HomeFairfax General ForumArrest/Ticket SearchWiki newPictures/VideosChatArticlesLinksAbout
Fairfax County General :  Fairfax Underground fairfax underground logo
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: loner hiker ()
Date: April 02, 2017 10:58AM

Is there any way to get cell coverage everywhere on the Old Rag hike?

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: go satellite ()
Date: April 02, 2017 11:08AM

Get an Iridium phone. Problem solved.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: A Will Finds A Way ()
Date: April 02, 2017 11:45AM

Will they let you carry boat flares?? Huge backpack Ham Spark Radio??

You can of course carry a 44 magnum pistol..Get a CCW and youll be just fine..It will make a lot of noise if your in a jam..Thats your Best Bet.

Any woman who hikes alone without a pistol..or with other women..no men.no pistol...is Plum Crazy !

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Donald Trump.. ()
Date: April 02, 2017 11:51AM

I'll let you borrow one of my GLONASS phones Vlad gave me.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Hiker, love life, not a lib ()
Date: April 02, 2017 12:02PM

Works fine at the top.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: OldSkoolHiker. ()
Date: April 02, 2017 12:43PM

Da' fuck you need a fone for when you're on the mountain? The whole point of being on the mountain is getting off your fone...

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Climber. ()
Date: April 02, 2017 04:03PM

OldSkoolHiker. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Da' fuck you need a fone for when you're on the
> mountain? The whole point of being on the mountain
> is getting off your fone...

Seriously, how the fuck did Edmund Hillary ever summit Everest without a fucking telephone, bruh? Fucking millennials.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Smoke Signals ()
Date: April 02, 2017 04:08PM

Light a fire and send smoke signals. There is plenty of wood around. This is what the Indians did, so you should have no problem.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: map,we don't need no stinkin map ()
Date: April 02, 2017 06:37PM

Climber. Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> OldSkoolHiker. Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Da' fuck you need a fone for when you're on the
> > mountain? The whole point of being on the
> mountain
> > is getting off your fone...
>
> Seriously, how the fuck did Edmund Hillary ever
> summit Everest without a fucking telephone, bruh?
> Fucking millennials.

I'm still working on the whole Leif Ericsson crosing the northern Atlantic without GPS 1000AD.
But, watch out for those killer squirrels.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: HGHXL ()
Date: April 03, 2017 05:46AM

As mountain hiker over the years in the Shenandoah, if by chance you have an old analog cell phone, even if no longer activated, good chance/not guaranteed that it will work to call 911. At some point over the last 15-20 years, cannot remember when, the FCC required cell phones no longer activated to be able to still call 911. If you still have such an analog phone, to test it locally, call 911, ONE TIME ONLY, do so at a time when the 911 call load is low, tell the 911 operator who answers what you are doing, so they do not send police, fire/rescue, or ambulance to your house.

Remember cellular is just an advanced radio service, and anything big blocking old antenna TV and AM/FM radio services will block cell phone service. When I was hiking at the top of Old Rag around year 2000, the analog phone which had activated at the time worked at the top of the mountain, not in the valley. Years later, same area, digital phones (outside of expensive satellite phones that do not work indoors) which all phones sold in the last 10 years are, that phone did not work at the top of the mountain. With analog service at the top of the mountain, it does better (not always) to lock into one cell tower lower in the valley, but with digital, it tries to read off of multiple cell towers and the call will not go through. At a certain point of elevation, even analog phones do not work. I was in a plane with a friend in 1999 (pre 911), and he tried a call which did not dial through because at 30k+ feet up and with the speed the plane is moving, it is trying to lock into too many cell towers (another reason for FAA regulations for not using cell phones on planes, other than planes with limited Wifi service). I had worked until within the last year, not now, for one of the cell phone companies.

