disagreement is good

Can You Hear Me Now?...Best Cell Service in the Whites?

I'm considering getting a new lightweight cell phone and interested in any feedback on differences in carrier service in the Whites.

I currently have an older model with US Cellular. I don't carry it on a regular basis because the service is so spotty and it isn't particularly lightweight. I'm looking to be able to phone home to check in from overnight locations, e.g., Guyot, Madison, Lafayette, Galehead, etc.

With US Cellular I got just enough signal at Carter & Lake of the Clouds to make the call, but the connection was terrible.

And with all due respect, could we keep any general discussion of the electronic invasion of the wilderness experience out of this thread? I'm not planning on discussing the VFTT with friends, calling in to check on business, or requesting rescue if I get a hangnail. Thank you.

For what it is worth, Sprint stinks, I don't even get service in Woodstock at the Inn, let alone anywhere in the woods. However, I have gotten analog service (charge you an arm and a leg if you use it) seems to be okay in the northern NH toens. I don't however suggest Sprint.

sli74

What's most important is having the right technology. Verizon uses CDMA and numerous people have found it to work where AT&T Wireless doesn't have TDMA service. However, often in the Whites the only thing you'll get is an AMPS signal. Whatever carrier you get, having a multi-mode phone (and preferably roaming agreements with the area carriers, but you're local already) is most important.

GSM is useless north of Laconia.

As a personal data point, I have a tri-mode phone (GSM, TDMA, AMPS on the Sony-Ericcson T62u) with AT&T Wireless. I can get service a lot of places in the Whites, but cannot necessarily make a call (without giving a credit card number, since the analog provider can't always track my phone to a billing record) unless it's 911.

TDMA = one of the two forms of old-style digital service, used by Cingular and ATTWS
CDMA = one of the two forms of old-style digital service, used by Verizon (and I think T-Mobile?)
AMPS = analog service
GSM = the newest digital service

I use Verizon and although I do not have coverage everywhere up there ,of the 5 or 6 4000' I have been up since getting the serice I have been able to get a signal from the top. You do have to make sure the phone switches from digital to analog (mine does so automaticly).

I was hoping that the question was leading to the best cell reception from the ROADS throughout the mountains, not on the trails, huts and summits.
I don't mean this to be offensive to the posters on this thread, but 99% of the hiking public goes into the mountains to escape the jangle of the modern world. With 4 email addresses, 3 voicemailboxes, cellphones, etc, I hate to hear a cellphone ringing in the mountains, or callers shouting into their phones "can you believe where I'm calling you from"?
Again, this is not a shot at you, but I can only hope the scourge of cellphones in the mountains is a short-term phenomenon.

Ugh.....

No disrespect here either, but I have to agree with Peakbagr on this one. While an obvious benefit in serious emergencies, cell phones are very rarely used on an emergency only basis. Don't get me wrong, it's not the technology I dislike, it's the way people often tend to abuse the technology (use while driving, interrupting meaningful conversations with others, you all know the games). And when I start to see towers popping up on some of my fav mountains (i.e Blue in the 'Dacks), well...let's just not go there. Please, let's keep the cell phone use to an absolute minimum in the wild, because, let's face it, even those who carry phones for "emergencies only" rarely, if ever, keep them that way.
-C.

cell phone? for what?

Oh the Irony

I have Cingular nationwide roaming and a GAIT phone which supports analog, TDMA, and GSM. Nokia 6340i. Basically for the same cost, you get a much bigger coverage area because TDMA and GSM is not everywhere.

I would not go into the whites without a phone that supports analog (AMPS). the oldest technology. The best deals on cell phones these days seem to be ones that support GSM (Cingular) or CDMA (Sprint/Verizon) ONLY-- NO Analog

I can get into an analog system from Liberty Springs tent site.

But on top of Flume, Liberty, or Lafeyette, the phone malfunctions.
The screen keeps saying system error, or security error, or sim card not ready. I called tech support and they told me the phone was trying to connect to too many towers or was flagged as illegal clone because it was heard in three states at the same time.

I dont know if the explanation is a bunch a bull, but it does not work well at those sites.

So in summary, get a phone that supports old fashioned analog and has a vibrator function so you wont disturb someone's peace if u get a call.

PS- I would not be discouraged by anybody telling you to keep the phone out of the woods--it could save a life. On the other hand, shouting into it and leaving the ringer turned on does intrude on people who want to escape..so, in a community spirit, use it accordingly.

follow YOUR instincts, ignore the "purists"

When on solo winter hikes or long hikes I phone in my location and updated itinerary once or more during the day. It COULD save my life and reduce the cost of a rescue, and DOES provide peace of mind to my significant other. Be smart.

FWIW, my new AT&T GSM phone made some crystal clear calls from Woodstock a couple weeks ago, when last month my old digital AT&T phone couldn't get a signal there. My digital phone was three years old, and age may have contributed, but I think part of it was GSM.

