO wrote to Ogg:

    check out that jitterbug shit. they HAVE to have something that he will use. -+-

    I remember reading about that brand a few years ago.

    Apparently, that one does not work here in Canada. ATT seems to
    be a different beast and that phone seems to be tied to them
    only. For an unlocked phone I find that unusual to read in the
    Q&A/Comments sections by buyers on amazon.ca

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Sat Feb 6 18:50:51 2021
    Re: a phone for someone who hates phones
    By: Ogg to MRO on Sat Feb 06 2021 07:33 am

    Hello Mro!

    ** On Friday 05.02.21 - 23:11, MRO wrote to Ogg:

    check out that jitterbug shit. they HAVE to have something that he will use. -+-

    I remember reading about that brand a few years ago.

    Apparently, that one does not work here in Canada. ATT seems to
    be a different beast and that phone seems to be tied to them
    only. For an unlocked phone I find that unusual to read in the
    Q&A/Comments sections by buyers on amazon.ca


    i guess it's a cdma phone. it used to work if you bought it in the usa and used it in canada. i think bell wanted a piece of the pie.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Sat Feb 6 13:20:00 2021
    Ogg wrote to All <=-

    Personally, I have a feeling that his old phones were configured
    to work in 4G LTE only. Perhaps if his previous phones were
    switched to 3G/2G, the signals would be better?

    Be aware that carriers are decomissioning their 3G gear to make room for
    more 4G equipment (and because they can). AT&T has already decomissioned
    their 2G network.

    I was imagining a solution like this: keep a fully charged
    cellphone in the truck (at the end of the driveway) and have a
    normal phone in the dwelling that is linked up with the one in
    the truck.

    Does he have internet access? Getting a femtocell from the cell provider may be the way to go. Femtocells plug into your network and act like a mini cell tower. It's like getting 5 bars in your house, all the time. Some carriers charge for them, others may send one out if you're in a bad coverage area.



    ... Remove ambiguities and convert to specifics
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
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  • From Warpslide@VERT/NRBBS to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 7 01:03:00 2021
    On 06 Feb 2021, poindexter FORTRAN said the following...

    Does he have internet access? Getting a femtocell from the cell provider m be the way to go. Femtocells plug into your network and act like a mini ce tower. It's like getting 5 bars in your house, all the time. Some carriers charge for them, others may send one out if you're in a bad coverage area.

    We had to get a cell booster for my last job. The sales office had next to no service, so we picked one of these up, put the antenna on the roof and extender was mounted in their office. No internet required.

    We dealt with Rogers at my last job and they didn't have any solutions available, so we just bought something like this:

    https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/weboost-homeroom-indoor-cell-phone-signal- booster-kit-652120-black/14539229


    Jay

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/02/01 (Raspberry Pi/32)
    * Origin: Northern Realms
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 7 02:51:00 2021
    Hello poindexter FORTRAN!

    ** On Saturday 06.02.21 - 08:20, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Ogg:

    Be aware that carriers are decomissioning their 3G gear to
    make room for more 4G equipment (and because they can).
    AT&T has already decomissioned their 2G network.

    I think 3G is bound to be in place in this rural area for a
    while longer.

    But the main reason I suggested 3G was that I noticed that I was
    getting more bars when I forced my phone to 3G and fewer bars
    when I allowed it try 4G.

    Does he have internet access? Getting a femtocell from the
    cell provider may be the way to go. Femtocells plug into
    your network and act like a mini cell tower. It's like
    getting 5 bars in your house, all the time. Some carriers
    charge for them, others may send one out if you're in a bad
    coverage area.

    He's working on getting a phone line installed to his cabin.
    Then the idea is to only consider a dry-loop since it is only
    $10/mo. With that, the plan is to register with a local ISP
    that can provide VOIP.

    But all that will only provide a phone service at his home.
    IMHO, he would be best served if he had a cell phone that he
    could use while travelling.