The other issue in rural low population areas, there is not the economic incentive for cell phone companies to build towers in those areas when they are likely not to get that many new subscribers. That said, in the last couple, few, and several years in most of the small towns have traveled through up and down the East Coast including West Virginia, there is cell phone coverage in town, even those surrounded by mountains on all sides. The problem is once you get outside of those towns, your cell phone may work, but a good chance it will not. Verizon Wireless and AT&T Wireless will likely have more coverage in the rural areas than T-Mobile or Sprint. I have been on trips with friends, train trip originating from Elkins, VV (worked in town, rest of trip did not), in Everglades (my Verizon Wireless phone worked, my friend's AT&T phone did not), in the mountains of the Carolinas where my Verizon phone worked on and off in the woods of the mountains, his Sprint phone did not (we got back together in an hour or so with police assistance, probably the only time in my life in the back of a police car, only for less than five minutes). I recently had a Lyft driver in No. VA who lived about 20 miles east of Front Royal, a very rural isolated area, and just one bar of cell phone coverage in her house with only Verizon (told her about the in-home Wifi signal booster costing $200-250 which made her day in a very good way). I do know very recently some Verizon and probably other carriers too have a couple or few phones they are now selling with Wifi built in (do not have one, have not had a chance to check into further), but a long shot in the woods, if you are near a house or a building with unsecured wifi.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: HGHXL ()
Date: April 03, 2017 05:51AM

(to correct above, had not had that AM caffeine)

... in the mountains of the Carolinas where friend and I got separated where my Verizon phone worked on and off in the woods of the mountains ...

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: loner hiker ()
Date: April 03, 2017 07:49AM

Yes I have a Verizon VX8300 that I got for hiking. It works on top of Old Rag but not in most areas on the way up. I don't understand why they don't just put a cell tower near the parking lot. You can hear the neighbor's dog barking from the top of the mountain. Seems a cell signal would be easy to get.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: VX8300. ()
Date: April 03, 2017 07:50AM

.
Attachments:
30897_pdi_03.jpg

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: ground pounder ()
Date: April 03, 2017 08:44AM

Jesus fuckin christ I hiked the whole appalachian trail in 1987 with no cell phone and never needed it.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Hiker Pro ()
Date: April 03, 2017 05:42PM

If I am heading off with friends to hike/camp in the GW or Jefferson Nat'l Forest the last thing I want to hear is complaints about cell coverage.

Puss Boys don't make my trips, but pussy is still o.k.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Got lost once ()
Date: April 03, 2017 05:48PM

Hiker Pro Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If I am heading off with friends to hike/camp in
> the GW or Jefferson Nat'l Forest the last thing I
> want to hear is complaints about cell coverage.
>
> Puss Boys don't make my trips, but pussy is still
> o.k.


It seems as if the trails are not marked as well in those areas as in national parks
Do you find this to be the case?

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Poison Ivy ()
Date: April 03, 2017 06:14PM

Got lost once Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hiker Pro Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > If I am heading off with friends to hike/camp
> in
> > the GW or Jefferson Nat'l Forest the last thing
> I
> > want to hear is complaints about cell coverage.
> >
> > Puss Boys don't make my trips, but pussy is
> still
> > o.k.
>
>
> It seems as if the trails are not marked as well
> in those areas as in national parks
> Do you find this to be the case?

There is old school equipment referred to as a map and compass. Stay outta the woods, dummy.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: really? ()
Date: April 03, 2017 06:59PM