Frosty

I usually turn my phone off while hiking. I was on the summit of Bondcliff last year, enjoying the sights and sun and then my phone started to ring? After I dug it out of my pack and answered it, it turned out to be a wrong number - imagine that. I was extremely surprised that I had a signal way out there. Definitley get Verizon. I am extremely impressed with their service area. I still use an old Motorolla Startac phone - they aren't available anymore (except eBay). Good luck. Don't get a Nextel - they are useless up north.

I have a cingular phone, never great service but i do got somewhat decent service in the whites, may have to do w/ the roaming service it picks up. I can get service in woodstock lincoln area, north up by appalachia sometimes and above 4000' pretty regular, but the service itself doesnt make me happy. And on the note of cells in the mountains, my phone is shut off when not in use and if i do make a call to report locations to home or let my loved ones know i made it ok, i step away from all people around and make my call in private, Mike D.

Some comments:

Periwinkle said this discussion is about service, not a place to debate rights or wrongs of phones in the woods. That issue has been beaten to death in other threads. "In the Whites" includes a lot of roads and towns, many people's homes, and meeting places before and after hikes.

Second, be careful of your battery when in weak service locations. Analog service, even when you're not actually on a call, will suck your battery dry in just a few hours. I discovered this the hard way when my phone, on the nightstand at a motel in Twin Mountain, started beeping a low battery warning at me at 2:30am. Unless you have a specific need to be able to receive a call, keep the phone off (or plugged into the wall or car).

It's good to hear there's GSM service in Lincoln now. It's unfortunate how things worked with AT&T, where they stopped adding new TDMA equipment and started putting up GSM towers. This has meant that many places with bad TDMA coverage have stayed that way until a new tower (or new gear on an existing tower) goes in. I had this exact problem at my home, in fact.

us cellular

Periwinkle,

I have US Cellular also. My home addy for the phone is North Woodstock. I get digital service as well as you. I can see two towers from my house I don't know what carriers they are. Loon Mt has towers at the base and summit of the mountain for digital coverage. I carry the phone with me on most hikes. I keep it off for my protection. I can see the animosity this subject creates.

I did use it last year from the summit of Mt. Flume. I got great service. I did feel a tad guilty for calling from a summit but, so it goes. Too bad. I won't reveal the nature of the call because it was way non-emergency.

I don't know anything about phone technology. Mine works when I need most of the time. It won't work from the East Pond Trail off Tripoli Rd. We use the phones mostly to coordinate car drop-off and pick-ups for hiking. My friend has Verizon and was able to make calls from Russell Pond Campground.

Jim

Just to make sure you understand, I DO NOT keep my cell phone on all the time so it cannot ring, I often call my significant other from the summit and always when I get out of the woods for her piece of mind as she is not the outdoors type. I carry my phone primarily for safety reasons. As far as road service. I usually can get a signal but it is somewhat spotty. Boots

When on Giant last year, we had the misfortune to be hiking near a guy that was hiking with his parents and some of their friends.
He moved at a quick pace, and it seemed every time we passed him, or he passed us, he was screaming into his phone about every little detail he was experiencing and that they should catch up to see it. On the summit, his phone kept ringing and he must have taken 4 calls and made another 3 or 4.
This is similar to experiences on many other peaks in Vt, MA, and NY.

If you are the type of person who finds it unpleasant when the person next to you takes and makes calls in restaurants, live performances, and while in line, than you know how unpleasant it is.
If this doesn't bother you, than anything said here about cell phones on trails and summits is a waste of breath.

I realize that the thread was not started to talk about on-trail use, and waited for the first post that mentioned summit reception before jumping in.

Without sounding patronizing, I'd like to compliment you on your skills as a moderator...I mean, some of threads contain information contrary to your point of view, but you did not lock, delete, or move the thread..as I have seen on other boards.

You sound patronizing...

As usual Peakbagr makes a good point. I've managed to stay off thiis one also until now. Like everything else in life, you have to consider those around you. A slob is a slob, whether he/she is a hiker, a hunter, a smoker, a drinker, a runner, biker, etc. There are polite ways to do things, and not so polite.
I carry my cell phone on all my hikes. I leave it off all the time, except when I make the single phone call home as I do on every trip. I walk away from everyone around me before dailing. My call to my wife on Saturday went like this: "hi hon, it's 1:50pm and I am now leaving the top of Wittenberg headed to Woodland Valley, I expect to be back to the car by 5pm and home by 6. See you then." end of call. I shut the phone off and stow it in my pack.
For me it's just a safety thing. If I don't make that call, my wife goes on 'yellow alert' until she hears from me.
Maybe I'm a hypocrit, but I think if I was in Peakbagr's shoes, when that guy was on the phone I would have grabbed him and thrown him over the side. No sense ruining a good cell phone.
But thats just me,
Tom

Thanks Tom. I was Twin and Indian Head this weekend, just a little ways over from where you were.
I am not anti-technology and my job is tied to staying in touch while on the road. I have no problem with cellphones or their proper use(as you described). Hey, take it to the opera if you want so long as its on vibrate and you get up between the arias and take the call outside.
It was all we could do to contain ourselves on Giant. Watching the family on Giant was like watching a bunch of dramaqueens really impressed with their new toys, and oblivious to who they were bothering. We wanted to bit--slap them.