    Another thing I failed to mention.. he's off-grid. He relies
    on a couple of solar panels to provide the meager battery power
    he gets for TV and radio.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Bob Roberts@VERT/HOVAL to Ogg on Sun Feb 7 14:02:48 2021
    Re: a phone for someone who hates phones
    By: Ogg to poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Feb 06 2021 09:51 pm

    He's working on getting a phone line installed to his cabin.
    Another thing I failed to mention.. he's off-grid. He relies
    on a couple of solar panels to provide the meager battery power
    he gets for TV and radio.

    He won't be off grid for long. They'll track him and steal his DNA from the phone line. Gotta watch out for that.

    Are there no LTE to the home providers there? In the States you can mount an antenna on your house, it looks kinda like an overside beer can, and then you can get fixed 4G/LTE for your home. Another option would be Sat internet, or even Elon's Starlink Beta... available if he lives in the band around the CAN/USA
    border.

    Bob Roberts

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Halls of Valhalla =San=Francisco= hovalbbs.com:2333
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Warpslide on Sun Feb 7 11:55:00 2021
    Warpslide wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    Does he have internet access? Getting a femtocell from the cell provider m be the way to go. Femtocells plug into your network and act like a mini ce tower. It's like getting 5 bars in your house, all the time. Some carriers charge for them, others may send one out if you're in a bad coverage area.

    We had to get a cell booster for my last job. The sales office had
    next to no service, so we picked one of these up, put the antenna on
    the roof and extender was mounted in their office. No internet
    required.

    I've thought about getting one of those, as I have sketchy cell coverage at
    my house, but wifi calling, which mostly works.


    ... Abandon desire
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Warpslide on Sun Feb 7 13:13:00 2021
    Hello Warpslide!

    ** On Saturday 06.02.21 - 20:03, Warpslide wrote to poindexter FORTRAN:

    We dealt with Rogers at my last job and they didn't have any
    solutions available, so we just bought something like this:

    https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/weboost-homeroom-
    indoor-cell-phone-si gnal- booster-kit-652120-black/14539229

    That was another consideration, but the price puts the solution
    out of reach for me.

    Another concern is power consumption. Does that baby run hot?
    How many watts does does it need? My friend is off-grid and he
    relies on solar to charge a few batteries.



    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
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  • From Warpslide@VERT/NRBBS to Ogg on Sun Feb 7 19:12:00 2021
    On 07 Feb 2021, Ogg said the following...

    https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/weboost-homeroom- indoor-cell-phone-si gnal- booster-kit-652120-black/14539229

    That was another consideration, but the price puts the solution
    out of reach for me.

    Another concern is power consumption. Does that baby run hot?
    How many watts does does it need? My friend is off-grid and he
    relies on solar to charge a few batteries.

    I can't say whether it runs hot, maintenance did the physical install for me so I never actually got to touch it after handing it over to them.

    The booster I referenced before is for "one room" and the power specifications listed on the spec sheet show 8W:

    110-240V AC, 50-60 Hz, 8 W

    https://assets.wilsonelectronics.com/m/504a0dff3d640ba3/original/Home-Room-Spec -Sheet.pdf


    A "whole home" booster looks like it would take 20W of power:

    110-240V AC, 50-60 Hz, 20 W

    https://assets.wilsonelectronics.com/m/1e74f2e89545143f/original/Home-Complete- Spec-Sheet.pdf


    Jay

    --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/02/01 (Raspberry Pi/32)
    * Origin: Northern Realms
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 7 20:06:54 2021
    Re: Re: a phone for someone who hates phones
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Warpslide on Sun Feb 07 2021 06:55 am


    We had to get a cell booster for my last job. The sales office had next to no service, so we picked one of these up, put the antenna on the roof and extender was mounted in their office. No internet required.

    I've thought about getting one of those, as I have sketchy cell coverage at my house, but wifi calling, which mostly works.


    how can you have sketchy coverage? arent you in one of the most popular cities in the usa?
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Bob Roberts on Sun Feb 7 19:17:00 2021
    Hello Bob Roberts!

    ** On Sunday 07.02.21 - 09:02, Bob Roberts wrote to Ogg:

    Re: a phone for someone who
    hates phones By: Ogg to
    poindexter FORTRAN on Sat Feb 06 2021
    09:51 pm

    Hmmmm. That showed up a little messy here. ;)

    You may like to limit that to 'nets that accept it ubiquitously.