HGHXL Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As mountain hiker over the years in the
> Shenandoah, if by chance you have an old analog
> cell phone, even if no longer activated, good
> chance/not guaranteed that it will work to call
> 911. At some point over the last 15-20 years,
> cannot remember when, the FCC required cell phones
> no longer activated to be able to still call 911.
> If you still have such an analog phone, to test it
> locally, call 911, ONE TIME ONLY, do so at a time
> when the 911 call load is low, tell the 911
> operator who answers what you are doing, so they
> do not send police, fire/rescue, or ambulance to
> your house.
>
> Remember cellular is just an advanced radio
> service, and anything big blocking old antenna TV
> and AM/FM radio services will block cell phone
> service. When I was hiking at the top of Old Rag
> around year 2000, the analog phone which had
> activated at the time worked at the top of the
> mountain, not in the valley. Years later, same
> area, digital phones (outside of expensive
> satellite phones that do not work indoors) which
> all phones sold in the last 10 years are, that
> phone did not work at the top of the mountain.
> With analog service at the top of the mountain, it
> does better (not always) to lock into one cell
> tower lower in the valley, but with digital, it
> tries to read off of multiple cell towers and the
> call will not go through. At a certain point of
> elevation, even analog phones do not work. I was
> in a plane with a friend in 1999 (pre 911), and he
> tried a call which did not dial through because at
> 30k+ feet up and with the speed the plane is
> moving, it is trying to lock into too many cell
> towers (another reason for FAA regulations for not
> using cell phones on planes, other than planes
> with limited Wifi service). I had worked until
> within the last year, not now, for one of the cell
> phone companies.
>
> The other issue in rural low population areas,
> there is not the economic incentive for cell phone
> companies to build towers in those areas when they
> are likely not to get that many new subscribers.
> That said, in the last couple, few, and several
> years in most of the small towns have traveled
> through up and down the East Coast including West
> Virginia, there is cell phone coverage in town,
> even those surrounded by mountains on all sides.
> The problem is once you get outside of those
> towns, your cell phone may work, but a good chance
> it will not. Verizon Wireless and AT&T Wireless
> will likely have more coverage in the rural areas
> than T-Mobile or Sprint. I have been on trips
> with friends, train trip originating from Elkins,
> VV (worked in town, rest of trip did not), in
> Everglades (my Verizon Wireless phone worked, my
> friend's AT&T phone did not), in the mountains of
> the Carolinas where my Verizon phone worked on and
> off in the woods of the mountains, his Sprint
> phone did not (we got back together in an hour or
> so with police assistance, probably the only time
> in my life in the back of a police car, only for
> less than five minutes). I recently had a Lyft
> driver in No. VA who lived about 20 miles east of
> Front Royal, a very rural isolated area, and just
> one bar of cell phone coverage in her house with
> only Verizon (told her about the in-home Wifi
> signal booster costing $200-250 which made her day
> in a very good way). I do know very recently some
> Verizon and probably other carriers too have a
> couple or few phones they are now selling with
> Wifi built in (do not have one, have not had a
> chance to check into further), but a long shot in
> the woods, if you are near a house or a building
> with unsecured wifi.

Carriers have not been required to support AMPS analog service since 2008, and they were pretty quick to pull the plug. If you find some place in the world that is still operating analog cell towers. please let us know.

You can buy a DeLorme satellite communicator for $250 - $300 and get messaging capability and GPS navigation, or an Iridium or Inmarsat satellite phone for $800 and up. You can rent a satellite phone as well.
Attachments:
delorme_ag_009871_201_inreach_se_global_satellite_1441749934000_1174741.jpg
isatphonepro2.png

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: nVVve ()
Date: April 03, 2017 07:14PM

give me $9,000 for a transiever and $150,000 for a base station, several more for a metal tower, and monthly payments so i can plug it in to the power company ...

and you'll have reception on your park trail

why the fuck do you want to invade nature with cell phone reception ? it's supposed to be left natural

if you want a constructed play area you go to a golf course and pay to play

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: stay alive ()
Date: April 03, 2017 07:20PM

The DeLorme communicator is a nice compromise if you don't need a full satellite phone.

