Two essential items...

[john smith]

.... for traveling in hostle terrain and weather would be a satellite
phone and PLB.
Satphones can be rented for a basic rate of $20 per week, plus call time.
PLB's can be purchased for as little as $425.
As long as you can see the sky, you can tell someone where you are.

[Mxsmanic]

john smith writes:

> ... for traveling in hostle terrain and weather would be a satellite
> phone and PLB.
> Satphones can be rented for a basic rate of $20 per week, plus call time.
> PLB's can be purchased for as little as $425.
> As long as you can see the sky, you can tell someone where you are.

Sounds logical. If you were in difficult terrain it might still take
a few days for them to reach you, so these wouldn't replace other
provisions, but they would be essential items.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

[Robert M. Gary]

john smith wrote:
> ... for traveling in hostle terrain and weather would be a satellite
> phone and PLB.
> Satphones can be rented for a basic rate of $20 per week, plus call time.
> PLB's can be purchased for as little as $425.
> As long as you can see the sky, you can tell someone where you are.

Where do you rent Sat phones? I got stuck in Mexico and only got home
because I was lucky that the guy who crashed into my plane had a sat
phone. I'd probably still be out there in the desert now.

-Robert

[RomeoMike]

Robert M. Gary wrote:

> Where do you rent Sat phones? I got stuck in Mexico and only got home
> because I was lucky that the guy who crashed into my plane had a sat
> phone. I'd probably still be out there in the desert now.
>
> -Robert


Lots of places. Google Iridium. I bought one and wouldn't be without it
in many of the places I go.

[B A R R Y[_2_]]

RomeoMike wrote:
>
> Lots of places. Google Iridium. I bought one and wouldn't be without it
> in many of the places I go.


Did you happen to see the episode of "Survivorman" where they left Les
in the jungle? When filming an episode, he always maintains an
emergency plan which is often shared with the viewers. After all, it's
only entertainment. He mentioned the sat phone and how often he had no
signal during the jungle episode.

I'd personally still carry one, but his experience regarding the
realities of the phone in this situation was interesting.

<http://science.discovery.com/convergence/survivorman/survivorman.html>

[RomeoMike]

I have no jungle experience but have plenty in the canyons, including
narrow ones, of Utah and Arizona. Also in Ponderosa pine forests.I've
yet to be in a place where the SAT phone wouldn't work. Just my personal
experience. Is it possible that Les was dramatizing his situation for
the show? I'm not familiar with it.

B A R R Y wrote:
> RomeoMike wrote:
>>
>> Lots of places. Google Iridium. I bought one and wouldn't be without
>> it in many of the places I go.
>
>
> Did you happen to see the episode of "Survivorman" where they left Les
> in the jungle? When filming an episode, he always maintains an
> emergency plan which is often shared with the viewers. After all, it's
> only entertainment. He mentioned the sat phone and how often he had no
> signal during the jungle episode.
>
> I'd personally still carry one, but his experience regarding the
> realities of the phone in this situation was interesting.
>
> <http://science.discovery.com/convergence/survivorman/survivorman.html>

[B A R R Y[_2_]]

RomeoMike wrote:
> Is it possible that Les was dramatizing his situation for
> the show?

Possibly. However, he rarely talks about the backup plan during the
show, except when it seems to be not as usable as he expected. <G> In
another episode (Adrift), he was pointing out how the radio he expected
to use to communicate with his "babysitter" boat failed, and they were
unable to make contact on the open seas. His solid backup plans are
described on his web site.

The episode where he mentioned the sat phone issues took plane in the
Costa Rican jungle, with high, heavy foliage coverage. He pointed out
the the phone was plenty usable on the coast and in rare clearings. The
issue came up when he was in an area with solid square miles of canopy,
pointing out the lack of signal on the phone and the inability of an
airborne rescue crew to find him if he was injured. He didn't mention
having any kind of ELT, and he doesn't normally hide such things.

Part of the show's purpose is to demonstrate survival techniques
available when you've got very little. It's less of "Isn't Les great
and amazing" and more of "You could do this if you had to", and "You
will die if you DON'T do THIS." He usually carries only a few very
basic and likely to be carried items, like a Leatherman tool, and is
allowed to use whatever the situation might normally include. One of
the episodes was an Arctic plane crash, where he used broken airplane
parts, wiring, and small quantities of fuel to survive in winter Arctic
wilderness.

While the show includes _some_ drama, as it _is_ TeeVee <G>, I've still
found every show genuinely interesting from an outdoorsman's
perspective. Someone with military survival training might find it silly.