    He's working on getting a phone line installed to his
    cabin. Another thing I failed to mention.. he's off-
    grid...

    He won't be off grid for long. They'll track him and steal
    his DNA from the phone line. Gotta watch out for that.

    Oh.. they've had plenty of opportunity to collect his DNA. The
    poor bugger has been in the hospital more than a handful of
    times in the last 12 months. Although he still smokes (maybe 4
    cigs per day max) he needs to be connected to oxygen for a
    majority of the time. He has stash of 6 or 8 tanks at home that
    he needs have replaced every few days.

    When he's travelling, he uses a portable battery-powered oxygen
    generator. When he comes into town to pick up his prescription
    refills, he leaves at least one batter-pack spare for me at my
    shop to re-charge for a few hours. I certainly don't mind doing
    it. He just seems to run out of his solar-supply at home very
    fast.

    Are there no LTE to the home providers there? In the
    States you can mount an antenna on your house, it looks
    kinda like an overside beer can, and then you can get fixed
    4G/LTE for your home.

    We can install boosters, like someone here mentioned a few
    messages back. But at $500+ that seems not doable.

    I still think that the best solution would be one of the
    cordless phones that support linking up to a cellphone (as a
    feed) via Bluetooth.

    The next concern with that solution would be: how many hours
    could the cellphone (stored in his truck at the top of the
    driveway) operate with the added Bluetooth mode enabled? If the
    that would only be good for 10 hours before the phone itself
    needs recharging, then it won't be good enough - especially if
    he needs to use the phone in the middle of the night.

    My own (old) Blackberry only lasts at most 8 hours when the
    mobile hotspot wi-fi radio is on. When the wi-fi radio is off,
    the battery lasts much longer with just the "cell" radio
    enabled. I don't know if the Bluetooth radio would suck less
    battery power than Wi-fi.

    ..Another option would be Sat
    internet, or even Elon's Starlink Beta... available if he
    lives in the band around the CAN/USA border.

    Sat internet is out of his pay league. It too would be too high
    a monthly cost just for his phone needs.

    Starlink sounds interesting. I registered for being notified
    when it is available for me. But the monthly cost for that
    would be too much for my friend.

    Na... if anyone made a cellphone that has a regular handset
    (like the ones you can cradle between your shoulder and your
    head) then that bugger friend of mine would be happy.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 7 19:28:00 2021
    Hello poindexter FORTRAN!

    ** On Saturday 06.02.21 - 08:20, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Ogg:

    Does he have internet access? Getting a femtocell from the
    cell provider may be the way to go. Femtocells plug into
    your network and act like a mini cell tower. It's like
    getting 5 bars in your house, all the time. Some carriers
    charge for them, others may send one out if you're in a bad
    coverage area.

    He has no internet access. No phone lines. No wires. Nothing.
    He's off-grid.

    BTW.. don't femtocells operate as older CDMA tech? I seem to
    recall that it was older tech before 3G came along. And/or it
    was specific to certain carriers. Anyway.. a femtocell solution
    does not seem to be available in Canada.

    A couple of people, myself included, have suggested that he sell
    the property so that he could move to a residence that has the
    amenities he needs. But he's quite stubborn. The money he could
    get for the property (the cabin is practically a tear-down at
    this point) would most likely outlast the rest of his life at
    this point.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Arelor on Sun Feb 7 20:15:00 2021
    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Saturday 06.02.21 - 04:05, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

    Household Phone -> VoiP bridge -> Loooong wire -> Mikrotik
    Router -> Loooooooooong wire -> Wimax Anthena.

    It looks like quite a hack. Why can't you have all the
    interconnections wireless?


    I like wires.

    It's not going to work in my application. A wire from the truck
    to the house/cabin is not practical.

    I could do something like this:

    Household Phone -> VoiP bridge ->Microtik Router -> Wireless Link -> Mikrotik Router II->Wimax Anthena.

    WiMax is another older tech. I don't think there is anyone
    operating that here in Canada.


    In fact I have tested similar deployments elsewhere.

    But a second quality router is more expensive than two lo[o]*ng wires.