Always take a couple firearms with you on hikes and camping trips. A fairly powerful pistol for uncivilized humans or unfriendly wildlife, and a small .25 calibre backup. I like to take a big survival knife, but a hatchet is more useful for cutting wood. Flare pistols and smoke flares are probably overkill.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Cheaper ()
Date: April 03, 2017 07:30PM

nVVve Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> give me $9,000 for a transiever and $150,000 for a
> base station, several more for a metal tower, and
> monthly payments so i can plug it in to the power
> company ...
>
> and you'll have reception on your park trail
>
> why the fuck do you want to invade nature with
> cell phone reception ? it's supposed to be left
> natural
>
> if you want a constructed play area you go to a
> golf course and pay to play

You are overbidding. You could do the same thing with <$1,000 worth of WiFi gear installed on neighboring property with power. For an additional investment in batteries and solar panels, you even build a mesh network throughout the park. Ubiquity makess everything you need, except the solar panels.
https://www.ubnt.com/

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Trails ()
Date: April 03, 2017 08:08PM

Got lost once Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hiker Pro Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > If I am heading off with friends to hike/camp
> in
> > the GW or Jefferson Nat'l Forest the last thing
> I
> > want to hear is complaints about cell coverage.
> >
> > Puss Boys don't make my trips, but pussy is
> still
> > o.k.
>
>
> It seems as if the trails are not marked as well
> in those areas as in national parks
> Do you find this to be the case?

That is exactly what I want - A rarely used trail.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: reel man ()
Date: April 03, 2017 08:20PM

stay alive Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The DeLorme communicator is a nice compromise if
> you don't need a full satellite phone.
>
> Always take a couple firearms with you on hikes
> and camping trips. A fairly powerful pistol for
> uncivilized humans or unfriendly wildlife, and a
> small .25 calibre backup. I like to take a big
> survival knife, but a hatchet is more useful for
> cutting wood. Flare pistols and smoke flares are
> probably overkill.


Be sure to bring your Coward Carry permit.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Some stupid with a flare gun ()
Date: April 03, 2017 08:35PM

stay alive Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The DeLorme communicator is a nice compromise if
> you don't need a full satellite phone.
>
> Always take a couple firearms with you on hikes
> and camping trips. A fairly powerful pistol for
> uncivilized humans or unfriendly wildlife, and a
> small .25 calibre backup. I like to take a big
> survival knife, but a hatchet is more useful for
> cutting wood. Flare pistols and smoke flares are
> probably overkill.

You launch a fucking flare into the underbrush, and you will set the whole goddamn mountain on fire.

Stay on the asphalt -

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Dont Be A Fool ()
Date: April 03, 2017 09:07PM

Women... remember what happened up on Skyline Drive.. some years back..!

The best signal tool on Old Rag Mt..and If In Dire Need..! 4 inches.of barrel....44 Remington Magnum , 240 Grains of Hard Cast Lead Semi Wadcutter 10 Grains of Unique..1100 feet per second...644 Ft Pounds of Muzzle Energy..a 9mm.. 124 Gr. try 364 ft pounds M.E...@ 1150 fps..If your In a Jam....! It beats the hell outta a Yuppies Lousy Radio Toy..Carrys EZ in a backpack..

Your Lib Gun Grabbing Hiking Pals..Don't have a "Need to Know" .. OK..A Snub nose .38 or even a .380 Auto like a sneaky Lil Ruger LCP will do..right now only..200 bucks Brand New..Loads of Places have um.. and will get you otta a Jam!

P.S. Keep um hidden..dont want to make the Libs scream..Otta Sight..Otta Mind..Natch!! Remember People..GUNS SAVE LIVES!

Your Pal..Looking out for ya.. DAJAX The Cook
Attachments:
OldRagSignalTool.jpg

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: ElHefesHideout ()
Date: April 05, 2017 05:04PM

A relative of mine is using the Delorme/Garmin inReach. We're getting photos and text updates while through-hiking the AT.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Dr. Memory ()
Date: April 07, 2017 12:26PM

Yodel.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: I Did That For Laughs ^^ ()
Date: April 07, 2017 12:42PM

It only brought me ...laughs from onlookers.. RI..CO..LA.. Yodel Yee!!

