 i'm with Lee. the issue isn't how to get enough tech so that worriers know where we are, they'll just find something else to worry about. we need to either teach them not to worry or ignore them i don't have this problem myself, my wife tends to buy me train tickets to far away places as presents. so far they've all been returns.
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 so others worry is used as a basis to buy expensive toys that you'll never use. i'm liking the idea already. teach them not to worry as weevil says. ignoring them is divorce territory. or in reality it's not a worry at all as it's just a way of getting pissed off with you for disappearing doing something they don't want to do and you enjoying yourslef which is really forbidden but they aren't actually going to tell you that. after all, who broke that lamp in 1991? eh?
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 Tsk......so cynical Parky.
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 "Who got so p****d at friends wedding they passed out and had to be carried to bed" errrr, both of us !! but I didn't bring it up every other week. The 'Boss' wasn't to far behind me, and hadn't just returned from a 2wk "war game exercise". Thankfully some "crabfat pilot" she met in 'stan has to suffer now. Back to post: When I'd go away it was just a general area and what day I'd be back. Usual response, "see you then".
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 Been there and got the t-shirt, well it was a christmas party. My Auntie put me to bed, what worried me the most was waking up without my boxers on 
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 Hi Folks, Someone mentioned about Iridium phones, old versions can be got for less than 200 quid on ebay, Montlhy charges start at about 30 quid a month which can be a bit pricey. Cheers, Stephen
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I sometimes write a text in the eve or morn when camping/bothying, saying where I am and where going next etc. As you ascend in the morning, the phone will send the text as the signal improves, or you may receive a text, which would tell you you have a signal. You can then fire off what you wrote earlier. Mobile signal is so iffy in the hills, I find the system of waiting to receive a text very useful, as it saves having to keep looking at the phone to check the signal. The worry, always, is that you are in a bad area for more athan a day or two, then the worries start... So it needs careful 'management of their expectations' (hate that phrase - used at work for fobbing people off). FWIW, I find Nokia seems to have the best 'signal strength' - and the 5800 seems especially good.
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I must be very lucky. My missus does not fret at all. I never call or leave a message until my solo trek is finished (my phone is always turned off). In fact once I lost my phone just before leaving for a few days in the pyrenees and did not bother to replace it until I returned. I just let her know the route before I go. I'll be off to finland for 11 days in May and I will have no problems. This maybe due to the fact that she was with me once on Kinder Scout in thick fog, we didn't get lost and I also had to "rescue" a couple who were stranded. Or perhaps she hopes I don't come back and gets the insurance money. Recently I was at the refuge near Mulhacen in Andalucia and I was the only one who was not texting wives etc. But when I started out there was no way of contacting anyone and my parents didn't have a phone so everyone is used to hearing nothing from me for days at a time. I find it defeats the object of wild camping but checking phones for messages.
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What's a 'mobile phone' ? I use smoke signals or heliograph. Currently trying to learn Semaphore. 
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"I use smoke signals" from smouldering testicles?
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 What's a 'mobile phone' ? I use smoke signals or holograph. Currently trying to learn Semaphore.
It's sort of like the electric telegraph you Luddite! 
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| Edited: 19/03/10 20:03 |
electric telegraph, is that that new dot, dash thinggie ? 
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 electric telegraph, is that that new dot, dash thinggie ? -.-- . ...
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.. / .... --- .--. . / -.-- --- ..- / .- .-. . / .. -- .--. .-. . ... ... . -..
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Have to translate NJP, don't know dot, dash thinggie, apart from, ... , --- , ... , ! 
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The first message says "yes" - a singledot is E, DotDotDot is S. Guess the rest! The second one says "I hope you are impressed" Glance through and look for the Es and Sesses now...and the Os that you know are Dashdashdash 
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| Edited: 20/03/10 19:28 |
.JPG) Have to translate NJP, don't know dot, dash thinggie, apart from, !
she said ' I hope you are impressed' it's not really ... , --- , ... , in morse it's ...---... it's really a character made of stringing the SOS characters together (ex trainee radio officer in pedantic mode) oops crossover
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| Edited: 20/03/10 19:28 |
Oh Mole, you are a Sweet Talker 
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That's a lot to learn!! how will it ever become in widespread use.  Think I'll stick to smoke signals and/or runners!!!
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