    Noted. I used to have an FM-based intercom set. It used the
    household wiring to "transmit" the radio portion. As long as all
    the devices were on the same circuit, you could have those
    devices anywhere. It actually worked quite well with a 3-device
    set here where one was in the house, one was in the barn, and a
    3rd one was in a workshop outbuilding. But sadly, since those
    devices were not intended for environments with varying
    temperatures and humidity, the on/off switches of the devices
    used in the barn and the outbuilding started to corrode.
    Eventually, those stopped working properly.

    But when they worked, it was great. The distance from the barn
    to the workshop was over well over 200 meters. The auto-mic
    pickup of the device in the barn would activate and broadcast
    any ruckus going on (hens being disturbed, by a prowler for
    example).

    If your friend wants so solve his problem with a single
    comercial phone, I know some providers give you the
    possibility of bonding your phone number to a voip service
    you can trigger via software. That is, they give you a
    program able to make and take calls using your phone number.

    That would require an internet service at his cabin. For now,
    that is not physically nor financially feasible.

    He could have a smartphone with that program installed, and
    take and make calls via IP. Then use the regular phone line
    for travelling.

    Yes, a dual-function phone. Sounds good in theory. But too many
    different options and changing modes of operation would
    frustrate him. Should he "forget" to activate the app for VOIP,
    he would miss out in calls.

    He's gone through 3 different phone carriers within 2 years.
    One had a purely touch-screen based smartphone that he totally
    abhorred.

    The other two were flip-phones with just buttons and a simple
    display when opened. The phones seemed to work well when he was
    on the road.

    But they failed when he was at home. It turned out that when he
    was at home, all his incoming calls would automatically go to v-
    mail. He HATED v-mail! (So did I when I needed to call him to
    find out if he needed anything from town). At that time, I
    suggested that he disable v-mail entirely.

    Everytime he took the phones to the support-kiosk, they found
    nothing wrong with their operation - and did not receive any
    tips or suggestions as to why that was happening.

    Later, I realized the auto-to-vmail problem might usually be the
    case when the phone is out of range. BUT, none of the support
    "experts" before all that suggested it! Meanwhile, from my own
    experience, I noticed that if I simply preclude my own phone
    from using 4G, and only allow 3G max, I can get more bars of
    signal strength. So, maybe that is all the configuration HIS
    phones needed!

    Anyway, he decided to break the first flip-phone right in front
    of the support people. Although he was on contract for the
    phone and services, he ignored their concerns. He hasn't been
    bothered by that company since.

    But the 2nd flip-phone (with another carrier) behaved the same
    way - no signal strength in the house - and all incoming calls
    just went to vmail.

    Had I known his dilema earlier, maybe we could have tested my
    "disable 4G" theory.

    Another thing the phone yahoo experts did was put him on pay-as-
    you-go plans. At first, it sounded great that he would only
    spend money on calls that he makes. But, nobody told him that
    incoming calls would be chargeable too! From early on in his
    plans, he was getting automated calls from the phone service
    that he was with! And each of those calls gradually ate away
    his quota for each "top-up". So, he couldn't understand why
    his $20 phone card only lasted 2 weeks - when he made NO CALLS.

    Later, when I learned about his dilemas, I was shocked. I only
    pay $40/month to activate my Blackberry, and don't even make any
    calls with it. I just use it for the $40 of data for the month.

    If he were to sign up with the same service I use, he could have
    unlimited voice calls for less than $25/month.

    I think there are quite a few other unsuspecting seniors out
    there cheated into pay-as-you-go plans and paying far too much
    for their "emergency" phones.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Mon Feb 8 00:48:08 2021
    Re: a phone for someone who hates phones
    By: Ogg to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 07 2021 02:28 pm

    He has no internet access. No phone lines. No wires. Nothing.
    He's off-grid.

    BTW.. don't femtocells operate as older CDMA tech? I seem to
    recall that it was older tech before 3G came along. And/or it
    was specific to certain carriers. Anyway.. a femtocell solution
    does not seem to be available in Canada.

