Posted: Feb 04, 2009 10:41 pm EST
(HumanEdgeTech.com) In this 2009 edition of the tech week, we'll start with a brush-up of the most basic and important expedition communications tools: the radio and the satellite phone.

Lessons from K2

Too many of last year's victims in Karakoram and Himalaya carried no means of communication - an additional weight of 130gr (4.5oz), or the equivalent of a single warm glove.

In addition to shared weather forecasts, transparent summit strategies and a personal ability to fix rope; American K2 climber Chris Warner wrote about the importance of comms shortly after the K2 tragedy last year: "Every climber (including Sherpas or HAPs) must have a working VHF 5 watt walkie talkies on them at all times above BC. BC must also be equipped with a radio and sat phone."

The radio

VHF stands for 'Very High Frequency' and operates on radio frequency from 30MHz to 300MHz. Not all VHF's are alike. The quality depends on the watts and it is therefore important to get good caliber gear.

Stay away from Motorola Talkabouts (1Watt) and go for quality brands like ICOM and Yaesu. The Yaesu VX-150 is one popular 5W handheld VHF, often used on Everest and ideal for Vinson. Cost around $200. The Talkabouts stop working when you go around a corner and should be avoided.

Sat phone

Overall, the VHF range is more or less line of sight. The mountain will have blackout areas and your call for help also requires that someone is listening on your frequency, and then not only out of curiosity.

Due to such limitations to radios - while weight and price for phones have dropped significantly in the past few years - virtually all the world's foremost 8000 meter climbers bring a satellite phone on summit push these days.

On Annapurna last year, Inaki and Horia brought both: the radio came in handy to call on local climbers and the sat phone was used to get medical aid and to stay in touch with home teams and climbers on other peaks.

On K2, Wilco was located thanks to his Thuraya. Poignantly - Vlado Plulik carried neither on Broad Peak while his surviving mate Dodo Kopold had a sat phone. On K2, most of the victims did not carry sat phones (many not even radios) and there are plenty other examples, not the least from Everest.

BYO & program quick dials

You should never leave for a summit push without some means of comms - no matter how large or small your outfit. It's like climbing without an ice axe. If anything, the deaths of Vlado and others proved that mountaineers have to take responsibility for their own lives. Do not trust your mates, sherpas, leaders or guides to carry basic comms for you - it's too easy to get separated.

Make sure to pogram the sat phone with quick-dial for the most important numbers (BC, fellow climbers and home) and store the battery (or a spare) inside your clothing, as close to your skin as possible.

Himalaya handheld sat phone news for 2009

In general, the biggest change from last year for handheld sat phones is increased geographical coverage of Thuraya. ECO SIM worked up to Camp 4 on Everest last year but above that SUPER SIM had to be used. No new models are expected.

Prices have dropped further on the SO-2510 ($685) but the SG-2520 remains the most popular unit. All HET Thuraya are now delivered with a double life battery as standard.

Choosing a system

9 out of 10 Himalayan climbers choose the Thuraya satellite system for the following reasons:

Decent hardware price

Thuraya covers Everest, K2, Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, Carstenz Pyramid and Australia.

The only sat phone with true global coverage; Iridium is main choice for Denali, Aconcagua and Vinson. Choose it if you already own an Iridium phone, or if you plan to climb outside of Thuraya's coverage.

The handset

The Thuraya SO-2510 weighs only 130gr and costs $685 (prices have dropped). The Thuraya SG-2520 is more advanced and slightly higher in price and weight, $1075 and 180gr.

Most climbers choose SG-2520 for its extended use as a modem for data. While the SO-2510 only works with Windows XP; the SG-2520 will work with PDA, Vista and Mac (ed note: not supported by Thuraya, but instructions available at HumanEdgeTech).

Thuraya 2510 and 2520 have been tested by expeditions for more than two years now. Both models have proved reliable - except for SMS problems suffered on and off. The glitches seem to have been solved, however, Thuraya's MMS service (allowing emails, images and videos to be sent straight from the SG-2520 unit) is postponed without further notice.

Majority of complaints for both models have involved poor charging. It is recommended to bring at least one backup battery. HumanEdgeTech delivers both models with double longlife battery as standard.

Power

Using Thin Film Technology; the FEATHER's are without comparison the lightest panels on the market and the SolarBlazt FEATHER series is very popular among mountaineers.

While a 5W panel (171gr - $149) is sufficient to power any of the two Thuraya phones; to be safe a 10W panel (252gr - $289) is recommended. In good conditions, the phone will be fully charged in a couple of hours. The panels will also charge minor electronics such as iPOD, MP3-player or PDA.

Go light and stay safe

Satellite phones are slowly overtaking handheld radios as primary communication on Everest and other high altitude peaks. Climbers SMS and call each other frequently on the mountain and the satellite phone becomes a lifeline in an emergency situation. HET recommends each climber to always carry both a satellite phone and a walkie-talkie for a safety minimum on the climb.

A Thuraya SO-2510 with charger and a FEATHER 5 weighs only a total of 386gr, or less than a pound.

Rent or Buy?

Rental airtime typically doubles in cost, so it makes sense to buy if you plan extensive calls. Typically, expeditions lasting 1 month or shorter will rent; while 6 weeks or longer will buy.

Thuraya extended coverage

January 15 2008, Sea Launch finally succeeded in launching Thuraya's second satellite (called Thuraya 3 - one has been terminated), which expanded Thuraya coverage to include China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Australia.

Thuraya 4, to be positioned over South America, is being negotiated but no date is available.

Low cost Thuraya ECO plan update

In May 2007, Thuraya launched the ECO (economy) plan to promote usage in certain countries. Nepal is part of the ECO area, but Tibet and Pakistan is not. While a standard SUPER SIM call is app. $1/min a ECO call from Nepal to US/Europe is only $0.39/min.

During the 2008 spring season, expeditions reported good ECO SIM coverage up to South Col, from which SUPER SIM had to be used. HumanEdgeTech recommend all mountaineers along the Nepal/Tibet border to bring both an ECO and a SUPER SIM.

Thuraya SMS issues, Free SMS and cheaper calls to Thuraya

The 2007 early autumn SMS problems have according to Thuraya been solved and only temporary malfunctions have been reported by expeditions to team HET. Sending SMS to US mobile phones does not work.

HumanEdgeTech.com carries a free service for homecrews to SMS a Thuraya phone. The SMS messages are free to send and receive.

Calling your friend's Thuraya phone is free for him/her, but could prove very expensive to you. Local operators often charge from $4 up to $8 per minute for calls made to Thuraya or other satellite networks. Ask your phone service provider what the charge is for a call to country code 88216 (Thuraya).

"Call from Home" cards make it possible to call a free 800 number, enter a code, and then call Thuraya for only $1:10/minute.

Cellular or satellite

Temporary stations have previously made mobile calls possible from some but not all places on Everest north side. However, only GMS based phones have been supported (North American handsets with CDMA as the prevailing standard did not work).

Roaming charges can run up to $5/minute when using the system. Always check the price before using your mobile when abroad. Read Story.

HumanEdgeTech programming and technology team contributed to the 2009 Tech Week.

HumanEdgeTech ultra-light expedition solutions have been featured in media such as Wired Magazine and New York Times. In 2005, HET's expedition software CONTACT received the most prestigious award in outdoor gear; "Editors’ choice" by Backpacker magazine.

The team has extensive expedition experience from Everest, the North Pole, the South Pole, the Oceans and a commitment to “technology that works.”

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