question about cell phone reception

[SpeedRacer 1]

I just got a cell phone last month (cingular/at&t wireless, they are supposed to have good coverage).

I was hiking in the Catoctin mountains in Maryland. It's not too far out, its right near Thurmont and 15 minutes north of Frederick.

I tried to make a call from the trail, but when I looked at the window of my cell phone, there wasn't even one single bar. I was surprised, since as I said, the Catoctin mountains are not that far away from civilization. And when I've had bad reception in other places before, there is usually at least one or two bars showing.

NOW, here is another factor to consider: The point of the trail where I tried to make the call was within a hundred yards of the base of the mountain that has Camp David on the top of it.

Someone at work speculated that there might be something at Camp David that interferes with cell phone communication. Could this be true, or is it BS?

Speed Racer
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[AggieDave 6]

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Someone at work speculated that there might be something at Camp David that interferes with cell phone communication. Could this be true, or is it BS?

I wouldn't doubt it...did you have a GPS with you, did it work where you were? I know "they" turn off GPS around the president at times.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[SpeedRacer 1]

No GPS with me. And for the record, the Prez was not at Camp David at the time.

Although I know the security is in effect even when he's not there. When he IS there, they shut down the Park Road and all hiking trails adjacent to Hi-Catoctin mountain where Camp David is.

Next time I go back there I will go to different parts of the park & see if I can get reception there.

Speed Racer
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[AggieDave 6]

Also remember to wear a tinfoil hat...

Have you tried googling this and seeing if anyone else has had these problems and researched it?

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[PhreeZone 15]

All bets are off in hills. I go backpacking and on hill I'll have 3 bars, drop 50 feet down and No signal.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[Superman32 0]

There's no goverment plan.
AT&T/cingular just sucks really bad

BTW, watch your bill for phantom charges. It used to happen to me all the time.

Inveniam Viam aut Faciam
I'm back biatches!

[ChasingBlueSky 0]

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There's no goverment plan.
AT&T/cingular just sucks really bad

BTW, watch your bill for phantom charges. It used to happen to me all the time.

Drive thru any mountain or high hills area and you will have terrible reception off of most cell phone services. Satellite phones may be different - ask billvon about that.

All cell phone carriers suck in one way or another. In five years of AT&T service I have never had a phantom charge.

_________________________________________
you can burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me....
I WILL fly again.....

[Chrissay 0]

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There's no goverment plan.
AT&T/cingular just sucks really bad

BTW, watch your bill for phantom charges. It used to happen to me all the time.

I decided to stick with AT&T when Cingular bought them out and now have a Cingular plan. I get much better coverage with Cingular and I love the free mobile to mobile with AT&T and Cingular customers. So far I haven't had any problems and no phantom charges.
Sorry to hear you did not have a good experience with them.

[Nightingale 0]

I had awful coverage with cingular. Finally gave up that phone and broke the contract to go to verizon, because the cingular phone didn't do me much good if I could never complete a call without the phone disconnecting.

[JamesNahikian 0]

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I had awful coverage with cingular. Finally gave up that phone and broke the contract to go to verizon, because the cingular phone didn't do me much good if I could never complete a call without the phone disconnecting.

I've experienced the same thing by moving from Sprint to Verizon. Verizon has delivered fine service when I travel but absolutely unacceptable service here in Chicago. I think now I'll pay Verizon's early termination penalty and go back with Cingular, which gave me relatively excellent performance a few years ago (I had dropped Cingular due to frequent billing irregularities, particularly when I was traveling).

D. James Nahikian
CHICAGO

[LouDiamond 1]

I won't comment on the Camp David side of this question for obvious reasons but I can tell you that your being in the mts. was more than likely your problem. The only phones that work better than cells in the field and I have used extensively are Sattellite phones and they have issues with things like cloud cover and weather sometimes.

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I know "they" turn off GPS around the president at times.

Turning off GPS is not as easy as it sounds. I can tell you this, they don't turn off GPS as it could cause a host of other problems with everyday modern society functions not to mention the number of sattelites they would have to "turn off" if they did that.


If you spend a good deal of time outside in the mtns you might want to invest in a sat phone or an emergency beacon. If you just want to shoot the shit while in the mtns I think your missing the point of why one goes to the mtns.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[flyangel2 2]

Another Verizon user. I can call you and talk for free

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[bob.dino 0]

Tens of millions of tons of rock between you and the nearest base station will have an effect on your reception.

GSM can take advantage of multipath reflection (bouncing signals of hills/buildings/etc.), but there's a limit to what can be done if you're at the bottom of a canyon with shitloads of granite providing a nice barrier to radio signals.