    A couple of people, myself included, have suggested that he sell
    the property so that he could move to a residence that has the
    amenities he needs. But he's quite stubborn. The money he could
    get for the property (the cabin is practically a tear-down at
    this point) would most likely outlast the rest of his life at


    dont help him. he doesnt want help. he needs to snap out of his bullshit.
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Vlk-451@VERT/INREALM to MRO on Mon Feb 8 13:28:13 2021
    Re: Re: a phone for someone who hates phones
    By: MRO to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 07 2021 03:06 pm

    Re: Re: a phone for someone who hates phones
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Warpslide on Sun Feb 07 2021 06:55 am


    We had to get a cell booster for my last job. The sales office had next to no service, so we picked one of these up, put the antenna on the roof and extender was mounted in their office. No internet required.

    I've thought about getting one of those, as I have sketchy cell coverage at my house, but wifi calling, which mostly works.


    how can you have sketchy coverage? arent you in one of the most popular cities in the usa?

    He might not have standard data. I haven't had a SIM for a long while now, been having to use network alternatives.

    ■ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville ■

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    ■ Posted via InnerRealmBBS ■
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    ■ Synchronet ■ Inner Realm BBS - Charlotte, NC - innerrealmbbs.us
  • From Vlk-451@VERT/INREALM to Ogg on Mon Feb 8 13:33:44 2021
    Re: a phone for someone who hates phones
    By: Ogg to poindexter FORTRAN on Sun Feb 07 2021 02:28 pm

    Hello poindexter FORTRAN!

    ** On Saturday 06.02.21 - 08:20, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Ogg:

    Does he have internet access? Getting a femtocell from the
    cell provider may be the way to go. Femtocells plug into
    your network and act like a mini cell tower. It's like
    getting 5 bars in your house, all the time. Some carriers
    charge for them, others may send one out if you're in a bad
    coverage area.

    He has no internet access. No phone lines. No wires. Nothing.
    He's off-grid.

    BTW.. don't femtocells operate as older CDMA tech? I seem to
    recall that it was older tech before 3G came along. And/or it
    was specific to certain carriers. Anyway.. a femtocell solution
    does not seem to be available in Canada.

    A couple of people, myself included, have suggested that he sell
    the property so that he could move to a residence that has the
    amenities he needs. But he's quite stubborn. The money he could
    get for the property (the cabin is practically a tear-down at
    this point) would most likely outlast the rest of his life at
    this point.

    I wonder how bad the lag and delay is in networking trying to use AM/FM signals to carry your data to a network line. I would imagine that the regular net just doesn't work under loads like that. Really limits you to specific messaging software like IRC, MRC, BBSing.

    How else do you get signal out there, other then an LDL SatComm Array. Maybe one of those StarLinks since that's the popular brand name these days.

    ■ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville ■

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    ■ Posted via InnerRealmBBS ■
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    ■ Synchronet ■ Inner Realm BBS - Charlotte, NC - innerrealmbbs.us
  • From Vlk-451@VERT/INREALM to Ogg on Mon Feb 8 13:38:20 2021
    Re: a phone for someone who hates phones
    By: Ogg to Arelor on Sun Feb 07 2021 03:15 pm

    Hello Arelor!

    ** On Saturday 06.02.21 - 04:05, Arelor wrote to Ogg:

    Household Phone -> VoiP bridge -> Loooong wire -> Mikrotik
    Router -> Loooooooooong wire -> Wimax Anthena.

    It looks like quite a hack. Why can't you have all the
    interconnections wireless?


    I like wires.

    It's not going to work in my application. A wire from the truck
    to the house/cabin is not practical.

    I could do something like this:

    Household Phone -> VoiP bridge ->Microtik Router -> Wireless Link -> Mikrotik Router II->Wimax Anthena.

    WiMax is another older tech. I don't think there is anyone
    operating that here in Canada.


    In fact I have tested similar deployments elsewhere.

    But a second quality router is more expensive than two lo[o]*ng wires.