And again, I'd personally still carry the phone... <G>

[N2310D]

"B A R R Y" > wrote in message
et...
> RomeoMike wrote:
>> Is it possible that Les was dramatizing his situation for the show?
>
> Possibly. However, he rarely talks about the backup plan during the show,
> except when it seems to be not as usable as he expected. <G> In another
> episode (Adrift), he was pointing out how the radio he expected to use to
> communicate with his "babysitter" boat failed, and they were unable to
> make contact on the open seas. His solid backup plans are described on
> his web site.
>
> The episode where he mentioned the sat phone issues took plane in the
> Costa Rican jungle, with high, heavy foliage coverage. He pointed out the
> the phone was plenty usable on the coast and in rare clearings. The issue
> came up when he was in an area with solid square miles of canopy, pointing
> out the lack of signal on the phone and the inability of an airborne
> rescue crew to find him if he was injured. He didn't mention having any
> kind of ELT, and he doesn't normally hide such things.
>
> Part of the show's purpose is to demonstrate survival techniques available
> when you've got very little. It's less of "Isn't Les great and amazing"
> and more of "You could do this if you had to", and "You will die if you
> DON'T do THIS." He usually carries only a few very basic and likely to be
> carried items, like a Leatherman tool, and is allowed to use whatever the
> situation might normally include. One of the episodes was an Arctic plane
> crash, where he used broken airplane parts, wiring, and small quantities
> of fuel to survive in winter Arctic wilderness.

Shades of the old McGiver television series (or the current commercial
with the tube sock).
The dense foliage may well be a concern in the frequency spectrum of the
Sat-Phones. I have a chitalpa tree that occasional stretches out a branch of
leaves that occludes the downlink to my Direct-TV antenna. When the wind
blows the signal drops in and out reminding me to go whack off the branch.

[Robert M. Gary]

N2310D wrote:
> Shades of the old McGiver television series (or the current commercial
> with the tube sock).
> The dense foliage may well be a concern in the frequency spectrum of the
> Sat-Phones. I have a chitalpa tree that occasional stretches out a branch of
> leaves that occludes the downlink to my Direct-TV antenna. When the wind
> blows the signal drops in and out reminding me to go whack off the branch.

On X-Files Mulder was able to call Skully from the middle of the
desert, in a train car, burried in the desert. Cell phones must be
pretty good!

-Robert

[Kev]

Robert M. Gary wrote:
> On X-Files Mulder was able to call Skully from the middle of the
> desert, in a train car, burried in the desert. Cell phones must be
> pretty good!

Ha. Hmm. Makes you wonder if you might be able to catch a quick
signal from an airliner flying over with its own mini-cell someday.

When the Towers fell on 9/11, our R&D group (with family in the
buildings) soon realized that there might be people trapped alive with
cell phones. So we had a portable cell "tower" taken to the site as
quickly as possible. Unfortunately, it never got a survivor call, even
though I believe some buried phones were still active.

Kev

[Dave[_5_]]

RomeoMike wrote:
> I have no jungle experience but have plenty in the canyons, including
> narrow ones, of Utah and Arizona. Also in Ponderosa pine forests.I've
> yet to be in a place where the SAT phone wouldn't work. Just my personal
> experience. Is it possible that Les was dramatizing his situation for
> the show? I'm not familiar with it.

You need an unobstructed view of the sky for a sat phone to work
reliably. Foliage
absorbs microwaves - as others have pointed out. The solution, if you
are under a canopy,
is to find a clearing - if you can.

[Bravo Two Zero]

I personally prefer the survival show that has the ex SAS guy. Unlike "Les"
, he does not suddenly find an old motorcycle laying on the ground.

The ep. with the ex SAS guy and the suspected bear was excellent.

B2Z


"B A R R Y" > wrote in message
et...
> RomeoMike wrote:
>> Is it possible that Les was dramatizing his situation for the show?
>
> Possibly. However, he rarely talks about the backup plan during the show,
> except when it seems to be not as usable as he expected. <G> In another
> episode (Adrift), he was pointing out how the radio he expected to use to
> communicate with his "babysitter" boat failed, and they were unable to
> make contact on the open seas. His solid backup plans are described on
> his web site.
>
> The episode where he mentioned the sat phone issues took plane in the
> Costa Rican jungle, with high, heavy foliage coverage. He pointed out the
> the phone was plenty usable on the coast and in rare clearings. The issue
> came up when he was in an area with solid square miles of canopy, pointing
> out the lack of signal on the phone and the inability of an airborne
> rescue crew to find him if he was injured. He didn't mention having any
> kind of ELT, and he doesn't normally hide such things.
>
> Part of the show's purpose is to demonstrate survival techniques available
> when you've got very little. It's less of "Isn't Les great and amazing"
> and more of "You could do this if you had to", and "You will die if you
> DON'T do THIS." He usually carries only a few very basic and likely to be
> carried items, like a Leatherman tool, and is allowed to use whatever the
> situation might normally include. One of the episodes was an Arctic plane
> crash, where he used broken airplane parts, wiring, and small quantities
> of fuel to survive in winter Arctic wilderness.
>
> While the show includes _some_ drama, as it _is_ TeeVee <G>, I've still
> found every show genuinely interesting from an outdoorsman's perspective.
> Someone with military survival training might find it silly.
>
> And again, I'd personally still carry the phone... <G>

