Date:         Wed, 28 Sep 94 13:04:21 PDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Stuart Redford <scr@hpvcpnpi.vcd.hp.com>
Subject:      Re: Cellular Phones

> 
> > 
> > Joel asked:
> > >BUT! if you have one in the bus, where did you put it (phsyically)?
> > where's >the antenna? etc. which kind? (fixed mount, portable, Nokia,
> > Wal-Mart, etc.?)
> > 
> 
> My sister-in-law has one of these portables and it seems the way to go.
> No dorky antenna, and you can take it from location to location.   She
> has no problems with reception what-so-ever.
> 

	Cellulars.....I'm an owner of (3), so I thought I'd offer my 2 cents..

	I had a hardwired Alpine w/ handsfree in my recently sold '91. 
	I also have a Moto-flipfone (compliments of HP) and a Moto-Bagfone
	also supported by HP.

	Having the hardwired unit in the camper was the best setup for cruising
	especially with the handsfree plus with Cellular One's "CellOne 
	Connect" service we have in the PNW (where you don't dial, you just
	tell them you want Sears in Portland on *** Street). It's also the
	safest, by far, in terms of driving and also is not suspect of zapping
	your body with EMR. 

	It was mounted on the ventilation cover below the radio to the
	left of the shifter. My right knee was ~3" to the left of it. This was
	the recommended location by the installer that was contrary to my 
	desired location (higher up on the dash). I agree with his recom-
	mendation after usage. I also had a 15' section of RJ45 cable that
	enable me to move the handpiece to the rear seat during extended camps.
	The power was NOT ignition dependent as I wanted to phone while at a 
	stop. The antennae was in the upper-right corner of the windshield.
	The mic was to the left of the driver's sun flap.

	The obvious negative with the hardwired unit is it's not transferrable
	to other vehicles. Any additional fones means supporting another 
	account. But, if I had to outfit another camper and could afford
	it, I'd still do the hardwired......

	I have a Moto-flip because I support computer stuff when offsite.
	Driving with this is flatout dangerous. I do it, but know I'm
	a weasel when I do. Because I don't feel strongly that there ISN'T
	an EMR threat with that antennae next to my head, I only use the
	flip when paged away from my car. One option with flips and multi
	car use is the cradle and external power and handsfree hardware.
	They're not cheap but do enable 1 fone to be used safer in multi
	vehicles and stand alone.

	The bagfone solution offers flexibility in terms of multiple vehicle
	with one account, but is not much of a carry around option (where
	the flip is best). They're full power (3W) but, without an external
	antennae and sitting below the window line, I actually think my
	flipfone has better transmission.

	The bummer about the bagfone in my camper (or any vehicle) is it
	requires a seat, meaning the passenger's, especially if you want
	handsfree. When there is someone else in the car, the bagfone is a 
	pain. Putting it on the dash is impossible with the antennae.

	I have the handsfree mic that clips onto the carrying case. It
	works OK, but again, not if the fone has to be on the floor.

	So, I'd state, if I didn't have HP buying me toys, I'd have a 
	hardwired unit w/ handsfree in my camper and a bagfone for all
	other uses. Without work requirements, I wouldn't support
	a flip. But, then this too easy for me to state when the *company*
	pays most of the bills.

	Now, in the category of toys and slick features, here are some
	tricks I use that are handy, but can give one a reputation for being
	an obsessive technofreak, particularly with folks like some in my
	family that still have rotary fones at home. Because they don't
	understand the stuff, they suspect I'm actually making my life *more*
	complex and stressful.

	No answer-call forwarding-

	If someone calls my house fone, it rings 4 times and then xfers
	to my cell #. If that fone is On, it rings. I either answer or
	after 3 rings the caller gets voice mail. If the cell is Off, they
	get voice mail immediately. And, another toy supplied by HP, I
	have a vibrating (pleasure mode) pager. If someone leaves a VM msg.,
	VM sends a string to my pager that tells me I have a message.
	This is really helpful when trying to take care of personal
	business while working a 9>5 job. Trying to connect with 9 > 5 
	businesses like electricians and VW dealers while at work can be
	such a pain.

	The dazzling part of this routine is that folks that call expecting
	me to be home get me when lounging in the camper bed on the Oregon
	coast or fixing dinner near the corner of Aloha & 11th in Seattle.

	Prior to extended trips, I forward the house fone to the cell to
	bypass the 4 rings at home.

	For the computer types, by hardwire fone in my camper also supported
	modem access to systems at work with my laptop. This was lots of
	fun, but again only possible through generous grants  by the 
	Hewlett Packard Co.. Yeah, it was a pisser conversing with folks
	at work near-real-time while parked in the bush many miles from
	any external electron source. But, please! Isn't it time to
	turn off all this electronic shit and listen to the night?!

	scr