    Noted. I used to have an FM-based intercom set. It used the
    household wiring to "transmit" the radio portion. As long as all
    the devices were on the same circuit, you could have those
    devices anywhere. It actually worked quite well with a 3-device
    set here where one was in the house, one was in the barn, and a
    3rd one was in a workshop outbuilding. But sadly, since those
    devices were not intended for environments with varying
    temperatures and humidity, the on/off switches of the devices
    used in the barn and the outbuilding started to corrode.
    Eventually, those stopped working properly.

    But when they worked, it was great. The distance from the barn
    to the workshop was over well over 200 meters. The auto-mic
    pickup of the device in the barn would activate and broadcast
    any ruckus going on (hens being disturbed, by a prowler for
    example).

    If your friend wants so solve his problem with a single
    comercial phone, I know some providers give you the
    possibility of bonding your phone number to a voip service
    you can trigger via software. That is, they give you a
    program able to make and take calls using your phone number.

    That would require an internet service at his cabin. For now,
    that is not physically nor financially feasible.

    He could have a smartphone with that program installed, and
    take and make calls via IP. Then use the regular phone line
    for travelling.

    Yes, a dual-function phone. Sounds good in theory. But too many
    different options and changing modes of operation would
    frustrate him. Should he "forget" to activate the app for VOIP,
    he would miss out in calls.

    He's gone through 3 different phone carriers within 2 years.
    One had a purely touch-screen based smartphone that he totally
    abhorred.

    The other two were flip-phones with just buttons and a simple
    display when opened. The phones seemed to work well when he was
    on the road.

    But they failed when he was at home. It turned out that when he
    was at home, all his incoming calls would automatically go to v-
    mail. He HATED v-mail! (So did I when I needed to call him to
    find out if he needed anything from town). At that time, I
    suggested that he disable v-mail entirely.

    Everytime he took the phones to the support-kiosk, they found
    nothing wrong with their operation - and did not receive any
    tips or suggestions as to why that was happening.

    Later, I realized the auto-to-vmail problem might usually be the
    case when the phone is out of range. BUT, none of the support
    "experts" before all that suggested it! Meanwhile, from my own
    experience, I noticed that if I simply preclude my own phone
    from using 4G, and only allow 3G max, I can get more bars of
    signal strength. So, maybe that is all the configuration HIS
    phones needed!

    Anyway, he decided to break the first flip-phone right in front
    of the support people. Although he was on contract for the
    phone and services, he ignored their concerns. He hasn't been
    bothered by that company since.

    But the 2nd flip-phone (with another carrier) behaved the same
    way - no signal strength in the house - and all incoming calls
    just went to vmail.

    Had I known his dilema earlier, maybe we could have tested my
    "disable 4G" theory.

    Another thing the phone yahoo experts did was put him on pay-as-
    you-go plans. At first, it sounded great that he would only
    spend money on calls that he makes. But, nobody told him that
    incoming calls would be chargeable too! From early on in his
    plans, he was getting automated calls from the phone service
    that he was with! And each of those calls gradually ate away
    his quota for each "top-up". So, he couldn't understand why
    his $20 phone card only lasted 2 weeks - when he made NO CALLS.

    Later, when I learned about his dilemas, I was shocked. I only
    pay $40/month to activate my Blackberry, and don't even make any
    calls with it. I just use it for the $40 of data for the month.

    If he were to sign up with the same service I use, he could have
    unlimited voice calls for less than $25/month.

    I think there are quite a few other unsuspecting seniors out
    there cheated into pay-as-you-go plans and paying far too much
    for their "emergency" phones.

    I was thinking about going with a Mint Mobile plan, but now you have to get 3 months at a time for a little bit more then they were offering a year or two ago, back when you could still go monthly. That killed it for me.

    ■ Crystal Palace, Orbitsville ■

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    ■ Posted via InnerRealmBBS ■
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  • From Bob Roberts@VERT/HOVAL to Ogg on Mon Feb 8 13:32:30 2021
    Re: a phone for someone who hates phones
    By: Ogg to Bob Roberts on Sun Feb 07 2021 02:17 pm

    Are there no LTE to the home providers there? In the
    States you can mount an antenna on your house, it looks
    kinda like an overside beer can, and then you can get fixed
    4G/LTE for your home.

    We can install boosters, like someone here mentioned a few
    messages back. But at $500+ that seems not doable.

