Dumb phone save hikers life
Dumb phone save hikers life
So this hiker lived because he was using a dumbphone with days of battery life. I am lucky to get 1-2 days out of my smartphone.
I am puzzle though, how in the world did he get cell service in the woods?
http://www.phonearena.com/news/An-ancie ... er_id57744
Paul
I am puzzle though, how in the world did he get cell service in the woods?
http://www.phonearena.com/news/An-ancie ... er_id57744
Paul
Re: Dumb phone save hikers life
Near a cell tower?
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Re: Dumb phone save hikers life
He may not have had cell reception. The phone will send out a message "Hey anyone towers around" and the searchers can monitor for that (I'm not sure if a tower needs to do anything for this to happen, but if so the searchers would presumably have something capable of imitating a tower and getting the response).
Re: Dumb phone save hikers life
Sounds like the "imitation" cell tower the authorities were using to track criminals and was in the news last week. That case will be in the Supreme Court in the future since they did not have search warrants. Google "stingray fbi tracking" for more info
Re: Dumb phone save hikers life
Maybe if he'd had a smart phone, he wouldn't have gotten lost in the first place
Re: Dumb phone save hikers life
Current smartphones have immense batteries compared to the phones of old.
The reason they don't last nearly as long is the giant screen and the data connection / wifi. If you turn those off and pretend you have a dumb phone, you should have more battery life for emergencies, not less. In that exact situation, it would have required some foresight but more often your phone stays with you. Use GPS judiciously and your emergency call will be pinpointed to your exact location, as opposed to days of searching. And if you're paranoid you can bring along a hand-cranked charger and extend your battery life to "forever", or at least your lifespan in the circumstances.
The reason they don't last nearly as long is the giant screen and the data connection / wifi. If you turn those off and pretend you have a dumb phone, you should have more battery life for emergencies, not less. In that exact situation, it would have required some foresight but more often your phone stays with you. Use GPS judiciously and your emergency call will be pinpointed to your exact location, as opposed to days of searching. And if you're paranoid you can bring along a hand-cranked charger and extend your battery life to "forever", or at least your lifespan in the circumstances.
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Re: Dumb phone save hikers life
Don't take this as a criticism, but my recommendation is to not to rely only on a phone while hiking. It creates a false sense of security for a lot of people. Phones are often dropped (as was the case in the situation referenced above), out of reach of cell towers, low on battery life, etc. I'm glad this worked out well for this hiker but that's not always the case. Common sense, having a compass, using a beacon, never hiking alone, etc. are all strategies that may be more useful than having a phone.Dutch wrote:Maybe if he'd had a smart phone, he wouldn't have gotten lost in the first place
Hike safe this weekend!
Re: Dumb phone save hikers life
Ha ha, yea, he would have walked of a cliff while texting instead! he ha. -- TetDutch wrote:Maybe if he'd had a smart phone, he wouldn't have gotten lost in the first place
Re: Dumb phone save hikers life
LMAO; it's nice to see a good sense of humor!Dutch wrote:Maybe if he'd had a smart phone, he wouldn't have gotten lost in the first place
Re: Dumb phone save hikers life
This. Also if you're not needing to make a call put it in airplane mode so it's not dumping tons of power into trying hard to get a signal when you're in the back country.ogd wrote:Current smartphones have immense batteries compared to the phones of old.
The reason they don't last nearly as long is the giant screen and the data connection / wifi. If you turn those off and pretend you have a dumb phone, you should have more battery life for emergencies, not less.
My mom's hiking the Appalachian trail and she'll get a week out of her smart phone easy. She just leaves it in airplane mode until she's wanting to make a call, then she'll see if it can find a cell tower. Then it's right back to airplane mode. Every week or so she'll stay at a hostel and get a shower, real bed, recharge the phone and camera, etc. No problems making the battery last.
Re: Dumb phone save hikers life
This thread has run its course and is locked (not personal nor actionable). See: A reminder that non-investing general comment threads are OT
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