DAJAX

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Almost free option ()
Date: April 07, 2017 12:54PM

There has got to be a few Ham repeaters within 10 miles of that mountain on all sides. Get a Amateur Technician's license, a GPS and a $30 Chinese VHF/UHF walkie talkie. You can use the repeaters to get someone to call for help and the GPS to give your lat/lon.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: antenna ()
Date: April 07, 2017 06:13PM

There is an easier solution. Just bring along a weather balloon, a tank of helium, a reel of cable, and an RF connector that will attach to your phone's antenna connector. Whenever you need to make a call, simply inflate the balloon and send it up attached to the cable until you get a signal. If weight is a concern, a kite will work in lieu of the balloon and helium tank.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Hiker.Slayer ()
Date: April 07, 2017 06:49PM

stay alive Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The DeLorme communicator is a nice compromise if
> you don't need a full satellite phone.
>
> Always take a couple firearms with you on hikes
> and camping trips. A fairly powerful pistol for
> uncivilized humans or unfriendly wildlife, and a
> small .25 calibre backup. I like to take a big
> survival knife, but a hatchet is more useful for
> cutting wood. Flare pistols and smoke flares are
> probably overkill.

What...no grenades? Sorry about your penis...

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: dsfgdsfg34 ()
Date: April 09, 2017 05:53PM

sdfg365645

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: GlicerinEBAG ()
Date: August 14, 2020 06:36AM

Hello everyone. Could you help me choose a new phone?

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Reinhold M ()
Date: August 14, 2020 06:13PM

I could climb to the summit Everest without O2 and a stupid cell phone , but you cant hike little Old Rag Mt without your cell ! You need to stay off the beach as 98 lb weaklings always get sand kicked into their eyes! I did wish I packed DAJAX's 44 on Everest as the Yeti was up there so I chanced it and won but don't ask me to do it again as Im no fool . Yes a 44 is your best bet on Old Rag you skinny libtarded runt . If you really cry for a cell you need to go to 7-11 like all the cons and ask for a cheap "Burner Phone"

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Mike huntttt ()
Date: August 15, 2020 06:55AM

Bring a nigger with you

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: Iara ()
Date: August 19, 2020 05:27AM

Hello everyone. Could you help me choose a new phone? I just have this situation, I don't know much about electrical engineering. My daughter gave me a case and protective cover for my phone, and my old phone does not fit the case that my daughter gave me. Moreover, I have been thinking about buying a new phone for a long time(my old phone is 6 years old). I can't ask my daughter for help buying a new phone, because I already told her that the case looks very cool on my phone. Please help me, my case looks like this https://reinforcebrand.com/.

Options: ReplyQuote
Re: Old Rag cellphone coverage
Posted by: GlicerinEBAG ()
Date: August 26, 2020 02:22PM

Iara Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hello everyone. Could you help me choose a new
> phone? I just have this situation, I don't know
> much about electrical engineering. My daughter
> gave me a case and protective cover for my phone,
> and my old phone does not fit the case that my
> daughter gave me. Moreover, I have been thinking
> about buying a new phone for a long time(my old
> phone is 6 years old). I can't ask my daughter for
> help buying a new phone, because I already told
> her that the case looks very cool on my phone.
> Please help me, my case looks like this href=https://reinforcebrand.com/>https://reinforce
> brand.com/.

I had an almost similar situation but it had ended not as well as yours

Options: ReplyQuote


Your Name: 
Your Email (Optional): 
Subject: 
Attach a file
  • No file can be larger than 75 MB
  • All files together cannot be larger than 300 MB
  • 30 more file(s) can be attached to this message
Spam prevention:
Please, enter the code that you see below in the input field. This is for blocking bots that try to post this form automatically.
 ********  **    **  ********   *******   **     ** 
    **      **  **   **        **     **  **     ** 
    **       ****    **        **     **  **     ** 
    **        **     ******     ********  **     ** 
    **        **     **               **   **   **  
    **        **     **        **     **    ** **   
    **        **     **         *******      ***    
This forum powered by Phorum.