    Just to be clear, what I'm talking about is NOT a booster. It is fixed LTE. It uses LTE signals, provided by the carrier, to a fixed point (the house) which connects to a router to provide Wifi to the surrounding area. The wireless carrier becomes your home ISP. Typically costs are around $60/month (US). Both ATT Wireless and Verizon Wireless provide it in the USA. It appears Bell and Telus provide it in Canada.

    Bob Roberts

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Halls of Valhalla =San=Francisco= hovalbbs.com:2333
  • From Tracker1@VERT/TRN to Ogg on Mon Feb 8 20:57:50 2021
    On 2/4/2021 9:09 PM, Ogg wrote:
    I was imagining a solution like this: keep a fully charged
    cellphone in the truck (at the end of the driveway) and have a
    normal phone in the dwelling that is linked up with the one in
    the truck.

    Does anyone here employ such a solution and have experience with
    such a thing?

    Something to consider (below), I've heard of others and can't speak to
    this company's services. They seem to have LTE and Broadband options if wanting to connect a POTS phone to a modern uplink.

    https://potsreplacement.com/shop
    --
    Michael J. Ryan (tracker1)
    +o roughneckbbs.com
    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Roughneck BBS - roughneckbbs.com
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Tracker1 on Tue Feb 9 13:46:00 2021
    Hello Tracker1!

    ** On Monday 08.02.21 - 15:57, Tracker1 wrote to Ogg:

    I was imagining a solution like this: keep a fully charged
    cellphone in the truck (at the end of the driveway) and have
    a normal phone in the dwelling that is linked up with the
    one in the truck.

    Something to consider (below), I've heard of others and
    can't speak to this company's services. They seem to have
    LTE and Broadband options if wanting to connect a POTS phone
    to a modern uplink.

    https://potsreplacement.com/shop

    I am glad that someone has come up with what is basically a
    powered cellphone with a traditional phone jack!

    The sign-up sounds like a lucrative thing:

    Cart Totals
    Subtotal $185.00
    Shipping Flat rate: $25.00
    Tax (estimated for Canada) $0.00
    Total $210.00
    Recurring totals
    Subtotal $35.00 / month
    Shipping via Flat rate $25.00 / month
    Tax $0.00 / month
    Recurring total $60.00 / month
    First renewal: March 9, 2021

    The set-up fee $185 seems excessive - considering that it ships
    in a box and you do all the simple basic hookup yourself.

    Although they "ship" to Canada, it currently only works with:

    Verizon
    AT&T
    T-Mobile
    Sprint

    Those all sound 'Merican to me. Those services probably piggy-
    back on the primary existing Bell, Virgin, Telus, Rogers in
    Canada + ROAMING fees and slower speeds?

    So, it sounds like this product is designed for 'Mericans who
    travel to Canada and subscribe to an international package?

    The fixed flat rate /month is not a bad price considering that
    the data is unlimited (sans ROAMING fees?) - and they support
    the traditional legacy devices like faxes and POS-dialup
    fallback connected to the RJ11 with guaranteed operations.

    But.. too expensive for my off-the-grid fellow. Besides, the
    LTE signal may be pretty weak at his location.

    Thanks for the heads-up on this product though.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Bob Roberts on Wed Feb 10 02:42:00 2021
    Hello Bob Roberts!

    ** On Monday 08.02.21 - 08:32, Bob Roberts wrote to Ogg:

    Just to be clear, what I'm talking about is NOT a booster.
    It is fixed LTE. It uses LTE signals, provided by the
    carrier, to a fixed point (the house) which connects to a
    router to provide Wifi to the surrounding area. The
    wireless carrier becomes your home ISP. Typically costs
    are around $60/month (US). Both ATT Wireless and Verizon
    Wireless provide it in the USA. It appears Bell and Telus
    provide it in Canada.

    They do? Do you have a link?

    If you are referring to what they call LTE "hubs", which look
    like router boxes.. I'm familiar with those. The ones I've
    seen are a combo LTE (cellular) + router. I looked into one of
    those for myself a few years ago. At the time, the Bell or
    Rogers offerings did not provide "unlimited internet", so I
    couldn't justify the expense.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Vlk-451 on Wed Feb 10 02:49:00 2021
    Hello Vlk-451!