[AggieDave 6]

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Turning off GPS is not as easy as it sounds. I can tell you this, they don't turn off GPS as it could cause a host of other problems with everyday modern society functions not to mention the number of sattelites they would have to "turn off" if they did that.

I know they have "black out" areas, either changing the accuracy in certain areas for civilian use (not just across the board, but only in certain areas) and completely blacking out civilian use in certain areas.

But I know they can't just "turn it off" I mistated.



Hey, take care of yourself over there bro, I need someone to teach me how to fly nylon, and I want someone who looks like a movie star to do it.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[freeflir29 0]

Cell is a funny thing. It's rather high on the frequency range. Basically.......the higher the freq........the less well it goes over hills. High Freq has no "ground wave." and it takes LOTS of power to make it go out very far. That also makes it work in "cells" very well. The lines between the cells are quite predictable. You were just too far from the nearest tower. I don't know because I never worked for whitehouse comms but I doubt they are jamming anything up there. The Pres has an almost inconceivable amount of commo gear that travels with him. Jamming would most likely cause more problems than it solves.

[AggieDave 6]

You know, the best cell phone I've ever used for reception was an old school car phone my dad had for years in his car. He got in in 1986 (and had a bag for the phone to take with out of the car). That damned thing would get reception anywhere and was clear and strong. Then again, if a handheld had that much power it'd probably cause instant cancer.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[freeflir29 0]

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Then again, if a handheld had that much power it'd probably cause instant cancer.

Yeah..........they've turned the power down a little since then. The HF radio I used in the Air Force was only 110 watts peak. The model before that had 400 watts peak. The older guys said you could hold a flourescent bulb next to the antenna and it would glow when you keyed the mike. Luckily someone figured out that it's much easier to be DF'd when putting out 400 watts versus 110. Some of the new stuff works on less than a watt I believe.

[ryoder 1,403]

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Drive thru any mountain or high hills area and you will have terrible reception off of most cell phone services.

Sunday morning I spent 30 minutes stuck at a roadblock in the mountains at Vail Pass while they were doing avalanche blasting. I passed the time by chatting on my cellphone to a friend in Chicago. I have Verizon, and it works great in the mountains.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[flyangel2 2]

The only place I didn't get my Verizon to work was at SDC

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[JamesNahikian 0]

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Sunday morning I spent 30 minutes stuck at a roadblock in the mountains at Vail Pass while they were doing avalanche blasting.

I thought you were supposed to turn off all cell phones when you're transiting avalanche or general construction blasting sites. At least that's what the road signs and FM announcements tell you to do, like when I've driven through Vail Pass in years past, since the explosives often are fired via radio command.

D. James Nahikian
CHICAGO

[LouDiamond 1]

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I know they have "black out" areas, either changing the accuracy in certain areas for civilian use

What your refering to used to be known as "spoofing" and it is no longer used on the GPS sattellites. I believe it was discontinued around 2003 sometime.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[ryoder 1,403]

Quote

Quote

Sunday morning I spent 30 minutes stuck at a roadblock in the mountains at Vail Pass while they were doing avalanche blasting.

I thought you were supposed to turn off all cell phones when you're transiting avalanche or general construction blasting sites. At least that's what the road signs and FM announcements tell you to do, like when I've driven through Vail Pass in years past, since the explosives often are fired via radio command.

D. James Nahikian
CHICAGO

There were no such postings anywhere in sight. The roadblock was well in advance of the actual blasting area, so we couldn't even see the action.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[AggieDave 6]

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What your refering to used to be known as "spoofing" and it is no longer used on the GPS sattellites. I believe it was discontinued around 2003 sometime.

Really?

Huh, well I learned something cool tonight. Thanks Scott.

--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

[JamesNahikian 0]

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There were no such postings anywhere in sight. The roadblock was well in advance of the actual blasting area, so we couldn't even see the action.

What this usually indicates is some guy who is unpopular with his ski patrol buddies got tasked with laying the radio charges.

D. James Nahikian
CHICAGO

[mnealtx 0]

Quote

Quote

Then again, if a handheld had that much power it'd probably cause instant cancer.

Yeah..........they've turned the power down a little since then. The HF radio I used in the Air Force was only 110 watts peak. The model before that had 400 watts peak. The older guys said you could hold a flourescent bulb next to the antenna and it would glow when you keyed the mike. Luckily someone figured out that it's much easier to be DF'd when putting out 400 watts versus 110. Some of the new stuff works on less than a watt I believe.

I've seen that... freaky shit, but cool!!

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706