[B A R R Y[_2_]]

Bravo Two Zero wrote:
> I personally prefer the survival show that has the ex SAS guy. Unlike "Les"
> , he does not suddenly find an old motorcycle laying on the ground.
>
> The ep. with the ex SAS guy and the suspected bear was excellent.

Do you remember the name of the show? I'd like to set my TiVo to keep
an eye out for it.

FWIW, Les doesn't "find" anything. The stuff used in each scenario is
how he got there. <G> For instance, the motorcycle was supposed to be
what he was riding in the desert, not planning to be out there or
equipped for more than a few hours, and it broke down.

Think about it... When suddenly stuck in a remote area, anything we
have with us, including what's left of the aircraft, (or car,
motorcycle, boat, horse...) is fair game.

[150flivver]

B A R R Y wrote:
>Someone with military survival training might find it silly.
<G>

On the contrary, I find it anything but silly.

Both shows are well done and offer excellent survival tips. Of the
two, I'm slightly more impressed by the ex-SAS guy because he purposely
risks his life to demonstrate survival techniques such as the time he
jumped into icy water, extricated himself, and dried his only clothes.
His only concession was he started a fire beforehand (still had only
embers to get it going again after he was in the water). The shock of
entering freezing water literally can kill you. He's also parachuted
into trees and jumped off a cliff into water a long ways down. The guy
is crazy (or ex-SAS)!

[B A R R Y[_2_]]

150flivver wrote:
>
> Both shows are well done and offer excellent survival tips. Of the
> two, I'm slightly more impressed by the ex-SAS guy because he purposely
> risks his life to demonstrate survival techniques such as the time he
> jumped into icy water, extricated himself, and dried his only clothes.

Can you recall the name of the show?

[Mxsmanic]

150flivver writes:

> The guy is crazy (or ex-SAS)!

Scandanavia must be very rigorous in its pilot training.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

[john smith]

Not the SAS you are thinking of.

Mxsmanic wrote:

>>The guy is crazy (or ex-SAS)!
>>
>>
>
>Scandanavia must be very rigorous in its pilot training.
>
>

[Bravo Two Zero]

Man vs Wild

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/manvswild/about/about.html


"B A R R Y" > wrote in message
t...
> 150flivver wrote:
>>
>> Both shows are well done and offer excellent survival tips. Of the
>> two, I'm slightly more impressed by the ex-SAS guy because he purposely
>> risks his life to demonstrate survival techniques such as the time he
>> jumped into icy water, extricated himself, and dried his only clothes.
>
> Can you recall the name of the show?

[B A R R Y[_2_]]

Bravo Two Zero wrote:
> Man vs Wild
>
> http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/manvswild/about/about.html

Thanks! I'll sic my TiVo on it.

[Blanche]

150flivver > wrote:
>B A R R Y wrote:
>>Someone with military survival training might find it silly.
> <G>
>
>On the contrary, I find it anything but silly.
>
>Both shows are well done and offer excellent survival tips. Of the
>two, I'm slightly more impressed by the ex-SAS guy because he purposely
>risks his life to demonstrate survival techniques such as the time he
>jumped into icy water, extricated himself, and dried his only clothes.
>His only concession was he started a fire beforehand (still had only
>embers to get it going again after he was in the water). The shock of
>entering freezing water literally can kill you. He's also parachuted
>into trees and jumped off a cliff into water a long ways down. The guy
>is crazy (or ex-SAS)!

Bear Grylls' show is Man v Wild. The credits list someone else
as the "survival expert".

I find the comment that he's ex-SAS a bit too much to
believe. Based on his age, and his bio, he would have been in his
late teens while in the SAS. I thought the SAS only accepted
currently enlisted army who've been in a fair amount of time. Plus, the
way the bio is worded .. "served with the SAS" rather than "served
in the SAS".

Personally, I prefer Les' attitude of avoiding a situation where you
might get into trouble.