    ** On Monday 08.02.21 - 08:33, Vlk-451 wrote to Ogg:

    I wonder how bad the lag and delay is in networking trying
    to use AM/FM signals to carry your data to a network line.
    I would imagine that the regular net just doesn't work
    under loads like that. Really limits you to specific
    messaging software like IRC, MRC, BBSing.

    Internet via short-range FM? Not sure. That would probably be
    too prone to noise.

    I remember building my own FM transmitters and goofing around
    with "broadcasting" on the radios at home.

    How else do you get signal out there, other then an LDL
    SatComm Array. Maybe one of those StarLinks since that's
    the popular brand name these days.

    An LTE hub would probably be the most logical solution for just
    internet. But the fellow lives in a bit of a lower area about
    50 ft away from the main roadway. He said that he gets good
    cell signal at the end of hi driveway at the road, but not at
    the house.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    ■ Synchronet ■ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Bob Roberts@VERT/HOVAL to Ogg on Wed Feb 10 17:59:31 2021
    Re: a phone for someone who hates phones
    By: Ogg to Bob Roberts on Tue Feb 09 2021 09:42 pm

    wireless carrier becomes your home ISP. Typically costs
    are around $60/month (US). Both ATT Wireless and Verizon
    Wireless provide it in the USA. It appears Bell and Telus
    provide it in Canada.

    They do? Do you have a link?

    Bell:
    https://www.bell.ca/Bell_Internet/promotions/wireless-home-internet
    Telus:
    https://www.telus.com/en/bc/internet/smart-hub
    Verizon:
    https://www.verizon.com/home/lte-home-internet/
    ATT Wireless:
    https://www.att.com/internet/fixed-wireless/

    If you are referring to what they call LTE "hubs", which look
    like router boxes.. I'm familiar with those. The ones I've
    seen are a combo LTE (cellular) + router. I looked into one of

    I think you're talking about Mifi type wifi-hotspots. This is different. It is usually called "Fixed LTE." The router connects to an external antenna you mount on your home. And the router then provides Wifi and some Ethernet jacks.
    The one I'm not sure of is the Telus offering it might not have an external antenna.

    Bob Roberts

    ---
    ■ Synchronet ■ Halls of Valhalla =San=Francisco= hovalbbs.com:2333
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Bob Roberts on Thu Feb 11 03:41:00 2021
    Hello Bob Roberts!

    ** On Wednesday 10.02.21 - 12:59, Bob Roberts wrote to Ogg:

    Bell:
    https://www.bell.ca/Bell_Internet/promotions/wireless-home-internet
    Telus:
    https://www.telus.com/en/bc/internet/smart-hub
    Verizon:
    https://www.verizon.com/home/lte-home-internet/
    ATT Wireless:
    https://www.att.com/internet/fixed-wireless/

    Thanks. I wasn't aware that Bell had a "hub" that worked with
    an external antenna now. Their box inside the house is still
    referred to as the Hub 2000. This is basically what I was
    referring to earlier - except for the external antenna.

    Bell's lowest-priced offering is 100GB/mo for $75/mo. I could
    maybe even watch a few movies a week with that one.

    It would certainly be a dramatic data improvement with my
    current mobile method at 5GB for $40/mo.

    Sounds tempting, but even at twice the expense from $40/mo to
    $75/mo, I am not sure if a few extra movies and YT vids a week
    and continuous streaming of Spotify is worth $900/yr.

    If you are referring to what they call LTE "hubs", which
    look like router boxes.. I'm familiar with those. The ones
    I've seen are a combo LTE (cellular) + router. ...

    I think you're talking about Mifi type wifi-hotspots. This
    is different. It is usually called "Fixed LTE." The router
    connects to an external antenna you mount on your home.
    And the router then provides Wifi and some Ethernet jacks.
    The one I'm not sure of is the Telus offering it might not
    have an external antenna.

    Yes.. the difference is the external antenna. Got it!

    --

    --- OpenXP 5.0.48
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